Page 33 of The Poison of the Earth
She looks at me for a long moment before shaking her head silently. I can almost see the gears turning in her head.
“Just tell me, sweetheart. Tell me everything. Naught will scare me away.”
The skeptical look on her face slowly fades. She slides closer to the bars and ever so slowly holds out her hand. I take it gently, elated as I feel the magic dance upon my skin.
“Why do I feel as if I can trust you, Lonan?” Her voice is small, afraid in a way I’ve never heard before.
“Because—” I stop myself, shaking my head. “Because you can,” I smile, winningly.
Her eyebrows draw together and I shift her hand in mine.
She takes a deep breath and whispers, so quietly I barely hear, “I don’t want protection.” She licks her lips. “I want revenge. It’s all I’ve wanted since I escaped decades ago.”
Something sparks inside me at those words. Love and desire and need and sorrow. I squeeze her hand before gently pulling mine out. Her eyes are so sad and confused that they cause me to quicken my steps to the keys. I hurry to unlock her door and slowly, very slowly, walk inside her cell. I stop, not touching her, and kneel down next to her. I hold my arms out, expecting her to hop into them.
Instead, she eyes me evenly, totally still. “You’ll kill him.” It’s not a question.
“That has been my only goal for years, Ollie.”
“And...” her eyes study mine. “You’ll put me in his place.”
I nod, slowly. “Of course, my little Queen. And I’ll be at your side. Myspirit mate. I will stand with you against the entirety of Faery if need be.”
Chapter Twelve
Oleander
His Queen? His spirit mate?
Lonan’s patient look of adoration is enough to soften even my hard heart. A spirit mate. I cannot believe it, yet I can. The way I’m drawn to him, wanting to tell him my secrets, the energy that skims over my flesh when we touch.
But the idea of such a... permanent bond. My stomach clenches. It had taken me years to get right with the fact that amarriagewas likely needed to achieve my goals. And yet, I do feel unreasonably drawn to him, feel idiotically safe with him.
The game has changed, but I’m still playing–and winning–it. I’m not fool enough to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Lonan kneels near me, waiting, still and persistent, arms out to me. I try to muster a glare but something inside me is warring.Wouldn’t it be nice to actually be able to trust and rely on the man I’ve planned to marry for near a decade?
My body simply can’t take it any more: I crawl into his arms. It feels so good. So wrong, but so good.
I lean my head against his strong chest. A rogue thought of him shirtless hits me and I push it away.
My stomach rumbles just as I relax into Lonan further.
“Are you hungry, sweetheart?” He asks. A pause, “Was dinner brought to you?”
I shake my head into his body.Now that I’ve given up and allowed this, it feels wonderful, a traitorous part of me thinks.
He growls, and it’s almost as if I can feel his energy shift to angry and frustrated and worried.How peculiar.
“Come on, then, up we go,” Lonan says soothingly as he helps me to my feet.
A thought hits me, “Oh, I started crumpets yesterday, I hope Cook finished them.”
Lonan chuckles and pulls me into his body but I put a hand upon his chest, stopping my motion. He blinks but takes it in stride. “You don’t need to work in the kitchen anymore.”
I tilt my head. “I like it. I obviously need to be privy to a lot more of the details around here, and included in planning meetings, but when I have time, I’ll be happy to help Cook.” A another thought strikes me. “Why does Lilac mistrust me? Is she your lover?”
Lonan laughs long and hard at that. By the time he stops, I’m even smiling a bit, his amusement pleasing something inside me.
