I looked up at him. “Don’t you think ‘misfortune’ would be a better word?”

He laughed. “And you would argue with a fence post.” He reached out and brushed one finger down the side of my face and lightly hooked it under my chin. “Meeting you was not a misfortune,” he said softly. “I meant what I said.” He paused meaningfully. “I always have and I always will.”

“You’re in an umi’atsu bond with me and Tam. Considering who and what we are-”

Mychael lowered his hand from my chin, brushing my arm on the way. “What I did was necessary. And I’ve sent for A’Zahra Nuru for help.”

I just stood there, stunned. “You’ve what?”

“She is well versed in umi’atsu bonds,” Mychael said firmly.

“If help is to come from any source, she’s it.”

Primari A’Zahra Nuru was a powerful goblin mage, and she was the one teacher Tam would admit to having. I’d only met her once, but from what I’d seen she was brave, noble, and definitely not a dark mage. A’Zahra Nuru had been strong enough to help Tam pull himself back from the black magic abyss. Though it was her present position that raised the small hairs on the back of my neck.

“Is she still chief counselor to Prince Chigaru?” I asked.

“She is.”

“And if you’ve sent for her, chances are he’ll come with her.”

“Probably.”

I snorted. “Definitely. He knows the Saghred is on Mid. You just invited his counselor to come to Mid. I don’t think his highness is going to stay home.”

Not that he had a home to stay in. Prince Chigaru Mal’Salin was the younger-and exiled-brother of the goblin king. Chigaru wanted his brother’s throne and wouldn’t mind having his brother’s head on a platter while he was at it. And he saw both of these as being a heck of a lot easier to get if could get his hands on the Saghred first.

“The Conclave has secure accommodations for guests such as Prince Chigaru,” Mychael assured me.

“A containment room on the other side of the island?” I asked hopefully.

“A very secure and well-guarded inn. The prince and his retinue have stayed there before, and I recall that he was pleased with his accommodations-and I was more than satisfied with the security.”

I blinked. “He’s been here?”

“More than once. Since Mid is politically neutral, exiled heads of state know they will be safe here.”

“Last time he was here, the Saghred wasn’t,” I pointed out.

Mychael looked down at me, his smile cheerfully serene.

“Raine?”

“Yes?”

“Leave the prince to me. Leave his retinue to me. Handling visitors with questionable motives is one of the things I do best.”

I gave him an apologetic little grin. “Sorry about that. It’s your job, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“And I’m trying to do it for you.”

“Again.”

“You’re really good at your job.”

Mychael inclined his head graciously. “Thank you. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be standing here to agree with you.”

I knew no one was in the room with us, but I lowered my voice anyway. “Were you also going to ask A’Zahra Nuru about our…”

“Situation?” he provided helpfully.

“That’s the one. Does she know about magical connections that you don’t find in books?”

He knew what I was talking about. Our link, our connection. A very deep sense of connection on a very personal level.

“A’Zahra Nuru is considered an expert in magical pairings of all sorts,” Mychael said.

“A pairing.” I said it, wrapping my mind around the words, what they implied, and what they could potentially mean for us.

“And it’s getting stronger,” Mychael said quietly. “I can feel it.”

I could, too.

A pairing. Mychael and me.

A bond. Tam and me-and now Mychael.

A tangled knot. What my life had become.

“The paladin of the Conclave Guardians has gone and gotten himself ‘paired’ with a Benares.” I felt laughter bubbling up and let it. I’d earned it. “You know, to some people on this island, you paired with Raine Benares might actually be a worse offense than getting cozy with the Saghred’s bond servant.”

A corner of his mouth quirked upward. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Considering what I’d done over the past few days, I wouldn’t be surprised, either. I grinned crookedly. “We did storm the gates of Hell, didn’t we?”

“We most certainly did.”

“I squashed demons, vaporized demons, and was crazy enough to get into a catfight with the queen of demons.”

Mychael chuckled. “Crazy. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

I ignored him and continued. “You know, when you look at it that way, one little fist-sized rock doesn’t stand a chance against me,” I said brightly. “While Carnades is still ‘resting,’ Markus is still plotting, and Prince Chigaru hasn’t gotten here yet, what say we do something about that rock? Given any more thought to blasting it out of one of Phaelan’s cannons?”

“While that idea is appealing on many levels-”

“You don’t want to risk the rock getting pissed off and blowing up the entire island.”

“Precisely.”

“Okay, fine. No turning the Saghred into a cannonball. I’m open to any and all ideas. But while we have a little breathing room, let’s confront the problem head-on. I’m past ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work.”

Mychael shook his head, smiling. “And the fact that the finest magical minds couldn’t destroy it means nothing to you.”

“Oh, it means something. It means they weren’t as motivated as I am.” I met his smile and raised him a grin. “Or as you would say, as stubborn. Until two days ago, no one thought the Saghred could be opened, either.” I jerked a thumb toward the hall outside the office. “But no one has had my dad as a consultant before. He’s been with the Saghred for centuries; and for the past year he’s been inside of it-so he knows it literally inside and out. He’s free now. With what he knows, and what we can find out, if there’s a way, we’ll find it. Tam thinks that the Saghred caused the umi’atsu bond between us. I agree with him. And a three-way umi’atsu bond is a first, right?”

“I’ve never heard of one before.”

“Then maybe we’re linked in a different way since the glue that’s holding us together is the Saghred and not each other. Get rid of the glue, get rid of the bond. Get rid of our problem.” I looked at him expectantly. “What do you say?”

“I say you’re right.”

I think my mouth dropped open a little. “You do? I mean… I am?”

“I can’t agree with you?”

“It’s just not something I expected.”

Mychael smiled slowly, his eyes lit with a dangerous sparkle. “I can do the unexpected, Raine. It’s not just my job that I’m good at.”

Chapter 32

It was bright and sunny on the Fortune. It was edging toward late afternoon, so the sun had finished baking the wooden decks for the day, and a cooling breeze was coming off the harbor. I was sitting on a bench, working on my third ale, or was it my fourth? I hadn’t bothered to keep count. I’d hauled the small keg up on deck with me to save myself the walk down to the galley, though now it’d probably be more like a stagger.

I’d left Mychael’s office feeling confident enough, but the closer I got to the Fortune, the more my enthusiasm started to wane under the weight of reality. Carnades wouldn’t stay at home forever, Markus would make his move soon, Sarad Nukpana’s soul was out body shopping, Rudra Muralin was in the goblin embassy plotting my death, and the Reapers could find me anytime, anywhere.

Then there was Mychael and Tam-and me with Mychael and Tam. So far I hadn’t had any time to really consider the consequences of our predicament, and I’d been avoiding to the point of denial the fact that a large segment of goblin society considered me married to both of them. Part of me rather liked the idea and felt deliciously naughty about the whole arrangement. The other part of me went with a time-honored Benares solution-if I drank enough, my problems would go away, probably along with my consciousness, but I’d deal with that when I found myself facedown on the deck.