Page 105 of Fated or Knot

The question required too much thought. I shook off my own feral impulses to figure out what he was really asking. “Is it Marius or Niall who wants a kelpie bond with me?” I asked.

“One in the same,” he purred, helping me turn so he could pin me with an intense, dilated gaze. “Bite me. Claim me. Then I can finally claim you, mate.”

Stars, it was just his feral side. There was no sign of the prince in that face. When he regained his head, I’d ask if he was serious. It wasn’t that he hadn’t mentioned it before, because he had…in the peak of emotion that’d followed his apology. I just thought he might want to be really sure before tying his kelpie loyalty to me permanently. I didn’t want any chance of meeting Marius’s fury again.

His probing look cooled as he sighed. “I understand. You’re still not ready.”

“Right,” I said, because it was easier just to agree and return to nest building.

I let that pleasant haze take me again and got back to work. When I couldn’t possibly get everything more perfect, I regarded the empty space between the bed and lounging corner with a whine. Something big was missing. Marius and I turned to one another, then back to the empty spot. He left the nest abruptly.

There was a distant cluster of surprised sounds from a group of strangers before Marius returned half-carrying and half-dragging a divan into the nest. He placed it in the empty space, where it fit perfectly at a diagonal from the bed. It was made of the same gray material as the chair I’d approved of earlier, and as I lay down on it to try it, I purred with strong support of its placement in here.

Marius picked out a blanket and draped it over me before handing over two pillows that hadn’t quite found a place anywhere, until now. I arranged them under me comfortably and smiled up at him. He took me in, then went and retrieved one last thing for me: Kauz’s tunic.

“You miss him,” he said in a roughed voice.

“I do,” I agreed quietly. “But how did you know?”

His nostrils flared in a gentle snort. “I know my mate better than she thinks.” He didn’t hide the longing that tightened his expression, though he took a step away when I reached for him. I just wanted to comfort him when he looked at me like that. “Rest for now. I’m sure he wants to see you, too.”

“Marius…”

He kept walking away. I cleared my throat. “Niall,” I tried. This earned me a glance. “Thank you for helping me.”

He nodded and left my nest with a murmur of “P’nixie.”

I settled in and held the tunic to my chest, scenting only laundry soap from it. It may have been clean, but it was Kauz’s, and I figured a short nap to visit him wouldn’t hurt. I closed my eyes and reached out for his sleeping mind.

30

LARK

Istood behind a dining room chair, watching a younger version of the Kauz I knew sit and listen attentively as a tutor explained the setup of the numerous cups, plates, and cutlery set out in front of him. His too-large wings were bound at the top and middle by taut bands of cloth. Next to him, Eletha hid a book under the table and turned the pages ever so slowly so she didn’t attract unwanted attention.

They had piping hot bowls of soup and pieces of bread in front of them. The tutor was explaining the etiquette of passing butter when Kauz shifted to look back at me. The sound of the instructions faded out.

“This is complicated enough that I review it regularly,” he explained in a high voice that matched the age he resembled.

I wasn’t sure if he knew I was here or not. It seemed so, but I had to be sure. “Kauz, it’s me, Lark. You’re dreaming right now.”

“Oh, I know,” he said serenely. “You took your time coming to visit. I’ve been making do with memories of your voice.”

I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it.Aww. If I knew how to do the same thing, I probably would. The way hespoke always calmed me. “Could you change to be yourself? I want to kiss you, but you look like a child…”

“Ah. You shouldn’t change dreams formed of Ever. Let’s go somewhere else.” He stood and offered his hands, palms up. I placed my fingers in his and felt the tug of us leaving the memory-created dream behind. Colors dissolved to darkness, replaced swiftly by a place I recognized.

This was once my dream, when I’d thought of the omega store in Ilysnor and created a nest of everything inside of it. There was nothing here but Kauz and I and the epic dream nest, already constructed and plumped up invitingly. He was his adult self now, his short white hair grown out a bit like it was in reality, with the ends starting to curl.

I reached up to run my fingers through the texture of it and kissed him. A tremor passed through my wings when he met me halfway with all the bottled-up passion of the days we’d been apart. His mouth tasted of Always, of the ecstasy of promises fulfilled and love meant to be. It lingered on my tongue even as it faded in a fleeting tease.

He laid me down on the nest and burrowed his forearms under my top wings to brace his weight above me. His lips traveled to my neck, and I nearly arched into him from the press of his teeth against my skin. “I missed you,” I murmured.

“I missed you,” he echoed.

“Kauz…”

His tongue brushed the hollow of my throat, and I lost all my coherent thoughts. He replied with a teasing hum.

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