Changing his perspective, Will waited until he was looking up from the base of the tree, then teleported. Since it was a tall pine with few branches, he cast a climb spell on himself and then started up.

  “Don’t come up here,” warned his aunt.

  “Too bad,” he returned. “I’m halfway there.”

  “I’m dangerous.”

  Will stopped just below her feet. “So am I.”

  Something wet fell on his arm, but it wasn’t raining. “You thought it was safe, but I nearly killed you. I couldn’t control it.”

  You did kill me, thought Will, but that seemed unhelpful. “You were starving, and I was overconfident, but everything turned out all right. I’m still here. Next time will be better.”

  “Next time you’ll be dead!”

  He climbed up a few feet more, bringing his head level with her waist. “The important thing is that we don’t let you get that desperate. As long as you aren’t at the edge of expiring from hunger, it will be fine.”

  “No it won’t,” she responded, sounding petulant.

  Reaching around the trunk, Will put his hand on her stomach. Tailtiu scrambled away, climbing farther up, but he grabbed her ankle before she could escape. “Don’t kick,” he warned as she tried to pull free. “I might fall.” That was a lie, given the climbing spell he was using, but it served his purpose. His aunt went still, and he kept his hold on her leg. “I’m not dead,” he observed.

  She glared down at him. “I’m not feeding on you.”

  “Because you can control it.”

  “Right now, because I’m still full.”

  Will shimmied higher, until they were nearly face-to-face with the tapering treetop between them. Reaching across, he put his hand on her cheek. “Take some.”

  “I don’t want to. I’d rather die.”

  He studied her for a moment, considering his options. Throughout their history, since the day they’d first met, he had continually had to guard himself against her, but now their roles had reversed. To make his point, he had to force her to feed. There were several options that might work to trigger her instincts, at least briefly, but all of them were untenable given his loyalty to Selene. He wouldn’t kiss her, or attempt anything worse.

  Instead, he tried to tickle her, which failed, but she did open her mouth to protest. “What are you doing?” As she was protesting, he poked his finger into her mouth. A shiver of pleasure shot through him as his fae aunt reflexively drew on his vitality. An instant later, she jerked away, spitting and sputtering. “Fool! What was that?”

  “Proof,” he replied smugly. “You started and stopped, on your own.”

  “You did that,” she argued.

  “But you stopped it. As long as you aren’t starving to death, you can limit what happens. You don’t have to kill people.” When she didn’t respond, he continued, “I understand feeling bad because of what happened, but that’s just a sign of how far you’ve come. You’re practically human now.”

  “Humans don’t eat humans.”

  “You can live your own life. It’s probably better if you feed from wizards who can replenish what you take, but even if you didn’t have that option, you could just take tiny bits from strangers in passing, right?”

  Her visage became pensive. “I’ve never done that before.”

  “You were a simple predator then, and people were just food. You can live differently now.” Will waited while she thought it over, and after a little more wheedling and begging, he finally convinced her to come down. They teleported back to the others, and after an awkward reunion, they settled their plans for the night.

  “We’ll be back in the morning, as long as you’re here for us,” said Will.

  Tailtiu’s eyes narrowed. “That’s why you came after me, isn’t it?”

  Will was ready for that suggestion. “No. Evie could stay here if necessary. Besides, even if it’s an imposition, I think you probably owe me at least this much.”

  Tailtiu gave him a look from under half-lidded eyes. “If you insist, Master.”

  Sammy’s expression was one of disapproval, but Will touched her arm and put his other hand on Emory. Evie leapt gracefully onto his shoulder, and after a few seconds of orienting himself astrally, Will teleported them to Rimberlin House.

  With friends everywhere he needed to be, Will decided to make another jump after that. The dragon already knew about their ruse, so he wasn’t worried about giving that away. Selene sensed his contact right before he teleported, so she wasn’t startled when he appeared behind her.

  She was sitting in front of the dressing table in their bedroom, brushing out her hair. She paused and stared at him in the mirror without turning around.

  “I’m sorry,” he said without explanation.

  Selene shook her head. “No, you’re not. You said what you meant and so did I.” She stared at the brush in her hand. “But I’m sorry for how I said it. I was frustrated and angry, so I made my words as cruel as possible.”

  “They were still true,” said Will. “And we’re still on the same side.”

  Selene wasn’t given to sudden action. She normally considered her every thought and word carefully. Without warning, she dropped the brush and stood, turning to face him. The kiss she gave him was rough and fast. A minute passed before she relaxed enough to shift to a more tender approach.

  Will’s heart leapt at the unexpected turn of events, but he still had more to say. Pulling away, he tried to continue the conversation. “Something weird happened today. I need to tell you about it.”

  His wife had already maneuvered him back several feet, making sure the bed was there to break his fall before she gave him a strong shove. “Tell me in a little while.” She landed on top of him, then buried her head against his neck.

  “I nearly died.”

  The announcement didn’t faze her. “You’ll die again if you don’t sort out your priorities,” she told him.

