Page 6 of Black Crown

Yes, that will not diminish with distance. That will be my condition. If you are to go to Zivost without me, I’d like to be allowed to check up on you whenever I want.

I dipped my head as I acquiesced.Understandable.Reasonable even.I accept your condition.

Actually, his stipulation might give me exactly what I was looking for, a way to get to know Tyrrik without his proximity turning me into a donkey who had headbutted the stable door too many times.

Tyrrik broke off our stare, and I sagged forward as though released from a physical grip.

“Ryn will accompany Lani to the forest, and I’ll act as a decoy. The duration of their visit is to be no longer than five days—"

My head shot up. Five days. That was more of a passing remark than a hard clause in our separation contract.

“—and if Ryn is in danger, I will leave this place immediately and get her.” He stared down Lani. “And burn down your forest.”

I gasped. “Tyrrik!”

Lani met his gaze. With an equally serious expression and tone, she answered, “Lord Drae, if the Phaetyn are so far gone as to put Ryn in any danger, you have my blessing to destroy them all.”

3

“You fear becoming dependent. You think dependency makes you weak.”

We sat in our room on his bedtalking. I was supposed to be packing, and when he offered to help, I’d hoped that was code for kissing. But no. Instead, Tyrrik did this. Talking.

I rolled my eyes at his comment. He used to call me out in a subtle way: a look, a veiled comment. Now, he just came right out with it. Ihatedit. I hated that he was right even more.

And why did we need to talk aboutmyfeelings—I’d much prefer to discuss a random stranger’s. “Aren’t men supposed to not like chinwags? I’m sure there’s a book on that. Why are you mushy inside?”

Tyrrik raised his brow. “I had a lot of time on my hands. I spent a fair amount of it studying humans’ behavior.”

“I’m not human,” I said, crossing my arms.

Tyrrik chuckled, a low sound that rumbled in his chest and bounced around in my head before settling in the deep cavity underneath the left side of my ribs, which I strongly suspected was my heart. Or possibly a terminal disease.

“You were raised to think like a human. Like a mortal. That is part of why you’re having a hard time with accepting the mate-bond even though you carry my mate mark on your neck.”

I froze, blinking at him before remembering to keep up my cool facade. There he went with the M-word again. And thedoubleM-word. I had a small onyx mark on the side of my neck where Tyrrik first touched me. It showed up after I’d accepted him as my mate a week ago when we saved Lani. Like I belonged to him.

“Think of our sister moons,” he said. “What is the purpose of our moons?”

Was this a lesson? I shrugged. “They light up the night.”

Surprisingly, Tyrrik nodded at my answer. “Does the brightness of one moon take away from the other?”

“No.” This was stupid. “I see where you’re going. But we’re not sisters, and we’re not moons.” He needed to get better examples if we were going to be a M-thing.

“You’re right; we’re Drae, and we are mates. Being mates does not make either of us less than we were. It just is.”

Ouch. The cavity under my ribs panged again. I thought I’d been doing the whole mate thing pretty well. At least well enough that Tyrrik didn’t suspect my lingering fears. Clearly, I’d failed.

His face softened. “When you’re in Zivost, please keep yourself safe. It is painful to my heart and mind for us to be apart, but if this is what you need to appreciate what being a mate means, I will do it. For you, not because those pointy-eared idiots need a leader.”

That terminal disease spot in my chest pangedagain. Maybe there was something wrong with me. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I peered around the chamber I shared with Dyter and Tyrrik, hoping the Drae would break the heavy silence.

I wanted this; I needed the time and space away from Tyrrik, enough so that I knew what I felt for him wasn’t just attraction or instinct or the mate bond or whatever. I wanted my heart, my head, and my body to be on the same page becauseIchose it, not because of a black mark on my neck.

Deciding to grow a pair of potatoes, I forced my eyes to meet his. Tyrrik studied my face as though memorizing every curve, and then leaned forward, brushing his lips against mine. His scent swirled around me, smoke and pine, just long enough to make my head spin before he pulled away.

That’s it?I threw his way.I’m going away for days, and you’re going to give me a little peck? I thought you said I meant something to you.

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