Page 23 of Bane of the Wild Hunt

“Imítheos are not… generally very affectionate before they are bonded,” Riordan admitted unnecessarily. I had seen that for myself when his own mother greeted him so coolly after decades of separation. “But females are better at fostering meaningful bonds of companionship amongst themselves. And, more importantly, we male Imítheos outnumber females significantly.It is much better that two males bond to one female, diversifying our bloodlines, rather than have two females bonding to just one male. Which would stunt the bloodlines,” Riordan explained.

A rather dispassionate approach to what was a very emotional union among modern humans, but I knew his people thought about these things very differently.

“So does this mean that all the mated women in the Metropolis have two men?” I verified. That just seemed so scandalous to me, especially in such a chaste society, but perhaps I was just a prude.

“Most of them do,” Riordan confirmed. “Before this custom was established long ago, Imítheos females were also having trouble getting pregnant. Having two males increases the likelihood of children and means there are more adults to defend and raise their children together,” he pointed out with a fond smile.

Whoa. That smile made me freeze instantly.

“And… is that what you would have wanted?” I asked him even though it was already clear from his expression. Especially when he seemed to remember himself, and his expression grew more serious again.

“I want you to be happy. Whatever it entails,” he said.

“But if you had your way,” I insisted, and I noticed Orion had gone quiet too. Evidently as curious as I was.

“Of course, I would have wanted that,” Riordan told me softly after a moment as his eyes lowered to my hand. His thumb traced mine gently. “I always knew there was a chance Orion would make another choice, but I…”

I could not breathe, not when Riordan was baring his heart this way, and not while Orion was so quiet, his eyes burning into the side of my face.

“It is not usual among witches or humans to share their lovers the way your people do,” I admitted in order to help Riordan continue speaking.

“I understand that. I am not asking you to go against what feels natural, and I know I chose a mate and askiáfor whom this tradition is not normal. It is why I did not bring it up. I would have eventually if I felt like it were relevant, but it was clear very quickly that it is not,” Riordan assured me.

“And you are sure that you would not rather a mate that he actually approved of?” I insisted.

“No, I wantyou,” Riordan insisted with utter certainty. “I have never let the opinions of others sway the desires of my heart. I wanted Orion as myskiá, and now I want you as my mate. There were many who objected to my choice back then and there will be many who object now, but I don’t care. I know what I want, what I need, and that is not up for debate,” he declared, glancing at Orion.

His declaration made me emotional, so I kept my face averted from Orion to prevent him from seeing as I leaned forward to kiss Riordan’s shoulder.

“Good,” I whispered, and I heard him snort a soft laugh that sounded relieved. “Are you alright?” I asked, eying the tension in his forehead and around his mouth. Setting my plate aside, I shifted closer to him on impulse to smooth my fingers over his brows until his eyes closed in enjoyment of my touch.

“I will be. That… magic lingers. Like it had barbs that are caught in my veins, and it will not be purged easily. But I feel better every hour,” he assured me, leaning his head into my hands. He was very tired. I could feel it.

“We don’t have to do this now. Are there healers we could call for you?” I asked, brushing my fingers through his hair and revelling in its silkiness.

“I suspect I will be well come morning,” Riordan told me with one of those soft smiles that I was coming to love so much. “Iwantto talk to you, Amira. I enjoy it.”

It was such a ridiculous admission to make me blush, but I did. The combination of his affectionate smile and the reverence in his eyes was hard to deny.

Then Orion made a rude sound, a scoff that destroyed the moment for me.

“What did you learn at the meeting? Any idea yet what the Autumn Court wants?” I asked.

“I will admit, I was rather distracted with the abysmal state of our military leadership. Once I have restructured and reformed my cabinet, I will feel better discussing the situation with them. In the meantime, Iris is seeing if she can locate any fey who might know anything. And Theo went to see our old contacts from the Autumn Quadrant to see if any would go to Ahnnaòin,” Riordan told me.

“Like spies to see what is happening there?” I verified, and Riordan nodded. “Wow! You work fast.”

“We did learn that many of the watchtowers that I built in the Quadrants were abandoned. There is little military presence beyond the city-states which is why Rian has been able to continue taking fey. We will make sure those outposts are properly manned so we can respond quickly when there are intruders,” Riordan continued. Then he took my hand, his thumb tracing over my knuckles gently. “There is someone I want you to be extra wary of, Amira. His name is Nikos. He is my cousin.”

“Oh! I actually met him on the way up. Rhea hoped the two of you would be able to… work together,” I admitted, trailing off when I saw Riordan frown.

“Rhea has always seen the best in our cousin. She likes to see the best in everyone,” Riordan admitted reluctantly. “It always bothered her that we were at odds.”

“Got it,” I assured him, and then shifted my hand in his so I could thread our fingers together. “Helena mentioned your father is looking into issues somewhere called… E-et-tree-a,” I said, hoping I pronounced it correctly.

“Erétria is one of five city-states. We are in the capital of Kórinthos, but there is also Erétria, Árgos, Siracusa, and Thíva,” Riordan explained. “My father oversees the Agricultural Guild. He is in charge of ensuring that all our people have enough food and food has been pillaged.”

“Pillaged,” I repeated in concern.

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