Chapter 81

  Present Day

  Macedius lifted on onto his elbow, his hair falling over them both in a golden curtain, burnished in hues of pink and purple by the mage flame of the candles. Yelena stroked it back behind his ear and he smiled, his blue eyes soft, as he leaned forward to kiss her. The cushions and bedding were tangled around them, and her body was heavy and warm from their lovemaking.

  “I have a gift,” he said, lifting his mouth from hers. He had let his beard grow in that day, the spikes of his stubble like metal wire through his skin.

  “A gift?” She repeated, thinking of how Sylvin had given the King the siren.

  “Yes,” he rose, and she sat up as if connected by string to him, her hair cloaking her back and shoulders. He returned with a velvet wrapped bundle, sitting behind her. He gathered her hair to the side and leaned forward to kiss the shoulder that he had exposed.