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He was grinning like an idiot, but I could see fear asped, but he looked at ht as well be her sistersand Miss Menolly, too Would you object to having me for a brother-in-law, should Iris acceptto cry So often our meals were tempered with bad news, but this"I have no objection, but know you this, Master Leprechaun: If you hurt our Iris, you’ll have all of us to deal with"
Delilah laughed and clapped her hands "I agree I so agree Oh, I wish Menolly were awake, but Iris, you can tell her first thing"
The men murmured, but I shut them up with a look I turned back to Bruce "Go on, then If you want some privacy, the parlor is free"
"No," Iris said, slowly "You are fa you should share this" She stood and Bruce knelt at her feet, taking her hand in his
"I around But I coolden locks of both the goddess Iris, and my love, Iris" He clasped her hand to his lips and kissed it "I proive you children if it be the will of the gods, and love you as long as love shall last Will you, Iris Kuusi, accept e and joinover like clouds in a blue sky She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly "Bruce O’Shea, I ahter of the goddess Undutar, priestess to the snow and mist I am a child of the ice floes I accept your offer to marry I will honor you, ods bless us I will protect the household, and love you as long as love shall last"
And then she burst into tears, s his face, his eyes, even as he sought her lips
After lunch, S room Delilah and Shade had volunteered to clean up so that Bruce and Iris could have the afternoon to theie
Rozbored "Vanzir called He’ll be hoful look, and I gave hiain Everybody but uys in on what Delilah and I had found During lunch, Bruce’s proposal had taken precedence and I didn’t want to spoil it for Iris Whether we discussed what next to do then or at dinner wouldn’t matter
"Co, and I should tell Morio while I’m at it Delilah will fill Shade in on matters" I dashed down the hall and stuckto tell them about Chase You run down the situation with Shade and come up after you’re done with the dishes"
"No problem" Delilah waved uys when I heard the front door open Must be Vanzir And once again, we’d be walking on eggshells
Smoky and Trillian sprawled on the sofa in Morio’s room, while Roz sat on a nearby ottoman Morio was propped up by a wall of pillows He looked a little stronger today I hurried to his side and planted a long kiss on his lips
"Hoas your day?" He stroked ed into either his fox or dey to change back
I pressed his hand to ently He shuddered, closing his eyes Morio had seldoe--he was Japanese and had cos of Fate--but I suddenly wondered: What would his family think of ht to ask
"Love, does your fae toit slightly "Yes, they know about you and your sisters They know about us Someday, you will meet them They werenot entirely pleased, but neither were they against it They reserve judgment And they trust my instincts"
That was more than I’d hoped for I nodded and didn’t bother to press the subject As far as Trillian was concerned, I knew that he had long ago left his home and abandoned his family--or rather, they’d abandoned him It wasn’t even an issue with hi into the room He was pale, which was nor in Labyrinth--but tonight he looked evenkaleidoscopes of a color to which we couldn’t even put a naaze focused on me What the hell could have happened?
"Hey, where have you been?" Trillian asked hi for coaze to h his eyes
Oh fucking hell He knew Somehow, he’d picked up on it But when? Just now? Or had he known for a while? My sto out in the Deround for a while Hey, dudeSmokyhave you heard the ru to keep his voice neutral, but I could sense the fear beneath it
Save hi to control my nerves "We have further problems" I outlined what had happened to Delilah and me, first in the portal, and then what I’d learned down at the bookstore
"So we’ve got to figure out what to do about Chase, andI think the person looking for me at the shop was the snow monkey that Trytian mentioned"
My words died on my lips as I stared at the floor The room was silent for a moment, and then before the testosterone could fly, I added, "I a the bookstore I’m afraid for the people who come in I’m afraid more innocent people will die because of the deet for the Fae-haters"
Morio shook his head "You can’t let fear rule your life If you do, you’ll lose more than you know Everyone on this planet takes a chance the et out of bed You’ve seen Earth’s history--the wars in the Middle East, the world wars, the natural disasterspeople dealt with the everything you can to stop it Closing the Indigo Crescent isn’t going to prevent people froht," Trillian said, his voice surprisingly soft "You have never been one to run in fear That’s one thing I’ve always loved about you You said the hell with it and faced danger tiain And now, my lovely wife, you need to stand up and face the facts of what’s going down All the facts"
It was both a question and a de it up if I didn’t And Trillian didn’t mince words He didn’t play fair, and he didn’t sidestep delicate issues
I sucked in a deep breath "Yeah I’d better Vanzirwill you please leave the roo walk Roz, you, too I’ve got so to talk over with my husbands"