Page 172 of The Robin on the Oak Throne

“You can finish again after we complete our work,” he said with that dangerous smirk she so adored. Hetsked her. “You’re so distracted.”

She snorted. “I think you were the distracted one.”

“Well, when you fail to wear underwear…who can blame me?”

Kierse turned her attention back to the stage as the fifth act began—the triple wedding as the Fae depart from their mischief. All was right with the world. Kierse always got a little bored with the ending. She understood it, but she preferred the mischief. Perhaps that was in her nature.

“What do you know of the triskel training?”

“Little,” Graves admitted.

“But Lorcan, Niamh, and Saoirse were already bonded when you knew them before?”

He frowned as if he didn’t want to discuss this. She knew him well enough to know when he was hedging.

“I want to be prepared for what I’m walking into with Lorcan,” Kierse said. “I have to go back to that place on Tuesday for my training. And I don’t know what to expect.”

“They weren’t a triskel yet when I knew them. It didn’t begin until after Lorcan and Saoirse’s wedding,” Graves told her. “I was already cast out by then.”

Kierse frowned. “Because of Emilie?”

Graves said nothing as Theseus monologued. He didn’t speak again for several minutes. “In part because of whathappened with Emilie.”

She wanted him to say more. To explain what had happened. Lorcan had accused him of killing her. What led them on this path?

“They never wanted me to be a part of the Druids, though,” Graves said. “They would have found any reason.”

Kierse knew that feeling. It was one that had connected them from day one. It didn’t answer her questions, but she knew he would tell her when the time was right.

“If you had to guess, what do you think the training will be like?”

He released a soft breath. “I wouldn’t worry about the training. It’s going to be about connecting your powers and learning to use them together. You’ve already done it, and I suspect it will be like riding a bike. Especially with the full moon.”

“Yeah. I guess I’m not looking forward to whatever stunt Lorcan is going to pull when I see him next.”

“I’m sure he’ll try to convince you of the binding ceremony.”

Kierse furrowed her brow. “What binding ceremony?”

Graves jerked his head toward her. When he realized she knew nothing, he smiled, slow and smug. “Oh, look at him, keeping secrets.” He laughed softly. “Classic.”

“Uh…I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“The soulmate bond has to be bound in a ceremony to reach full potential,” Graves explained.

“A ceremony…like what? Like marriage? Or like a werewolf mating?”

“Both and neither,” Graves told her. “It’s a magic bond. All magical creatures have a magic signature. The Fae gaveDruids access to magic, and so Wisp and Druidic magic can be connected.”

“But you said both and neither. They’re connected to be more…powerful? For more powerful children?”

Graves eyes darkened. “I’m sure they believe that’s a benefit. Though wisps don’t have many children. A sacrifice of being long-lived.”

“So Lorcan has been planning to bind our magic together all this time and never mentioned it?”

“Probably,” he admitted.

“And you didn’t tell me why?”

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