The beauty calms the beast? "And where did you find your Emmaline Troy that you had no' been able to for so long? Where was your wee queen hiding?"
"She was no' born before seventy years ago."
He raised his eyebrows. "So young? Is she everything you'd hoped?"
"Much more than I'd hoped." Lachlain ran his fingers through his hair. "I could never even conceive of a mate like her. Emma's clever, with a mind so tricky and complicated, I know I'll never figure her out. And she's far too beautiful and frustratingly secretive and no' like any other woman I've ever met." He took a swig from his glass, this time savoring it. "The more I understand her phrasings, the more I realize my mate is a witty, droll lass." His lips curled absently, no doubt as he remembered some amusement. When he finally faced Bowe again, he said, "I had no' expected her humor, but welcome it gladly."
Bowe knew something extraordinary was at work for Lachlain even to approach a smile so soon after his torture. If Bowe had been convinced that Lachlain was confused and mistaken about his mate, he was no longer. Lachlain was lost for this Emmaline. Obviously, she was his. "So how do you plan to keep her? Seems her care and feeding would be verra involved."
"She drinks from me. Has never taken from another living being."
Though he'd seen the nick, Bowe was still surprised. "So she does no' kill?"
"Never," Lachlain said in a proud tone. "I'd wondered about that as well, but she's gentle - would never hurt a fly. I had to force her to take from me."
"That's why your leg is no' healing as it should," Bowe observed.
"A verra small price to pay."
"And what's that like, when she drinks?" As Lachlain formulated an answer, Bowe said, "The expression you're trying to hide says much." Christ, Lachlain liked it.
He ran his hand over his mouth. "The act is intensely...pleasurable. But besides that, I believe it bonds us. Connects us. As least, it has me." In a lower voice, he admitted, "I've come to crave it more than she does, I believe."
Lost for her. Vampire or not, Bowe envied him the feeling. "And how is such a young immortal handling the epic destiny of being your queen?"
"She does no' know it."
At Bowe's look, he said, "She would no' be pleased. As I said, I was...I have no' treated her as I should. I have no' shown her respect and dinna bother hiding my feelings about a vampire's nature. She only wants to return to her home, and I doona blame her."
"I'd wondered why you had no' marked her. This is a vulnerable time."
"I ken that. Believe me. I've spent centuries imagining how I would spoil and protect my mate, and yet I've made Emma's life into a living hell."
"Then why were you angry with her this morning, Lachlain?" He narrowed his eyes. "I canna tell you how ill-advised that is."
"I was worried and became angry. I'm no' now."
"You've no' claimed her - you could lose her."
"Is that what happened to Mariah?"
Lachlain knew better than to speak of her around Bowe. Mariah had been Bowe's fey mate who'd died fleeing him.
When Bowe cast him a savage look, Lachlain said, "I ken you never talk about it, but in this case, do I need to know something?"
"Aye. Your Emma's other and will always be so. Doona be stubborn and stupid. And doona try to force her to our ways." Bowe added in a low voice, "Else end up a cautionary tale like me."
Lachlain began to say something, then hesitated.
"What? Ask me what you will."
"How do you do it? Continuing on for so long? Now that I fully understand what you have lost, I doona know that I could."
Bowe arched an eyebrow. "And I doona think I could have my flesh burned from me every day for decades and stay sane." He shrugged. "We all have our petty torments." But the two were not equal and they both knew it. Bowe would gladly go to hell to get Mariah back.
"Do you believe Mariah might...?" Lachlain trailed off, brows drawing together. "You saw her die, did you no'?"
Chapter 14
Bowe turned away, but not before he felt his face leached of color. In a voice barely discernible, he said, "I...buried her." He had, and he knew she was gone. But he also knew the Lore couldn't be predicted and the rules were often fluid. He now spent his life looking for the key to bring her back.
What else did he have?
Analytical Lachlain was putting him under scrutiny. "You canna get her back."
Bowe faced him again. "No one escapes the vampires. Lykae canna have a mate who's part vampire. There's no such thing as a vampire/Valkyrie creature. Who are you to tell me what's possible?"
Lachlain said nothing, no doubt viewing this as a delusion, a weakness. Bowe wondered if Lachlain would just let him have it.
"You're right," he finally agreed, surprising Bowe. "Things happen that we doona understand. If you had told me two weeks ago that my mate was a vampire, I would have called you sick."
"Aye, so doona concern yourself with me. You've enough on your plate. Harmann told me you were ambushed by three vampires the night before last."
He nodded. "Recently the vampires have stalked Valkyrie all over the world. But they might have been after Emma."
"Could be. She's the first vampire female I've heard of in centuries."
"Then I have even more incentive to destroy the Horde. I will no' let her be taken by them."
"What do you plan to do?"
"I can find the catacombs once more, and we will wait until the guards return. Force them to tell us where Helvita is."