Page 55 of The Dark, Dead, Deep

None of them were the bejeweled and simpering undine who sat at my uncle’s feet and feasted and drank while they sent the young to the front lines.

It wouldn’t be a hardship to be mated to any princelings, except perhaps Cormac.

Belisasama’s ballsack—was I really considering it? Mating all four of them?

That was if I could put the betrayal and the murder behind me. It seemed that if they did intend to take me as their shíorghrá, they were doing a poor job of courtship.

“You know I don’t plan to marry until this war ends.” Shay picked up a piece of meat from his plate and studied it for a moment as if he needed an excuse to avoid eye contact. “You can tell Ilra that she should move on if she needs a husband before then.”

“Love is the very nature of the nymph.” Vidalia clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

“Nature is the love of the nymph,” Shay replied dryly, placing the meat back on his plate.

My stomach twisted with hunger. Much to my consternation, I hadn’t reached my magical majority, and I needed more food and sleep than a fully matured Sídhe.

Shay tilted his head and excused himself, pushing himself to stand. He sauntered around the fire and placed the plate of food on my lap. My hands reached out and gripped it just as my stomach gave a churning gurgle.

“What’s this for?” I demanded, frowning.

Shay rolled his eyes. “I’m not hungry,” he grunted, turning back to Vidalia.

“Well, I am.” Rainn leaned forward and reached for my plate.

Shay’s head snapped around, his teeth bared. They were sharp, with a predator’s fangs, and his pupils swallowed his eyes as he bared his teeth before shaking his head to clear it.

Rainn pulled his hand back and placed it over his lips. If I didn’t know better, I would say he was hiding a grin.

I picked up a piece of meat and took a bite, too ravenous to argue further. As I chewed thoughtfully, I searched for the drummers as the primal music clung to the air.

The heat of the fire painted a sheen of sweat on my previously chilled skin. I ate in silence and didn’t bother to offer any of my food to Tormalugh or Rainn, but neither one seemed to mind.

When my belly was full, and my eyelids began to droop, I woke with a start when my forehead met Tor’s shoulder.

“We should find somewhere to sleep.” Rainn’s silvery eyes flicked down to mine, even though he spoke to the kelpie.

“Aren’t we going to Tarsainn?” I said around a yawn, slipping forward as tiredness claimed my body.

Tormalugh gripped my arm to stop me from falling, and my hand fluttered to his chest. My entire body twitched with an awareness that was foreign to me. Though he only touched my arm, I felt that touch everywhere like a brand.

Too tired to even begin to process what that meant, I yawned again.

“Come on,” Tormalugh said, his husky voice impassive. “Let’s find a tent for the night.”

I hadn’t thought much about the sleeping arrangements when my exhaustion caught up to me. However, my eyes blinked open when a low keening moan washed through the still night. I was distinctly aware of the feel of the two warm bodies on either side of mine, a fur blanket slung over the three of us to keep us warm.

Rainn shifted in his sleep, and I froze as I waited for the sound again. A female, crying, screaming, or in some kind of distress. A giggle followed a moment later, and I realized that the sound was one of pleasure—a male voice joined her, its grown low and bestial.

With a frown, I pulled the covers up to my nose, my body tingling with an unfamiliar sensation as I listened to the sounds of two bodies colliding. I wondered what it would feel like. To have a man between my legs, thrusting as he planted himself inside me.

Rainn and Tormalugh’s body heat was impossible to ignore, reminding me of their presence. It would be easy to roll over and brush my hand over one of their biceps. To lean in and place a kiss on their sleep-parted lips.

I rubbed my thighs together as the wet and debaucherous sounds grew louder, and a disturbing thought occurred to me.

Was thatShay?

My heart strings plucked a discordant note, though I could not place the exact reason that the thought troubled me. I worried my lip between my teeth as I continued to listen. What, at first, had been a guilty but arousing song became something to turn my stomach.

Please don’t be Shay.I pressed my eyes closed and tried to block out the sounds.

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