no charisma, so I don't know why, but he's very competent."
"Competence kinda turns you on, doesn't it?" I said, giggling, because I knew that would make his sleepy head snap off the pillow.
“I respect it."
"You like my competence," I said. "And I'm not exactly a beauty queen."
"Well, it's true that if Piers wanted to win me over, the best thing he could do would be to just do things and not complain, and that's what he did. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we can trust him on this mission. Plus...his knowledge of mushrooms might have saved your life."
"He never mentioned that."
"Good," Bevan said. "That's how I know he's not trying to weasel his way into your good graces. So we'll bring him with us, and if shit hits the fan, we sacrifice him first."
"Okay." I nuzzled against Bevan's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I shut my eyes, but the thought of a dangerous sea voyage did make it a little harder to get to sleep. Plus, I was wondering if Piers would be mad at me for the spell and how he would treat me in the close quarters of a ship. And I wondered what Variel would do with himself.
As I drifted into sleep, I had a dream of Variel sitting by the bed, looking down at me.
Jenny…I believe I have made a terrible mistake and you will not have me as your husband now. In fact, I was trying to push you away because I didn’t think you would make a suitable wife. I am not a suitable husband. I don’t understand my fate. Most of all, I don’t understand how it is that I feel…as I feel about you. My body desires you, but I think my heart desires you more.
I love you.
I was feverish again, reaching for a hand. Only then did he take my hand in his.
I’ll protect you. Lord Death is no match for Lord Variel.
My eyes snapped open in the wee hours of the dawn.
“It was a dream,” I whispered. “Wasn’t it?”
I need to see him, I thought. I had no idea what I was going to say to Variel. I just felt a need to tell him…something.
Hopefully, I would figure it out when we were face to face.
Chapter Nineteen
Lord Variel
Uram was stripping the bed of sheets.
"Stop that," I said, snapping briefly out of my stupor. "Don't steal the faeries' things. That will only cause more trouble."
"It's winter, nearly," Uram said. "We'll catch cold."
"I don't think I will. I barely feel the cold. And you're not going with me. Just pack my own things."
Uram stopped and gaped at me, his mouth hanging open like the town fool. "Not going with you? But...what will you do?"
"I will certainly survive." I was trying to keep my pride, to hold my head high, although even my horns had grown so heavy that an ache was radiating out of my neck. "I never needed any of you. Perhaps I have become soft."
"You hardly own any things," Uram said, holding up the small bag containing what little I had brought with me that I hadn't already sold. “At least, not in this realm. I sure miss polishing all your silverware and brushing your coats.”
"I am aware. But I want something to remind me of who I really am. Drape the bag around my neck...and then, please go. Tell Jameson and Gillian I don't want visitors. I'll leave this morning."
"Sir...this is...absurd!" Uram said. "You are still the Devourer of Souls!”
“Am I?” I said, rather to myself. Despite my best efforts to hold on to myself, I felt it all slipping away. The castle, the realm, the resolve, the power. And as it vanished, I glimpsed another truth beneath it all. A greater prize. It was beginning to call me with a louder siren’s song, but I feared I had lost that forever too, in my attempt to hold onto the Devourer’s legacy.
“Don’t even say anything silly like that. We are your humble servants. We hardly know what to do without you. You can't just...shamble around the fae lands! You should take revenge on all of them. Strike fear into their hearts as your father would have done. Perhaps you could kidnap that loudmouthed little human witch who is married to Lord Cyrus and torture her until you are restored to your former glory."
"Leave me!" I roared at him, so ferociously that a glass on the table rattled. "That is my order to