“It seems you are clever with intrigues,” Valentine murmured admiringly.
Well!
It was safe to venture I’d had enough.
I took another step toward her, the manner in which I did causing Noc to slide an arm around my stomach from his position at my back and waylay me.
So I stopped.
“As difficult as the road that lay ahead of us is, that us including Circe, we must carry on before she uses the bleakness of her past to harden her heart to a future of promise,” I proclaimed.
“I see what you mean.”
That was the only response Valentine gave.
“Valentine, I would say I need you but I don’t. Circe does,” I snapped. “I’m aware the time is not right for you but I’m afraid, my sister, you need to see beyond your own sorrow in order to lead our other sister from hers.”
I watched her mouth tighten and knew this was due to the fact I uttered those words while Noc was in the room. I sensed she was a private woman. The very idea of Noc understanding her current plight would not be welcome.
I could not worry on that. She would endure.
Circe, however, had had enough enduring to last a lifetime.
“Respect, Valentine, what’s going on with you is not my business, but you gotta know Frannie is right,” Noc thankfully entered the conversation. “What happened tonight was fucking brilliant and a complete disaster. You don’t strike while the iron is hot, he’ll lose her. And I can tell you right now it’s taking all that man’s got to convince himself not to call his investigators to find her so he can find her. And when he does that, drag her to his beach house or mountain condo or whatever that guy’s got that’s remote so she can’t run away and then convince her she’s the one not having the barest inkling he’ll be scaring the absolute shit outta her. That is, if he hasn’t already called his investigators.”
And the real Valentine made another appearance.
“Merde,” Valentine whispered.
Finally.
We were getting to her.
“And, just sayin’,” Noc carried on, “he tries that shit, it’s gonna be a lot of explaining on her part when she makes her door a sheet of magical flame to ward him off. A man thinks his drive for a woman has made him so insane he’s seeing things, like doors bursting into flame but not catching fire, he’ll back off real quick.”
“Merde,” Valentine said louder.
Excellent.
We’d gotten to her.
“I think it best at this juncture to let Circe alone,” I declared. “For the night, at least. We cannot let her retreat, but we need to allow her to lick her wounds. You, however, need to see to Dax. He needs to be controlled. In case you haven’t absorbed all we’re telling you, to say he’s taken with her, and was upon clapping eyes on her, is an understatement. I don’t know what Lahn felt when he saw his future golden queen walking in that hideous parade. But I can now say I hold no surprise he chased her down on his steed and claimed her on the rocks of Korwahk before nary a word was spoken.”
“I’ll see to Dax,” Valentine stated. “You and I will speak more tomorrow.”
I felt my body relax and replied, “Thank you.”
“And I’ll say something now, Franka,” she stated in a severe tone. “You must beware how you wield your power. Allowing your emotions to control it rather than your mind can have catastrophic consequences. I’ve told this to you before. I won’t share it again.”
I made no response to that for she had shared this thus her admonishment hit true.
“Is it all, erm, good up there?” Josette called and the sound of her voice told me she was likely at the foot of the stairs.
“All good, Jo,” Noc called back. “Be down in a minute.”
“Right,” she yelled.
I stared as Valentine started to disappear in a billow of green.
“Valentine,” I snapped, feeling we were not yet done.
“I’ll see to Dax. Until tomorrow,” she said and disappeared.
“Bloody hell that woman is vexing,” I bit out.
“Babe.”
I glared at where Valentine had been for a long measure then turned in his arm.
The instant he had my eyes, he asked, “You okay?”
“What, pray, happened tonight, my dearest, darling Noc, that would make you think I was even near feeling okay?” I asked back.
“Right, well that answered that,” he muttered but did it watching me closely.
“I miscalculated,” I declared. “Appallingly.”
Noc didn’t utter a noise.
“I thought, with Circe’s approach and, well…activities with you at the Winter Palace, she was ready to move onwards in healing. Valentine felt the same. It would seem we were wrong.”
Noc remained silent.
“Unspeakably wrong,” I went on.
Noc did not confirm, or alternately make an effort to appease.
He said nothing.
And nothing was not helping.
“Noc,” I prompted.
“You’re on that. You’ll sort it,” he stated. “I don’t need to go over it because I can tell you’re upset and anyway, there’s no need. You were there. You saw it play out.”
This was all true.
“But Circe lashed out,” he continued. “At you. Maybe understandable but still unacceptable. So shit went south tonight with Circe. Whatever. Only thing I give a shit about right now is, she cut into you. I didn’t just see, I actually felt those cuts slice deep, so are you okay?”
His words the night I came to his world rocked through my brain.