The Tainted Web (The Godhunter, Book 7) Read Free Page A

and they all came over to shake his hand, though Trevor and Odin were a little more reserved than Kirill and Az.
    Odin had a sort of connection to Arach. They were both leaders of the Wild Hunt, guiding a host of warriors through the night to hunt down people and kill them horribly. In Odin's case, it was done to punish criminals, evil-doers. For Arach and his Host, it was the same where fey were concerned, a punishment for aberrant behavior, but all other races were fair game, hunted just for the pleasure of it. They each thought poorly of the others version, Odin saying Arach's was bloodthirsty slaughter and Arach proclaiming that Odin had twisted something pure and natural, restricting it with his idea of order. The disagreement hindered their friendship a bit. Oh, that and the fact that Odin had to save me from Arach's Wild Hunt.
    And then there was Trevor.
    “ You look well, dragon,” my wolf growled, eying Arach's wide shoulders and the bulges his arms made, where they strained his velvet tunic.
    “ You as well, wolf,” Arach grinned. “Well enough to take the news that I'll be absconding with my Queen.”
    “ Excuse me?”
    “ What?”
    “ Explain, now!”
    Arach was bombarded immediately by questions from my men. He just laughed and held up his hands. “Please, gentlemen, relax. Can you not allow me my Queen when she is in Faerie? I haven't seen her in nearly a year. Her subjects haven't seen her. I need her to stay with me, with us, while she's here. Our rooms are just there,” he pointed out of the open doorway to a hallway that branched out from our, er, branch. “She is well within screaming distance.”
    “I don't like this,” Trevor said, practically snarling.
    “ I agree with Trevor,” Odin nodded.
    “ Kirill?” I looked at my lion and then my angel, “Az? You guys have anything to add?”
    “ I zink you have many people who need you, Tima,” Kirill frowned. “I can't deny zem ven I know how much vould hurt to be vithout you.”
    “ As the one who gets to see you the least,” Azrael shook out his black wings, out in the open since we'd arrived. I think he was enjoying the open spaces made to accommodate beings with wings. “I have to agree with Kirill, it's unjust to deny people who love you a chance to be with you. I leave the decision to you, Carus.”
    “ Thanks a lot,” Trevor glared at them, “for making us look like assholes.”
    “ No, you're right,” I said to Trevor, surprising everyone it seemed. “If they're so close, there's no reason for me to stay with Arach. I can visit with them and still sleep here.”
    Arach's face fell but Trevor looked happier than I'd seen him in ages. Odin simply nodded, as if he'd trusted me to make the right decision all along.
    “A Thaisce,” Arach started but I held up a hand.
    “ I'm not here to jump into bed with you,” I sighed, what a shame that. “It may have been a year for you but for me, for us , it's only been a couple weeks. Things are still fresh and we're not sure where this is going yet.”
    “ You love me,” he said confidently and Trevor growled. I heard Odin whisper something to him and left him to deal with my wolf's temper.
    “ This isn't a damn Beatles song,” I shook my head at Arach, knowing he wouldn't get the reference but making it anyway. “Love is not all we need. I have love, lots of love, and although I do love you, giving you that love comes with a price I'm not sure I want to pay. That's part of why we're all here... together. We need to try and figure out what this is going to be between us and I can't do that from your bed.”
    “ Here, here,” Odin agreed.
    “ I need my Queen beside me,” Arach said with single-minded determination. “It will reflect poorly on the House of Fire if she is not.”
    “ We'll have to talk about that later,” I frowned. “Honestly, with this extreme time difference, I don't know how I could possibly be a good Queen for our people.”
    “ The time difference is