Gabriel shook his head. “No catch. Everyone deserves a place of refuge, somewhere they can be safe. Seems to me you don’t have one in your birth house, so I’m offering House Phel, should you ever want it.”
“You’re a fool,” Jadren informed him. “Lady Phel would have your head for offering this.”
Gabriel smiled faintly. “I think you’d be surprised. Nevertheless, the offer is there. Do what you will with it.”
“What about Seliah?” Jadren asked.
Phel shrugged, smile going enigmatic. “I’ve been forcibly reminded that Seliah is a grown woman. She can make her own choices.” He turned to go. “Something for you to keep in mind, too.”
With that, he dropped the wards, and left.
~ 24 ~
Selly had spent Jadren’s convalescence in a frenzy of preparation.
And anticipation. The happy fantasies of how she and Jadren would spend the coming night had her simmering with impatient desire. He’d made a promise and she knew he’d keep it. No matter what else Jadren was or did, he kept his promises. Once he got over whatever worried him about bedding her, that final barrier between them would crumble. He could begin to heal, perhaps even trust. They’d learn to work together as wizard and familiar, be like Nic and Gabriel, perhaps even have a proper wedding, which would please her parents. She was fully confident she could talk Jadren into it.
At this point, she knew Jadren better than he knew himself. He wanted to pretend he didn’t have a soft heart inside that jaded façade he presented to the world, but she’d seen it for herself. They’d been through the worst together, so they could get through anything. If nothing else, Jadren desired her, even if it was despite himself.
Regardless, they were bonded and he was hers. She intended to demonstrate just how much he’d enjoy that. She hadn’t forgotten all the delicious, seductive things he’d said to her, beseeching her to say yes to him pleasuring her. She was saying yes now.
The biggest challenge had been the setting. The bedroom her well-meaning family had set up for her in the central and oldest part of the manse was ridiculously childish. Not at all the setting for the kind of sex she intended to indulge in with Jadren. And he didn’t need the reminders of her childhood giving him scruples. The problem was that his suite in the north wing with the other wizards of his status was offputtingly sterile, uncomfortably reminiscent of the coldest aspects of House El-Adrel. Daisy, still acting as chamberlain and minding which minions got which rooms, had given her daughter a spare key, and Selly had gone to explore the rooms that Jadren had picked out, on the highest floor. Though others had warned her Jadren might’ve warded the rooms, he hadn’t.
Once she saw them, she knew why, too. There was nothing in there worth protecting. Oh, he’d had it furnished in style, but none of it reflected what she knew of Jadren. The place looked like something out of an ad for a fancy inn in Convocation Center. Just another of Jadren’s covers, him presenting to the world an image that had nothing to do with who he truly was.
She placed the bag of metal gadgets there for him—both the one he’d told her to keep as they were escaping, and the others Asa had collected from Jadren’s healing flesh. She’d given him his weapons in the infirmary, which had made him smile, particularly the machete, which he seemed attached to. Her long tail of hair had been in the bag, too—hopelessly tangled—and she’d planned to throw it away, but Jadren said it was traditional to keep it, so she set that with the brass gadgets. The detritus from both of their bodies and their sojourn in House El-Adrel didn’t match the sleek formality of the rooms, but Jadren could deal with that later, when he was ready.
Selly locked the door behind her, knowing this wouldn’t be the place for their reunion.
Instead, she threw herself into redecorating her simple set of rooms, her mother willingly assisting and happily chattering about wedding plans. Her parents still didn’t quite understand the wizard–familiar relationship, or how bonding worked, so Selly had simply represented herself as engaged to Jadren. It wasn’t a lie, especially in light of the fact that their true relationship went much deeper than that and was far more permanent. They moved out the toys and dolls, enlisting Wizard Dahlia’s help with bed linens and upholstery that looked less girlish and bit more in the style of Jadren’s rooms in House El-Adrel.
When Selly fetched Jadren, promising to give him an infusion of magic in private so that Asa would release him, she actually blushed at the healer’s knowing look. “Go on, you two,” Asa said genially, waving them away. “I remember what it’s like to be freshly bonded.” He looked briefly downcast.
To Selly’s surprise, Jadren hesitated, then clapped the Refoel wizard briefly on the shoulder. “They executed your familiar after all, huh?”
Asa opened his mouth, clearly taken aback.
“I can sense it,” Jadren explained with compassion. “The bond is gone. The only way that happens is death. Sorry, man.”
Asa hesitated a moment more, seeming about to say something, then simply nodded. “Thank you. It’s been… a difficult time.”
“Bright side is there’s more where she came from.” Jadren grinned at her. “Plenty of familiars in the sea, right, poppet?”
She rolled her eyes at him, making him laugh. But she wondered. It didn’t seem at all like something Gabriel would do, executing Laryn, particularly as she’d been pregnant. Selly had been too busy being giddy over Jadren the last few days to think about Laryn, however. She knew Sergio was dead—hooray!—and Sabrina returned to House Sammael in abortive attempt to ransom them—alas—but no one had mentioned Laryn. Asa gave her a warning shake of his head behind Jadren’s back. Fine, she’d ask Gabriel later. Much later. Tomorrow.
“Come on,” she told Jadren. “I have a surprise to show you.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all of your surprises already,” he drawled, but went with her obligingly enough.
When they arrived in her rooms, she made him close his eyes. Though he scowled at her, he did so, allowing her to draw him inside. Closing the door behind them, she took one last assessing look around. Everything was in place. The glowing candles. Flowers. Wine—the best House Phel had.
The bed turned down invitingly.
“Ta da!” she said. “You can look.”
Jadren opened his eyes, taking his time absorbing everything, then he raised an auburn brow at her. “Looks like you’ve thought of everything.”
“I tried.” She fidgeted, anxious now, unable to tell if he was pleased. “Would you like some wine?”
