Page 204 of Primal Bonds

Marjani rested her chin on her knees, the light from the fire burnishing her profile a rich gold. “Sounds a lot like you.”

“I’m afraid so.”

Arne had flitted in and out of Fane’s life just as Fane had Evie’s. Try and talk about anything deep, and Arne shrugged it off with a laugh. His motto was, “Life’s too short and time goes by.”

Fane blew out a breath. “Anyway, I’d always looked up to my dad…would’ve done anything to be like him. I was late to come into my Gift, but as soon as Dad found out I was a wayfarer, he brought me to Iceland and talked the king into giving me a chance. Turned out I was good at it. Hell, how many people would turn down an offer to be part of a fae court?”

She shrugged.

He shot her a look. Because Marjani had turned Sindre down—multiple times.

“The king did his damnedest to tempt you, didn’t he? And you just kept telling him no. You know how much I admire you for that?”

“Don’t.” She made a sharp movement with her hand. “I’m—I’ve made some bad choices myself.”

“Yeah? Well, this was the mother of all bad choices.” He gave a humorless laugh. “Hell, I was like a fucking kid with my nose pressed to the window of a candy store. The fae are—the fae. Rich, glamorous, sexy as hell—and they wanted me. Fane Morningstar, a fisherman from Canada. The women, well… ” He swallowed against the bitter taste in his mouth. “But to them, I was just a shiny new plaything. No pureblood would mate with a mixed-blood like me.”

She touched his leg. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s not all bad. It’s a good job—interesting, and the pay is fucking awesome.” His mouth twisted. “Most of the time I don’t even have to hurt someone else to do it. And when I do, I tell myself that if I don’t do it, someone else will. The king has a half-dozen other envoys.”

She took her hand from his leg and straightened up. “That’s an excuse. Your actions shouldn’t depend on anyone else.”

“It’s not so black and white.”

“For me, it is.”

“Well, that’s the difference between you and me, isn’t it?” He picked up a piece of gravel and tossed it into the pool. It landed with a plunk and sank below the dark, steaming surface. “I can tell you one thing, all the excuses in the world didn’t make me feel better about spying on you. A woman I’d come to like. A lot.”

She took his empty plate and set it on top of hers. “But you did it anyway.”

“Yeah.” He briefly closed his eyes. “I owe you an apology for that.”

“Would you do it again?” A quiet question in the shadowy cavern.

He took a deep, pained breath. “Probably. Under the terms of the geas, I can’t disobey a direct order from the king.”

“Then don’t bother saying you’re sorry. Because then I have to respond that it’s all right. And it’s not. You tricked me, Fane.”

He nodded, accepting that. “I’m sor—” He halted and then tried again. “At least let me thank you for taking care of me these past two days. No one would’ve blamed you if you’d left me outside for the goblins.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” she returned. “I did it for Evie. She’s clan now, and you’re her dad.”

“Ah.” He fingered another piece of gravel. “Well, thanks anyway.”

“Okay,” she added grudgingly, as if he’d argued with her. “Maybe I did do it a little bit for you. That doesn’t mean I didn’t think about leaving you—because you’re right, no one would’ve blamed me. But you were so sick, and I knew it was because of me.”

“You should have left. You need to get the hell out of Iceland. The king is all powerful here. Even the humans obey him.”

“How? They’re probably watching the airport, and I don’t have enough money to hire a boat.”

He shook his head. “And you won’t leave until you find out what happened to your friend Luc, will you? No, don’t answer that. That way if the king asks, I can honestly say I don’t know. But the goblins are nocturnal. They hunt at night.”

“So you’re saying I should wait until morning before I leave.”

“Yeah.”

She nodded—and then slanted him a look that made him instantly hard.

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