Talia and Damon reached their room, each immersed in their own thoughts.
Talia plopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Damon laid next to her sideways and propped his head on his elbow. He loved observing her in silence, but he knew that she had many things going on in her head.
Talia turned to look at him. "Why is Evanora avoiding to talk about a new portal?"
"If you noticed, why are you persistent?"
"She is dodging to discuss a proposal that's obviously beneficial for both sides. I want to know why."
Damon would love to know why also, but… "Sometimes we need to accept the rejection without understanding the reasons of the other side."
Talia puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Was Damon siding with the moody witch? No, that was not the case.
Or did Evanora want to swindle another shady deal? That was a possibility.
Talia would be fine letting it go if it was not important.
"New portal would be much more than just connecting us with witches. We could make portals in Max's territory and Cristian's."
Damon chuckled. His mate had big plans. "You don't need to convince me, kitten. But don't make it sound like we are paralyzed without portals. Didn't you say that if it's within the same realm, we could use teleportation magic that requires only a diagram and a few chants?"
Well, he was right about it, but… "For teleportation magic, we also need a witch. If we have portals, anyone could use them."
"Maybe that's the problem."
Talia didn't get it. "What do you mean?"
"I'm just guessing here, but hear me out," Damon started with a disclaimer. "Evanora might be reluctant to get another portal opened because she fears what might come out of it. Yasmin is mated to Axel, so that gives Evanora a sense of security that the Midnight Guardians pack won't turn hostile. At the same time, the Midnight Guardians pack is a filter for outsiders who are forced to pass through there because it's the only way to reach witches. You see another portal as a convenient way to travel, but Evanora sees it as pandora's box."
Talia needed a moment to process Damon's words. "We can use that."
"We can?"
"Just as the Midnight Guardians pack won't be hostile because Yasmin and Axel are mates, the Silver Flame Coven is now connected to the Dark Howlers pack. Amelia and Liam are mates, and with the portal placed in the territory of the Dark Howlers pack, we will definitely secure it."
Damon didn't want to break Talia's optimistic bubble, but he had to.
"Don't dismiss the fact that Yasmin and Amelia are not the same. Yasmin is Evanora's daughter, and Axel is high in the hierarchy of the Midnight Guardians pack with only one above him." Damon gave Talia a knowing look. "On the other side, Liam is just a guard, while Amelia is just a witch."
"You want to say that Liam and Amelia are disposable."
"I know you see everyone like a family, kitten, but you need to accept that not everyone is the same. When Evanora is weighing her options, she is thinking from her point of view, and I can't say that I disagree."
Talia couldn't believe this. "If we are responsible for endangering witches, Amelia won't approve, which means that Liam won't either. Will you really put them in such a bad situation where they need to pick a side?"
"Not if I could help it, but…" Damon's voice trailed when he realized that Talia was frowning at him. He loved that she wanted everyone to be happy, but he needed to remind her how that was not always an option. "What if someone is keeping me as a hostage in exchange for access to the portal? What would you do if you receive my severed finger? You can't ignore that the Midnight Guardians pack is in a realm of its own, while the Dark Howlers pack is surrounded by many other packs and creatures. If we have a portal in our territory, it will be only a matter of time before others find out, no matter how tightly we guard that information."
Damon thought that he discouraged Talia, but she looked at him stubbornly. "If safety is the reason why Evanora doesn't want to talk about it, then we need to warn her that there are other portals, some that she might be unaware of."
It took Damon a moment to process where Talia was going with it. "You are talking about those strange energies in the lake that Axel showed." They didn't talk about it with Evanora, yet.
Talia confirmed. "And the ones in the lake next to Darkbourne."
"We don't know if those are portals.", Damon reminded her.
"True, but they could be. My point is that unless one knows about the portal or stumbles on it accidentally, those things could be there."
Damon looked at Talia for a few long moments and then he started laughing.
"What's funny?", Talia asked.
Damon shook his head at the silly female. "You will approach Evanora with an argument how opening one portal is not a security concern because there might be many others she is not aware of. I would like to see how that goes."
Talia pouted. "You will. Tomorrow." She looked at him dejectedly because he was laughing again. "If you won't support me, at least don't mock me."
Damon clamped his mouth shut, but his shoulders were still shaking. He couldn't help it. She was so innocent and adorable.
Talia couldn't look at him anymore. His eyes were tearing up!
She pushed herself off the bed, but before she got her bearing, Damon grabbed her arm and tugged her back on the bed.
"Let me go!", Talia hissed while wiggling under him.
"No."
Talia wiggled a bit more in an attempt to escape his grasp, but no matter what she did, Damon blocked her movements with ease. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You want to hold me here so that you can laugh at me?"
"I'm not laughing at you."
"Why are you laughing then?"
"You make me happy."
All Talia's hostility sizzled away within a second. She made him happy. She liked that.
"You make me happy as well", Talia said dreamily as her arms snaked around his torso.
Damon was quick to find her lips and kiss her deeply. Talia couldn't believe that even after kissing him a million times (or more), her toes curled when he captured her tongue with his lips while letting her feel his teeth.
Talia couldn't deny that Damon was a great kisser. He skillfully used his lips, tongue, and teeth to set the pace with suction and pressure, and within a minute, Talia was breathing heavily while tugging on his shirt. She would rip it into shreds, but they were in the realm of witches with only a few changes of clothes, and she didn't want him to run out of garments.
Damon smiled into the kiss when Talia started working on the buttons of his jeans impatiently. His kitten was eager to feel him, and he approved. This was exactly the vacation he was hoping for.
