Page 34 of Power of Five
21
Leralynn
“Cats and dogs?” I say, bending down to rescue the dishes while Autumn shoos the animals from the room and the remaining males right the fallen table. “Shouldn’t they be above such things?”
“They are males,” says Autumn. “There is nothing they are above.”
“When fae change to animal form, the transformation isn’t superficial,” River explains. “How much of the fae remains varies with each being. Tye’s tiger has almost no fae awareness; that is why he doesn’t normally shift.”
“Is that why Shade stayed a wolf for so long after Kai’s death?” I ask.
“The wolf lives in the now,” says Coal quietly. “It was easier to bear the loss.”
We refill our plates in silence, the platter of meat having miraculously survived the fall. “So what happens now?” I ask finally, somehow certain that the others know I’m not talking about food. My breath stills, a stupid part of me wondering if perhaps River isn’t as eager to cut me out of the quint now. A stupid, vanity-filled wish. As nice as the dinner has been, as warm as it feels, we are still bound for the Citadel. And no matter what else, there is one opinion River has never expressed any ambiguity about: Our bond is temporary and will be severed shortly and permanently.
“Now we wait for that elder that Autumn’s patrol spotted riding this way,” says River, shooting Autumn a glance for confirmation. “I imagine we have at least until morning.”
I’m pleasantlyfull when I return to my room after dinner—proud of myself for having found the way back on my own—and not the least bit surprised to find Shade already curled up in the middle of my bed. Apparently, the cat and dog have either sorted out their differences or chased each other into opposite corners of the palace.
Dropping myself onto the bed, I start pulling off my shoes, the storm of information still raging through my thoughts. Just days ago, my greatest worries were whether Mimi would snatch me a roll from the kitchen and whether I could stay free of Zake’s lust and rancor. Now there are immortals and the Gloom, magic and Mors, the bond I can no longer imagine living without and yet am destined to have broken. I’ve just finished removing my second slipper and am contemplating whether trying to shove Shade over is worth the effort when a knock at the door precedes Tye swaggering into the room.
“He gets to sleep here?” Tye asks, his green eyes filled with immortal indignation. “How is that fair?”
“It isn’t about fair, kitten,” I say. “It’s about me not being able to move two hundred pounds of wolf.”
“Watch and learn,” Tye instructs primly, grabbing a pitcher of water from beside the washbasin and, before I can stop him, dousing Shade with it.
Shade is off the bed in the blink of an eye, growling and shaking himself as the hackles rise on the back of his neck. Unperturbed, Tye stretches himself along my bed in the spot Shade occupied and grins lazily. “Problem one solved, bonny lass,” he says with a self-satisfied yawn. “Now, tell us whether River is back in your good graces. He’s a miserable prick when he’s brooding.”
River’s brooding?I frown, backing away from Shade, who is still shaking water from his fur. The motion apparently brings me too close to my bed, because suddenly I feel Tye’s arms snatch me up from the floor.
Leaning his back against the headboard, Tye pulls me onto his lap and sighs with contentment. “Well, Lilac Girl?” he prods.
“Let me go.” I try and fail to wriggle free. “I’m sweaty. I need to bathe.”
Tye’s nose tickles a spot behind my ear, making my breath grow shallow. “I know,” he murmurs. “I like it.”
A flash of light has Shade changing back into his fae form, his large yellow eyes still shining with indignation as he pulls off his wet sweater and reclaims a space on my bed. Pressing his wide back against the headboard a few inches from Tye, Shade draws my feet onto his lap. I open my mouth to protest the manhandling, but Shade’s thumb presses into the arch of my foot, sending a wave of aching pleasure rippling over my skin.
My eyes widen and the small cocky smile touching the corners of Shade’s mouth says he knows exactly what he’s doing.
A trap, that’s what this is. With the first wave of pleasure calming, I’m ready to plead for more. I wiggle my toes hopefully, my whole foot the size of Shade’s wide hand. Stars, is being enormous a requirement for this quint’s males?
“River,” Tye cues, and Shade halts his touch, holding the next stroke of his fingers hostage pending my answer. “What did that wee bastard do, and would you like us to pommel him for it?”
I wrap my arms around myself. “River didn’t do anything,” I say honestly. “He is what he is. The immortal crown prince of Slait Court. And I am... what I am.”
“What you are, cub, is the beating heart of the second most powerful quint in Lunos,” Shade says quietly. He speaks less than Tye does, but his voice is rich enough to be its own caress. Shade’s fingers move again, somehow digging into the muscle fibers at just the right point to send a second pulse of bliss racing through my body.
My mind empties in spite of itself, a soft moan escaping my lips as I ache from yet another skillful stroke. Stars—and Shade is only rubbing myfeet.As if having heard my thoughts, Shade slides his hands up my shins, my knees, my thighs—
A soft, rumbling growl vibrates along my back, and Tye’s lips brush the sensitive inside of my ear. “Careful with those noises, Lilac Girl,” he purrs, the warm air caressing my skin. “The ideas they give me are getting more detailed by the heartbeat.”
“His. Fault,” I manage to say, pointing an accusing hand at Shade. I’ve seen attractive men before, but the honed bodies of these males are from another world, all sun-kissed skin and shifting muscle.
Shade chuckles softly, back at my feet now. His fingertips ride the length of my arches from toe to heel and back until I can’t help it and release a throaty moan.
Tye’s green eyes darken. “I warned you,” he says, his mouth shifting to cover mine and swallow the sound. His arms, gentle despite their corded muscle, envelop me, brushing along my bare shoulders before sliding across my dress-hugged abdomen.
