So consumed was I with my thoughts that I almost collided with someone. My first thought was that it was another Daywalker. I had almost gotten him into a headlock when I realized it was the fop.
“What are you doing here?” I asked—rather redundantly, I will admit.
“I live here now, remember?” he grumbled.
“Quite right. Apologies. I have much on my mind.”
“Is the great Sinjin Sinclair actually issuing an apology?”
I gave him an arch look. “Enjoy it, Chevalier. It is likely to be the only one you will ever receive from me.”
“I figured as much,” he grumbled.
“Have you heard yet about the Daywalker that has been apprehended?” I asked, wondering what Chevalier would think of the creature. Perhaps he would agree with me that the Daywalker was not to be trusted.
“What? Here? In Kinloch Kirk?”
“Precisely.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“He says he came because of the messages you and Bryn put into his dreams.”
“Vraiment! C’est fantastique !” The frog appeared to be over the moon, and I realized quickly that he would not have my back, as the Americans were wont to say.
“How quickly you are wooed to his side!” I said.
“What do you mean?”
I shrugged. “He could be making the whole thing up!” I said as I shook my head. “Luce could have sent him!”
The frog’s face fell. “Aaah. Oui .”
“He is in a terrible state, anyway. Half-dead. Klassje is just giving him some of her blood now.”
“What?” The fop’s face turned a deep shade of crimson, and I realized the implications of what I had just told him.
I smiled. “You heard what I said.”
“Is he feeding from her directly?” He looked like he was going to have a fit. I was very much enjoying his dismay.
“I expect so. It is the most efficient way, after all.”
“Excuse me, Sinjin,” he mumbled, his head lowered and his cheeks scarlet. He walked rapidly away.
I allowed myself an evil grin.
What fun to cause such discordance,
But I was missing Bryn. I had had enough of our silly argument, and I wanted back in her good graces. But how to get there?
Then it dawned on me—I would surprise her with a passionate show of my feelings towards her. She would be so enraptured with desire that she would forget our squabble post haste. No doubt she would be so pleased to see me that she would fall directly into my arms. Relishing the thought, I materialized into our new bedroom, hoping to find her having one of her now very frequent naps. But, alas, she was not present. Thus, I figured she was still sleeping in our old bedroom, as we had moved only a portion of our things to our new domicile. So, I dematerialized there, post haste.
The curtains were drawn, and there was a distinct lump on the bed. Perfect. I hastily removed all my clothing, black silk shirt first—Bryn did so admire my torso, thus I felt it should be on full display. Then my shoes, trousers, boxers and socks. One must never forget the socks. A man looks quite ridiculous naked but for his socks.
I climbed onto the bed, straddling my dearest, and inwardly congratulated myself on finding such a fitting way to end our quarrel.
“Darling,” I purred. “Wakey, wakey. Your Sinjin is here.”
I pulled down the duvet and found myself looking into a pair of eyes that definitely did not belong to my beloved.
“Ah!” I screamed.
It would be impossible for me to quantify who got the greatest fright: yours truly or the man in my bed. Not only was I shocked, I was outraged and naked!
“Thanks, Sinjin, but I… don’t swing that way,” the man said as I reached for my trousers where they lay upon the floor. I tried, in vain, to understand what this Daywalker was doing in my bed!
The bed chamber door was immediately flung open by Klassje, of all people.
“Sinjin!” she said as she was greeted by my bare arse. She immediately closed her eyes and held her hands up to her eyes as though blinded.
“And what in hell’s bells are you doing here?” I demanded.
“Guarding the prisoner. What do you think, you big idiot?” Then she opened her eyes and smiled gleefully. “You big, naked idiot.”
“I object to such name calling.”
Bryn came running into the room. “What’s going on? Why is everyone screaming?” Then she eyed me in my current state of dishevelment. “Why are you naked?”
“Because!” I railed.
“I tried to explain that I’m not interested in men,” Adam said from where he was sitting up on the bed, pulling the coverlet up to his chin. I noticed, with chagrin, that he was no longer bound by the ropes in which I had left him.
“Neither am I!” I leveled him with an angry expression.
“Sinjin, what do you have to say for yourself?” Klassje asked, her face warm with the weight of her smile.
“I thought I should surprise Bryn by arriving in our room and giving her… a present.”
“A present?” Klaasje laughed. “Is that what you call it?”
“When, lo and behold, what do I find, but a man in my bed !” I finished.
“And what do I find, but a naked man trying to get in bed with me ,” Adam added.
“I’m going to get miles out of this one,” Bryn said to Klaasje as she reached down and gathered up the rest of my clothing.
“I am, too,” she added.
“Come on, Sinjin, let’s get you dressed,” Bryn said.
“All right, everybody out!” Klassje said. “Except for you.” She pointed at the Daywalker. “You lie back down and behave yourself.”
I followed Bryn out of the room with what I would like to think was great dignity.
Klassje locked the door behind us and took up her post, seated on a chair directly outside the door. Bryn and I adjourned to our new living quarters.
My tempest turned to look at me and sighed.
“Can we talk?”
