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“Yes. I know.”
Her brow pursed in confusion. “Then why are you so irate? And what does this have to do with me leaving Näkt Mir?”
“The drink loosened his tongue, and in that moment it showed me that he doesn’t respect you as a wraith fae should. He doesn’t see you as a true mizrah deserving of the proper regardof your station. And if he sees you in this way then that means more most likely feel the same. More soldiers and cavalrymen sharing their thoughts with families and friends down in Silvantis, spreading rumors to their kin beyond Silvantis and farther into Northgall.”
Fury raced through my blood at the thought of the rumors. I could only imagine some of the things they might be saying.She’s just his whore. A pretty piece he gained from defeating Issos. She’s no wraith fae so she’s not his true mizrah. Nor will their babe be a true heir.
“It’s true,” she said, “I’m not one of you.”
“You arenow,” I practically bellowed in the quiet of the corridor. “Una. If they don’t accept you as my mizrah, then they wouldn’t accept our child as heir. If I died somehow, those disbelievers might—” I broke off. I couldn’t tell her what they’d do.
Traitors could and would kill our child so that he or she couldn’t take their rightful place? They’d kill Una as well for good measure.
The thought chilled my blood with horrifying speed.
Una didn’t ask what I refused to tell her. She simply stated calmly. “So it will take time for them to accept me.”
“Exactly. Andthatis why you won’t leave Näkt Mir to seek out these texts the prophecies speak of. Here you are safe. Outside these walls, the danger is far too great.”
She pressed her lips together, her calm demeanor vanishing, her back and shoulders going rigid. “My people will die without this cure, Goll. My father.” Her lip trembled. “My brother.”
I reached out to her, but she flinched and stepped away from me. The unexpected rejection sliced like a dagger deep beneath my ribs. Then I curled my hand into a fist at my side.
“I will find the texts for you. I’ll bring them back to you here.”
She huffed out a frustrated breath. “You don’t understand. They were meant for me to find. Not you. You might not ever find them. Then it’ll be too late. All because of your stupid stubbornness.”
“I won’t risk it.”I won’t risk you.
“Even if it means saving hundreds, even thousands, of people in Lumeria.”
“Yes, even then,” I stated evenly. She narrowed her glare but then I added, “And you don’t know that you’re the only one who can find them.”
She fluttered her black wings as if to remind me she was god-touched herself. “Yes, Goll. I do.”
Then she turned and marched into her bedchamber, slamming the door behind her and firmly shutting me out.
UNA
Maddening male.I punched my pillow, still trying to find a comfortable position so I could fall asleep. For the hundredth time, I threw the covers off of myself and rolled over to stare out the window, reliving my argument with Goll. Both arguments, actually.
I understood that he wanted to keep me safe, but he refused to listen to me. Some things were worth the risk. Like saving an entire people. Hava had even told me there were signs that some wraith fae in a small village near the Borderlands may have a few cases of the Parviana plague.
A soft whoosh noise came from near my wardrobe then Goll’s naked silhouette passed the window and crossed the room toward me.
“Go away,” I told him but he kept coming. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Good,” he growled into the dark, raising gooseflesh on my skin. “I don’t want to talk.”
“Get out of my bedchamber,” I hissed as he neared the foot of the bed.
Then he was standing there, yanking the coverlet off the bed and wrapping his long fingers around my ankles.
“I’m serious, Goll!”
Ignoring my protests, his dragon eyes glowing silver in the dark, he tightened his hold on my ankles. “So am I, Mizrah.”
With a strong pull, he hauled me to the foot of the bed, my chemise riding up. He released one ankle to push the hem the rest of the way to my waist, baring my sex. Instantly, my body flared with heat and arousal while my emotions still whirled with anger.
