“Same as yours. Play the disruptor.”
“That’s never my intent.”
I smiled tightly and avoided eye contact. “Let’s not fight this morning.”
He turned back to the coffee machine. Busied himself by filling a mug for himself. “When are you leaving?”
“After you.” When he’d be stuck at the Gathering in Anson’s paneled meeting room and unable to leave.
“Are you allowing enough time?”
He meant it wasn’t safe to spend the night in Azul, even though some pack members had returned, wanting to resume their lives rather than remain in Westvale, dependent upon the Carmag. The necessary public services in Azul were back on—power and water—thanks to ingenuity and a punch of Fee’s puppy magic. It wouldn’t be a tragedy if I stayed in my old house along the lake... if it weren’t for the lack of security. And knowing Grayson wouldn’t be with me.
We’d had this discussion last night, when I wrapped myself in his arms. He’d tangled his fingers in my hair, and in the warmth of cuddling only, with no sex because I just wanted to be held… we’d tried talking.
The emotions hadn’t been as contentious then as they were now. Grayson had argued that the trek to the sacred pool would take time. Fee might have opened a direct passage to Azul to aid Anson’s evacuation of survivors, but the trek would take half an hour. From there, I’d use the passage leading to the meadow where we’d first encountered creatures, hike past Grayson’s hidden cave and go the last few miles to the pool. Grayson’s estimate of the time needed was between two and three hours, depending on how well the nymphs kept up, and whether we encountered anyone.
“I can have Mace send a security detail.”
“He’ll be busy with you at the Gathering.” Fallon, too. Anson would have his chief military advisor, Elijah Stone, at his side. Lec Rus told no one who he had with him, but they would all be posturing. I was certain someone would notice if a security detail was missing, then question why I needed the protection.
Besides, I didn’t trust the men not to have secret orders to get me back to Westvale at the first sign of trouble. And I wasn’t an idiot. Metis and Aine would be difficult.
“The nymphs don’t like males around their sacred pool,” I said. “No point in annoying them if we don’t have to.”
Grayson turned to lean against the kitchen counter, his gaze shuttered. “You’ll be out in the open for longer than I like.”
“Not really.” I set the coffee aside. “Fee opened a direct passage to the pool. He said it would take maybe an hour because of the distance.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “When did Fee do this?”
“He was here this morning while you were doing it alone in the shower.”
A flash of alpha canines. Gods—I loved that expression. I loved this man. Hated upsetting him.
I stood, went to him, and wrapped my arms around his waist. Pressed my cheek to his chest, listened to the pounding of his heart. “Soon, this will be over,” I whispered. “Please. Trust me.”
He pressed his fingers against the wolf rune on my wrist, dragged my hand to his mouth, and gently bit down. “This is your lifeline. I’ll always be here.”
I turned my face and pressed a kiss above his heart. “And I’ll always be here,” I said, believing with all my heart it was true when he turned to leave.
Effa and Caerwen arrived twenty minutes later, and after a trek through a cold, dim passage with curling ivy on the walls, we were standing near the sacred pool, listening to the dull thunder of the waterfall and staring at the smooth surface of the water. The sun was out. The ground was muddy, with patches of snow in the purple shade beneath the pines. But birds were pecking through the leaves and detritus on the forest floor, looking for the worms wiggling toward the warmth and away from the wet.
One sparrow hopped away as a robin swooped in and began tossing brown leaf bits in a greedy search.
Caerwen tightened her long coat around the diaphanous gown she wore. I didn’t think it was easy hiking in a dress like that, but she always wore gowns. She’d worn gowns when guarding her grotto in Wales. Probably wore them when she battled enemies who came to destroy what she loved.
Effa had chosen a dress that reminded me of the crocus that appeared in early spring. Her hands kept twisting. “It will be fine,” I told her.
“No one’s here yet.”
“I haven’t burned anything down yet. Besides, they aren’t afraid of questions.”
“Aine was very angry when we asked before.”
“Aine wanted nothing more than to discover what Amal had written in that book. She didn’t find out from my mother. Now she has another chance with the journal.”
The nymphs didn’t answer. Instead, Caerwen fluttered in and out of visibility. Effa hopped around like the birds.
