I held out my wrist. “Is the magic still active?”
Ilianna ran a hand around my wrist, her expression thoughtful. Contemplative. “Definitely. I wonder if I can figure out how the Dušan does this. If I could, it could herald in a whole new era in spell protection.”
“And make you rich,” I said, with a grin.
She glanced up, expression cross. “I’m already rich. This is about—”
“Ilianna,” I said gently, “I was joking.”
She took a deep breath and slowly released it. “Sorry. As I said, the pregnancy is making me bitchy. Of course, it could also be the meeting we’ve planned with Carwyn tonight.”
Carwyn was the stallion whose herd Ilianna’s parents—who were unaware Ilianna was gay and already in a committed relationship with Mirri—were pushing her to join. Ilianna had been fighting against their wishes for a while now, but the truth was, mares rarely remained without a herd. They usually went from their father’s herd to their stallion’s, and quite often the match was chosen for political or monetary advantages rather than love.
“I hope he’s coming here—”
“He is,” she cut in. “I’m hoping the Brindle will make him see that I belong here, not with him.”
I frowned. “But you don’t belong here. You said that yourself, more times than I care to remember.”
“I know. It’s just—” She paused and rubbed her arms. “Ever since I came back here, it’s felt oddly right. It’s almost as if I’ve come home.”
A vague and definitely selfish sense of alarm ran through me. Things were changing—we were all changing—and no matter how much I might wish otherwise, there was no going back. Not to the way we were before my father, the Raziq, and Lucian stepped into my life, anyway. And while that might not necessarily be a bad thing, it nevertheless made me sad.
But all I said was, “Your mother was under the impression you could never return to the Brindle until Kiandra was gone.”
“She’s right—I couldn’t. At least, not until recently. Not until all this key business started. It made me realize however much I might have disagreed with what was done so long ago to maintain the safety of this place, there was a need for it.”
“And what was done?” I said softly.
Her gaze met mine. “Sacrifices. Blood sacrifices.”
I frowned. “But witches are against blood magic.”
“Yes, we are. It is the reason I swore never to return to the place while Kiandra was present. She was the instigator. She raised the magic and forever tainted the soul of this place. Or so I thought.” She took a deep breath and released it slowly, then gave me a quick, sharp smile. “Anyway, I’m hoping Carwyn will see this place, see my place in it, and make the only logical decision.”
“That being to walk away and not attempt to add you and Mirri to his herd?”
“No, because that would hurt both our families.” She shrugged. “The logical solution is to make it a joining in name only. That way, he gets the alliance he wants, and I get the protection of his brand.”
“And Mirri? What does she get out of the deal?”
“She, like me, gets the protection of his herd while still retaining her freedom. Plus, if she wants, she gets babies.” She half smiled. “She’s bisexual, remember, and me being pregnant has made her somewhat broody.”
“Then I hope Carwyn sees sense.”
“So do I,” she murmured. “So do I.”
Azriel returned. “Rhoan is not happy about wearing something so feminine,” he said, “but has agreed to do so until told otherwise. He did comment that it was more Liander’s style than his.”
I smiled. Liander would probably have painted his fingernails all the different colors of the ribbon, just for the fun of it. I gave Ilianna another hug, wished her luck, then stepped into Azriel’s arms and said, “Let’s head back to Stane’s and see if he’s had any luck with pinning the key location down.”
“It is unlikely,” he said, as we reappeared once again within the security shields protecting Stane’s place. “Not enough time has passed since we assigned him the task.”
“I know, but what else can we do?” I glanced at the camera. “Stane, it’s us again.”
“Come on up.”
The screen briefly shimmered, then died. I headed for the stairs and lightly ran up them. Stane was stationed at his bridge but glanced around as we entered the main living room. “As Azriel has already noted, even my computers can’t come up with answers that fast.”