“And nothing will ever replace this one,” I said. “It’s the most beautiful bow I’ve ever owned. I can’t wait to use it.”
Under the table, I lifted my foot to trail a toe along Thallirin’s thigh. His fork paused halfway to his mouth as his gaze locked with me.
I turned to Tasha.
“How was today?” I asked.
“Good. Zach says I’m a natural with the bow.” She looked at Uan. “Can I have my own, too?”
“Of course. I will start on one tonight.”
I didn’t know where he’d get the wood from, but I knew that small detail wouldn’t stand in the way of doing something that would make Tasha, his newest daughter, happy.
“Any word on how Hannah is doing?” I asked.
“She is sick,” Thallirin said very seriously. “But Merdon is caring for her. He knows how to help her.”
“Is she sick because they took her?” Tasha asked, worried.
“No, sweetie. She was sick before that,” I said. “But Thallirin is right. With one of the fey looking out for her, she’ll recover. Merdon will see to it.”
I gave her a reassuring smile before meeting Thallirin’s gaze. The fey had a funny way of getting to women. It wasn’t aggressive but it was persistent and endlessly patient. It sounded a little stalkerish when I thought of it like that, and I smiled slightly, thinking of all the times I’d thought of Thallirin as my stalker. He didn’t feel like a stalker, now. I slid my foot a little higher up his thigh. In fact, he felt very much under my control.
He slowly set down his fork.
“Brenna is done eating and would like to leave now,” he said, standing.
My grin widened as Mom snorted.
“Right. It’s so obvious she wants nothing to do with that big, juicy steak on her plate. The steak that would give her hours and hours of energy.”
Thallirin paused in the process of moving away from his place at the table, looking from the steak to me, before sitting down.
“Eat quickly,” he said. He began eating his steak with a gusto that made the ache between my legs throb a little bit more in anticipation.
“Make sure to take a soak in a warm bath before bed,” Mom said under her breath. “It helps.”
Zach made gagging noises and started tugging on his ears.
“I think I just went deaf,” he said loudly. “Can you hear me? I can’t hear you.”
I rolled my eyes at him and started eating.
I loved my family. We were uniquely diverse but better for it. I could see in Mom’s eyes that she was missing Dad at the moment. But I knew, without a doubt, he would have approved of the choices we’d made since his passing. After all, he’d given his life so we could live.
I was determined to do just that with Thallirin at my side.