Page 97 of Lana Pecherczyk
“Of course, my boy would develop a gift like this. Umbria flock is a sturdy stock. We are truly blessed indeed.” He shouted down his body through the water. “Do you see this, my love? See our son?”
“Dad!”
“No need to shout. I’m right here.”
A vein pulsed in River’s forehead. “Tell me how to break the nesting spell.”
“Why would you want to do that?” Genuine confusion colored Talo’s voice.
“None of your fucking business.” River squeezed. Blood trickled from claw marks down his father’s neck.
“River.” Blake touched his rigid bicep. “I don’t think he meant harm.”
Angry blue eyes flashed her way, peeking through mud-stained locks of hair. The bowl of water was now swamp-like. River must have seen or sensed her simmering fear, because his gaze softened. His grip loosened enough for Talo to say, “See? Nothing to worry about.”
“She has no idea what you’ve done,” River shot back.
“River Manfri Umbria, you let go of your father this instant!”Ravi’s voice warbled through the water.“Inviting that toxicity into a new nest is a bad omen, mark my words.”
“It’s alright, my treasure,” Talo called down. “He’s just nervous because of that issue I had to?—”
River’s renewed grip cut him off. “This is not a fucking joke!”
“We know it’s not, son.” Talo wheezed, eyes darting to Blake. “But when we heard your mate’s having trouble identifying your bond, we knew we had to help.”
River dunked his father and then brought him back up to shout in his face, “There’s nothing wrong with our bond!”
“She calls other males her mate!”Sera’s underwater voice filtered through.
Uh-oh.
Now it made sense why they kept talking about fixing the confusion with her mate.
“Mm.” Talo nodded sagely. “And you clearly haven’t bumped tail feathers yet, or else you’d be a little less tense, hmm?”
“Tell them about the basket!”Ravi’s voice filtered through.“It’s just as well that I added those extra toys on a whim last night.”
“We knew you were having trouble sealing the deal,” Talo continued.
“We only just met!” River shouted at them.
“Wasn’t that a week ago?”
“A few days!”
“Son.” Talo dipped his chin. “You’re using that tone again.”
“Fuck my life.” River inhaled deeply, eyes closed. When he spoke again, his voice carried a deadly calm. “If you don’t break the nesting spell now, only the Well will save you from my wrath if we miss the Great Murder.”
“Ah … about that.” Talo winced. “We might have made a boo-boo.”
River’s expression blanked. “You made a what?”
“You’re going to laugh. Ha ha. The spell to lock the van usually needs the blood of both newly mated?—”
“You made my mate bleed?” River snarled. Murder was promised in every syllable.
“Of course we didn’t!”Ravi shouted, annoyance clear.“That’s the problem. We used only yours, assuming we could unlock it with just one blood sample, but it doesn’t work that way. This is the first time we’ve planned a Crow’s Dowry. We might have gotten a few things wrong.”
