“I see,” Rhea murmured.
Setting her teacup on the table, she stood and walked over to an apothecary unit that took over one wall almost completely with its many large drawers. Her fingers drifted over the drawers before coming to rest at one and pulling it open. She withdrew a small bottle and curled her fingers around as she slid the drawer closed once again. Rhea carried it to the table and set it in front of Robyn.
“I think this will do very well for what you want. Just hold the image you wish to assume in your mind and take a sip—onesip,” she stressed. “You will be able to project that image outward so that all perceive it. Only a more powerful mage or sorcerer will detect the spell and be capable of unraveling it enough to see through it.” She smirked. “I advise you not to use it around your master or in the greater mage court in the city if your journey ever takes you there.”
Robyn picked up the bottle, holding it to the light as she examined the contents. There was a faint oily sheen to the potion inside of it, but it otherwise had a dark, murky cast to it like over-brewed tea.
“The cost?” she murmured.
“For you? A silver. A special discount for a sister in the arts.” The sorceress smiled.
There was something secretive and dangerous in that smile that made Robyn pause. She set the small bottle back on the table and pushed it toward Rhea with a finger.
“I would like for you to demonstrate, if you’d please.”
The sorceress suddenly laughed, her eyes crinkling with merriment as she picked the bottle back up and stashed it in a pocket in her robes. “You caught me.” She fished another bottle with even darker liquid from her sleeve and set that bottle on the table between them. “You must forgive a fellow sister for trying. As I said, I’ve sworn to protect the village, but they don’t pay shit. The opportunity to earn a few extra coins before your drow returned was too good to pass up. But I’m glad to see you are not so easy to deceive. That will do well for you in the future. Now watch.”
She unscrewed the top of the bottle and set aside before picking up the potion once more and bringing it to her lips. She took the smallest of sips, barely allowing a drop or two of liquid to fall onto her tongue. Carefully setting the potion back down in front of her, she exhaled, a dark mist creeping from her mouth as her image shimmered and grew hazy before taking on the appearance of a young woman with distinctly different coloring. Where the sorceress had dark hair to match the crow feathers that she wore, this image of her was a fresh-faced youth, brown curly locks falling around her shoulders. Her icy blue eyes warmed to a hazel, and she grinned.
“Do you see?”
“Marvelous,” Robyn breathed.
She had seen many glamour spells work by convincing onlookers to ignore certain features or ignore their presence altogether, but this was something completely different—and exactly what she needed. Withdrawing a silver from her coin purse, she set it on the table beside the bottle. The sorceress’s eyes latched onto it, and her smile widened as she plucked the coin from the table, leaving Robyn to screw the top back on. The wood of the cottage porch creaked as she picked it back up, announcing Ashul’s return, and she quickly pocketed it.
The door swung open and the drow entered, his gaze alternating between them as Deroxas jumped down from his shoulder to explore. Rhea’s lips twisted at the bone creature, but she made no complaint. Instead, she got up to fish out an acorn from a large bag hanging from a hook on the wall and tossed it to the squirrel, before making her way back to the fire and the black pot suspended from a larger, thicker pole deeper into the hearth than the small bar on which she’d hung the kettle moments earlier.
With a hook, she pulled the bar so that it swung out and grabbed a padded cloth with her other hand to remove the lid. Fragrant stew wafted throughout the cottage, and Robyn breathed it in. Ashul’s expression immediately lightened, and he gave a satisfied nod as he took the chair beside her.
Little conversation was exchanged as they ate, but Robyn didn’t need it. Ashul wasn’t a big conversationalist as they ate in any case, so she was used to the comfortable silence. Besides, she had bigger things on her mind. As she ate, she was entirely preoccupied with what was to come when they were finally alone in the barn.
ChapterEighteen
Ashul’s eyes followed his female as they headed outside into the heat of the late morning, squinting against the brightness of the dreadful sun. They had spent too much time in the sorceress’s cottage, butfinallythey were alone.
Even Deroxas had curled up beside the sorceress’s hearth and had been disinclined to leave it when they headed out. Perhaps the little bone creature had been aware of what they intended to do. It was not the first time he had made himself scarce once night had fallen, something that Ashul appreciated.
Lips curving in a predatory smile, he stalked after his songbird, his steps quiet. She glanced back a time or two warily, which he found curious. What was she plotting? Was this some new game? A soft purr vibrated in his throat. He did enjoy games so long as he was able to twist them for his pleasure. And Robyn had demonstrated that she enjoyed his pleasures as much as he did.
His cock twitched with excitement. He was eager to get her alone and peel back the layers to expose whatever secret she was keeping. He slowed his pace, his eyes hooding as he watched the sway of her hips, prolonging the game. Running his tongue over his teeth, he grinned as she disappeared into the barn with one last look over her shoulder. If that was not meant to be enticing, he did not know what was.
He took his time entering the barn, the musky sweet scent of hay filling his nose once more as he stepped inside. Though he had been there moments earlier to make sure that there were no rodents making their beds in there with them, the barn now contained a new sweetness with the scent of his female added to it. He scanned the room, hungry for the sight of her.
Perhaps she was hidden somewhere, already removing her clothes. He certainly hoped so. He wanted her hot and ready for him. Plus, he could use that to his advantage when he pounced on her, claiming her in the heat of conquest without having to slow down to remove her clothing. He would give her only a moment—the briefest space to decide if he was what she wanted—and then she was his.
He would not lose even a moment more before he cemented the bond. He could not. There was an urgency now that he could not ignore. It crawled through him in response to what he sensed coming through the leash. Their time together was winding down if he did not act fast.
Ashul breathed in her scent deeply and moaned at the sweet perfume of her arousal steadily filling the air.
My mate.
It was nigh unbelievable that he would claim a mate, but he was more than ready—eager, in fact. He’d had plenty of time for introspection as they walked to the sorceress’s dwelling, and even more as he inspected the barn. Enough time for him to decide that he would do this now. He couldn’t help but worry that someone would try to take her away from him, now more than ever as the conclusion of their journey loomed just ahead. Though his blood couldn’t prevent her death any more than it could for him, it would at least make her stronger and make it more difficult for their enemies.
He cursed the fact that he had not been ready to do so when they were comfortable in the elven forest. It not only would have been smart to do so before they left the safety of the cavern there, but he could have made the moment special for her. He was not a gentle male, but for her he was willing to do it all to make it a memory she would treasure. He would not be like the queen who had ruthlessly claimed and bonded him by blood to her. The moment had been painful and traumatic for a young drow male excited for his first sexual experience with his mate. He had been unprepared but had done his duty as a passive participant, the pleasure belonging all to the queen.
This time, he was doing so himself and for a female who made his heart swell with affection, protection, jealousy, and a thousand other feelings that made up his love. His love was undoubtedly as dark and twisted as himself, but it was reverent, and he was ready to worship his mate as only a drow male could. But this time… by his choice.
He adjusted his aching cock and glanced down at himself. If she were naked and readily waiting for him, perhaps he should do likewise? A sly smile curled his lips as he imagined the look of surprise and pleasure on her face when he rounded the corner naked and aroused. His purr climbed up his throat as he kicked off his boots and began to remove his clothing, allowing it to drop onto an overturned wooden box situated near the door.