Page 137 of Primal Bonds

“What about Luc?” The lieutenant had loved Marjani for years. He’d waited patiently for her to heal, and these past few weeks, it had seemed Marjani was finally responding. She’d even danced with Luc last week at Jace and Evie’s mating.

She arched a delicate brow. “What about him?”

Adric swallowed. He didn’t hesitate to meddle in his clan members’ lives if he thought it would do some good, but when his sister went all soft and curious, he’d learned to tread with care. “I thought maybe you and him—”

“No. We’re friends, and that’s all we’ll ever be. And while we’re on the subject, what’s up with you and Rosana do Rio? Do you think I don’t know you slip off to Grace Harbor just on the chance you’ll run into her?”

Adric’s chest tightened. Rosana was his guilty secret, even if he rarely got close enough to talk to her, let alone kiss her again like that night by the river. “Leave it,” he growled.

Marjani’s jaw set. “Only if you leave off me and Luc.”

“Fine.” He returned his attention to his breakfast.

They ate in silence until Marjani said, “There’s something I’d like to know—why didn’t the prince stop Tyrus? He had to know Tyrus was targeting Jace and the clan. You’re not going to tell me a man like that doesn’t know what his only son is up to.”

“Think about it. Jace is one of the last people left who knows he had a half-blood son. Yeah, the prince kept Merry a secret for her own safety—but it benefits him, too. How long would he rule the night fae if they knew he had a child with a human? And worse, that his half-human son then mated with an earth fada—which means he’s got a granddaughter who’s part animal. You know how purebloods think.”

Feral blue streaked his sister’s eyes. “He’ll protect Merry. She’s family, and even a night fae feels that bond. But not Jace. It would be better for him if Jace was dead.”

“And me,” Adric returned with ruthless practicality. “If he knows anything about fada, he knows Jace wouldn’t keep a secret like that from his alpha.”

“Hell.” Marjani scraped a hand over her cropped black hair. “I had to kill Tyrus. He wouldn’t have stopped until Jace and Evie were both dead.”

He touched her hand. “You did right. He was going to use Jace’s quartz to force him to kill Merry—and then the protective spell would’ve killed Jace. You saved both their lives, and probably Evie’s too.”

“But the clan. I put all of you in danger. When the prince finds out—”

“He won’t,” Adric stated. “I obliterated every trace of Tyrus. And if he does, we’ll just have to deal with it. I’ll track him to his lair and take him out myself if I have to.”

She nodded, and he thought that was the end of it.

But in the morning she was gone. Her smartphone was turned off, but the link between them told Adric she was on her way north. To Iceland.

And he literally shook with the need to follow.

But he couldn’t, because Marjani was right, the clan needed him in Baltimore, especially with Langdon sniffing around. So he sent Luc instead—and prayed to all the gods that he’d made the right decision.

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