Page 76 of Queen of the Night
“Gladly.” Her voice is quiet.
I can’t resist the saucy smirk that turns her lips, so when she tugs me closer, I let her. In a perfect life, it would be like this between us. No titles. No secrets. Nothing to keep us apart… But for now, I’ll enjoy this dream as long as it lasts. She tilts her head up in invitation, and I slide my hands up the back of her arms, gently pulling her closer as I lower my head to meet her lips. Our magic mingles intoxicatingly around us…
I wake, arms empty, and staring at the high beams of the ceiling in my room that is barely lit with morning light. I drift on the stark disappointment that it was all a dream, then I slam a fist on my bed angrily and leave my bed for the comfortable sitting chair.
She taunts me. The motion wakes Arrow, who rises from his mat nearby and pads to my side, resting his large face on my thigh. If I don’t find Vera… if I don’t find a way to gain her trust… somehow I know my heart will never recover enough to love another woman the way it should.
I instinctively place a hand on Arrow’s head and rub behind one pointed ear, but I catch sight of the mate bond on my wrist with the motion and hold it up to inspect it closer. It glows as bright as if Vera is right beside me, as bright as it was in the dream… Butwhy? And how? It’s been dim since she left; in fact, it has always dimmed with any distance between us. Even now, I watch the brightness slowly fade.
When Vera was taken by the Shifters, I used the increasing brightness to track her down. If it’s glowing this brightly now… was that dream somehowreal? Or is it only me wanting Vera’s feelings to match my own?
My hand stills, and Arrow nudges my arm with his wet nose to prompt more ear rubs. Likely it was just a dream, andthe desires of my heart are bringing her to mind, but the dream fuels my motivation.
Someday, if I can convince her to trust me, maybe things will be that way between us if I don’t give up, and that’s worth fighting for.
I glance at the light seeping in through the cracks of my drawn drapes.Time to find my Black Tulip.
Chapter 43
Ikar
Istand outside Mama Tina’s door, several of my men, including Darvy and Rhosse, standing several feet back. No need to scare the woman, though from what I know of her, she doesn’t seem to be the kind to fear much of anything.
The door swings open, and Mama Tina’s smiling face is before me, but before I can ask for Vera, she pulls me in and wraps me in a tight hug. She makes me feel as if I’m one of the family… and if Vera is truly a Black Tulip and will trust me enough to admit it, maybe soon I will be. With that thought, I step back, nervous about confronting the woman I’ve come to feel for. I open my mouth to speak, but Mama Tina beats me to it.
“Is Vera with you?” Too short to see over my shoulders, she leans to the side to peek around me and gets a view of my men. She raises her brows with a pleased smile at the sight of them. “We’ll have a dinner party. I’ll invite some of Vera’s friends.” She claps her hands together. “How long will you be staying?” She turns and bids me follow her into her home with a wave of her hand.
Nervous roiling in my stomach is replaced with concern. “Vera told my friend she was coming here. Did she return?”
Mama Tina laughs. “Oh, yes, she’s been here. She just left for the market with Renna a little while ago. I thought she may have seen you on her way and returned.” She flashes me a glittering smile.
I’m about to turn and leave, the itch to find Vera strong, but Mama Tina snags my elbow and draws me farther into her home. The manners stitched into the fabric of my soul bid me to allow her.
“It appears we may have things to discuss, now that I have you here.” She wraps a hand around my arm so firmly I’m not sure I could free myself if I tried. Fae are known for their strength, but Mama Tina is on a different level in every way.
My men follow us in and are led to a sitting room that seems too dainty for their large armor-clad forms, where a servant is already heading with a tray of drinks. They stand awkwardly, looking between themselves as if unsure what they should do as I’m led away, deeper into the house.
Mama Tina guides me to another room, this one a small library. She closes the door and turns toward me, more serious than I’ve ever seen her. “What are your intentions toward my niece?” she asks bluntly.
I take a seat in a small armchair and lean back, embracing a facade of relaxed confidence, with my legs wide and a casual arm resting along the side, giving the idea that I’m completely at ease. I’m not. I didn’t expect this conversation right now—seems a bit premature when the woman I plan to marry is currently hiding from me in fear.
“I plan to marry her, if she’ll trust me enough to say yes.” I flash a dashing smile that hides the doubts, hurt, and pain of Vera’s secrets—her betrayal.
Mama Tina smiles wide. “As I thought.” I exhale in relief, then she speaks again. “Now, tell me who youreallyare.”
My smile wavers. “What do you mean?”
“The charm you use is very similar to fae glamour. Practically undetectable,” she murmurs while she squints hard at me as if attempting to peer into my very soul.
I press back into the chair as if that will help evade her searching eyes. “I’m not a criminal, if that’s what you ask,” I assure her.
She squints a little closer. “Yes, yes. I already know, dear. But you’re more than you seem.”
“So is Vera.”
Mama Tina presses her lips into a flat line and raises a brow. “She’ll be angry if I say anything. It’s for her to tell.”
“How about I guess, and that way you don’t have to tell her you told me?” I don’t wait for her to agree. “She’s a Black Tulip.”
