“I love you,” he murmured into the kiss.
A moan reverberated deep within my chest, which swelled with incandescent joy. I knew Drayce loved me, knew he had waited my entire life for my return to the Apex Palace and for me to take my place on the throne. Maybe it was something related to the enchantment within the ring, but this was the first time I’d heard him say the words and truly believed them.
I broke away from the kiss, blurting, “I love you. Need you. Now.”
Drayce’s shadows wrapped around my shoulders and hips and waist, pinning me to the wall. Despite the heat, a shiver of anticipation seized my insides. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his hips, and pulled him so close that our bodies formed an impenetrable seal from the cascading water.
He drew back and growled. Growled so deep and low that my muscles vibrated with want, need, desire. Growled as though I was something he would devour in one gulp. Growled like I was his.
“I’m yours,” I murmured. “And you’re mine.”
Panting hard, Drayce drew back his hips and lined himself against the part where I needed him most.
“Are you ready?” His voice shook with restraint.
“Yes.” I tightened my legs around him for emphasis.
Because of his snarls and growls and predatory gaze, I expected our lovemaking to be a wild, hurried affair. Instead, Drayce slid into me with the gentleness as when he took my maidenhead, with slow, rocking movements as though this was our first. Perhaps it was.
That first time in the clearing of the Autumn Court, I had seduced him because I’d meant to kill him along with the soldiers I had poisoned. And when he had admitted to planning on sacrificing me to Queen Melusina, I’d truly wanted him dead.
Now, things were different. I had felt the acute loss of Drayce, every heartbeat, every moment he slumbered under that curse. I had been reckless, ruthless, ravenous for his return.
I threw my head back as he plundered my mouth, my core, my very soul. Drayce was mine, I was his, and with this new mating bond, we might even share some power.
The water battered my skin in counterpoint to Drayce’s thrusts. He kept me pinned to that wall, suspended in a sensation so intense that I ached for release. It was ecstasy and agony and a frenzy of want.
My cries for release mingled with his deep groans, and the pleasure exploded behind my eyes into a shower of stars. In that moment, I felt every corner of this new world, every curse, every creature, both wicked and benevolent. I was the Queen of the Faeries, finally joined with my mate.
When I returned to my senses, the lights had dimmed, and moonlight shone down through the cascade of water, making the droplets shimmer like quicksilver.
I tilted my head up to blue-white stars cushioned in a sky of indigo velvet. “What happened?”
“You did this.” He kissed my lips. “The palace is the seat of your power.”
A sigh heaved from my lungs, and I threaded my fingers between the wet strands at the back of his head and kissed back. “It’s a pity that I can’t bring it with me when we confront the Fear Dorcha.”
“You can with the palace’s cornerstone,” he murmured.
“What’s that?” I replied.
“The source of the palace’s magic. It connected with you the moment you stepped into the building.”
My brows knitted together, and I remembered the morning I was supposed to venture out to look for the Blood of Dana. My reluctance had shaped the palace’s walls into a maze that delayed our departure until I felt ready.
“What will the stone do if I’m outside the palace?” I asked.
He pulled me into his chest. “It will enhance any magic you already wield.”
“Can we get it tomorrow?”
With a hum of agreement, Drayce carried me to the far end of the bathroom and up the stairs to the large, white bathtub. He stepped into its depths and set me on my feet into warm, knee-heigh water. Drayce reclined on his back, his dark skin and sculpted physique on full display.
I licked my lips, drinking in the sight of him with my eyes. He reached up for my hand and positioned me between his legs.
“Are you feeling cleaner?” he murmured into my ear.
A satisfied hum reverberated in my chest, and I ran my hand over his muscled thigh. “That was very thorough. I’ll have to employ you as my royal bather.”
“I’m at your service, Your Majesty.” He swept my wet hair over a shoulder and nibbled on my neck.
My eyelids fluttered shut. “I think I’m absorbing the monsters’ powers.”
“Or triggering your innate magic,” he replied with a yawn. “Tomorrow, I’ll show you the palace’s keystone. You’re going to need that power to confront Melusina and the Fear Dorcha.”
Chapter 20
I awoke the next morning with my head nestled in the juncture of Drayce’s shoulder and an arm slung around his chest. Sunlight streamed in through the tall windows of my room, making the bed curtains glow like candle flames. Drayce held me with an arm around my back and another around my waist, securing me in his warmth and strength.
Exhaling a long breath, I relished this momentary peace. In a few hours, we would force the doe to open the door to the Summer Court and we would confront the Fear Dorcha. I hoped that Aengus had recovered enough from his encounter with the Dearg Due to join us, hoped there might be some others to bolster our ranks.
With Melusina no longer binding his magic, Drayce was more powerful than ever, but even he was susceptible to curses.
Drayce tightened his arms around my ribs. “Did you see the portrait?”
“Where?” I raised my head, my gaze darting to the wall of windows on the right side of the room. The morning sun stung my eyes, making me squint. “Too bright.”
“Dim the lights, then.” He batted the tip of my nose with his fingertip.
I willed the palace to shade the windows. Instead of producing shutters or drapes, the windows darkened a little, reducing the glare.
“Is the palace alive?” I asked.
“It’s a magical tool, the same as my shadows.” He raised a hand, and a shadow fell across the bed. It split into two forks and parted the curtains surrounding the footboard. “The more you become attuned to it, the more you can wield its power.”
