Page 157 of The Rogue's Curse

Misha nodded eagerly. “It’s yours if you need it.”

She glanced at Alistair, then shook her head. “Thank you, but I have to decline. I’m tired of hiding. First, Elliott ran me out of my place, although it obviously worked out in the end. And then we had to leave here. No more. This place is well-protected, and I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. If Kova wants to come after me, he’ll have a hell of a fight.”

Alistair’s eyes glinted red as he stared at his mate. “And if he makes it in, he won’t leave in one piece, brother or not,” he said.

A chill prickled down Paris’s spine. “Shoshanna, you broke Lucia’s curse months ago. Is Kova still cursed?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. She was the first one I ever broke, and I’m not sure what I really did there. It took so much out of me, and I figured out later that it was better to break the original curse, because it would naturally break the secondary curse. I’ve tried to reach out to Kova, but I can’t feel him other than to see that there’s still someone connected to Lucia.”

Paris glanced at Misha. “If you had someone connected to Kova by blood, could you make a bloodstone to find him?”

Misha nodded. “Of course.”

“Who would you get?” Alistair asked. “He didn’t turn anyone in the court that I know of.”

“He didn’t, but he and Sasha were soldiers together before they joined the Auberon,” Paris said. “Sasha might know of someone. It’s worth a try.”

Alistair nodded grimly. “And it’s only a matter of time before Brigitte comes again,” he said.

Shoshanna smiled and said, “I’m working on a way to help her and Julian. But I don’t want to bring it up to him until I’ve got something concrete.”

“If anyone can do it, it’s you,” Alistair said proudly.

She smiled and leaned against him. “You have to say that.”

“I do not,” he said indignantly. “I say it because it’s true.”

She chuckled and kissed his cheek, then hopped off the stool. “Come help me get the food ready,” she said.

“Me?” Alistair asked.

“All of you. I may be the only woman and human in this house, but that does not make me your maid,” she said primly.

“I would never presume such a thing,” Paris said, following her orders to find a serving platter.

After all the turmoil and bloodshed of the last few months, it was strangely healing to do something so mundane as set out big serving platters and arrange freshly heated hors d’oeuvres in an artistic fashion to Shoshanna’s specifications. They brought wine from the cellar and arranged glasses in pretty formations, then split up to find Magneto, the mischievous cat who was not permitted to go outside and had to be confined to his own bedroom before the party began.

Alistair caught Paris’s arm before he could go upstairs to join the hunt with Misha. His former paramour quietly led him into the library and closed the door. Perching on the edge of a polished table, Alistair stared up at him and said, “Are we okay?”

“How do you mean?” Paris asked.

“Our history, I just…” Alistair sighed. “I’m sorry that I treated you the way I did when I was cursed.”

Paris shook his head. “That was a long time ago.”

“Still, it was wrong,” he said. “You tried to love me, and I pushed you away so hard that I broke something between us. And I have regretted it for longer than I can say. Seeing you with Misha brings back memories…some lovely, and some full of shame.”

His heart ached. “I forgive you. And I’m sorry that I couldn’t see past my own hurt to help you when you needed me,” he said, taking Alistair’s hand and kissing it gently. They were both different men now; Alistair was far more humble than he had ever been, content to glow in Shoshanna’s presence rather than shine for everyone to stare at. And Paris was far less vain and easily wounded, resting more comfortably each day in Misha’s stone-steady love.

Alistair pulled him in for a tight embrace. “I’m happy that you’re happy,” he said quietly.

“You too,” he murmured. He pulled away and gently kissed Alistair’s brow. “You will always be one of the most important people in my life, and I love you deeply.”

Alistair’s eyes shone, and he nodded. “You too.” Then he startled and laughed. “Do you hear that?”

Paris cocked his head and heard Shoshanna scolding, “He doesn’t have treats for you! Get off of him!”

“That cat,” Alistair muttered.

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