I pretended to think about it because what else could I do? “I entered the temple, saw the ke’tain, and talked to a guard. I guess he was suspicious when I showed up.”
“He spoke to you in Fae?” Lukas asked.
“I don’t know…” I replayed the encounter in my head, and my eyes widened. “He must have. Everyone here speaks Fae to me unless they are told to speak English.”
Lukas nodded. “It has to be the ke’tain then. Or it could be your goddess stone.”
“Maybe it’s both.” I had a strong suspicion Aedhna was responsible, but I couldn’t say that.
A knot formed in my gut. I’d been keeping one secret or another from Lukas since I met him, and I’d thought I was done with that. Now I was forced to keep the biggest one of all from him, and I hated it. I suddenly felt the weight of responsibility Aedhna had laid on me, and I wished I could confide in Lukas. He would do everything in his power to help me, and I wouldn’t have to lie to him.
“Are you okay?”
Lukas’s voice pulled me from my unhappy thoughts, and I gave him a confused look. “Huh?”
“You got quiet for a few minutes.” He smiled tenderly. “You’ve had an exciting day, and you must be tired. Do you want to go to your quarters and rest?”
“No,” I blurted. “I mean I’d like to stay here a little longer, unless you have things to do. I know how busy you are. Your father –”
“Can wait until tomorrow.” He laid a warm hand on my foot. “You can stay as long as you want.”
There was nothing sexual in his tone or the look he gave me, but the thought of spending the night here with him made my stomach flutter. Would he kiss me again? Maybe do more than that?
“Finish your meal,” Lukas ordered, thankfully unaware of my thoughts. “You haven’t eaten enough.”
I resumed eating, and between bites, I talked about my flight with Gus and asked Lukas if they ever used drakkans for patrols. He told me drakkans were too wild and unpredictable to be tamed or domesticated. They were protective of their territory, which made them excellent guardians of the valley, but they’d never attacked or carried off a member of Unseelie. Until today.
I thought about Gus and how he’d behaved with me. There’d been a wildness about him that had scared me at first, but the more time I was around him, the more he was like his old self. He couldn’t have been more than a few months old when I’d rescued him, at an age when he would have been in his nest, shielded from the world by his parents. His early childhood could not have been more different than the other drakkans.
“Gus was hatched in my world away from his parents. All he knew until he came home was the people who stole him and my family. He was a grumpy little guy, but I think he felt safe with us. That’s why he acted the way he did and didn’t hurt me.”
Lukas nodded. “You may be right. A lamal can only be domesticated when they are raised by their owner from birth.”
I looked at Kaia, who was curled up on a rug like a big house cat. It was hard to believe I was ever afraid of her. “So, no one here has tried to raise a drakkan?”
“It’s too dangerous. If you did manage to steal an egg, the parents would pick up the scent and attack until they got their egg back. Your drakkan was taken through a portal, so his parents could not follow.”
I laid my fork on the tray. “Poor Gus. Faris told me his parents wouldn’t accept him back into their nest. I was worried about him until I saw him today. I wonder if I’ll see him again.”
“I’m sure you will.” Lukas picked up my tray and set it on the table. He sat and gave me a long perusal that made me want to look away. Instead, I poked his thigh with my foot.
“It’s not polite to stare.”
He smiled. “There’s something different about you tonight, and I just realized what it is. You’re like the Jesse I knew in New York.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Was I supposed to be someone else?”
“No, but you haven’t been yourself since you came to Faerie, and I didn’t see it until now.” His eyes grew troubled. “I know this is nothing like New York, and you haven’t exactly had an easy start. Are you unhappy here?”
I inhaled deeply and let it out. “I won’t lie and tell you it’s been all roses. It’s definitely an adjustment, and I miss my family and Violet. But I think the hardest thing has been that I have no purpose here.”
He started to respond, and I held up a hand to stop him. “My whole life, I’ve been working toward something. In school, I worked hard to get into a good college. My parents disappeared, and I had to find them and take care of Finch. Then I had to find the ke’tain and provide for my family. I come here, and all I’m expected to do is wear nice clothes and let others serve me.”
Understanding dawned in his eyes. “I was so focused on keeping you safe that I didn’t think about what I was taking from you. How can I help?”
“I want to start training again,” I said without hesitation. God only knew what Aedhna had in store for me, and I wanted to be ready for it. “That’s a start, and then find a job I can do here.”
“Training we can do. We’ll worry about a job later. Do you want to start tomorrow?”
I nodded eagerly. “Yes. And I don’t even care if it’s with Faolin.”
Lukas chuckled and lifted my feet back to his lap again. “What is that human saying? Be careful what you ask for.”
“At least I already know what I’m getting with him.” Warm and content, I adjusted the pillow behind me and settled into a more relaxed position. I let out a huge yawn. Maybe eating a full meal this late hadn’t been a great idea.
Lukas rubbed my foot. “Tired?”
“Not at all,” I lied. “I’m just trying out your couch. It’s more comfortable than mine.”
Amusement filled his tone. “You’re welcome to use it whenever you want.”
“Thanks.”
“Jesse.”
“Mmmm?” I opened my eyes. “I’m awake.”
“Good to know.” He shifted, and then I felt a soft throw cover me. “Sleep well, mi’calaech.”
I sighed happily. “You, too.”
* * *
I woke suddenly and sat up in bed. The dream I’d been having clung to me, and I rubbed my tired eyes as I shook it off. In my dream, I had been flying over the ocean with Gus, but he kept dropping me into the icy water. The last time, he pulled me out right before some monstrous fish had me for dinner.
I flopped back onto my bed, only to shoot up again. This was not my bed.
One glance around the room, which was lit only by a single lamp, told me exactly where I was, and I racked my brain to remember how I’d ended up here. I had been talking to Lukas on the couch. After that, nothing.
I must have fallen asleep, and he’d carried me to his bed – the same bed I’d fantasized about being in only hours ago. However, in my fantasy I hadn’t been alone.
Throwing off the covers, I got out of bed. I was still wearing my clothes from earlier, so I ventured out to the main room in search of Lukas. I found him near the door speaking quietly with Conlan, and they turned to looked at me when I entered the room. Their expressions told me they were in the middle of a serious discussion, so I backed up.