Page 233 of Primal Bonds

“What can you offer that he doesn’t already have?”

Fane’s stomach sank. “I don’t know, but I’ll think of something. I have to.”

A knock sounded on the door. Fane opened it to find three tall, stern-faced warriors—a woman and two men. The woman informed Fane that they’d been sent to escort him to the north tower.

Fane nodded. It was unnecessary, and the king knew it. He’d sent the warriors as a warning. “I’ll be right out.” They tried to object but he repeated, “I’ll be right out,” and shut the door in their faces.

He sat on the chair and put on his shoes and socks.

Arne rose to his feet. “I’m coming, too.”

“Yeah?” Fane glanced up, surprised. He’d expected his dad to make some excuse and then get the hell out of there. “You sure?”

Arne shrugged. “I’ve known the king a lot longer than you. Who knows? I might be able to help. And besides, he always sets a good table.”

Chapter 31

Jewel led Marjani to a staircase of brushed steel and sparkling white granite that wound around the outside of Sindre’s tower. When they reached the second floor, they crossed a glass skyway to a three-story wing and then continued up to the top floor.

“Here we are.” Jewel ushered her into a large, airy apartment with sky-colored walls and long, narrow windows with a view of the windswept tundra.

The living room alone was three times the size of Fane’s apartment. A couch and three chairs in an embroidered silver fabric were grouped around a glass-and-wood coffee table. Hanging from the ceiling were three ethereal silver chandeliers lit with flickering fae lights, and several thick, fleecy white rugs were scattered across the polished parquet floors.

Marjani’s mouth slackened. She’d never been in a place half so gorgeous. “So this is how the other half lives.”

Jewel gave a small smile and indicated a bedroom. “The bath’s in here.” She directed Marjani past a round pedestal bed into a bathroom with a pink marble bathtub the size of a small pool. Lush ferns, English ivy, and other green plants spilled from niches in the pink-and-beige tile, and the fixtures appeared to be solid gold.

Marjani’s brows climbed. “I thought I was supposed to be the king’s prisoner.”

Their eyes met. “Oh, you are,” the other woman said. “Don’t mistake it for a moment. Would you like help with your clothes?”

It took Marjani a second to understand that the other woman was offering to help her undress. She gave a firm shake of her head. “No, thanks. I’ve got it.”

“As you wish.” Jewel crossed to the pink marble tub and turned on the faucets before sprinkling a sweet-smelling bath salt into the steaming water. “There are the towels.” She indicated the thick white towels draped over a heated rack. “Help yourself to anything else you see. I’ll be back in a few minutes with your tea.”

“No tea for me. But I’d like a glass of water if you have it.”

“As you wish.” Going to a small cooling unit in the wall, Jewel removed a bottle of a fancy Icelandic water and poured it into a crystal glass before handing it to Marjani.

“Thank you.” She took a sip and then inhaled slowly.

Even this close, the woman didn’t have a scent. And there was that big, black-haired bodyguard who looked so familiar. Now that Marjani thought about it, he reminded her of Dion do Rio, the Rock Run River Fada alpha.

She narrowed her eyes. “Who are you, really?”

The other woman busied herself shutting the taps. “The fae call me Jewel.”

“Which tells me nothing. You know I’m a fada, right?”

“I do.” Jewel straightened. “From the Baltimore clan, I’m thinking.”

Their eyes met. Marjani knew she should mind her own business, but something niggled at her. “You’re a fada, too, aren’t you?” And some kind of water fada, since she didn’t wear a quartz.

Jewel tilted her head in assent.

“And that big bodyguard, he’s your mate?”

The other woman’s cobalt eyes flickered, telling Marjani she’d guessed correctly. But all Jewel said was, “Your bath is ready. Will you be wanting anything more?”

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