Surprising him at the intensity of it, this knowledge felt like a weight crushing his chest.
But he’d had a broken dove in his hand and instead of setting about mending it, from near on the moment he brought her to his world, he’d done nothing but tighten his grip, fracturing her further.
He opened his eyes, sliding his hands over her soft skin, and in her sleep she pressed her face deeper into his neck, arched her torso into his slightly then relaxed on an unconscious fluttering sigh he felt in his gut.
And that was when he saw the flash of green that streaked across the room.
A warning shot.
Bloody hell.
He knew what that meant and he knew why she was coming.
It was she who left the tea.
His frame tightened and he gently slid Madeleine off his body. He rolled away from her and found his feet on the floor by the side of the bed. He had his breeches on with all the buttons done up when the green mist started swirling in the room. He’d pulled his sweater on and was standing with his hands on his h*ps when she formed three feet in front of him.
“You’ll speak quietly,” he commanded immediately. “Madeleine is sleeping.”
The witch looked to the bed then to Apollo.
“Madeleine?” she asked, thankfully her voice was soft.
“Her name in this world,” he explained.
“Madeleine,” she said it like she was tasting it on her tongue. “I approve of this name,” she shared.
He didn’t respond to that because he didn’t care if she approved or not. Maddie approved of it. Indeed, she’d claimed it with a vivacity that was vaguely troubling.
But it meant something to her so it was hers and it didn’t matter what the witch thought of it.
“The adela tea,” he stated and felt her eyes grow intense on him.
He saw her shadow give a delicate shrug. “You were taking too long.”
He was right in what he’d deduced when she fired her warning shot, indicating she was coming. Valentine had left the adela tea for Maddie to find. And drink.
He felt the skin around his neck get tight and his voice was a growl when he said, “That was sly and scheming.”
He saw her head tip to the side. “Are you arguing the results?”
He didn’t respond to that.
Instead, he said, “You have not made the road Madeleine must travel any easier.”
“Oh, chéri,” she purred. “I don’t know about that.”
He fought back the urge to lean into her threateningly. “In times like these, a woman like that, you play?”
“It wasn’t me playing last night, Ulfr…” she hesitated and finished, “for five hours.”
He continued to struggle with his anger as he clipped, “You watched?”
“It was gravely annoying, your gentlemanly behavior.”
He ground his teeth.
“But,” she went on, “your capitulation was spectacular.”
He came close to losing his struggle and warned, “I would leave me now, witch.”
“Calm, chéri,” she urged. “I only watched until you tackled her. As magnificent as that was, I left you to your enjoyment of each other and waited the duration the effects the adela tea normally lasts. And considering your obvious”—she swept a hand his way— “virility, I gave it even more time. Only then did I check to be certain I could come to visit. By the time I did, cuddling had commenced.”
At least she gave them that.
He decided to move on.
“And the reason for you coming to call?” he prompted.
She ceased playing and did not hesitate in her caustic reply.
“The reason I’ve come to call is to warn you to stop messing about and claim her.” He drew in a quiet breath and her voice was lower when she warned, “If you don’t, I will.”
Apollo felt his entire body get tight and his tone was dangerous when he asked, “Pardon?”
She threw out a shadowy hand. “I allowed you to have her because I thought I knew the man you were, Ulfr. A heart as mighty as Goliath. And yet, when I check in on her, she’s with Hans. She’s with Remi. She’s with Derrik.” She put significant stress on Derrik’s name and continued. “Who, I might add, followed you and he’s in the room across the hall and, just a warning, chéri, he heard your activities with…” she paused, “Madeleine last night and he’s not best pleased.”
Apollo’s eyes cut to the opposite wall and the witch kept talking.
“What she was not, in the times I checked, was with you.”
He looked back to her as she went on.
“I let you have her because I thought you’d mend our little dove’s broken wings. You have not. You haven’t even tried. And if you don’t, I’ll take her back with me and make her safe. The Apollo of my world will suffer much more than a severed hand if he gets anywhere near her.”
“You will not…” he drew in a sharp breath and finished, “take her.”
Valentine grew silent.
Apollo didn’t.
“You will not again meddle in our affairs,” he ordered.
Valentine remained silent.
“And you will cease your devious machinations against her,” he concluded.
“The sharing of adela tea with a partner is a beautiful experience, creating memories to cherish and a closeness unsurpassed. It is not a devious machination.”
“Only if you care about and trust the partner you’re sharing it with,” he returned. “It is if it’s taken without your knowledge or given against your will.”
“I think you mistake how she feels about you,” she shared.
“I think you’ve not been paying close enough attention as you spy for I’m very aware of how she feels about me and I do not think you are.”
“No, chéri” she whispered. “You’re very aware of how she struggles to find her footing in a new world, with a new life, around people who care about her and don’t abuse her or neglect her, something she has not had since her birth. Indeed, mon loup, you’re bearing the brunt of that. But with a heart as mighty as Goliath, I’m counting on you to persevere.”
That heart she spoke of felt tight at her words and he grunted, “Explain.”
“I think that should come from our colombe, don’t you?”
Apollo said nothing.
He sensed her body relaxing as she asked, “Would you like to hear news from Bellebryn?”