Page 265 of Primal Bonds

“I heard from Luc,” he said. “He told me what happened.”

She gripped her quartz. “He’s okay?”

“As far as I could tell. The fae bitch allowed him one call, and then he’s not allowed to contact me for the length of the geas. I had to banish him from the clan, Jani. I can’t have a man under a geas connected to me and the clan that way. She could use Luc against us.”

“Oh, Ric.” She rubbed a hand over her face. “I’m sorry.”

“He understood. Hell, he suggested it. And he knows he’s welcome back as soon as he serves out the geas.”

“I tried to save him.”

“I know you did. It’s okay, Jani. He did it for you.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

Adric blew out a breath. “What about Corban?”

“Dead.”

Something about her tone made him ask, “What is it? He is dead, isn’t he?”

“Yeah. I made sure of it.”

“Good.”

She sighed. “It’s just…he was our cousin, Ric.”

“That didn’t mean he wasn’t trying to kill us both. Corban could have accepted me as alpha. Hell, I made him a sentry. He would’ve made lieutenant eventually, if he’d just given me a reason to trust him.”

“I know. You did what you had to.”

“And so did you. You’re…all right?”

“Yeah.” She glanced at Fane. “Better than all right.”

“Then get your ass back to Baltimore. I need you here. But keep an eye out for the night fae. The prince has eased off the pressure for now, but he’s not going to let this rest.”

“We’ll get a flight as soon as we can. And Ric? I miss you. So much.”

“Miss you, too,” was the gruff reply.

She ended the call and crawled back into bed with Fane. Strong arms hauled her close to him.

“You’re tired. Go to sleep.”

“Kay.” She curled up against Fane and fell like a stone into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When they awoke, it was early afternoon. After a long, hot bath in the clawfoot tub—and another round of lovemaking, this time tender and drawn-out—they hiked into the village.

It turned out Fane had close to a hundred thousand dollars in his bank account.

“I never touched it,” he said with a shrug. “Just used it to pay for the house’s upkeep. The interest kept compounding.”

She snorted. “Must be nice to be rich.”

“Well, I’m not rich anymore. But at least I won’t be totally dependent on you. That would be one more black mark against me as far as your brother is concerned.”

He withdrew enough to pay for their flights back to Baltimore, plus some extra, including some American dollars for after they crossed the border. Then they ate a chunky fish chowder in a pub and bought groceries, including a box of condoms. In a gift shop, Marjani even found a new leather thong for her quartz. She fastened it around her neck as soon as they left the store; the connection worked best when the crystals could vibrate against her skin.

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