Page 19 of Madness of Her Mages

I shot Nikkos a look.

“Queen Malvolia has many chefs who make all kinds of cakes and pies. We’ll be sure to ask them for tarts,” he added.

“May we come visit her while we’re gone?” Ember asked.

I knew she was still referring to her nursemaid. After only a few days in their nursemaid’s care, they were already so attached. Words couldn’t express my guilt at tearing them apart. “You may not teleport without us unless it’s to escape danger,” I answered, “but if you do need to escape, go to your nursery.”

Both girls gasped.

Aurora shot up, pushing the blankets off them. “Will Mrs. Euphemia be waiting for us?”

My heart ached and twisted. “Yes,” I said on a sigh.

“Girls, it’s important you listen to your auntie, and do not teleport here unless there’s real danger,” Nikkos said in a stern voice. “There are evil demons among us now, and we don’t want them to hurt you.”

They blinked at him. “Yes, Uncle.”

“And you are to trust no one but your uncles and me,” I said as I tucked them back into bed. “Understood?”

“Yes, Auntie.”

I kissed them again, my heart aching as my lips lingered on their cheeks. I’d die from heartbreak if anything ever happened to them.

“Now go to sleep, sprites,” Nikkos said while gently rubbing my back. “We must wake up early, and you need your rest.”

I leaned into Nikkos with a sigh. He’d no idea how much I needed his reassuring touch right now.

“Yes, Uncle,” they said in unison.

Nikkos climbed off the bed, and I scooted to the edge, giving the girls one last lingering look. “Love you, darlings, so very much,” I whispered, my throat too tight to speak louder.

“Love you, Auntie,” they both whispered back in sweet voices like singing birds.

I climbed off the bed, watching Aurora snuggle her sister while Ember closed her eyes and sucked her thumb. My parents had tried and failed many times to get Ember to stop sucking her thumb, saying she was going to make her teeth crooked, but I didn’t have the heart to stop her. It brought her comfort, and after all the girls had been through this past week, I wouldn’t deny Ember that.

Nikkos helped me close the drapes, then he took my hand and led me to the sitting room, closing the double doors behind him to give us some privacy. I curled up in his lap on the sofa, clinging to him while he rubbed my back, murmuring words oflove in my ear, but nothing could ease my troubled heart. My gut twisted and churned, and I couldn’t escape the feeling I was taking these innocent children deep into the den of the dragon.

Nikkos

MY MATE. MY BEAUTIFULwhite witch mate. I could hardly believe I was so lucky that the elements deemed my brothers and me worthy of protecting her. Holding her in my arms on the wide sofa, I wrapped my wings around us. How I wished I could always keep her safe like this. In the stillness of our cocoon, I pretended we were the only two Fae in our own private void, far away from vengeful monarchs and deadly demons. I focused on the sounds of her shallow breaths, frowning when she stirred in my arms, soft moans coming from her lips as if she was stuck in a nightmare.

I pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the erratic rhythm beneath. “Your heart’s beating fast.”

I worry,she projected through thought.

I know,I answered back telepathically.So do I.

What if she decides she doesn’t trust me?The fear in her words echoed in my skull.Or what if she tries to use the girls against Tari?

I wanted to tell her that our queen wouldn’t turn on us, but I couldn’t offer her that reassurance. Not after Malvolia had hunted her own twin. I ran my hands down her back while racking my brain for an answer. In addition to healing through fire, I’d also studied herbal remedies. There had been one herb the satyrs brewed to calm the mind that also helped with memory. What if certain herbs could protect us against the mind spinner’s magic? In the morning, I’d ask Mrs. Euphemia more about it.

We will tackle those problems together when and if they arise. We will not forsake you or the girls, Shiri. I swear.

“I love you so much,” she murmured, placing the tenderest of kisses on my collarbone.

My cock instantly jerked to life while my heart swelled thrice the size.

Her admission of love was like a shock to my senses. Though she’d said it before, I didn’t think I’d ever grow tired of hearing it.

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