A roar deafened her and now she did sink to the carpet. Her strong legs couldn’t compete against her nerves. Theo went to her and wrapped his arms around her green-tinged shoulders. His touch on the ogress’s skin made her flinch. The ogress had kissed him while she as an elf had not. He wasn’t repulsed by the ogress. A flutter of anxiety battered her gut. Theo was smitten with the ogress, but not her.
“Please don’t tell anyone. I beg of you, Theo. They’ll kill me or worse. Ogres are hunted in elven lands.” Tears spilled from her eyes and she let them. “I couldn’t tell you.”
He smoothed her coarse hair and kissed her forehead. “I know.” He leaned back and his ever-changing eyes turned to jade. “I’m not sure what I would’ve done had you told me. We’re taught from a young age to fear the other races. I’m ashamed I was blind to my own bigotry.” His gaze held hers. “We fear what we don’t understand, but over the past few days I’ve gotten to know you. Whatever the ogress is, she’s also you.”
Rainne unfolded herself from his embrace and rose. Her robe fell open and Theo’s gaze went to her breasts. He didn’t look away with repulsion. Nor did he ogle her with lust. He looked at her with longing and, dare she hope, tenderness.
She desperately wanted to close the robe, to hide herself from him, but she stood still, curious about his reaction to her nakedness. The ogress longed to jut her chest out to force the robe open so that Theo could see more of her body. She didn’t want fondness or infatuation; she desired a quick fuck from the prince. Rainne held firm, neither enticing Theo nor hiding herself. The battle raged in her battered mind.
“You’re beautiful, Rainne. Do you see it? You bewitch me.”
Rainne shook her head. “I’m a monster.” She pulled away and clasped the robe closed. She went to the balcony and stared without seeing across the canyon that separated the palace from the city. This wasn’t happening. Theo couldn’t be here confessing to her—what? What was he saying? That he knew? Suspected? Wanted it? Did he want her, or the ogress?
She didn’t bewitch him; the ogress did.
Theo joined her and stood quietly for several minutes before speaking. “If you could be free of the curse, what would you do?”
Rainne lifted her face to the sky. “I’d dance and laugh and love. I’d live without limits and enjoy every moment of my days.”
“What if you could have that—with the curse?”
Her bitter laugh echoed over the tops of the trees. “Where? Here? As soon as your parents find out they’re housing an ogress, they’ll have me exiled. Elves don’t particularly like ogres. Hell, no one does. They’re vulgar and crass and crave bloodshed. Bloody good to have in battle, terrible at dinner parties.”
He turned her to face him and reached a hand to caress her face. Her skin tingled, but she didn’t stop him.
“We could live anywhere. By ourselves, with only each other and the stars to keep us company.”
“You’d die living that life.” So would she, to be honest.
“Better to live it with the one I love than to not live at all.”
The world stopped and her breath caught. Sound disappeared and it was only her and Theo standing on the edge of a precipice. She heard his words, but didn’t believe them.
“Watch your words, Prince Theodonys. For they have power and you know not what you say.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying. Do you think, even in the most minuscule capacity, that you could ever love me?”
The world shifted and sound returned. Warmth spread from her solar plexus to the tips of her fingers and toes. She could love him. Did love him. The realization surprised her. When had her heart turned toward him? Did it matter?
The movement was slight, but quick enough she didn’t register it until his lips were on hers. The ogress whooped and trembled while Rainne struggled to keep control over her lust. Theo’s scent overpowered her and she embraced her conflicted emotions. The ogress didn’t want to love Theo, and certainly didn’t want him to love Rainne. The ogress was happy to fuck, but never to love. Rainne pushed the thought aside to dissect later.
For the moment, she was enjoying the sensations of Theo’s lips on hers and all the wonderful things that did to her body.
His hardened cock pressed against her pelvis and she ground into him, the need building. The ogress had been denied release two nights ago and would not be denied now. Hunger burned in her veins not for food, but for sex, raw and dirty.
Small moans came from their locked mouths and she savored his taste. He was her banquet and she would take all she could in whatever time she had. His hands smoothed over her shoulders and slid her robe to the ground. She shivered in the warm night, delighting in the feel of air on her skin.
A sharp prick to her calf made her jerk away with a cry. Theo also yelped and jumped backward.
Pora stood on his back legs, his rapier swinging between Rainne and Theo.
“What the blood and ashes is this?” Storm clouds gathered on Theo’s features.
Annoyed at the disruption, Rainne retrieved her robe from the ground and shrugged into it. She knew why Pora had stopped them. “I think this is our reality check. Come inside. We need to talk.”
The ogress raged and spat curses at Rainne, but she tuned her out. She finally understood the desperation behind the ogress’s obsession with Theo.
Once they were seated in the sitting room and far from Rainne’s bed, she pointed to Pora. “He can talk. He can also kill wolves with his rapier and if so willing, could unman you with a single flick of his blade. I would advise you don’t vex him.”
Pora bowed and flourished his rapier. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Highness.”
Theo ran a hand through his hair, his mouth gaping. “I don’t understand. Is this part of the curse?”
“There’s some debate about that.” Rainne patted the chair and Pora jumped up to curl between her folded legs. His rapier rested at his side.
