Chapter Nine

“I can't believe Nex is mated,” I said. “I mean, I knew it was coming. It's just he's such a . . .”

“Sluts make the best mates,” Keltyr said with a smirk. “We've already been around and know what we want. So, when we settle down, it's for good.”

“Did he just call himself a slut?” Vexen asked Taroc.

Before Taroc could answer, Kel did. “An ex -slut, to be specific. As if you didn't know.”

Vex frowned. “How would I know? I've never fucked you.”

“No, of course not. I'm a top. But you have eyes, don't you, Watcher ?”

He shrugged. “I mind my business.”

“Except when it comes to our Ember evidently,” Rath drawled.

Vex cleared his throat. “I've made him my business.”

“You're like the opposite of Taroc,” I said.

Taroc lifted his brows at me.

“You see everything,” I said to Taroc. “Not in a creepy way. You just notice. You've very aware.”

Taroc grunted, nodded, and shifted his stare to the side, scanning the area again as if to prove my point.

We had left the clearing and were now in the town square, gathered around the well, where tables and chairs had been set up along with a buffet meal provided by the Emperor so the Wraith Lord Citadel's staff could enjoy the day. It was nice to see the Creen workers relax for once and enjoy someone else's cooking. And they did. They went back and forth from the buffet to their tables, gathering delights for themselves instead of others with bright grins on their faces.

Everything in Fress was like those Creen smiles, all shiny and new—the buildings, the freshly planted gardens before the homes, and the lampposts. Even the cobblestones in the road had been washed and the holes repaired. The Orphanage that Evina now ran was next door to the house Nex had built them. And yes, he'd done it alone, insisting that every nail, board, and stone be set in place by his hands. Before you go thinking it was romantic, he did it because he didn't trust anyone else to build his house. And for bragging rights. Already, he stood before the huge structure—bigger than the four-story orphanage next door—and waved at the carvings around the lintel on his way inside with yet another group of Bear Ladrin and Gold Tytra. But they were just a warmup. Nex told me that he was really looking forward to telling his children about how he had built that home for them and their mother.

Goddess love him.

“Not in a creepy way like me?” Vex asked.

“Huh?” I swiveled my head away from the Nex tour to look at Vexen.

“You just said Taroc watches, but not in a creepy way, implying that other people are creepy.” Vex's lips twitched. “Am I creepy?”

“Yes,” all of my lovers said in unison.

I burst out laughing.

Vex grimaced.

“No,” I said. “I think you're romantic.”

“That's only because you don't know the level of his watching,” Kel said. “He could be spying on you all the time.”

“Kel,” I said in a chiding tone.

Vexen snorted. “I don't have the urge or the energy for that.”

Suddenly, my wraith lord pendant went off.

“Shit!” I hissed and looked down at the glowing moonstone.

Around me, the pendants around my lovers' throats started to glow as well. Vexen's did not. He didn't look happy about that.

“I'm sorry, Vexen,” I said. “Can you tell Nex that we had to leave?”

Vex nodded.

“Thanks, I—”

“Son of a brutal bitch!” Nex's voice came thundering out of his house, drowning my words. Then he stormed out onto the porch, the pendant on his neck glowing. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” he roared.

The Emperor hurried over to him and waved his hand. The glowing stopped, but Nex was still panting furiously. “Disregard the summons, Lord Nexhavaren. My magic will choose another to take your place.”

Nex nodded, beyond words. It's hard for anyone to come down from fury, but it's especially difficult for a Tytra. Nex hunched forward, the bones in his face shifting ominously.

“Oh, fuck,” Taroc, a Tytra too, muttered. “He's going to need to let that out. Vex, find him something to break.”

But before Vex could move, Evina ran through the crowd, shouting for her mate, “Nex!” She ran up the steps and right into his arms. “I've got you now. It's all right. You're not going anywhere.”

It felt as if the world held its breath. Everything, even the birds, went silent.

Nex crumpled around Evina and his shoulders melted on a release of his breath. With that, everyone else released their breaths too. Not that Nex would have hurt anyone, but if he had shifted, his dragon's size alone would have been dangerous in the middle of that celebration.

“Holy shit,” Rath whispered.

“He chose well,” Taroc said. “Only true love can calm a Tytra that quickly.”

“This is so romantic,” I whispered as I watched Nex raise his head and kiss his mate. “Do you think I could calm you?”

“I'm certain of it,” Taroc said with a soft smile.

“That's sweet and all,” Xae said. “But we gotta get back to the citadel and armor up.” Then he was gone.

“Shit!” I growled and glanced down at the glowing pendant. “How did I forget this thing?” Then I faded too. My last sight was of Vexen and the wraith lord pendant around his neck. It was glowing, and he was grinning.

All right. Maybe he was a little creepy.