Elam by Kathi S. Barton Read Free Book Online Page B

she sat up, her chin on her fist. “I thought perhaps it would serve no purpose to keep it from you now.”
    “No, not really. Not since I have tasted every part of you.” Her face reddened and he told her he was sorry. “I never meant…we never meant to hurt you that way.”
    “I know that. But this does not lessen the fact that we are bonded and truly mates now. I never wanted it, and am still not sure that this was a good idea.” He didn’t want to lie to her and told her that he thought not as well. “But here we are. The three of us.”
    “You will stay then?” He knew that he sounded somewhat desperate, and he supposed in a way that he was. She was his now, his and Casdon’s, and he didn’t want to be without her now that he’d been with her. She looked over at Casdon, who snored softly. “He and I will care for you. Make sure that you have everything that you need. Anything that you might ever want too. We’re family now, the three of us.”
    “I have what I need. I can care for myself.” He didn’t say anything because really, he knew that she was right. “The king and queen, Casdon’s parents, they tricked me—and you—into this. Are you not angry with them? I am. Very much so. They might have been a little clearer in their statements. Instead of letting me believe that I’d die once I came to see him.”
    “No, I’m not mad at them, but I can see how you would be.” And he really wasn’t. “I might have been had you appeared in my life before today, or even before this decade, when there were no wives to my brothers. Then we were not where we are now in our lives. It’s not to say that I’m not afraid…I am. Nor am I sure what sort of reasoning that they had for this. But I’m sure, like the other things that we’ve been told and have found out, that there was a good reason for this, and I’m sure that it will work out.”
    She laid her head on his chest again and Elam wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not so sure that it will. I’m set in my ways. I have things I like to do, most of which do not involve sharing my life with another person.”
    “Casdon and I can give you space. I’m not sure how much we can, because like you, we’ve been alone—well, mostly alone—for a long time as well. With only our brothers to keep us company.” He looked around the room. “We had this house built because while we love our families, we like our quiet as well. There is a lot of noise when you have that many under one roof, and even being out of doors all the time like we are, it’s still nice to have a place to call our own.”
    “I have a brownie. He keeps me company.” He knew of the brownie, had talked to him actually. There were to date several dozen of them living on this property, and more coming in all the time. They served the dragons in ways that they could not. “He and I, we thought me to die when I came here. I’m having a hard time getting the thought out of my head that I will die now.”
    “To see the king and queen again, they told you. I think perhaps you will someday as well, but I think that’s sort of funny.” She said nothing but lifted her head again. “You were there when they died. I’m guessing you assumed that when you died, after this I mean, that you’d be with them? In the afterlife?”
    “Yes.” She shifted on the bed and he felt her pain at it, and knew that they’d been too rough with her. He was about to suggest a bath or a long hot shower when she continued. “I thought the guard was joking when he summoned me to the castle that day. I was...still am…nothing compared to the other witches of that time. There was Helena the black, of course, and Caroline the white. They were not...either of them would have been better at the job than me, and I think I knew that even then. I even suggested to them that they should call for their help.”
    “Helena is dead.” She nodded, and he guessed that she’d know that. “Caroline, she comes