Page 96 of Claimed By the Fae Lord

The idea of it punctured my ribs and burrowed into my lungs. "I don't know.”

“Then let me put it another way. A more important consideration, if you will.” His voice now carried a weight that threatened to pin me to my seat. "Can you be happy without her?"

"No." The word was out before the thought fully formed, as instinctive as scratching an itch.

"No," I repeated with a certainty that anchored itself deep within my bones. “I cannot.”

My father's eyes were unbending. Knowing and expectant, like when he was about to give an order he expected to be followed. "Then I suggest you do something about it, son.”

I blinked, taken aback by the simplicity of the solution that had evaded my muddled thoughts. But before I could respond, Gunnar's chuckle sliced through the tension.

"Or just throw her over your shoulder and run off into the sunset. That always works in the tales." A smirk played on his lips.

"And how did that work out for you and the blood fae?" I couldn’t resist throwing his own female troubles back at him.

Father turned those knowing orbs on my brother. "I’m looking forward to that tale."

Gunnar flipped me off playfully, but his eyes sparkled with the shared jest.

"Let's adjourn," Father finally declared, pushing away from the desk with a grunt. The three of us stood, the heavy chairs scraping against the floor.

"Got a plan then, Liam?" Gunnar asked, his gaze piercing me with a mix of challenge and curiosity.

"Always. But it doesn't mean it's a good one."

"Ah, my sons," Brahm laughed deeply, slapping me on the back with a force that nearly staggered me. "You bring me great joy. You are both idiots when it comes to females, but, by the gods, I find it immensely entertaining."

I shook my head with mock exasperation, yet somewhere beneath it all, warmth spread through me at the bond we shared. Something I’d taken for granted, that I couldn’t fathom never having experienced.

Like Raina hadn’t. She’d been alone. For so long she had been alone.

"Father, your own run-ins with the fairer sex wasn't exactly a ballad of triumph," Gunnar reminded, the words rolling off his tongue as my brother and I united in rare accord, our eyes glinting with mischief.

"You think I don't know? Your mother made sure to embroider those tales right inside your skulls." He paused, shaking his head with a mixture of fondness and resignation.

"She was trying to keep you two from being idiots, as your father had been. When she returns from her trip to the Otherland, I look forward to telling her it didn't work."

With that, we trudged out of the study, tired and aching from the battle. I went to the guest house and showered in the room assigned to Raina, collapsing onto the bed, surrounded by her scent.

I had a plan, but my flower needed rest, and so did I. I’d give us both this night and not a minute more.

The pounding on the door dragged me from the depths of sleep. I rolled out of bed, muscles protesting the sudden movement, and stalked toward the sound.

More knocking.

“Sir?” a young male spoke through the door, his voice edged with urgency.

I swung it open, startling him.

“Yes?”

"Drótinn Brahm summons you to his study for a meeting. He said to tell you … that I am to tell you …”

“Out with it,” I didn’t mean to be gruff but I was half asleep.

“Sir, he says to move your ass or he’s starting without you.”

Of course he did. “Understood. Thank you."

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