Page 107 of Ulune's Daughter

“You can’t let fear rule you,” Jane says. “You have to face what frightens you.”

Kellan curls over me and I purr comfortingly. If I’d known what Kellan was doing, all those hours staring into Faery—if she’d only told someone what was consuming her—I’d have stood by her side and given her my strength. Now I give her what I can and silently promise her she’ll never face so much alone again.

Somethingdingsin the kitchen, startling us all. Carrie rises, giving Kellan’s shoulder a pat as she goes. “That’s the goulash. Big bowl for you.”

Kellan nods. “Thank you.”

Jane rises from the floor, patting Kellan’s knee as she goes. “Stay right there. We’ll eat informally tonight. You need comfort. Do you want a blanket?”

Kellan shakes her head as she pets me. “I have a living one. Whitey hasn’t left my side all this time. He’s been my little rock.”

Neither Naga responds, but I feel the censure in their silence. When they’ve worn my fur, they can judge me.

The women eat on the couch, facing the fire. There’s no more deep talk. No more prophesying. They talk quietly about the exhibit, intricacies of rune translation I don’t try to understand, and a little about Professor Wright’s odious attempts to steal my mate’s glory.

After several hours and many glasses of wine, Kellan begins to cry silently, her tears dripping into my fur.

I ache to hold her, to comfort her beyond my meager purr. Jane and Carrie move to either side of her and put their arms around her shoulders, but it’s not enough. She cries until her head nods. Jane takes her arm and steers her to the guest bedroom. I trail them and jump onto the bed to wait while Kellan uses the bathroom.

“Lawson.”

I jump and spin around. The Naga standing in the doorway narrows her dark eyes at me.

“Do a better job of taking care of her. She’s in a very uncertain, very fragile place,” Carrie says, before turning on her heel and walking away.

Fuck.

Disgruntled, I settle down on the bed, tucking my paws under my chest. I am not a schoolboy to be taken to task. The Naga doesn’t understand.

Except, I am a schoolboy. And perhaps I haven’t done well enough by my mate.

What should I have done? Revealed myself? No matter how gently I break it to her that I’m her cat, Kellan will be hurt. This isn’t the time to pile more pain on my mate. And what if she enforces her teacher-student rule? Will she push me out of her life until I graduate? She needs me by her side, not forced away by some artificial, academic rule. I couldn’t stand not to be with her. Not now that she’s seen me. I won’t.

Jane and Kellan emerge from the bathroom. They hug before Jane helps Kellan under the covers. My mate’s eyes are so puffy I’m surprised she can see out of them. She relaxes onto the pillow with a sigh. I wriggle my way up the bed until I’m tucked against her chest. She pulls the covers over me. I purr until her breathing is deep and even.

Jane, who has lingered on the edge of the bed until my mate’s fallen asleep, reaches out and strokes Kellan’s hair.

“Carrie and I can’t have children,” Jane says softly. “It’s forbidden. Kellan’s like a daughter to us. Be kinder to her.”

The Naga rises and leaves silently, closing the door behind her.

As soon as she’s gone, I stretch into my skin and gather my mate to me. She cuddles fiercely, seeking more of my touch, my skin, my strength, than she has in nearly a fortnight. My body rouses, readying. But she doesn’t mount me. She nuzzles into my neck, breathing in my scent, and relaxes, warm and heavy against my side.

“Forgive me, my mate,” I whisper into her hair. “Forgive me for failing you. I’ll take better care of you, I promise.”

She doesn’t respond, already deep in the land of dreams. If the Court of Cold Mist haunts her tonight, there’s no sign of it. She sleeps quietly until the early hours of the morning when she rolls out of bed, fumbles her way to the bathroom, and relieves her bladder of the burden of too many glasses of wine.

When she returns from the bathroom, she sits on the edge of the bed. Having slipped back into my fur as she woke, I purr encouragingly.

“Lawson?” she says, her voice breaking. “Is that you? Are you here? I can smell you.”

Fuck.

Chapter34

A Waste of Good Moonlight

KELLAN

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