Page 176 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

We could not wait until morning to see the kelpie since her kind was unable to stay out of sea water for very long. Which meant it was the middle of the night by the time we arrived at the watchtower.

I had not had a chance to change out of the plain cotton dress I donned for serving soup in the Rookery. Orion and I had returned to Ergastiri just in time to attend Riordan’s meeting, and there hadn’t been time to change before we left for the Spring Quadrant either. I had not even had an opportunity to discuss Orion with Riordan, but I could tell that my mate was curious and hopeful about it.

Especially considering the fact Orion had barely left my side since we got back.

But at least Riordan was dressed in his gold armour, and he had summoned his crown magically the same way his mother had at his coronation. The man always looked like a king to me, but I could not stop staring at him while we walked down the stairs from the landing platform at the top of the tower to the command office.

And I’d noticed Orion looking at him too which had sent an unexpected pulse of excitement through me.

“I will secure the room first,” Orion informed us when we reached the door where the envoy waited. He did not wait for confirmation before leaving us in the hall with Ares and closing the door behind him.

My mate brushed my cheek, drawing my attention up to him before he tilted my head back and bent his head to begin kissing leisurely along my neck.

“I still smell him on you,” he informed me, his voice taking on that huskier tone that made me want to melt.

Although it didnothave the same effect on poor Ares, who I could see pivoting slowly away from us out of the corner of my eye. Like he was trying to give us privacy while still doing his job protecting us.

Words failed me for long moments, my eyes closing and my heart pounding as Riordan continued to kiss and nip along my neck and jaw.

“And how does it make you feel?” I asked breathlessly once I could finally manage to form a coherent sentence. Even though I was pretty sure I already knew…

He did not have an opportunity to answer before Orion opened the door again, hesitating at the sight of us standing so close together with Riordan’s lips on my neck. But he remained composed and tilted his head to indicate that we should enter. Riordan and I followed him into the room, leaving Ares to stand guard in the hallway.

I hadn’t been sure what to expect of a kelpie and had felt a little ridiculous asking for a description, but she was pretty much what I anticipated. A lithe female form that looked wet, her dark, weedy hair plastered to her and still dripping profusely all over the floor. Her skin was greyish green and covered in faint scales with swampy growths like moss and mushrooms all over her. She was wearing what appeared to be a man’s shirt that reached her knees, so I assumed she had come naked. I understood her kind were shifters that could take the appearance of an aquatic, carnivorous half horse with a tail.

Needless to say, I was in no hurry to get any closer and stayed a step behind Riordan after closing the door.

“Please accept my apologies for keeping you waiting,” said my king as he came to stand before the kelpie and our orc spy, Olirik, who stood next to her.

“My King,” said Olirik, sweeping into a dramatic bow. “This is Clodagh,” he added with a gesture at the female envoy once he had straightened again.

The kelpie was observing Riordan with her reptilian, green-and-gold eyes, her black lips pressed tight. But he seemed to meet whatever expectation she’d had of him because she bowed at the waist deeply.

“Thank you for meeting me, Your Majesty. Long have our enemies hunted for King Balor, and I needed to know that this was not an elaborate plot of the Autumn Prince,” Clodagh explained. Her voice was a warm rasp.

“I perfectly understand your caution. We are prepared to meet whatever measures you require in preparing to meet your king. We want you to be assured of his safety,” Riordan assured her.

“There is no more need to prepare for receiving him. King Balor is anxious to meet you,” Clodagh revealed.

Riordan hesitated. It was a barely perceivable hitch in an otherwise calm exterior to anyone who did not know the king well enough to recognize his concern.

“He wants to come… now?” I verified for him.

“As I said, our enemies have been hunting for him. Their snares grow tight. We worry hourly that it is only a matter of time before he is in their grasp,” Clodagh said, her clawed hands clasping in front of her anxiously.

We had not prepared to meet with the Spring King. Weakened or not, Balor was still a powerful entity.

Orion was tense, and I could feel him communicating with Riordan when that highway I could not access in my mate’s mind began to hum. It bothered me not to be privy to the discussion, but I held my tongue as they debated.

Do you know how to cast a binding spell? Would you perform one on a salt circle?

I blinked in surprise at Riordan’s question, but I gave him my confirmation.

“Very well,” said Riordan aloud. “You will understand, however, that I must take precautions before inviting a fey king into my kingdom before a contract is created.”

“What precautions do you need?” the kelpie asked.

“You may bring your king to this room now, but until we sign our agreement in blood, you both must stay in a salt circle,” Riordan stipulated.

---