Mists of Velvet

with wisdom, reincarnation, and cunning. The appearance of a snake on a mystic journey was a sign of something great to come. But one had to be prepared to shed something to obtain something greater.
    Why was this snake before him? What must he shed?
    The adder lunged at him, mouth open and fangs prepared to strike. Keir instantly dissolved into shadow, and the snake plunged through. Keir thought he had evaded the snake, but the stinging on his calf told him otherwise. He’d been bitten. Adder venom was not lethal to wraiths, but it was useful in divination.
    Hovering as a shadow up by the ceiling, Keir watched as the adder slithered along the hall. Below him, Keir saw a card, facedown, directly in the spot where the adder had been curled up.
    Forming into his body, he dropped down and winced as his calf burned. Ignoring the pain, he bent to pick up the card. It was from the tarot, and when he turned it over, the image of Gwyn riding his white horse during the Wild Hunt greeted him. It was the Death card.
    Glancing up, he gazed down the long corridor, now empty of the snake.
    The Death card meant more than Death. It meant rebirth and transformation. It was a card that implied the separating of one’s self from the past to start a new future. Since it had been combined with the presence of the adder, Keir was certain the divination he had just been given was a good omen. He was on the right path. He had deceived Rowan, true. But it was in order to save her.
    Clutching the card, he made his way from the Sidhe king’s castle back to the veil. He needed to get back to Velvet Haven. He had left Rhys alone for too long.

    Rhys pointed to the word Bronwnn had written on a sheaf of parchment.
    “Your name is Bronwnn?” Her face lit up as he pronounced it perfectly. Thankfully, his study of Gaelic was paying off. “It’s a beautiful name.”
    She kissed him, then reached for the quill and paper. Yours?
    “Rhys.”
    I like it. She looked at him shyly. He reached for her, bringing her onto his lap, but she scooted off and was back to writing something.
    Are you in pain?
    “No.” At least not that kind. Shit, he wanted her again. His body and cock ached for her. It couldn’t still be the effects of the drug. Could it? Maybe it was just a case of lust. What did it matter? he wondered as his gaze raked over her luscious body. He wanted her and would likely never tire of having her.
    Hungry?
    Just for her. He shook his head and reached for her, but she tapped his hand with the quill and wrote something else.
    How did you know what I am?
    He shrugged, then grinned at her. “With a body like yours, there’s no doubt you’re a goddess.”
    She blushed and looked away. She wasn’t ashamed of her body, or the way she sat naked beside him. It was the compliment that flustered her. Lowering his head, he captured her gaze.
    “You’re beautiful, smart, courageous, and you perform the healing arts, and it’s made me wonder what goddess you are.”
    She looked at him, her pale blue eyes wide. Yeah, he’d been preoccupied with sex and having her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t notice things.
    The quill scratched against the parchment, and he couldn’t hide his huge grin as he read what she had written.
    I am the goddess of sexuality and fertility.
    Well, wasn’t he a lucky bastard. The goddess of sexuality. He’d certainly won the mother lode when she picked his sorry ass up from the ground.
    Say something.
    He could almost hear the anxious sound of her voice translated into those two frantically scribbled words. With a smile, and a gentle caress against her cheek, he leaned forward and kissed her.
    “Thank you, Goddess of sexuality and fertility, for saving my life, and gifting me with your body.”
    Her smile undid him, and he touched her again, enjoying this conversation and this closeness taking root between them.
    You’re welcome. And I think you’re beautiful, too.
    He laughed and brushed her hair over her shoulder. He wasn’t beautiful, but the woman sitting beside him—his future mate—was stunning. All the other women he had known were obliterated from his memory with just one glance at this woman, as beautiful on the inside as she was outside.
    He watched as his fingertips slid down the perfect alabaster skin of her shoulder. She was smooth, soft, so warm against his calloused fingers. “I really need to find the king.”
    Too dangerous.
    “It’s important, and I’ll come back to you. I