Born of Flames

Chapter 30 ~ A Prince's Proposal

Morana hadn't said a word about whatever was bothering her since they'd arrived at the palace. Instead, she had insisted that Tarion and Gaelen share what they had learned. They had been doing so while they ate, but Tarion hadn't forgotten about Morana's behavior.

He knew she was just keeping them occupied so she wouldn't have to talk about it yet. He would play along for now, but when they were alone again, he would do his best to convince her to tell him what was going on inside her head.

To distract himself from his worries, he diverted his attention into filling in the details that Gaelen left out of their summary of events. They took turns explaining the black book they'd found and what had been inside.

The very first thing they explained was how Astaroth had been plotting to return all along, and why he needed Rhidian's body to do so. Morana and Neeri had cut in then with details about what they'd witnessed in the mountains.

No one could doubt the dark Lord had held true to his plan and was amassing an undead army, but they couldn't plan how to counter that yet. When Tarion and Gaelen reached the part about Rhidian's report, Arlon had grown visibly tense. As soon as Tarion finished recounting the event, the male had left the dining room.

No one had followed him and even now, a few hours later, he remained missing. The fact seemed to be bothering Neeri. She pushed a leftover piece of meat around on her plate and her shoulders hunched in a silent sigh.

Morana caught Tarion's eye and he cleared his throat, causing Neeri to look up. "I think that's all we had to share," he said. "If there's more, we can get to it tomorrow. It's time we all rested."

Relief flooded Neeri's gaze, but Gaelen was the first to stand. "I'll send those letters to Rehema and Lonan tonight. If the messengers are fast and make frequent trade-offs, they could have them delivered within the next two days."

"Good," Morana agreed. "We need to meet with them as soon as possible. I don't believe Astaroth will be long in enacting his plans. Not now that we know where he is."

Her eyes darkened and her lips curled into a scowl. "Even if we hadn't intervened today, I don't doubt that he planned on using Arlon to lure us to him to speed up the process."

"He plays on his own terms," Gaelen affirmed.

"Not this time. Let's make him play on ours."

Gaelen bowed his head and left the room quietly. Tarion rose when Morana did, but waited while she joined Neeri. The two shared a brief embrace before Neeri also left the room. She headed in the direction of a library, rather than a corridor of bedrooms, but Tarion didn't question it when Morana joined him.

He took his mate's hand and let her guide him up a few floors and to the bedroom their balcony was attached to. Tarion slipped off his boots while Morana entered the bathroom and shrugged out of her clothes. He heard water running before long and she climbed into the tub before it had even filled completely.

Tarion rolled his sleeves up to his elbows as he padded into the room and closed the door behind himself. A shield flickered into place, both around the bathroom, then the bedroom itself. He took a wide-toothed comb off of the vanity counter and knelt at the head of the tub.

Morana tipped her head back against it and he began running the comb through her hair, untangling it segment by segment. He could hear Morana's uneven breaths, but she remained silent.

Tarion's mouth thinned, though he merely laid the comb aside and set to work wetting her hair so he could scrub it clean. Morana's throat bobbed and water trickled from her fingertips when she lifted her hands from the water.