She draws back to look me in the eye. Every time I see her face my breath flees my chest. “He pushed me into a lake.”

For thirty years my ears have never failed me, but that might have changed because I swear Kerris said some male pushed her into a fucking lake. “What is his name?”

Her brows lift. “Why do you want to know?”

So that I can murder him. “No reason.”

“You’re not a very good liar, Ever.”

“Thank you.” Who knew a tired Kerris would be so full of compliments? It is a good thing we are in her bed and not at the outpost. If Maddox heard even one compliment, he would be on his knees at her feet, begging for more.

Her head returns to the crook of my neck, and her hand that was on my chest drifts lower, to my ribs.

Silence envelops the room as I settle deeper against her pillows. There are so many, it feels as if I am leaning against clouds. On her bedside table, there is a book. What sorts of stories does Kerris like to read?

Carefully, I pick it up.

Unseelie Fae: A Scientific Study.

Kerris is reading about us? Why?

As if she can hear the question in my head, she stiffens. “You weren’t supposed to find that.”

How could I miss it? It was right on her table. “Why do you have this book?” A terribly inaccurate book if this page about contracting warts is any indication of the information within. I do not have warts and neither do any of my kinsmen. Who wrote this nonsense?

She buries her head deeper into my throat. “I was curious.”

I flip to where a dried flower has been pressed between the pages and scan the words there. “About mating ceremonies?” This knowledge should not make my heart skip, but it skips all the same, right around my chest.

“Not specifically. I wanted to know more about you.”

“I am here now, full of knowledge about Unseelie fae. I have been one my entire life, you know. Ask and I will answer.”

Once again, there is silence between us. I would think she fell asleep if not for the way she trails her nail along my chest, back and forth, conjuring gooseflesh. “Will you tell me about mating scars?”

Why would she want to know about that? Surely, she isn’t considering⁠—

I shake my head at the thought that almost crossed my mind. Her questions have nothing to do with a desire for mating. She is simply trying to learn about our customs like a friend would. “When two Unseelie mate, they use their teeth to mark each other.”

“Doesn’t that hurt?”

“I have heard that the pain only fuels the passion, but I do not know from experience.” I have never marked Leah, and she has respected my wishes to leave my skin unblemished by her own teeth.