Page 77 of The Silver Spider
“You will learn over time,” her Lord said quietly, “what it means. This was not done to punish you, Serephone. We are all slaves to our laws.”
She followed his gaze and turned. Amnan was at her back, a resigned look on his face.
“I knew you were going to do something mad,” he said, then looked at Dawnthorne. “I won’t oath myself to you. But I can oath myself to her. Is that enough?”
The fae Lord nodded. “It will raise her status, for one so young in the house to have her own servant.”
Serephone knew Dawnthorne used those words just to be annoying. “Are you sure?” she asked Amnan. “You don’t have to. You don’t—”
He placed a finger over her lip. “Serephone. Give me a little credit to make the same decision, I just allowed you to make.”
She glared at him, talking around the finger. “Allowed?”
Her mother snorted.
“Let’s seal it with a kiss,” her dragon said, lowering his head to take her lips.
It was the same, and not the same. The bond was easier this time, and harder because the binding was permanent. Some instinct aided her, a knowledge born of the house oath she’d just, herself, experienced. He was in her mind, and she realized that if she thought of him, he would hear her, and come.
They would have to navigate this new thing carefully, if their relationship would survive, and grow. She didn’t want to be his master. She just wanted to be his, when she was ready.
Serephone pulled away and Amnan’s eyes glittered, dragon bright.
“Well done,” Etienne said. “She has a knack for it. Maybe she will be a Lord.”
Dawnthorne snorted.
* * *
“Areyou going to mate him?” Kailigh asked quietly.
They’d retired to the dining room for brunch, and it seemed the entire household joined them. Her mother drew her aside for a few moments’ conversation while everyone was eating and talking.
Serephone hesitated. “I just want to be lovers for now.”
“He’s a good man.” Kailigh’s voice was neutral. “He’ll be a good father, I think. Your children will never go hungry. You’ll need an ally here.”
“I know, Mother.” And she knew her mother, as nonchalant as she appeared, was anxious to see all her daughters settled with strong partners. “I think it’s a little unwise to make the first man I sleep with my husband?”
Kailigh sighed. “Just don’t break his heart. Do you love him?”
She hesitated. “I think so. If I can love anyone.”
Amnan glanced over at them, quirked an eyebrow at Serephone as if he assumed he was the topic of conversation. She smiled faintly in return. He said something to Maddugh and then walked over, sliding an arm around her waist and placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Well? What now, sweet? Since you have us here in the Dome, what adventures are we going to be up to?”
“I still have a job, you know. I can keep you in style.”
He blinked, then grinned. “You made a joke. See, I’ll win her heart. If I can get the woman cracking jokes, it’s only a matter of time.”
Kailigh laughed and Serephone rolled her eyes. “Don’t take me for granted, though. Maybe I want a long courtship. Make sure you won’t go to sleep on me, if we’re mated.”
“Any man foolish enough to go to sleep on you would wake up with one ball and his hair infested with spiders.”
Exactly.
Serephone slid her arm around his waist. He was a keeper, if any man was. But there was no need to rush. They had years—decades—ahead of them.
