Page 4 of The Rowan's Stone
“Umm, do you realize you’re glowing?” Arden asks tentatively.
“I’m the Lord of Summer’s son,” I tell her with a shrug, although it’s not the whole truth. My desire for her is making me glow a bit brighter. “I usually dim the glow in favor of my winter side, but it gets tiring. If it bothers you, I can tone it down?”
“Absolutely not. The glow doesn’t bother me, and it’s nice to see you relaxed and less formal,” she tells me. Biting her lip, she pauses for a second before continuing, “Why do you favor winter? If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. The few hybrid Fae I know seem to favor the light instead of the dark, but you chose the dark.” She shrugs.
My gut churns, and I contemplate whether to answer. “My father never acknowledged me as his son. Not in the beginning, and not now. He prefers to act like I don’t exist and often introduces his youngest son as his heir. In return, I rarely embrace my summer side and ignore him whenever I see him. It’s been ourmodus operandifor centuries now.” My mind plays a few scenes from my past where I hadn’t ignored him, and I wince, not wanting to see the reminders.
Arden reaches over and entwines her fingers with mine, which brings me out of my internal spiral, and I give them a tight squeeze.
“I’m so sorry,” she murmurs. “He’s missed out on an incredible son. And I like both sides of you—the icy, arrogant side and this warm, more relaxed side.”
Her easy acceptance washes over me like a warm breeze, and yet I say nothing.
“The sun feels incredible,” she drawls a few minutes later, her body relaxed beside mine. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve lain in the grass and soaked up its warmth. Things have been so hectic since I came here.”
She’s astute enough to realize my father’s not a topic I want to discuss, and the change in subject is a welcome relief. One day, I’ll explain more, but for now, this is enough. My eyes trace over her features, and I smile at the expression of pure bliss on her face. Seemingly not in a hurry for a discussion, she continues to lie there until she falls into a light sleep.
Closing my own eyes, I breathe in her delicious scent while my mind races with the novelty of her company. In all my years, I’ve never had the desire to be still and in the moment with someone. Even when I’m with the cadre, I’m always planning and working.
Her body rolls toward me, and she lays her head on my shoulder. The feeling of my arm pillowed between her sweet curves makes me groan. My body twitches with the need to take this to another level, a level I dream about often, but I control myself. For the first time in a long time, I’m tempted to throw caution to the wind, but I don’t. My arrogance demands she chooses me without reservation, with lust and need, not friendship and comfort, riding her hard. So, I simmer and wait.
About twenty minutes later, I feel her stiffen against me when she wakes and finds herself in my arms. She stares at me, apprehension gracing her face.
“Umm…wow…I’m sorry. First, I interrupt your solitude, then I fall asleep on you. I was relaxed and warm from the sun. And I…” Her voice trails off.
As delightful as it is to see her flustered, I wave my free hand to ward off any explanations. “Why don’t you tell me why you wanted to speak to me?”
Arden sighs. “Honestly, you’re going to be surprised but very, very happy. Ecstatic, in fact,” she muses. “It’s something you’ve been waiting for me to do since I got here, and I think you need it. Like it physically pains you to not have it.”
I tense, anticipation thrumming through my body. She licks her lips, and I hold my breath.
“We need a plan,” she states decisively. “I know I’ve been winging it since I arrived, but I feel like there are so many things we need to do that some structure would probably be wise.” She stops and stares at me, clearly waiting for an answer.
Disappointment wars with satisfaction. I definitely need something from her, but a plan was considerably further down on my wish list. Releasing her hand, I roll over onto my elbow and lean over her.She’s so beautiful.Clearing my throat, I force myself to focus. “Of course. I’ve already been thinking about a few things to get us started. Why don’t you tell me your thoughts first?”
Relief flashes across her face. “Great!” She lifts her hand and starts counting on her fingers. “One, we need to find the MacAllister journals, and the only place we know they lived is the Kingdom of Dragons. I have a feeling we will have to visit, but we don’t have any information on the name of the matriarch. I don’t want to search dozens of houses and, given the scene I experienced from the blood magic, it might be best to carefully plan our visit to Valerian’s kingdom. Maybe we could search for information at Witchwood? It might save us valuable time. And I need to check in with the witches anyway. What do you think?”
“I agree. We should take advantage of our location and check Witchwood first. In addition, we need to check in with Caro and the council to see how they’re handling things. I don’t know what you want to do about the witches yet, but we should probably put a few things into place,” I reply, sifting through the options in my head.
“Right,” she agrees thoughtfully. “We also need to start figuring out the powers I inherited from my father. I was hoping if I was Fae, Solandis or yourself would have noticed something by now? Fae always recognize Fae, right?”
“Correct,” I answer. I’m not sure whether to be relieved or upset about the fact she doesn’tfeellike a Fae to me. Shrugging, I push it aside. “Your powers have only been unbound for a couple of days, though. We’ll start testing and see what happens. Once we know your heritage, we can figure out a teacher, and hopefully, this will lead us in the direction of your father. Last, but definitely not least, we need to find the assassins. Could they be related to your father, or is there an unknown player?”
Arden beams at me. “Fantastic, sounds like a plan. Do you want to go to Witchwood with me tomorrow?”
I scoff. “It’s the beginning of a plan, but we need everyone’s help. Why don’t I start laying out the next steps, identifying each person’s role and responsibilities, and you figure out what you want from the witches?”
A pained smile graces her lips. I’m guessing it’s the thought of dealing with the witches. The sooner it’s done, the better. If not, they’ll sweep it under the rug and continue with their current agenda.
“Deal,” she responds with a sigh. “Thank you, Theron. And thank you for letting me bother you.” She raises her head and places a soft kiss on my lips.
My lips cling to hers, but in a breath, it’s over. I stare down, tempted to show her the desire coursing through my veins, but I stop myself. With a groan, I roll onto my back.
She gives me a puzzled look, then stands and gathers her shoes. “I’ve got training with Valerian now, but I’ll see you in the morning?”
I confirm and murmur goodbye. My hand curls in on itself instead of reaching out to stop her like it wants, and my head drops back to the grass in frustration. She needs a plan, but I’m beginning to think I need a plan too.
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