Her blood rushed through her veins, and the unspent desire lingered. Her thoughts centered on Theo’s lips and smell and taste. With a great amount of difficulty, she focused on his eyes and fought to keep the ogress at bay.
“We can’t make love with me like this. It’s imperative that we don’t consummate any sort of relationship at night.”
“But…why?” Confusion and hurt flicked through Theo’s bluish-green eyes. A moment later, they shifted to a dusky brown. She could watch his eyes all day and night and never lose fascination with them.
“I think…” Rainne straightened the robe and clutched the silver vial. “I think the ogress part of me wants us to fuck. You declared your love for me and she thinks if you have sex with her, then I’ll stay an ogress for all time.”
“Sort of like true love’s kiss breaking a curse, you think making love will solidify it?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a guess. Even if I’m wrong, I don’t want our first time to be like this. Not with her body.” Tears filled Rainne’s eyes and she blinked through them. “I know it doesn’t make sense, but if you make love to me like this, I’ll always wonder who you prefer.”
“But you’re the same person.” Theo blinked and shook his head. “If I love one, I love the other.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. We’re nothing alike. I hate her.” The last words were whispered into her hands as the tears fell.
“We’ll wait then. It’s you I love, Rainne. All of you.” Theo wrapped his arms around her and said soothing words that she longed to believe were true.
That strange pain in her heart ripped through her veins again. The same as it did the night they met. She curled into his embrace, pulling his warmth into the dark spaces and empty places. True love. Was this what it felt like? Could she love him unconditionally? The idea didn’t frighten her like she thought it might. The answer came to her as easily as taking a breath. She could, but only if he loved her as an elf maiden and not the ogress. And that couldn’t happen as long as she was cursed.
Exhaustion washed over her and she turned her tear-streaked face to him. “Will you lay with me tonight? Just hold me until morning and nothing more?”
Surprise lit his eyes. “If that’s your wish, I’ll stay with you.” He ran a hand through her hair and stroked her cheek.
The desire she saw reflected in his ever-changing eyes broke her heart. Despite his protestations, he wanted the ogress. She was mad to ask him to stay, but she had to know if he would keep his promise.
15
Soft snores woke her sometime in the middle of the night. True to his word, Theo had snuggled beside Rainne and fallen asleep with her in his arms. She’d felt his heartbeat against her cheek, strong and sure, but beating wildly. It couldn’t have been easy for him to go from rampant lust to a soft cuddle, nor had it been easy for her, but she wouldn’t let the ogress take Theo from her. She couldn’t shake the fear that if the ogress had sex with Theo first, then she’d never fully trust either one of them. The question would always haunt her—did he prefer the ogress to her?
Even then, she felt the ogress stirring in her loins and fought the urge to slip a hand beneath the covers to fondle the prince. The ogress craved his seed like flowers the sun. Rainne wavered a moment, her face close enough to Theo’s she felt his breath. Just one little taste…
She slipped from the bed and stood away from the prince. He wasn’t safe with her and yet she was worried what he might do. The irony should’ve been humorous, but she wasn’t laughing.
Pora followed her into the little sitting room and curled into the chair with her. She perused the books she’d taken from the library and stopped on a small volume she’d snuck into the stack when Theo wasn’t looking. The jag of guilt she felt at hiding the book from him still stung, but she’d felt a strong compulsion to find the strange little book. It had been tucked between two thick texts that hid it from view. Only someone who was looking for it would’ve found where it was concealed on the shelf.
Nothing about the slim volume was like the other books in the library. It wasn’t bound and decorated like the rest. They had leather covers with gold lettering, but this one was wrapped in what looked like red snakeskin. Even the lettering—shimmering black—was of a different style.
She turned the book from front to back and frowned. Only three words graced the cover: Anaeum Patrae Serventianae.
It was a language she didn’t know or even recognize. Not troll or ogre or one of the ancient languages of the giant races. Perhaps it was fae, or some archaic elven language that had been lost to time. She opened the cover and a slight crack sounded in the still room. She glanced over her shoulder toward the bedchamber, but no sounds came to her.
The title was written in a gorgeous, flowing calligraphy.
Fae Cursed
A retelling of the accounts of the curse of Elvenwood
By Her Majesty
Ishnara, Unseelie Queen
Rainne closed the book and breathed deeply. Her heart pounded in her ears and her stomach tightened. She glanced again to the bedchamber. Did Theo know the book was in the library? From the looks of it, no one had read it in a great long time, if ever. The pages were crisp, as if it were only just placed there this day. Surely, someone had to have read it. But it had been hidden—almost as if whoever placed it there didn’t want it read. Why would that be?
And why was she frightened to read past the title page? It was only a book. Words on pages, nothing more.
Except she knew the power of words. Hadn’t she warned Theo only a few hours earlier to be wary of his? What frightened her about this book was the fact it was written several thousand years earlier and had found its way to her on the very same day Theo had declared his love for her. It wasn’t a coincidence.
If Fate had placed the book in her path, she would view it as an opportunity to learn. Besides, it might be nothing more than a sweet fairy tale. She opened the book to the first page and started reading.
