Page 66 of Killian
“Race you to the door?”
The memory of a cold mountain hung for a moment in the air, and Moira nearly yelled in happiness. She remembered him! She remembered the two of them together! But he was already twelve steps ahead. Moira growled and chased after him.
They undressed each other in the warm shadows of the bedroom, their hands tugging impatiently at clothes and their lips tasting each other with an eagerness that felt celebratory. Moira knew she didn’t remember their past, but she could feel their future stretching out in front of them. She loved Killian’s calm and thoughtful approach to life. She loved his steady and loyal heart. She knew that he could be the other half she needed.
By the time they crashed onto the bed, Moira was beyondthinking. Everything was physical need and breathless desire. The feeling of his hands on her body made her quake with pent-up need, releasing the knots of adrenaline and fear, hiding beneath her skin. She gasped with each thrust, clinging to him, urging him onward, trying to hold all of him all at once.
Only when they were finally still, wrapped in a tangle of sheets and each other’s arms did Moira wonder whether or not she should have asked Killian about his pack and why Lonnie had called them rejects. But she shook her head. It didn’t matter. They would get their memories back the next day and all of the questions would get answered. They had their entire future to figure everything out.
Episode 29
Leaving
Killian
Killian felt sad as they climbed the stairs out of the lush greenery and found themselves once more in a tunnel lined with potted ferns and red carpet. He knew that meant their journey was almost over. He’d appreciated that Augusta had decided that a full escort was impractical and unnecessary, and yes, they were quite grateful, but really it was time for everyone to get back to work. It was the kind of bracing antidote to the previous evening’s hero worship that Killian had needed. And he also appreciated that it was just Cynog and Ceallach who had come to see them off.
Killian was really looking forward to getting his memory back. He wanted more than anything to remember his life with Moira. And he couldn’t wait to see how their life together would unfold. Passionate, thoughtful, and kind, Moira was his defender, his lover, and his rock. He could not have asked for a better mate. Whatever disagreement they’d had regarding their packs had to have been resolved because they were together now. He shouldn’t have gotten so angry. He should have trusted her. But he suspected that trusting other wolves was something he’d be working on for a long time to come.
“Oh, dear,” tsked Cynog, fondling the leaves of the potted plants. “This is what I get for going off adventuring with you. These have not been watered properly at all.”
Moira chuckled and took Kilian’s hand, leaning against his shoulder.
“I’m so glad we met you Cynog,” she said.
“That makes me feel loved,” said Cynog. “Thank you for tellingme that. I’m also glad to have met you. It’s not every day you get to go adventuring without leaving home.”
“You will have to water them on the way back,” said Ceallach, pushing Cynog gently forward. “Silvana, the Ianua Librarian, is waiting for us.”
Cynog patted the leaves apologetically and moved forward.
“Yes, right. Silvana. She will clear up your memories and then you will go home.” Cynog sighed glumly. “You will come back, won’t you?”
“Yes,” said Killian. “I will want to see how level eight is getting on.”
“And I will want to see some of the other levels! We didn’t get to visit hardly any of those,” said Moira.
“That’s true! You will want to see level four with the waterfalls. I mean… who doesn’t love a waterfall that goes up?”
“And now I’m annoyed we didn’t get to see it,” exclaimed Moira, which made Ceallach grin.
“Well, there’s always next time,” said Cynog.
They followed Cynog through the impossibly tall bronze gates and into the stacks. They were lit now by the crystal lights and Killian saw librarians moving among the shelves.
“Thank you for warning us about the silverfish outbreak,” said Cynog. “They can just absolutely wreak havoc on a freshly forming level.”
“Well, blessings on the geckos,” said Moira.
“Blessings,” agreed Ceallach, unaware of Moira’s irony.
They arrived all too quickly at a hall that would have looked more like a regular library with open shelves and rolling ladders if it hadn’t been for the periodic bursts of undergrowth. Up two flights of stairs, they found themselves in a round room similar to the one they had woken up in. But this one had furniture—chairs and a wide oak table that was laid out with what looked to be magical paraphernalia.
“Oh, good, you’ve arrived.”
Silvana was a tall elven woman who wore her white hair in a series of interlocking and complicated braids. Her white robes were edged in gold, and she wore a heavy cloak pin embossed with a design of a door halfway open. She also had a slightly incongruous pair of half-moon spectacles perched on her nose. She was accompanied by two others who wore similar pins and looked thrilled to be in attendance.
“This isn’t the same door we came in at,” said Moira, putting her bag down on the table and scrutinizing the room.
