Page 70 of Return of the Nine

“Is this correct for you? I mean, I met your sister, and she is obviously wed to another of the Shadow Folk. Isn’t there a dark, mysterious woman out there for you somewhere?”

He held her close. “I have been actively seeking a mate for ten years. You are the only woman who has woken my senses and made me want to be at your side all times, day or night.”

Instead of going inside the embassy, Daphne met them at the cul-de-sac and spirited Teyha away to get her dressed in a lovely tissue-thin gown that wrapped her in all the right places.

“The ceremony is finalised with an exchange of blood in complete privacy. You don’t drink it, he bites you and you cut him. Then, you slip the dagger into the stone it came out of, and it registers you as a bound couple. It is a lovely ceremony and very above ground.”

“That is a strange non-sequitur.”

“I will tell you about it one day, but it caught me by surprise.”She winked.

With the bride ready, they walked to a huge garden at the back of the property. White flowers gave off the most calming scent, and when Ekinar took her hand, Teyha smiled.

They entered the garden with a shield snapping into place behind them.

It all went as Daphne had said, Ekinar bit her, she used the knife in the stone to slice his wrist, and when it was over, she slid the blade back into the stone. The kiss took her by surprise, but she leaned into it, her body pressed to his in an intense need that swept through her.

“I think we need some privacy.” Her voice was low and husky to her own ears.

“Excellent thought.”

He lifted her in his arms, her skirts foaming around her legs as he carried her into the embassy.

The floor of the Shadow Folk was surprisingly bright. She didn’t have a chance to admire the décor though. He carried her into one of the guestrooms and set her on her feet.

“My bride, I have waited for you, hoped for you and dreamed for you. To have you here within my touch is enough.”

From inside her, the words came. “My husband, I have hoped for you, waited for you and now that you are here, I wish for nothing more than your embrace.”

To her shock, his shadows moved away from his face and body, answering a question that she had never dared ask before. “Oh, so you do wear pants under the shadows.”

He laughed and took her in his arms, bearing her to the bed and using the remaining tendrils of his shadows to peel her gown from her and wake her body using delicate touches.

Ekinar removed the impediments to her seeing every inch of him, and while he was chalk white, his muscles were well defined, and there was nothing untoward about the erection thatcalled to her with silent desperation.

Smiling, she rolled him to his back and woke his body the same way he had woken hers, but she had to use her fingers, and his shock and arousal finally necessitated her joining their bodies and beginning a slow dance that ended with their room covered in darkness and their bodies glowing within.

Epilogue

After they had gone through every inch of the Valley of Shadows, they had moved onto the Wilder Lair. It was a larger site, and it proved that the Wilders were highly territorial.

Teyha loved exploring with Ekinar at her side, and he gave her surprising insight into the purposes of most of the buildings.

“When are we getting the new interns?” Ekinar returned to base camp, his shadows flickering as he bent to kiss his mate.

Teyha smiled for a moment before she remembered what he had asked. “Oh. This afternoon. The mother ship has sent them down, and they are at the archive getting basic orientation with the Gaian volunteers.”

It had rapidly become apparent to her that once they identified the traps at a site, it was the perfect educational tool for bored teens. Hiska and Ritgar were going to be seeing the Wilder site along with three Gaian teens who had an aptitude for history.

“Then, we should probably take this time to enjoy our fleeting privacy, my love.” Ekinar lifted her from her desk and swept her to their large bunk at the back of the tent. Life of exploration was not for everyone, but he had taken to it with ease and grace, and when she woke in the dark of night and his beautiful features glowed pure and bright, she knew that her adaptation had come full circle as well.

Life and love with a strange warrior, not knowing when or if they would have to re-join the mother ship gave their time together a sweetness that it wouldn’t have had otherwise. They had been forced together rapidly and that forging had made them strong.

Collecting

Return of the Nine Book Five

By

---