That is the one question no man ever wants to hear. “I can assure you, my dear, that I am not homosexual,” I started.
“I know, Sinjin,” she said as she shook her head. “I don’t mean about that,” she finished as she waved her hand in the air. “Whatever that was.”
“What is on your mind?” I asked as I dressed in the rest of my clothing, quite quickly, lest any other hiding Daywalkers assaulted me.
She sat down on our new plush sofa, and I settled beside her. Any anger I was still holding melted away, as it so often did when I was in close proximity to my princess. Her warmth. Her scent. Her incandescent beauty.
Her face was flushed, reminding me of the delicate petals of a wild rose, and her treacle- colored hair cascaded over her shoulders and down to her incomparable breasts. She looked at me candidly with those stunning, clear blue eyes of hers.
“Sinjin. I have a feeling … this living together …”
“Yes, my hellion?”
“It all happened very quickly, and I think it’s causing tension between us.”
“I am inclined to agree with you,” I said with a quick nod. “It would have been preferable had your sister consulted us first.”
“Yes.”
“So, how do you propose we deal with the situation?”
“Well.” Bryn looked at me searchingly, and I formed the distinct impression that she was attempting to gauge my reaction. “In a way, it’s kind of handy. What with the baby coming.”
“Yes, there is that.”
“And we have a lot more space.”
“That is undeniable.”
“And it is lovely.”
“I agree that my queen reigned in her tackier impulses when it came to decorating the place.”
“Sinjin!”
“Oh, you know exactly what I am talking about, my dear.”
Bryn shrugged and lowered her eyes, indicating that she knew precisely what I meant.
>
“But that’s not the point. What I’m trying to ask you is … do you want to live with me?”
I regarded my hellion closely, noted the candor and vulnerability in her eyes. “It is true, my beautiful darling, that it would have been better had we taken this one step at a time and in a manner of our own choosing.”
“Yes.” I could see that she was hanging on my every word.
“However, it has come to my attention that there is no other woman with whom I would prefer to spend my time. So, if Sinjin Sinclair must live with someone, let it be with his Bryn.”
Her face broke into the most charming smile, and she looked vastly relieved, the dear girl.
“On condition,” I held up a finger, “that my right to privacy is respected, and that I am permitted a reasonable amount of alone time.”
“The same thing goes for me,” she said. “I don’t want to be with you every single second of every day, either. You can be an annoying most times.”
“So I have been informed.”
“And you can’t disappear every time you feel like it when the baby comes along. I’m not having you dematerializing every time there’s a dirty diaper to be changed.”
What a perfectly horrifying thought. “Is it not possible to hire someone to carry out such tasks?”
Bryn laughed. Laughed!
“Don’t you want to look after your own baby?” she asked.
“I confess I had not given much thought to changing nappies, but now I see that I should have. I assumed we would have a nanny and a governess when the time came.”
“A governess! This isn’t the eighteenth century, Sinjin.”
“I am entirely aware of the century in which we are living, thank you very much.”
“Well, then we’re going to do things the modern way.”
“Very well.”
“Which means equal division of child-minding duties.”
I sighed. “I suppose that is only fair.”
“Yes. It is.”
Her mouth had that determined set to it, which I always found extremely attractive. Impulsively, I leaned over and kissed her.
I am happy to report that my kiss was returned most enthusiastically.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Bryn
It was almost time for the council meeting, and I was feeling pretty elated. I had the feeling that everything was working out and would continue to do so. And when I compared my life today with the way it had been just a year before, I could hardly believe it.
I had this amazing and incredibly sexy man who seemed to adore me. I had my twin sister, who was also my best friend, in my life on a daily basis. Not to mention a niece. I had family! I was expecting my first child, something I never thought possible. I lived in a lovely house in a beautiful part of the world. Okay, the weather wasn’t the best, but you couldn’t have everything. I had friends, real friends who I trusted with my life. Most of all, I had love for the first time ever. And now the appearance of Adam gave me real hope that we could actually defeat Luce with minimal bloodshed.
Sinjin and I walked to the meeting together. We walked behind Klassje and her very willing prisoner, Adam, who stared adoringly at her for the entirety of the short trip to the Green Room.
“Will you quit staring at me?” Klassje sounded scary.
“I can’t help it,” Adam replied, never taking his eyes off her for a second.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” Klassje stomped on ahead, Adam following her like a lamb.
“Ah, young love! How delightful,” said Sinjin. “And won’t Monsieur Chevalier be pleased!”
“You’re bad,” I replied, only to have him grin down at me.
“You had better believe it, my tempest.”
The Green Room was already packed. News of Adam’s arrival had obviously spread like wildfire, and it seemed as if everyone had come to take a look. Jolie was already seated, with Rand to her right, as always. Sinjin took his usual place, standing at the queen’s shoulder, and I took up my own seat opposite them. The hubbub only increased when Adam was spotted, causing a reverberating, “Silence!” from Sinjin.
The room fell quiet.
“You will all, no doubt, be aware of the reason for this meeting,” Jolie began.
A murmur of assent filled the room.
