“I don’t understand.”
“I know. A little advice: if my cousin ever offers to tell you a story, seize the opportunity. Now, tell me about the ring.”
“There’s nothing to tell. I’ve always had it. It’s always been on that chain around my neck, as long as I can remember.”
“But you don’t know anything about it?”
She shook her head.
“And you don’t wonder?”
She frowned, her gaze locking on the ring. “I haven’t. It just was. Now that you mention it, that does seem strange.”
She was uncertain again, as if the rules were changing or the ground was shifting beneath her feet and she wasn’t sure where to step next.
Hadrian would work with that.
“And it always shines like this?”
She shook her head, apparently mystified. “That’s new.”
“I have an idea,” he said. “Why don’t we ask your brothers what they think of my proposed deal to satisfy the firestorm? I mean, they have a stake in the result, too, and they might want your family line to continue.”
“You can’t talk to them. They’re swans because they’re cursed.”
“I remember. Can’t you talk to them in your swan form, or at least understand them?”
She blinked. “I don’t know.”
“You’ve never even tried!” he guessed. “Can’t you find them?”
“I can go to anybody anywhere anytime,” she said with confidence.
“But you never have.” Hadrian shook his head. “In a thousand years, you never reached out to them.” He could see her confusion. Had it been part of Maeve’s curse that his mate should be oblivious to everyone but the Dark Queen? If so, he seemed to be breaking that edict. “I thought anybody alive would have more curiosity than that. Twelve kills in a thousand years must have left you with a lot of spare time.”
“I had other things to do.”
“But they’re your brothers! Your only kin. Your family.”
She frowned and looked across the studio, clearly shaken. “I’m helping them,” she said, her tone tentative.
“That’s good. When you fulfill the deal, the curse will theoretically be broken, right?”
Her eyes flashed. “It’s not theoretical.”
“And they’ll be mortal men again, right?”
“Right.” She was wary, as if he was unpredictable. But she was still listening. Hadrian would take it.
“And you’ll be Fae.”
“And immortal. Exactly.” She nodded. “Assuming a certain dragon shifter ever stops talking.”
Hadrian chuckled. Talking was keeping him alive. “Maybe your brothers deserve to hear that there’s another option. Maybe they’re less inclined to believe the Dark Queen than you are.”
“The deal is the deal.” She shook her head and took a step closer. “They’ll stay cursed if I don’t fulfill it. I can’t believe they’d quibble over the details.”
“But what if the firestorm is right about us being destined mates and belonging together? For the Pyr, a mate often has skills that complement his strengths and affinities, so they’re stronger as a team than individually. What if our combined strengths could set your brothers free without you killing me?”
“You’re just stalling for time,” his mate said impatiently. “You’re just trying to compromise my will to get the job done...”
He hadn’t even thought it could be compromised, so having her admit as much was great. “Did you ask your brothers the first time?”
“No.” She was startled. “Why would I?”
“You just decided for them?”
“I had the opportunity to free them. What was there to talk about?”
“They might have had other ideas. They might like being swans.” He raised his hands, trying to think of something that would be better as a bird. “I’d miss flying if someone took it away from me. I’d want to be asked if it was worth surrendering that.”
She nodded reluctant agreement. “But still, they’re cursed. They must want to be free.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “But don’t you miss them?”
“I told you: I didn’t even know I had brothers until the Dark Queen showed them to me.”
He lifted the ring. “Then this doesn’t belong to one of them?”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’ve always had it, you don’t particularly care about it, yet the Dark Queen didn’t take it, even though it’s obviously valuable.”
“It might not be. It might just look good.” She shrugged. “She looked at it a couple of times, but she’d never touched it.”
That made Hadrian wonder whether the ring was magickal in its own right. Why else would Maeve have avoided contact with it? Why else would it have started to glow? It was more important than his mate was letting on. Did she know more about it than she was sharing with him? “Maybe your brothers miss you. The portals between the mortal realm and Fae might close. You might not get to hang out together any more than you do now.”
She shrugged. “I’m not going to worry about losing something I’ve never had.” She frowned. “Give me one of my knives. Let’s end this.”
“No. I want to ask your brothers what they think of my offer. If they don’t agree, then I’ll give you whichever knife you want.” He lifted his hands. “Come on. Twelve brothers cursed to be swans. I want to see that even if you never did.”
She eyed him, her expression wary. Hadrian thought she looked dangerous and adorable, which he found a very alluring combination. “You are stubborn, aren’t you?”
“I like being alive. I like you. I like the idea of spending more time with you. And I’d like to get my gloves done for my friends.”
“You’d like to meet my brothers. And you’d like to satisfy the firestorm,” she concluded, a hint of a smile curving her lips. “Trust me to pick a dragon with a long bucket list.”
“It’s not that long,” Hadrian protested, taking a step closer to her. The firestorm shimmered and glowed between them and he heard her pulse increase. She licked her lips and he remembered the feel of her wrapped around him, the memory tightening everything within him.
He reached out a hand, uncertain whether she’d stay or not, and his fingertips brushed her cheek. He heard her sigh. He saw her soften. He saw her eyes close, those lashes fluttering as if she wanted to resist him but couldn’t. He saw her lips part, as if their thoughts were united. He saw her lean closer and felt the firestorm brighten to incendiary heat...
Then just as his anticipation rose, his mate said “Uh oh” and vanished one more time.
Uh oh?
Where had she gone?
She hadn’t said anything the other times.
He told himself that he was getting through to her, even though he’d really wanted that kiss. In this moment, it was hard to believe—but she hadn’t killed him yet.
That was unassailable.
Being summoned by Maeve without warning couldn’t be a good thing.