Page 45 of Winter Queen
I turn and look at him in confusion. “Did you just read my mind?”
He frowns, just as confused. “No, you asked us a question.”
“I certainly didn’t. Did I?”
Frost shakes his head. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“But she spoke,” Crispin insists. “She asked about when she became so royal.”
“Nope, she didn’t.” Storm looks at us strangely. “Wyn, is your bond to us evolving?”
“I’ve been feeling more of your emotions through it,” I admit. “Does that mean we can finally communicate through it? More than just nudges, I mean. Actual talking.”
“Say something to me,” Frost demands, his eyes flashing in delight.
Storm is amazing,I think.
Crispin laughs heartily, but none of the others react.
Arc frowns and steps forward, putting one hand on my shoulder.
“Try again.”
What is he wearing under his kilt?
“Nothing,” he replies, his gaze turning smouldering. “It must be touch. Crisp and I touch her, and we can hear what she thinks.”
“Maybe that’s the first step,” Storm muses. “It could be that soon the bond allows us to talk over distances as well.”
I huff. “Would be nice if it allowed us to do that now already. It would give us a major advantage while you’re away chasing evil Goddesses.”
“Ya never know. It might develop overnight,” Arc says, but he doesn’t sound convinced.
For now, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Although I should be careful with what I think when I touch them. Oh my. What happens when we’re in bed together? Will they all hear my thoughts as well as my moans? That would be embarrassing…
“When will you leave?” I ask the guys to change the topic and they all look at Storm.
“Arc needs to rest,” he says determinedly, ignoring the Scots protests. “Then it’s at least a three-hour flight to the Western Gate. Once we arrive at Calanais, provided we encounter no more demons, we’ll drive to Stornoway, then take the private plane from there to somewhere near Castle Tioram – I need to check a map. If the closest airport is Oban, it’ll be at least two hours to drive to the castle. In short, it will take us some time to get there, and we don’t know how long we’ll be in the Demon Realms. Time flows differently there; we could be gone for days.”
“Maybe we should leave during the ball tonight,” Frost suggests. “If the Morrigan has spies in the Palace, they’ll be distracted.”
“Is that long enough for Arc to recuperate?”
I’m not asking the Scot directly, because I know he’d downplay his weaknesses. But I saw how exhausted he looked after he searched through the clone’s mind, and Storm is right, we need Arc at his strongest.
Before Arc can say something, Crispin steps forward and puts a hand on his arm.
“Yes,” he says after a moment. “He’ll be fine.”
Arc pushes the healer away and rubs his arm as if Crispin left a mark on it.
“I’m fine,” he grumbles. “But I concede that the ball will be a good distraction. Better get our supplies ready.”
“While you do that, I should inform the Queen,” I sigh. “I’m sure my mother would like to know what’s happening.”
“I’ll come with you,” Crispin announces. “I ought to check on her anyway.”
Storm nods, all business. “Good. I’ll choose some of our elite soldiers to accompany us to Tioram. We need to be stealthy, so not too many, but enough to have some backup.”
