Kiss of the Dragon by Nicola Claire Page A

they'd have to catch him first and that would mean war. So no, not hollow, but also not final either. Michel obviously believed a war - if it should come to that - an acceptable consequence, bearing in mind the portals would be closed and Aliath's Dökkálfa would find it impossible to mount an attack.
    I didn't want to think too closely on it all, besides I was feeling so very tired all over again. I had to hope the accord would hold, that the portals would in fact remain open and that I would see my fairy friends again. Not just Aliath, who I had grown somewhat fond of, but I also hoped Sora would visit. Even if the fīfrildi hadn't been as close on this stay as the last, she was still my friend, evidenced by her care when I felt so sick just now. Her ministrations were genuine, her words not just platitudes to ease my discomfort, but said from the heart.
    Well done, ma douce , Michel whispered in my mind, distracting me from my thoughts and returning tiredness.
    Well done? I asked in surprise and then it hit me. You knew he'd ask for that, didn't you?
    Of course.
    And it doesn't bother you that I forced Sergei to agree to his request? I asked, feeling a little uncertain how he would reply.
    His soft laughter ran right through me, warming me from the inside out, filling me up with promises and sending delightful shivers down my spine.
    He'd planned it, he'd known all along that I would intervene, but by doing so I had allowed him to remain aloof of it all. Aliath was aware that Michel would protect me from any threat and that hadn't changed. But I had enabled Michel to make a concession, to complete the accord and save face at the same time. I was unsure if he would ever have agreed to letting Aliath remain in contact with me, but I'd never know now. I had made the decision for him.
    But Michel had allowed me to.
    We work well together, ma douce , he whispered, sending more of those shivers all over my skin.
    Hmm , was all I gave him in reply, but his laughter just ramped up a notch until I was sure everyone around me was aware Michel was making me melt into a puddle of goo. Goddess I needed to get back to him.
    Aliath turned to me at that moment and reached out both hands to hold mine. If he knew Michel was toying with me, making me all hot and bothered and quite literally curling my toes, he didn't show it. Wise man.
    "It has been a pleasure, as always, Princess." I just cocked my head to the side, but didn't remind him he had kept me contained in a room the entire time I had been here and only brought me out to watch me spin on his command.
    His lips though quirked, proving how aware of things he actually was. Stupid man.
    "Then, until we meet again," he said, lowering his head to kiss the back of my hand. He'd never done that before, I don't think it was a particularly fairy thing to do. I forced myself not to frown at him. Aliath was a puzzle that could wait for another day, for now I just wanted to go home.
    But where home would be, I wasn't sure. Michel was now the Champion and expected to remain at the Palais . But the Palais had never seemed much like a home to me. Sure, his apartment there was familiar, filled with everything that made Michel him, but it wasn't our home. That had been in New Zealand, but no more.
    London hadn't been a home either, despite the fact that Michel had owned that house for centuries. It just wasn't to my liking, neither was the city itself. I did like Paris though and I could envisage myself living there, but the only place that felt remotely homely was the Nosferatin house looked after by my new friend Yves.
    Yves had been there when Sofiq arrived in the Council Chamber of the Palais , and suddenly I had a wealth of questions inside my head. Was he safe? Was Amisi who had also been there, and Gregor? And Natalyia, Sergei's sister? Marcus and Matthias? Alain and Daniel? And most of all my Samson, who had been under Sofiq's attack and so very near the final death when I was pulled back to