  He protested a few more times, but Selene was insistent, and her hands were supernaturally skillful when it came to undoing the laces on his clothing. Soon enough, Will devoted himself to the task at hand. Given the extreme events earlier in the day, he didn’t feel the same desperate urgency she did, so after a few minutes, he rolled, flipping Selene onto her back.

  Then he gave her his undivided attention.

  An hour later, panting for air, they called a truce. After a few minutes, Selene regained some composure and rolled onto her side, propping her head up with one arm. “That was a pleasant surprise,” she announced.

  Will was beyond exhausted. Still on his back, he responded, “Why?”

  “After all this time, I assumed things would be quick the first time,” she replied.

  After the day he’d had, Will knew there wouldn’t be an encore—he no longer had the energy to talk, much less do anything else—but Selene’s quick insight was already prompting her to ask a new question. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  His heart sped up slightly. “I wanted to explain an hour ago, but…”

  Leaning over, Selene kissed his forehead. “I can see how tired you are, but you said you nearly died. At least give me a quick explanation.”

  Dreading her reaction, Will caught her up. The older portions of his tale went quickly; she’d already heard about his meeting with Lognion from the lich. Once he reached the events of the day, he slowed down, choosing his words carefully but not hiding the truth. Her response, as usual, was not what he expected.

  His wife’s face was smooth, showing little emotion. “You’re unharmed?” she asked.

  “I’m tired, but I don’t have any wounds,” he answered, trying to read her expression.

  “And she’s fine?”

  Will nodded. “She hid herself in shame, but I convinced her to come back. As long as we don’t let her get that far along again, she should be safe.”

  “So, who is going to feed her?”

  Her question sounded perfectly reasonable, but Will sensed hidden danger. “It needs to be wizards, to prevent shortening people’s lifespans. Until the others gain more experience, I guess it should be me.”

  Selene’s brows lowered like storm clouds on the horizon. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She held up a hand before he could argue. “I know, I know. I truly believe you and I know your intentions were honest. You don’t have to waste time convincing me ad nauseum. That’s not the issue. It’s the sexual nature of it, the pleasure. You might get addicted to it—to her.”

  “I died today, almost.” He hadn’t explained the events between dying and returning since his memory was fuzzy. Will thought he’d spoken to someone, but it had faded from his waking mind like a dream at dawn.

  “You had an orgasm that nearly killed you,” she clarified calmly.

  “I spent the rest of the day recovering after I woke up vomiting. It’s not something I want to repeat. It won’t be like that in the future.”

  “The safety makes it worse, from my standpoint.”

  He had to admit her points were solid. “So, what do we do? At worst, she could feed from strangers, but even if she doesn’t kill them, she’ll still be shortening their lives. I don’t think that’s a moral choice, except when necessary.”

  “Let everyone have a turn. Sammy and Emory for now. When possible, I could take a turn and so could Tabitha. That’s without even considering the sorcerers we have at Wurthaven working on our projects.”

  Will wanted to object. Imagining his cousin, his sister, or even Selene experiencing even a mild version of Tailtiu’s feeding bothered him. He imagined telling his wife that and could already hear her response, though. “That’s exactly why I don’t want you doing it either.” After a minute, he decided she was right. “You make a lot of sense,” he admitted, then added, “I’m still not happy about the new elementals.”

  “What we want them to do would drastically shorten their lives without elementals. Is it fair to ask that of them? We can’t afford to fail. You know that,” she reiterated.

  “It’s still slavery.”

  “They were criminals who were going to be executed anyway.”

  “And a few political rivals,” added Will sourly.

  She gave him a steady look. “Traitors to the crown. Greedy men grasping for something not theirs to claim.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind,” said Will. “It would be better to let those helping us make sacrifices, or not, according to their own abilities. Offering them stolen power at the expense of someone else’s soul, it isn’t right. It will never be right.”

  “I’m going to release them as soon as this is done,” she reminded.

  “You promise?”

  “Of course. Why do you keep doubting me? I don’t like it either. Would you like it if I keep bringing up what you have to do soon?”

  She was referring to the planned sacrifice of the Shimerans. Will was tempted to share his alternate plan, but he worried that Grim Talek might hear of it and disagree. Actually, I’m more worried she will disagree. Selene had a heart, but if it came down to sacrificing a foreign nation or endangering his life, Will knew she would choose to sacrifice the Shimerans. “Let’s talk about something else, something happy.”

  “Exactly my point,” she agreed. “Want to hear about what I did today?”

  He nodded. “Yes, please.”

  “I healed a burned child.”

  “Was there a fire in the city?” he asked.

  Selene shook her head. “This was a boy from the village of Reylik. The fire was years ago, when he was eight. He’s eleven now.”

  Frowning, Will was confused. “Huh?”

  “The fire took part of one of his hands and badly scarred one side of his face. I couldn’t replace the lost fingers, but I was able to restore his face. He looks like any other boy now. His mother cried when she saw him afterward.” Selene’s face was practically glowing with happiness.

  Will had only had one class at Wurthaven on medical magic, but it was enough that he knew old scars couldn’t be healed. Burns in particular were difficult to treat, even if they were seen immediately after they occurred. Even the miracle of his regeneration potions couldn’t restore severe burns, and other wounds couldn’t be fully recovered from if they were more than one or two days old. “You got rid of his scars?”

