Page 16 of Randall
Darvon gritted his teeth, his gaze darting toward the river they traveled alongside. He barely held back a shout of frustration. “We have to hurry.”
“I know.”
He gestured wildly at the horses. “Give them their head. They can run.”
“No. This pace is slower, but they’ll take us all the way. If they run, we’ll have to rest them more frequently, or worse, we’ll have to switch them out, which will take time, especially if a new team isn’t available.”
Darvon huffed and slumped against the wooden backboard. He pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders and mused on the problem. There had to be some way of speeding their journey. “I could use my magick.”
“So could I, but that would draw attention to us. Let’s not be foolish.”
“Are you calling me a fool! How dare you?” Darvon fumed, turning away from his mate. “We used magick in the capital. How is this any different?”
Randall placed his hand on Darvon’s leg, curling his fingers into a fist. His nails scraped the woolen fabric of Darvon’s cloak. When he spoke, his voice was so low that Darvon had to strain to hear him. “You did not see the man behind you. I feared losing you before we could even meet.”
Randall’s eyes closed, squeezing and tightening the muscles of his forehead and cheeks, and Darvon saw how much Randall cared for him already. It was a heady feeling; enough that he had to grit his teeth and draw in a slow breath to stop himself from gasping.
Darvon’s father showed him plenty of affection; his mother, the queen of the Fae, offered quiet platitudes. Ever since Jarrahhad taken over as their mother’s ambassador, he had given Darvon only tenuous camaraderie whenever they faced their parents. It hadn’t always been like that, and Darvon only had himself to blame.
He covered Randall’s hand. “You care about me already?”
Gods, why did he have to sound needy, like some toddler seeking Mommy’s affection? He was a grown man of three hundred years. He didn’t need reassurance, but he still watched Randall like a hawk eyes its prey.
In answer, Randall turned his hand over, slotting their fingers together. “From the moment I had my first vision of you this morning.”
“This morning?” Darvon quickly brought his brows down from where they’d risen high on his forehead in surprise and narrowed his gaze. “You’ve only known about me since this morning?”
Randall sighed. “By your question, I’m assuming you had some foreknowledge of me… and yet you never came.”
Darvon sagged. “Some, but only recently. When Jarrah arrived home a month ago, I had my first feeling that I needed to travel east toward Onamond. No, that’s not exactly right. It wasn’t the first time, but it was the strongest I’d ever felt, and I knew I needed to leave our lands. I implored Jarrah to take me with him when he left again, and he agreed. As you heard, he’d already spoken to our mother.”
“Your mother… the Queen of the Fae?”
“Yes, and he received her permission to bring me, but then, one, didn’t tell me, and two, left without telling me. Originally, I hadn’t planned to bring Sylvan with me, but it seems Fate had a hand in that. Fate seems to be working overtime. Tell me about my brother’s mates.”
Randall chuckled. “So it seems. I can’t, unfortunately, tell you much about them. Things have been… chaotic in the capitalsince the moment they arrived. I haven’t had a moment where I could relax, too busy scrying for danger, and once I learned of our mate…”
“I wish…” Darvon shifted closer to Randall and wrapped his other hand around his mate’s arm. “I wish I’d known sooner. Perhaps I could have prevented—”
“Doubtful, and I don’t mean that to be disparaging of your power. Your aura is magnificent. We will be a formidable pair when the time comes.”
“Apart we fall, together we rise?”
Randall tilted his head to look at him with a softness Darvon rarely had directed his way, except by his father. “Something like that. My visions and yours have shown that it will take all of us.”
“That one I had when I grabbed Sylvan?” There had been Fae, vampires, wolves, and a dragon, with Randall, Darvon, and Sylvan in the center of it all.
“Yes.”
“Which do you think is Sylvan’s mate? If I had to pick, I’d say one of vampires, but only because I know my friend.” Darvon lowered his voice conspiratorially. “He has fantasies.”
Randall laughed outright at that, his whole body shaking, such that Darvon had to let go. “Fae blood would boost a vampire’s power. But enough talking. I want you to close your eyes and rest.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll need to rest soon as well. Sleep now, and I’ll wake you in a few hours.” Randall put his arm around Darvon’s back and urged him to lie down, to use his thigh as a pillow.
“Fine,” Darvon grumbled, feeling the long travel and excitement of the night catching up with him now that he allowed himself to relax. He tucked himself into a ball and pulled his cloak securely around him. “Don’t forget to wake me,” he murmured, curling his fingers around Randall’s thigh as hedrew in the scents of his mate, cataloging each one: linen, wool, ground stone, rich soil…
