Page 41 of Heart of a Dire Wolf
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Skyla crawled across the huge bed to where her supremely sexy napping mate sprawled on top of the covers and scattered pillows. He smelled so good she had to detour to plant a few kisses on his stomach and chest before nudging him.
“Give me ten minutes,” he murmured sleepily.
She laughed. “Come on, Sir Tiger.” She rubbed his belly like he was a dog. “Tea awaits.”
They’d allowed themselves a week of pretending anything outside Tinsel’s astonishing bed and breakfast was just a dream. Tomorrow, they’d rejoin the real world.
Skyla had only cheated a little, emailing Ivy to let her know they were safe, and to pay her for the car. Okay, she’d also checked the news and net daily for anything that might relate to the auction house, with no luck. Both the Shifter Tribunal and Wizard Imperium strongly suggested that she, Nic, and Kotoyeesinay stay out of it. The Tribunal had issued a blanket warning to all their communities to stay away from the US west coast entirely. She hoped that meant they were stepping in, not just covering up.
The rest of her time had been spent in the apartment-sized room and luxury bath, strengthening the mate bond and falling more in love with Nic each day. In between sleep and the best sex of her life, she taught him how to shift and keep his clothes. Their mating had freed up some of his natural magic, so he didn’t need a charm like the Fort LeBlanc shifters. He had so far been unsuccessful in teaching her how to nap.
They dressed and went downstairs to the parlor, where Tinsel presided over an afternoon smorgasbord of sandwiches, pastries, and hot drinks. The large, exuberant family of human tourists had left that morning, meaning she and Nic were the only guests until the next day. As they walked down the stairs, Skyla heard the lively, high-pitched chatter of the small but powerful lowland fairies as they cleaned and straightened the rooms.
The parlor continued the theme of the house, which leaned heavily toward winter holiday folk art and furniture. Tinsel beamed as she handed them each a cup of tea. “It’s going to snow tonight.”
“Feels like it.” Nic grinned as he filled a snowflake-patterned china plate. He and their hostess had been looking forward to it all week. Skyla planned to curl up with a blanket and a book. Even her cold-loving dire wolf wasn’t thrilled about more snow anytime soon.
She sat in an ornately carved chair made more comfortable by the addition of pillows. “We’ve been thinking about Fort LeBlanc. We’d like your input on some ideas, because you know the personalities involved.”
“We polar fairies are full of opinions, dear.” Tinsel smiled crookedly. “Whether they’re useful opinions is up for debate.”
Nic chuckled. “We’ll take our chances.” He moved a delicate round table to put between Skyla’s chair and his own, then set the plate of goodies on it for them to share. “First, I believe the town is sitting on a rich kimberlite sill, and maybe some pipes. I’d have to take samples to be sure.”
“Kimberlite?” asked Tinsel. Skyla felt better that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what he was talking about.
“The source of diamonds and peridots, at the least.” He selected a sausage roll from the plate. “I don’t know how elven glades work, so mining might not be an option, but they should know what they have. They don’t want others finding it first.”
“That would be a disaster,” agreed Tinsel.
Skyla nodded. “That’s what we thought. Do you think they’ll want to stay part of the world this time, or are they going to close their borders again?”
Tinsel sipped her iced tea. “Depends on what lesson they took from reading your stories of the Fort LeBlanc spirits.” She’d arranged for enough copies to be made for the whole town. “While they were sleeping, Ortesse dreamed about the future, so she’ll vote to stay open. The elves could go either way, each for their own reasons.” She sighed. “My brother will probably think they just need bigger walls.”
Nic leaned forward. “If you don’t mind talking about it, why is he mad at you?”
“Centuries of family drama.” Tinsel smiled wryly. “Polar fairy intertribal politics make the Renaissance Borgias and the Medici look like middle school.”
“So, here’s my dilemma,” said Skyla. “I think their isolationism nearly killed them. If they close up again, the former citizens, like Verna and Tad, and the dryad Moss, and the forest giants, won’t stay. It’ll break the spirits’ hearts.” She set her cup aside. “I can’t tell the elders what to do, but I don’t want to fix their illusion just so they can hide again.”
Tinsel was silent for several long moments. “They’d have to keep it open if you lived there.”
Skyla blinked. “Why?”
“The alliance treaty between Fort LeBlanc and Kotoyeesinay says citizens must be free to come and go.” Tinsel pointed to Nic. “He became a Kotoyeesinay citizen when the council granted him sanctuary. You’re now his mate, so you’re a citizen, too. We can formalize it.”
“Oh,” said Skyla. She had to admit Fort LeBlanc had grown on her. She’d mated with Nic there and befriended the town spirits. And the town’s true architecture was fantastic. On the other hand, she needed a teaching job at a magical college so she could do the follow-on research from her doctoral project, and politics made Nic bitey. Her too, if she was being honest. “We’ll have to talk about that.”
“In the meantime,” said Nic, “should the news about the kimberlite come from someone besides me? They might think I’m conning them, or the first in line to steal it.”
Tinsel shook her head. “It should come from an expert. Ortesse will vouch for you. Truth-seeing is one of her gifts.”
“Okay, I’ll write a report for them.” Nic picked up a tiny sandwich. Skyla took the last pastry-and-sausage roll and popped it into her mouth. She’d like to learn how to make them if she ever had a kitchen again.
Tinsel smiled. “I know you’ll be traveling to Quebec for the next few weeks, but you’ll always have a room here if you need it.”
Skyla smiled back. “Thank you. And for arranging the portals. And for the long-term birth control charms. We owe you a lot.”
