Page 15 of Luca

It was a strange and new feeling, but I liked it.

“You are an enigma,” he rasped.

I rolled my eyes. “You’d think I’d have no shame left with how often we do it, but I guess it’s how I was brought up. Alex has always been vocal about sex, and he likes to tease me about it. I never really minded. We wouldn’t be best friends if I did, and he knows that. I just prefer to keep my dirty thoughts to myself. Except”—I poked his pec—“you’vebrought it out in me. I don’t think a moment has gone by in the last year when I haven’t been low-key turned on.”

Cair chuckled, low and filthy, as his arm circled my waist. He tugged me against his chest before leaning in and brushing his mouth over my ear. “I know, my heart. I can smell it on you.”

My dick gave an eager twitch. “We don’t have to return to the Otherworldrightnow, do we?”

A rumbling sound vibrated against my skin. “I’m sure an hour or two won’t make much of a difference.”

* * *

We returned to the Otherworld and spent two days packing, planning, and panicking. Well, the last one was entirely me, but it was still part of the process, so I included it in the list.

Packing was easy enough. My mate had acquired a backpack for me that had no space limit. I could fill it with books, snacks, and clothes without it overflowing or feeling heavy. It was a marvelous invention, ’cause the idea of hauling suitcases halfway across the Fae realm sounded unappealing as hell. A backpack was manageable, especially since Cair had to fly us over the mountains.

Planning was where it had all begun to nosedive south. Not the journey part. I had fun studying the map of the Otherworld, seeing the route we’d take through all the towns Cair assured me were free from his father’s zealots. But as soon as Cair had warned Rathe not to disclose our exact steps to the king or anyone close to him, I’d started to panic.

I wasn’t against a little lie here or there, hidden truths and all that, but this was theking, and though my opinion of him was below floor level, it still worried me that we had to be even slightly sneaky about this. The portals were one thing, but us journeying across his lands to find my father, his ex-adviser, was another. I couldn’t know if he’d be petty and order us to return immediately, or if he’d see it as an act of defiance or some shit and punish us for it. He was changeable, and though Cair technically had a little more freedom now that we were mated—and he rarely needed his father’s permission to leave the palace grounds if it pertained to me—that didn’t mean the king had to be supportive.

In fact, it seemed he was never happy with anything we did.

I’d actually noticed his behavior changing in the last few weeks. I’d known from the moment I stepped through the Veil that he hated me. His son’s mate or not, he’d have preferred me to be as far from the palace—and all the perfect, pureblood beings within—as possible. But whenever we accidentally crossed paths now, while he still had that same air of disdain, it was almost as if he didn’t care enough about my presence to even sneer. It struck me as odd. The king wasn’t the type to let go of a grudge, and I certainly hadn’t won him over, so why did it feel like he’d washed his hands of me?

As if I wouldn’t be a burden on him much longer, so he didn’t need to waste any more time or energy on it.

My mind was running wild with possible scenarios. I was unnerved, but the change in him was so subtle that even Cair hadn’t noticed the difference, so maybe I was just paranoid? Palace life could do that to you.

Cair kept assuring me that his father wouldn’t declare a war by doing anything to hurt me. That mates were held in high regard, and even though the king was against human and Fae pairings, he wouldn’t risk the wrath of the people, or Cair, for the sake of his pride. I wasn’t convinced. Something was definitely off, but I trusted my mate to protect me, whatever happened, so I’d managed to put my concerns to the back of my mind. Instead, I focused my worried energy on readying myself for the trip and meeting the guy I’d been desperate to know since I was old enough to understand his absence in my life.

Keeping secrets from a king was already in my repertoire, so what was one more?

I smoothed out my linen shirt and tried to brush out any creases in my pants. I didn’t miss jeans or button-up shirts. The clothes I wore now were light and breathable, made from more natural fabrics than whatever I used to be able to afford. They were also simplistic, giving off that ‘old-school romance novel’ vibe, and I was all for it, even if showing a bit of chest was a little out of my comfort zone. Still, it was much better than overheating under the Otherworld sun.

Cair had left our room to hunt down Rathe an hour or so ago, and he’d asked me to meet him in the kitchens whenever I was ready. We’d be leaving through the side door—less conspicuous, he’d said, but the path out of the capital was also a lot shorter from the back, so it made sense. All I’d had to do that morning was take a bath, get changed, and psych myself up—a dull task, but someone had to do it. Anyone on the outside looking in would believe my destination was the gallows, but nope. I just had to leave the comfort of my bedroom and walk for several days to meet a guy who may not actually want anything to do with me.

No biggie.

After my one hundred and fifteenth—slight exaggeration—look in the mirror, I released a long breath. If I delayed any longer, I’d risk talking myself out of it, and since I didn’tactuallywant to do that, it was better to just rip off the Band-Aid and drag myself out the door. Anxiety was a bitch, but I wasn’t going to let it control me. Not today. Today I was letting my curiosity take the driver’s seat.

Else there would be no fucking hope of me moving from this spot.

My skin felt a little tight when I closed the door behind me, but I pushed on, one foot in front of the other, growing more confident when the smell of the kitchens hit my nose. I rounded the corner, so busy trying to remember if I’d packed enough spare underwear in my bottomless backpack that I almost screeched at the sight of Maeve leaning against the wall, casually twirling her dagger in one hand.

She didn’t even look up at me, just smirked and said, “Going somewhere, little dove?”

Welcome back, anxiety. We had a good break.

My eyes narrowed at the pet name—it sounded both intimidating and patronizing from her lips—but my irritation was quickly shrouded by her insinuation.She knows where we’re going. Fuck. Of course she did. No one so much as farted in this place without her knowing about it, and it was entirely at her discretion what she then filtered back to the king—the guy we wanted to have as little knowledge as possible about our trip.

Double fuck.

I swallowed past the nerves tightening my throat, lifting my chin defiantly and deciding, on the spot, to pretend she hadn’t caught me off guard. I doubted I was overly successful, but she wasn’t looking at me, so that worked in my favor. “Don’t pretend you don’t know where we’re headed.”

I’d mostly avoided bumping into her around the palace, even after all this time. I’d see her lurking around, seemingly uninterested in what transpired around her unless it involved blood, but I knew she saw absolutely everything, and she only stayed out of my way because it suited her to do so. Why she’d decided to target me over this particular event, I could only guess, but as always, her laugh convinced me that her purpose was to tease.

Or lord her awareness of my every step over me.

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