Page 188 of Sky’s Edge

He sure did.

“Would you like me to come back in fifteen minutes after you’ve had a shower and some coffee?” he offered.

“No, I’d like to know them now,” I told him.

And I braced.

Because I was sure it would be avowals of love.

I wanted to remember every second of it.

And I was scared out of my brain he was actually going to say it.

Because that meant I would say it back.

I might be feeling it.

But that didn’t mean I was ready.

“We haven’t had time for me to brief you on what happened in Gehenn,” he stated.

This was not what I expected to hear.

But I wanted to hear it, and it felt like a reprieve he was going to talk about it, so I urged, “Go on.”

“Although all those who were involved in the attack were traced to being Arnaud and Tatra sympathizers, the survivors weren’t in good shape to talk. However, we did talk to them, and they refused to say anything. This wasn’t surprising.”

He paused and I nodded.

So he kept going.

“Now, I don’t know if you know, but the use of truth serum, as it’s the same in Night’s Fall, is illegal to administer unless the person getting it concedes to taking it. They did not. We had to draft a petition to a magistrate to get permission to circumvent that order. This was granted this morning.”

“Oh. Good.”

“Yes. It’s good. They’ve also fully healed, so they’re in better shape to be more thoroughly questioned. Thus, I’ve decided to take this opportunity to get Bainon and Cormac out of Berg and away from their females so you can do your magic to sort them out before we return, and we can all sit down to dinner and calmly discuss things.”

My…

Magic?

“They’re keen to find out what’s happening, and Bain sees the wisdom of giving Aleece some space,” he continued. “I think you got through to Cormac last night as well, so he sees this for Gayle too. They’ve agreed to go. But so you know what you’re dealing with, Bain has told Aleece they’re fated mates. He has not released her from the spell yet, however.”

I sat up straighter in his arms and asked, “Why the hells not?”

“He wants her to have her reaction to what he’s done free from the binds in which fate has tied them. He feels, rightly, he deserves whatever that response is before its tempered by their connection.”

Well…

That was nice.

I supposed.

“Is he doing this jacked-up shit because of whatever is happening?”

“We males have discussed it, and yes. There’s some kind of…something that’s triggering a protective instinct that is significantly advanced from what we normally feel.”

Crap.