He cuddled tighter against me, rubbing his cheek against the crook of my neck like a cat cuddling closer. He shivered, and not in a happy way.

I hugged him tight. “What’s wrong, Kitto? What are you afraid of?”

“I am a goblin with a sidhe hand of power, but Holly and Ash have hands of power, too, and they have stayed in the goblin kingdom.”

“They would be insane to try to join the Unseelie kingdom with the queen so unstable,” I said.

“True, but the fact that they didn’t try to join the sidhe after coming into their magic means that magic alone may not be enough to keep me at your side.”

I buried my face in the softness of his curls. I breathed in the scent of him, felt the gentle strength of him, and thought about him not being here by my side. It was a painful thought.

“Has someone said something to you?”

“Have you asked what Holly and Ash are doing with the new hands of power that you helped give them?”

“No, should I?”

“Yes,” he said, with his lips soft against my neck.

“Tell me,” I said.

“If they find out that I told on them, they will not like it, and their hands of power are much stronger for combat than mine.”

He turned in my arms, so he could cuddle even closer to me. He shivered, and it wasn’t from happiness at being held. He was afraid of the twin warriors, and he should have been. It suddenly felt like Kitto wasn’t close enough to me; sometimes even a robe and pajamas kept the skin hunger and comfort from being fed.

I let go of him enough to open my robe and reach for his shirt. He helped me take it over his head with a smile I could see from the pale glow of the night light. We wrapped our naked upper bodies around each other, his arms wrapping around my waist inside the thin shelter of my robe. The front of him, still in shorts, pressed against my thigh. I could feel that just that much undressing had made his body start to react, but I knew I didn’t have to tell Kitto that there would be no sex tonight; he wouldn’t push, but be content that I wanted to touch him so closely.

“Now, tell me,” I whispered against his curls.

I felt his smile against my neck, and that made me smile in the dimness of the nursery where the babies lay content and safe, despite my dream.

“They are using their newfound magic to fight duels.”

“I thought Holly and Ash were so feared even among the goblins that no one would challenge them.”

“They are, but there are some insults that no goblin could allow to stand if he or she wanted to keep their reputation, and to lose your reputation is to sign your death sentence among us.”

“You mean they’re starting the fights,” I whispered.

“I mean, they are goading others into challenging them to duels, for they are not only fierce and ruthless warriors, but much craftier than most give them credit for.”

I held him in my arms, feeling the warmth and solidness of him, and was afraid for him. He felt so small, delicate as my own more mortal form, and I knew that I would have died quickly among the goblins if I’d had to defend myself from insults.

“They may be nearly as smart as they are strong,” I said.

Kitto’s breath was hot against my skin as he whispered, “Ash is; I’m not certain about Holly, but he follows where his brother leads and that is enough to save him from mistakes he would make otherwise.”

“Do you think they will challenge Kurag, Goblin King, and win the throne from him?”

“They could,” Kitto said.

“I have a treaty with Kurag, but not with the twins,” I said.

“Yes,” he whispered.

I moved back enough to look into his face. “You think they won’t honor the treaty agreement,” I said.

“I fear they might not.”

“Sex with me awakened their hands of power, gave them the blessing of the Goddess,” I said.

“Yes, and they are grateful, but I do not believe that Ash is ever so grateful that he would allow it to interfere with his own ambitions.”

I nodded. “I know they mean to seat one of them on the goblin throne.”

“Kurag knows it, too,” Kitto said.

“Why does he not challenge them and be done with it, then?” I asked.

Kitto studied my face. “You know the answer to that as well as I do.”

“He fears he will lose,” I said.

Kitto nodded.

I let that thought roll around in my head for a minute, and then said, “He’s right to be afraid.”

“I believe he will lose if he fights them fairly and openly,” Kitto said, voice still low so that we didn’t wake the sleeping babes.

“Goblin society allows only fair and open fighting. A king who lets someone else do his killing is soon a dead king,” I said.

“We must all fight our own battles, that is true; so a king could not hire an assassin, for to be found out would be a death sentence, and likely a long and painful death.”

“So what are you saying, Kitto?”

“I am saying that not all assassinations are paid killings.”

I frowned at him. “You’re being too obtuse for me, Kitto.”

He sighed and said, “Kurag is much smarter than he lets most see, and has used it to his advantage politically for years. I believe he might manipulate others into trying to kill the twins for him, and his hands would look clean of their blood.”

“But you say the twins are manipulating people into dueling them already; doesn’t that feed into what Kurag wishes?”

“No, for the twins are only finding fights with goblins they believe they can beat. They avoid the handful of warriors that they are unsure of on the battlefield.”

“You think Kurag might try to arrange a fight between the twins and someone who might be able to kill them,” I said.

Kitto nodded.

“Kurag is my ally only for another few weeks, and then the treaty with him ends,” I said.

“Unless you bring over more of the half-sidhe among the goblins, yes,” Kitto said.

“I am not allowed sex for six more weeks, according to my doctors,” I said.

“And by that time the treaty will be over and Kurag will not have to help you against your uncle, or your aunt, if they decide to attack you and yours.”

“Are you saying that I should support Kurag in his effort to get the twins killed, or the twins in killing him?”

“I am saying that Kurag fears your enemies and will escape the treaty as soon as he can, and that the twins may not honor a treaty with you. Two of those that insulted them so they had to stand challenge were also sidhe-sided goblins and had made it known that they wished to bed you and gain their own magic.”

“You’re saying that now that Ash and Holly have their hands of power, they may not want me to give such power to any other goblins,” I said.

He nodded. “They do not fear me, for my hand of power only allows me to bring someone through a mirror call against their will, and close the window at will. It is powerful, so I’m told, but it is mostly useless in a duel. Other sidhe-sided may gain other things that are more battle useful.”

I wrapped him closer in the circle of my arms, folding my silk robe over both of us. I think the robe would have tied around both of us, we were both so small.