“We have with us this evening a Daywalker by the name of Adam, who claims he has escaped from Luce’s camp.”
“Sent by Luce tae spy on oos, more like.” Odran’s booming voice filled the chamber.
His words were greeted by a chorus of approval, especially from the werewolves and the faery contingent.
“Silence!” Sinjin roared again. Was it wrong of me to find it arousing?
“Today I hope to discover the truth of why Adam is here,” Jolie continued. “We will weigh the evidence, and you will decide. But this Daywalker will have a fair hearing.”
“Let us hear from the boy,” Mercedes said, her voice full of authority.
Jolie nodded, and Adam was ushered into the center of the room, everyone craning their necks to get a good look at him. He seemed vulnerable and scared, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Stupid pregnancy hormones! The sooner this baby was out, the better, so I could go back to being the real me.
“How did you get away from your camp, dear?” Mathilda’s unmistakeable tinkling tones echoed through the room. The nicest possible start to Adam’s interrogation.
“I left to get provisions and never went back.”
“And you expect us to believe that your brethren didn’t follow you?” This came from one of Odran’s Fae henchmen.
“I wasn’t considered a flight risk,” Adam responded. “It was probably several hours before anyone became suspicious and raised an alarm. That gave me enough time to find and enter the portal.”
“The portal?” repeated Mercedes.
I turned and spoke directly to her. “Adam says he came out at the Balmoral portal.”
“Really?” Mercedes’ green eyes grew wider and she looked as excited as I’d ever seen her. She turned to Mathilda. “Did you hear that?”
“I did!” Mathilda beamed. “That’s wonderful news.”
“Aye, if it’s true,” bellowed Odran. “I thought ye said ye were nae successful in openin’ the portal?”
Mercedes turned her cool gaze on the faery king. “I believed we were not. That does not mean we did not witness some effect. It may be that the portal opened fully after our departure, or perhaps it only opened on one side and not the other.”
“Bryn and Dureau.” Again, Mathilda’s high-pitched voice. “When you entered the dreams of Luce’s tribe, did you tell them about this portal?”
“Yes,” I said, and looked across at Dureau.
He nodded curtly, and his expression was one of anger. I glanced at Klassje, who sat beside him and appeared equally furious. I guessed they were in the middle of a lover’s tiff.
“Well, then,” said Mathilda, as if that settled everything.
“That proves naethin’!” Odran declared emphatically. “Let me give him some o’ me enchanted mead, then we’ll know if he’s tellin’ the truth or nae.”
This prompted a roar of approval from all the faery folk.
Jolie held up a slender white hand. “I will not have anyone force-fed truth serum.”
I stood up. “Has it occurred to no one that this is exactly the result we wanted all along?” I asked them. “For Luce’s tribe members to come to us of their own free will, finally knowing the truth about their leader? And when they do, this is how we treat them—with suspicion and hostility.”
About half the room seemed to agree with me. A round of applause broke out in support of my words, and I watched my sister nod her approval.
“Would the boy be willing to take the enchanted truth mead voluntarily?” Mercedes called out.
Everyone fell silent as all eyes shifted to Adam.
“Yes,” he said. “I’ll drink it. I have nothing to hide.�
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The response was loud and unruly. For me, the biggest surprise was that Mercedes had actually agreed with Odran. One of his faery minions rushed out to get some of this enchanted mead.
My cheeks glowed as I remembered the time Odran had plied me with his magic mead. I was new to Kinloch Kirk at the time and a complete novice when it came to men. I had no experience dealing with rampant man-whores like Odran. He gave me my first glimpse of the Fae kingdom, on the premise that half my heritage was Fae. But he was really trying to get the truth out of me as to why I was at Kinloch. Not to mention trying to get me out of my clothes.
The minion was back in no time, and the room was abuzz with speculation. I waited for Sinjin to roar his impressive, “Silence!” again, but there was no need. The noise abated straight away, and you could almost hear a pin drop as the mead was handed over to Adam.
He looked impossibly vulnerable, standing there alone, vial in hand. For all he knew, it contained poison. Mathilda’s thoughts must have mirrored my own because she got up from her seat and walked over to Adam. The room watched as she spoke to him gently. We couldn’t hear her soft words, but we could see the affect they had on Adam. His body visibly relaxed, and a ghost of a smile appeared on his face. He nodded at her several times, and after about a minute and a half, knocked back the mead. All eyes were on him.
This was strong magic—I could personally testify to that. In no time at all, Adam was a whole new level of relaxed. A silly grin played across his face, and someone got him a chair. He plonked down on it and leaned back casually. Who was to question him? The queen, of course.
I watched as my sister stood from her place at the front of the room and walked over to Adam.
“Wow. You’re really beautiful,” he said.
This caused much tittering from the audience.
“Thank you, Adam,” said Jolie, graciously. “Now we have some questions for you. Okay?”
He nodded so much it looked like his head was about to come off.
“You want the truth,” he said, his words slightly slurred.
“That’s right.”
“The truth is … I’m in love!” He emphasized the last word by flinging his arms out to the side expansively.
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