  “Grim has shown me a number of spells based on necromantic techniques that can be used to permanently reshape flesh. More importantly, he’s been patient enough to explain the principles underlying them.”

  “Is this like shapeshifting?”

  “Some of it is the same,” she agreed. “But this can go further. By utilizing specialized spells, dead tissue can be revived or replaced, if it’s no longer present. With more work, I believe I can give that child his fingers back too. I just need to do some more research.”

  Will paused, then finally said, “That’s incredible. Honestly.”

  Selene focused on him, studying his eyes. “You don’t sound like you mean that. What are you thinking?”

  He tried to shake her off, waving his hand. “Nothing. I’m just tired. I’m proud of what you’re doing.”

  With a mischievous grin, she asked, “Are you worried I’m going to make myself into a lich?”

  That thought had been the farthest thing from his mind, but her jest sent a shiver down his back. “No. Why would you say that? Did he teach you how it’s done?”

  She laughed. “He might, if I asked. Grim has been very open.” Watching the dismay on Will’s face, she quickly tried to reassure him, “I’m not going to ask.”

  He exhaled slowly, feeling relieved. “Thank goodness.”

  “I think I’ve almost figured it out anyway.”

  A feeling of trepidation washed over him. “You wouldn’t…”

  “Obviously not,” she replied. “Yet again, you keep assuming the worst of me.”

  Feeling slightly guilty, Will nodded. “Sorry. Do you know how he can be killed? Or where his phylactery might be?”

  Shrugging, she answered, “No. If he’s done it the way I think, then he’s nigh unkillable. The magic is perfect. The phylactery is the key, but even if he trusted me, he wouldn’t give that secret away.” She paused a moment, then asked, “Do you really have to kill him? I don’t think it can be done, and it’s only going to cause trouble for both of us.”

  “I don’t have any other option,” said Will. “If I don’t do it or die trying, he’ll destroy everyone I love.”

  “He’s bluffing. He just wants to motivate you.”

  Will shook his head. “He meant it. I won’t take the chance anyway, even if I thought he was lying.” A dark silence descended on the conversation, and neither of them said anything for a while. Then Will asked, “You really can’t think of anything? If you’ve figured it out, then you understand the mechanism better than anyone else, living or dead. There has to be something.”

  Scratching her nose, Selene thought about it for a minute, then said, “He can’t leave this plane, but I don’t think that will help.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The link between the body he occupies and his phylactery follows the same astral principles you use when you teleport. His current body and the object that binds him here have to be on the same plane.”

  “So he can’t use a gate, or pass through a congruence point?” asked Will.

  “Not unless he carries the phylactery with him, which would be pretty foolish.”

  His mind raced through possibilities. “What if someone shoved him through an open gate?”

  Selene shook her head. “That would sever the link, and his soul would instantly return to the phylactery. You’d kill his current body, but he would still be able to come back.”

  Will growled in frustration.

  “You don’t sound tired,” she remarked, sliding her hand under the covers.

  He gave her a wan smile. “Don’t bother. I’m a lost cause today. The first time was a miracle, considering…” A thrill ran up his spine at her touch.

  “What was that?” he demanded, thoroughly shocked.

  Selene’s lips curved into a wicked smirk. “I told you I could raise the dead.”

  Lifting the covers, he saw the truth of her words. “That was wild magic. How?”

  “I mentioned it to you after I returned last year. Aislinn showed me some of her tricks. What do you think? Who’s better, me or your aunt?”

  “That isn’t funny,” said Will. “You never did this before. Why now?”

  Hands on his shoulders, she pressed him down. “I never needed to. Today you need some help, and I need to teach you a lesson.”

  “Darling, please. I’m exhausted, truly. I need rest,” he pled, hoping to bargain with her.

  “Darling? I don’t hear that often. You really must feel guilty.” Another surge of energy from her sent a wave of pleasure from his head to his toes. “I’m not going to steal your energy, though. I’m a giver, not a taker.”

  Will growled again, but this time it wasn’t from frustration. “You’ve a devil in your heart, temptress.”

  “Your resistance would have stopped me, if that’s what you really wanted,” she countered, nibbling on his earlobe. “By all means, milord, exorcise my devil.”

  Chapter 40

  He overslept the next day. When his eyes finally opened, the angle of the light filtering through the curtains indicated it was close to noon. Bolting upright, Will found himself alone, though his movement sent a folded note sliding from Selene’s pillow onto the floor. Retrieving it, he read:

  No rest for the wicked. You didn’t wake for breakfast, so I left a plate on the dressing table. I won’t be back until late, so don’t wait. If we don’t see each other soon, remember this: I’ll love you regardless of any evil you do. I know your heart. Do what you must.

  You’ll do the same for me, won’t you?

  Love always, Selene.

  Will rubbed the moisture from his eyes, then tried to smooth out his emotions. He understood what she meant, and he loved the support, but somehow her letter made him feel as though an unseen doom hung over them. Despite her reassurance, he wasn’t worried about the demons; it was some unknown intangible dread that cast a shadow over his heart.