Page 67 of Fate Unchained

And they were definitely not husband and wife. Or mates. Or whatever. Kyril wasn’t going to try to fix the rune back onto their chests.

He wouldn’t choose to remain with her.

She barely noticed the beautiful, intricately patterned wallpaper of beige, with red filigree so delicately inlaid across the walls it seemed to be hand-painted. The room opened into a sitting area containing a few large chairs with high, stiff backs and a lounging sofa. Off to the left was an archway into a small parlor, in case they wanted to entertain or have formal tea, and there was a door to the outside on the far wall. Large paintings in thick gold frames, all depicting steeplechase images featuring leaping horses with overly fat bellies and short, cropped tails, dotted the walls.

Lilah opened the door to the right. Here the wallpaper was blue, with white patterns in a vague diamond shape, matching the inlay on the thick rug underfoot. A massive four-poster bed dominated the room. Each corner had a thick column stretching up to the ceiling and gauzy white fabric draped along the top as a canopy. It matched the thick curtains sweeping across the windows, providing a view of the forest beyond.

Rejoining Kyril in the main living area of the suite, she said, “This is really nice.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw again. “I picked this place because the Dark Cabal, and Boris, won’t attack you while others are around.” He shrugged. “It’s similar to Morana using this town for her protection. Here, we can’t attack her directly without starting another war, and it’s the same with them. They can’t attack in front of others, either, or they’ll show themselves.” He pointed out the window. “I wanted a room back here because Zann, Finn, and I can scale the wall and come in and out. Also, I can switch back and forth between my human and vulk form, and no one will see.”

“Oh. Good thinking.”

He peered at a small bell hanging on the wall with a pull cord dangling from it. The other end of the bell had a piece of copper wire that disappeared into the wall. “What is this?”

“That’s an old-fashioned servant pull. I’m assuming you tug on it to alert the hotel staff to come and help you with something.”

He smiled his wicked smile. “If I pull this, that asshole at the front desk must come up here?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Ring him tonight and have him get you whatever you need.” He turned toward her, and her heart rate jumped so quickly it felt like her heart fluttered in her chest. “You need clothes, right?”

She nodded. “But I don’t want you spending more money. We can go to my house and get my things.”

“Maybe we can go there in a few days, but for now, I don’t want Boris to know you’re back.” He paused. “Buy whatever you want. You deserve …” He growled and trailed off. “Buy anything you want.”

Her salary at the library was small, but enough to live on, even enough to do a couple shopping trips a year for new clothes. However, since her aunt’s death she’d devoted every spare cent working on paying off the debts. “I can’t let you do that.”

His eyes turned red. “If you don’t buy them yourself, then I’ll go pick them out, and I’ll tell the tailor to outfit you the same as he’d outfit the queen.”

Her cheeks heated. “Now you’re being ridiculous. I’m a librarian—”

He strode up to her and raised his hand as if to cup her cheek but let it fall back to his side without touching her. “You outshine every person in Coromesto.” Another tick in his jaw. “No, not in Coromesto, in all of Ulterra, and that’s how you should be dressed.” He growled again. “Stop arguing with me.”

Her heart squeezed. He outshone every other person, every other immortal, in all of Ulterra for her, too.

She raised one brow. “Fine. If I buy clothes for myself, then I’m buying clothes for you, too. In human form, you’ll need to look polished. Like a proper young lord.”

He groaned and raked a hand over his head. “If you have to.” He jerked his chin toward the bedroom. “You can go to bed. I’ll keep watch the rest of the night.”

A small pain shot through her chest. “You’re not sleeping with me?”

He shook his head.

The cave may have been a lot more primitive, but it was theirs, and sleeping with him had been cozy. Comfortable. She held out her hand. “Give me the grimoire.” When they’d first left the library, she could barely wait to get to bed and cuddle, now, she wasn’t tired at all. She’d keep working and force herself to forget Kyril wasn’t going to stay at her side.

He pulled it from his waistband and put it in her hand, trailing his fingers over her palm. The same spark she got every time he touched her trilled through her. Earlier, she’d thought what was between them was like the beginning of a grand piece of music, swelling. Building. Now it was a minor chord. “You don’t need to stay here. Go. Find Boris.” She waved her hand. “Like you said, I’ll be safe here, so there’s no need to babysit. Go run off, Kyril. Do vulk things.” And she went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. Hard.

26

The moons had marched far across the sky by the time he returned to the Grande. Back in vulk form, he scaled the wall, his claws scratching faintly against the stone, and leaped into the small garden outside Lilah’s room.

He and Zann had combed the sewers for hours, but any scents down there were old, most likely leftover from when Kyril and Juri had tracked a necromancer down there a couple months ago. So, the vulk would have the sewers to themselves, the way they liked, but they’d hoped they might find the Dark Cabal lurking, or a necromancer nest. It was the perfect place for a leshak, too, but they hadn’t seen a hint of one of those, either.

Finn stood near the door to the hotel room. Kyril nodded at him. “I’ll keep watch.”

Finn’s brows shot up. “I thought you wanted to hunt all night?”

---