“And an Elal,” she finished for him, unmoved. “I understand.”

“I don’t know that you do. It was more than that. I used to study your miniature, convinced that I saw something in your image that spoke of a connection between us. I wanted that more than I wanted the rest of it. Even more so when I finally met you.”

She regarded him gravely. “You don’t have to justify any of it, Gabriel. Ours was never a romance. We both knew the terms of engagement from the beginning.”

“I never thought of you as the enemy.” He wasn’t sure what to say to make things right.

With a soft laugh, she cupped his cheek, scratching lightly with her nails. “Conversely, I was convinced you were my enemy. I fled from the prospect of marrying you for that very reason. Do you hold that against me?”

“No. I never did,” he answered softly. “I only ever wanted to understand. What you said about House Sammael? It’s important to remember. You cannot dismiss an entire house based only on the behavior of a few individuals. Especially the actions of those long dead.”

Her eyes gleamed in the shadows, moonlight silvering her dark hair. “Or even those still living.”

He caught his breath. “Do you think Elal still conspires against House Phel?”

She breathed a laugh. “Darling, Elal conspires against everyone all the time. Wizard Jadren isn’t wrong about Elal guile.” Chewing her full bottom lip, she considered. “But against House Phel specifically, still, after all this time? I don’t know.” She rubbed her temple. “I really don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.”

“Not tonight,” he suggested, brushing her fingers from her temple and placing a kiss there. “You need to rest.”

“I am tired,” she admitted, and he knew that she must be exhausted, that she didn’t protest at all.

Still, he paused before lifting her onto Salve’s back again. “Am I forgiven?”

“Gabriel.” She lifted onto her toes, leaning into him and brushing his lips with hers, roses and wine twining through his senses. “No forgiveness is necessary. You are far from the first wizard to acquire a familiar from a rival house in order to score against them. It’s standard Convocation cold warfare.”

He slid his hands up and down her back. “Somehow that doesn’t ease my conscience.”

Eyes sparkling with amusement at his expense, she kissed him again. “No, because you want to believe you’re above such things.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better either.”

“Do you want me to make you feel better about this?” She asked the question earnestly, not teasing at all.

He considered the question seriously. “No. I suppose not.”

“That’s what I thought.” She kissed him a third time, lingeringly. “We all have our flaws, and being flawed doesn’t make you a monster. It means you’re only human,” she whispered against his lips. “Now let’s go home.”

He lifted her into the saddle, and she caught his hand, speaking quietly, as if they could be overheard. “You should keep in mind—Elal magic doesn’t account for everything in those stories. They wouldn’t have been working alone.”