Page 50 of Temple of Magic and Bone

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"Do you think we can trust him?" Elektra asked.

They were back at Vanth's dining table, piles of books and papers between them.

"I trust he wants to get out of his debt to me," Vanth replied, looking up from the sigil he was trying to decipher.

He was once again facing the unsettling feeling that he didn't know his mother at all. Some of the grimoires contained echoes of things she had taught him in the past, but then there were others that made his brain boggle. Vanth's magic had always come to him more intuitively. He learnedthe basics of the magic and then let his power and intuition guide him the rest of the way to understanding.

"I think this spell deals with using the fabric of the Veil, but it doesn't seem to say anything about mending it," Vanth said after a long silence.

Elektra tapped her pen against the page she had been working on. "Don't forget she had to summon Orcus for help in the end. What we are doing is hoping that your magic can figure out the rest without his input."

"It won't matter if we can't find Lazarus."

To do magic so big, the bastard had to be working on a ley line at the very least. Maybe Vanth should dig out his old ley line maps.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Elektra said, breaking his train of thought.

Vanth leaned back and rubbed his eyes. They had been at it for hours, and his eyes were beginning to itch.

"Anytime, Elektra," he said when he realized she was waiting for him.

"Do you worry about meeting your father?"

Vanth didn't have to think too hard about an answer. "No. Just because his absence has now been explained, it doesn't change anything. My mother raised me. He donated the sperm. I don't give a shit if he finds me disappointing or not. Other people's opinions have never really mattered to me. If he wants to build a relationship with me, I will definitely give it a go. I'm not about to forget he's a god. They don't tend to involve themselves with mortals unless it's to fuck with them. All I want from him is to heal my mother."

Elektra got up and refilled her glass of water. "I know you say it doesn't matter to you, but I think Orcus would be crazy not to be proud of you. You are a good person, Vanth. No matter how much you hide it."

Vanth might not care what anyone thought, but her praise still made him blush like an idiot. "What about you? Do you miss your family or living at the Celestial Court?"

"Not even a little bit. The temple never kept us captive. I could have visited, but I never wanted to," Elektra replied.

"I suppose a princess like you would have been married off and not here with me to protect you from eager fae boys," Vanth teased.

Elektra raised a red brow. "Oh? And what are you?"

"Halfies don't count."

Elektra finished her water. "And why is that?"

"We aren't possessive dick bags for a start."You liar, Tarael Vanth.

"Ah, huh. So what you are saying is that after all this, you won't care if I go and date someone else?"

Vanth forced his mouth to work. "I'm not your boss, princess." He grinned, and her cheeks turned pink. "Even if you like that sometimes. But just so you know, if you do choose someone else and they hurt you, I'll turn them into a ghoul and make them serve you for all eternity."

Elektra moved to his side of the table and ran her hands through his hair. "That's so fucking sexy."

She kissed him, and Vanth pulled her into his lap. He didn't mention he would fight for her, that he would turn himself inside out to be good enough for her and to keep her right there in his arms.

Elektra's lips skimmed his jaw and caressed the scars on his ear. "Take me to bed, Tarael."

Vanth didn't need to be asked twice. He scooped Elektra up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. "That mating cycle giving you a hard time again, princess?" he asked between kisses.

Elektra admitted, "I don't know if it's the cycle or just you. I've wanted you all day."

Vanth groaned, intoxicated by her words. "You've been needing my attention and didn't say anything. Were you wet?"

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