Page 75 of The Silver Spider
Chapter 25
Their parents wentto their rooms after everyone had eaten. Serephone thought about sleep, and baths, and sighed. There was no way she was getting into clean sheets dirty. She opted for a quick wash, telling Amnan to stay put. She didn’t want water shenanigans, she wanted to get clean and then relax. She was still shaky, understandably, from the day’s events and needed a few minutes alone to think.
He obeyed, surprisingly, and when she was done, took his own quick bath. She was dozing on the bed, when his weight settled at her back and an arm draped over her waist.
“Go to sleep, sweet,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “I’ll keep watch.”
She woke in the middle of the night. Someone had opened a smaller window to let in an evening breeze. She walked to the bathroom and splashed water on her face, then checked her bandages to see the progress of her healing. During the final fight she hadn’t noticed the pain of the various blows to her body—or the tug of her wound reopening. She noticed the pain now. When she entered the bedroom again Amnan was at a small side table, pouring a glass of water. He approached, handing it to her.
“You didn’t drink much yesterday,” he said.
She sipped. There was a hint of citrus in the water, as if they’d soaked lemons in it. Lemons. Were there even lemon orchards left in the tattered remains of the continent? Trust the fae to have access.
“What do you think will happen today?” she asked.
He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her against his side. For once she didn’t flinch away, but relaxed against him. “I don’t trust the fae.”
Answer enough, she supposed.
“Dawnthorne will try and force you to take the oath. Animages are, historically, useful to certain machinations.”
“I’m not that strong, though.”
“We don’t really know how strong you are until you’ve been trained and tested. You’re half-fae, Sere. That is strong enough. Besides, you might not be fully adult yet. That changes things in how you would be expected to mature.”
“Etienne never said he was full-blooded fae.”
“No one ever said he wasn’t. He may have a human in his Line, enough to account for why he can pass. Or he may be using a glamour for some reason. What do we really know about him?”
Nothing. They knew nothing. But that was a problem for another time. “Anissa is fae.”
“See?”
“Do you think she’s alright?”
He nodded. “My father wouldn’t have said she would live, if he wasn’t certain. She’ll be fine.”
As they stood, the heat between them rose, a latent desire surfacing. Amnan lowered his head, brushing his lips against hers in a soft kiss. When she didn’t move away, it deepened, his tongue slipping into her mouth, hands sliding around her body to cup her buttocks. His cock hardened, hot and heavy against her stomach. And even though her body sparked, it wasn’t sex she needed right now.
Amnan pulled away, turning them both to guide them to the bed. “I want you more than I want air,” he said. “But I want you to sleep.”
She climbed into the bed, sliding under the sheets for good measure. “Are you okay with taking this thing slow?”
He settled next to her, brushing a hand over her hair. “We have all the time in the world, sweet.”
She rolled onto her side, back facing him, and stared at the wall. “I don’t think I can mate you, Amnan. You should be free. I’m not.”
“Let me worry about my freedom.”
* * *
Serephone didn’tappreciate Dawnthorne’s sense of theatrics. They met in Anissa’s room the following morning, as if he wanted to remind her of the sacrifice her sister had almost made. Their father was present, sitting in a chair in a corner as if he’d spent the night. Her sister was pale, but sitting up straight, Iona curled up at her side. Anissa glanced over as Serephone entered, Amnan and their parents at her side.
Her elder sister lifted a slim, pale arm, eyes on Maddugh. He hesitated, then approached. “How are you feeling, young lady?” he asked.
“It appears I am in your debt,” Anissa said.
“I know what it is to be owed a favor from a fae,” he said, voice dry. “I want nothing to do with it. You keep your debt. No hard feelings.”