Several hours later, Rainne closed the book and set it on the table with the others. She stretched and gently removed Pora from her lap. Sunrise was still an hour away and she needed what little rest she could get.
As she nestled into Theo’s warm embrace, her mind worked through what she’d read. Ishnara’s story was nothing like the tale Theo had told her. He’d lived with his version his entire life, but she felt it in her bones that he needed to know what really happened all those centuries ago. There was a lesson in Ishnara’s story for Rainne, as well, but she chose to focus on what it meant for Theo. She wasn’t ready to face her own hypocrisy, nor did she welcome confronting his.
She fell into a light sleep and dreamed of serpents and faeries’ wings. When Theo kissed her awake, she blinked into the morning light with confusion. Where was she? What had the dreams meant? Why was Theo in her bed?
Then, slowly, everything came back to her and she sighed against his lips. His greyish eyes sought hers and his hands stroked the sides of her face. The unspoken question lingered in the depths of his remarkable eyes and her heart leapt. He desired her. Her, an elf maiden. The tiny nod she gave was met with a broad smile and look of relief.
He’d been afraid she would deny him, but why?
His kisses lingered on her lips and she quieted the questions in her mind. She wanted him, more than she’d wanted anything else in her life. Although he was her first as an elf maiden, the ogress had plenty of experience with other men and Rainne wanted to savor the moments she had with Theo. It didn’t matter if he’d had other lovers—he was there, with her. Not with the ogress, not with others—with her.
The feel of his hands roaming her body brought little thrills along her skin and her body warmed everywhere he touched. Spirals of desire shot from her core and she shifted to give him better access. She might not have made love as an elf, but she certainly remembered what the ogress had done, and for that, Rainne was thankful. She wasn’t some innocent waif unsure what to put where or how to respond to the chaotic happenings of her body.
“You are lovely, Lady Delarainne.” Theo nipped her ear and she giggled a yelp.
“As are you, Your Highness.”
He rested his body above hers and she felt the trembling of his muscles, could see the rampant heartbeat in the soft skin beneath his bandage.
“I love you.”
She melted at his words, becoming fluid and giggly and not at all refined. She spread her legs and adjusted her hips to meet his hardened cock.
With a breathless rush, she whispered, “I love you, too.”
Until that moment, she didn’t dare believe she could love him. Didn’t hope for his love in return. The previous night, she’d convinced herself his affection was for the ogress, not her.
“With all my heart.” And she did. Gods help her, she did love him with all her heart. If she were honest with herself, she knew she meant with both hers and the ogress’s because they were one and the same. Theo was right—the ogress was part of her and if he accepted both of those with equal measure, why couldn’t Rainne? Still, she resisted. Years of loathing couldn’t be wished away in a moment of bliss.
He entered her, his eyes never leaving hers, and she sighed into the feel of him filling her completely. They stayed locked together, him holding the sides of her face and she gripping his upper arms, neither looking away, neither closing their eyes. It was as if they didn’t want to blink for fear it might not be real. At least, for Rainne that’s how it was and she pretended to know that’s how it was for Theo, too. How she hoped it was for him.
They released as one in a spiral of sparks and stars and sweetness. His scent of sweet pea and powder mingled with their lust and she breathed it in, implanting it in her memory. He ran his nose from her collarbone to her lips, breathing in her scent much the same as she had done to him.
It was perfect. He was perfect.
She waited for it to all fall apart.
But it didn’t. Not for several hours while they explored each other’s bodies and broug
ht pleasure upon pleasure to each other. Alona brought them food at some point, but they didn’t leave the bed. Rainne didn’t want their time together to end, not even when her stomach growled for food and tea. Theo seemed to be in no hurry to stop and who was she to deny her prince?
Only after they satiated every desire, explored every inch of their bodies, and lay spent did Theo entice her from the bed with the promise of more to come, but only after they replenished their energy. She shrugged on her robe and sat with a happy, sloppy grin that wouldn’t leave her face.
“Are you expected anywhere?” She bit into her cold toast.
His grin was equally as giddy as hers. “We can stay in bed all day if we want.”
Oh, yes, she wanted. It was only a few hours past midday, which meant plenty of time until sunset. Although, a small part of her hoped she’d broken the curse with their lovemaking. A light cackle in the back of her mind shattered the illusion. The ogress remained. Damn it all, but the foul wench wouldn’t release Rainne, which meant she was stuck with her forever. A heaviness settled in her gut, cutting through her happiness and filling it with despair.
A cough sounded from the other room and both Rainne and Theo looked in that direction. He leaned across the table and kissed her lightly.
“What is it, Alona?” Rainne called, not wanting the real world to intrude just yet, but knowing she couldn’t stop it.
“My lady,” Alona said without showing herself, “I’m sorry to disturb you, but there’s something we’ve, erm, I’ve discovered that might be of interest.”
Rainne looked to Theo, her eyes narrowed. It had to be important for Alona to disturb her.
“What is it?”
Alona peeked around the doorframe and glanced at Theo. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, I really am. It was my intent to not bother you all day, but there’s a man, a butler, I think, and he was saying he knew of a witch even more powerful than the last.”
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