“I doubt that it's a coincidence,” he muttered.
“We considered Yama as a possibility,” I went on. “He's dead, but he had this tool that could harvest souls.”
“What kind of tool?”
“A cord of some kind.”
“Like a noose?” Arach asked.
“Could be.” I shrugged. “Or a lasso; to loop around a soul and pull it free.”
“Interesting indeed,” he murmured. “I'd look into his family if I were you; any surviving relatives.”
“Good idea,” I agreed. “I'll do it first thing in the morning. I have other plans for tonight.”
I pulled my dragon closer.
“No teasing this time, A Thaisce,” Arach chided me. “We just got this bed.”
I smiled wickedly as I laid back onto the fresh mattress with him, and Arach groaned in both irritation and anticipation.
Chapter Twenty-One
I didn't return to the God Realm right away. I know that seems reckless and cold, but I'd be going back to nearly the exact time I'd left; which meant that time I spent in Faerie was a bonus. While the murderer and all of Luke's demons were essentially on pause, I could do some investigating from here while I spent some time with my family and faeries.
And Dexter.
“Dex!” I exclaimed as he jumped on top of Arach and me. “Where have you been?”
A soft whine alerted me of another presence in the room. I looked toward the door and saw another Dexter standing there, but this one was a little smaller and had a rounder face. The nurial in the doorway had gone through an early shift. Normally, nurials were black-furred animals with six, long, delicate legs, a lion-shaped body, a fox-like face, crimson eyes, and curling horns near their droopy ears. When mature, the males had a thick ruff of fur around their necks too. This nurial was either a young male or a female because it didn't have a ruff. It was also pure white with pale blue eyes; the nurial winter coloring. Dexter was still black; it was a little early for either the Fey or the creatures of Faerie to start shifting. And not all of them did, even when the time was right. A winter transformation has become a badge of honor among the Fey; a far cry from what it began as.
“Who's your friend?” I asked as I sat up.
“I don't think that's his friend.” Arach took a long sniff. “She smells very similar to Dexter.”
I inhaled deeply. Arach was right; she was female and her scent was nearly identical to Dexter's. The nurial at the door backed up a step as I stared at her. Dexter jumped off the bed and circled behind it to push the animal forward. The fact that Dex had gotten a wild animal to come inside the castle in the first place was amazing. That it was standing there while a couple of dragon-sidhe sniffed it was even more so. It spoke of deep trust; not in us, but in Dexter.
I started to tear up.
“A Thaisce,” Arach said gently as he pulled me against his side, “I love your gentle heart.”
“She's his daughter,” I whispered and looked up at Arach. “Isn't she?”
“I believe so,” Arach said. “Don't make any sudden movements; let her come in on her own.”
“Okay.” I sniffed and tried to look friendly. “Hey, sweetie, you're safe. No one's going to hurt you here.”
The female nurial whined and nudged Dexter's face. Dex huffed and pushed her inside the room. Then he ran ahead of her and plopped on his bed as if to show her what cool digs he had. The girl looked a little lost standing in the middle of the bedroom by herself and it took all of my willpower not to get up and comfort her. But that wouldn't have been a comfort to her; it probably would have sent her running. So, I waited, and she took a wary step forward; her eyes on Arach the entire time. Oh yeah; she knew where the danger was and who it was.
“It's okay,” I crooned to her again. “Dex, go help her.”
Dexter looked up at me and then went back to his daughter. He stood between her and us as a barrier and walked with her to his bed; a miniature version of Arach's and mine. Dexter is a large animal, and he took up most of the bed. His daughter had to lie tangled in his legs and across him a bit. But the little family looked happy and comfy when they were finally settled in.
“I think we're going to need a bigger bed,” I said to Arach.
“It would seem so,” he agreed with a smile. “Perhaps we can put them in the boys' room; she'll be more comfortable around the children, I imagine.”
“You've been looking for an excuse to move Dexter for a long time now,” I accused Arach.
“Yes,” he said without guilt. “And this is the perfect opportunity.”
“Damn pragmatic dragon,” I muttered. Then I looked back at the newest addition to our family. “Do you think she was cast out as Dexter's mother did to him?”
“I think it more likely that she was scared by her transition, and Dexter brought her here to look after her,” Arach mused. “The animals have had a long time to adjust to their winter forms; she's just shifted a little early. Perhaps this is her first time.”
“You're beautiful,” I said softly to Dexter's daughter. “Especially lying against your daddy; you look like Yin and Yang.”
“Yin and Yang?” Arach asked.
“The Chinese symbol for opposite but complementary forces,” I said. “It can also represent male and female aspects. It's a circle filled with one swirl of black and one of white, and dots of the opposite color in the fullest part of each swirl.”
I motioned to Dexter's dark fur laid along his daughter's white.
