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Ada nods. “We need to alert the Howlers and the Dwellers.”
And that is what Ecaeris wants to avoid. None of us want to travel so far from the village and the Mongrels’ territory. But if we have to, then we’re going to need to split up to cover more ground. One group will have to visit the Howlers, and the other will go to the Dwellers.
I don’t care where we go… As long as we’re not going to Dweller territory. Ecaeris is more likely to fight Prince Zaroth than listen to Ada and keep his mouth shut. They don’t dislike each other, but they also don’t mix well.
“How are we going to do that?” Madi asks. “It’s not like we can send a text message.”
“We can,” Lyell responds, raising a curious brow at his lover. “We send them all the time.”
Ada narrows her eyes at Ecaeris. “How do you send messages to each other?”
The Mongrel prince rubs the back of his neck. “A few centuries ago, a man came to the island with homing pigeons. That’s what we use. They’re quicker and safer than sending people.”
Madigan snaps her attention to Ada. “Is he fucking kidding?”
“Madi,” Isolde warns. “Language.”
“Is he freaking kidding?” Madigan asks, eyes wide. “We’re to trust pigeons? Pigeons, Ada. As in sky rodents?”
“I don’t love the idea… But whatever gets them the message is what we’ll do.” Ada sighs. “Maybe tell them we’re coming for a visit, too. The Mongrels will go to one tribe, and the Shade will go to the other.”
Lyell grins at Ecaeris. “So, you’re going to visit the Dwellers, right?”
“There’s not enough at stake for me to deal with Zaroth.” Ecaeris rubs his temples. “You talk to him, and I’ll speak with Ellisar and your brother.”
“You’ll have a great time,” Isolde purrs. “Just let ladies do the talking.”
23
ADELAIDE
DAY SEVENTY-ONE
The meeting with Isolde draws to a close, and everyone lingers in the study… Except for Talodus. He’s hurting. I can see the grief written on his face, but there’s nothing I can do to ease that pain. We only grow numb to it over time, though I don’t believe it ever completely goes away.
I follow Talodus up the stairs to our wing of the palace, and pause in the doorway of his room. He sits on the end of his bed, kicking his boots away before he discards his shirt. The blonde brute is glorious to admire from afar, and he normally lights up a dark space…
But in his sadness, the walls don’t shimmer in his rays of sunshine. They weep as he mourns his mentor and friend. The windows around us seem to show overcast weather, though there isn’t a cloud in the sky.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, moving to the end of his bed.
Talodus glances up at me. “You know how you’re always looking for a distraction when things aren’t going right?”
I nod.
“I need that distraction now.”
“A distraction won’t make the grief go away,” I comment, stepping between his legs.
“No, Ada, it won’t,” he murmurs, his bright blue eyes boring into mine. “But it will give me a moment of reprieve.”
Talodus pulls me atop of him, and I’m more than willing to do whatever I can to take away his pain. Even if it’s only for this moment.
He skims his hands up and down my sides as our mouths meet in a soul searing kiss. Our tongues dance against each other. I suck his lower lip into my mouth and bite gently before pushing against his chest to sit up. I crawl down his body, lightly running my fingertips across his abdominal muscles as I go.
When I get to his pants, I make quick work of untying them. I part the material as if I’m unwrapping a birthday present. The visual proof of his desire for me is almost as glorious as the actions that prove he’s fallen in love with me just as fast as I have for him.
I grip his shaft and lean down to rub the head of his cock against my lips, smearing the bead of precum as if it were my favorite gloss.