I twisted around in his arms and onto my back to find a gilded portrait of us on the wall opposite. We stood in a vast chamber with a single throne positioned behind me in the background and space for a throne at Drayce’s side. The portrait version of me wore a gown of forest green, with deep blue jewels that contrasted with my orange hair. It curled around features that were a mix of Melusina and Father’s but somehow didn’t look as awkward as they had when I was human.
Next to me, Drayce wore a deep-blue jacket with silver filigree on the cuffs and seams and silver plating on his sword arm. His dark skin shone like burnished copper with smiling, green eyes that matched my dress.
My gaze lingered on the Sword of Tethra in my portrait’s hand. “You’re not holding a sword, and neither of us have crowns.”
“I expect that one of the princes is keeping it safe,” he replied. “With each blessing comes an item that will secure your hold on the throne.”
“And yours?” I turned to meet his sad, green eyes. The noticeable gap in the portrait where Drayce’s throne should be told me that the palace also deemed his rule of the Otherworld incomplete.
Drayce lowered his thick, black lashes and sighed. “She took the throne, crown, sword, and shield from my father, thinking that they would transfer his power to her. When they didn’t she offered them to her allies as gifts.”
“The generals?” I gulped, hoping that Drayce hadn’t doomed himself when he tore out their souls and sending them to the Otherworld.
He shook his head. “I had servants check their rooms years ago. The items I need are scattered across the kingdom. Without them, I cannot take my throne.”
I squeezed his hand. “Then we’ll find them.”
“Perhaps,” he said, not sounding hopeful.
A tight fist clenched my heart. He was prepared to help me take my throne and defeat Melusina but hadn’t once mentioned me helping him.
I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders and buried my face in his neck. “Magical items like that must be powerful. We might find some clues as we visit each of the Courts.”
The smile he gave me was sad, as though he thought returning to the Otherworld was a distant dream. “Let’s focus on defeating Melusina.”
I brought his hand to my lips. “When we’ve broken the curses, we can get the princes to help us search for the items you need.”
A knock sounded on the door.
“Yes?” I said.
“Your Majesty,” said Osmos from the other room. “Destry has brought breakfast. And we have ninety-four visitors outside the throne room awaiting an audience.”
I closed my eyes and asked the palace to uncover malevolent intentions. Images of a marble hallway pushed themselves into my mind’s eye. At the head of a line of faeries stood a twisted crone in a brown coat, clutching a shepherd’s staff thick enough to conceal a blade.
The faeries standing directly behind her were a blur, but further down the line, a blue haired pixie clutched a wooden box with breathing holes to his chest. At the back of the crowd loomed a crown-haired faerie standing on stilted legs with quills pulling from her cloak.
An annoyed breath huffed from my chest. Either the Fear Dorcha was furious at the loss of his shadow assassin or my enemies extended to more than him and Queen Melusina.
“Please ask Captain Maith and his men to arrest three potential assassins,” I said to Osmos through the closed door and described the three people the castle had shown me.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” he replied.
I settled back into Drayce’s arms. “Let it be known that my mission is to break the curses on the Courts and defeat the usurper queen. Anyone who wishes to see me must go through your office.”
Osmos paused. I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t object to the extra work. Father had prepared me with the knowledge of faeries and the means to defend myself, but my secretary knew more than me about sitting on thrones and granting requests.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Osmos replied. “Is there anything else?”
“Could you gather a team of strong warriors to accompany me to the Summer Court?” I asked.
Another pause. This time longer than the first. “Apart from the guards securing the palace, we have Rosalind, Aengus, and His Majesty.” Osmos paused again. “Will you consider the druid?”
My eyes narrowed. Cathbad had been demanding as the human’s spokesperson and would likely be a hindrance for sneaking into the Summer Court. “Isn’t he asleep?”
“He insisted on staying awake to safeguard his charges from faerie trickery,” replied Osmos.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and exhaled a long breath. He sounded a lot like I did before becoming a faerie. Drayce’s comforting palm rubbing circles in my back did nothing to ally my frustration.
“What about Gerald?” I asked.
Osmos made a choking sound from behind the door. I expect it was because the gancanagh’s most devastating weapon was his ability to shift into whatever a female desired and the venom he used to make her hunger for his touch.
“Say yes to the druid,” Drayce whispered.
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because he can wield iron weapons.”
I turned to the door, tired of the druid already. “You can ask Cathbad if he wants to come along.”
After a bath and breakfast, Drayce and I donned hooded cloaks and emerged from the floor-to-ceiling windows of my writing room into a balcony that I commanded the building to wind around the palace’s exterior. It was made of the same flint as the rest of the mountain with a polished handrail supported by moulded balusters.
Chirping birds swooped in and out of tree-covered hilltops that stretched out to the distant mountains illuminated by the morning sun. It peeked out from behind fluffy, white clouds that drifted in an azure sky.
Inhaling the mingled scents of dew and sweet cedar, I filled my lungs with fresh air and continued along the balcony with Drayce.
“You called Melusina the usurper.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Does that mean you finally accept your role as the Queen of the Faeries?”
I placed a hand on his chest. “If it wasn’t for the sacrifice you made for Father and me, I would have been just another dead and forgotten princess.”
His brows rose. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes,” I replied with conviction.
The balcony sloped down the mountain, taking us past the mess hall’s colored windows depicting Drayce and me standing with our hands joined. We were dressed in varying shades of white, and the glass’s intricate segments of color depicted us with hair that glowed in the light of an indigo sky featuring both the sun and the moon.
“At least we know for sure that the palace has accepted us as mates,” I said with a smile.
“Do you know what the sky represents?” he asked.
I tilted my head up and examined the sun and moon, whose yellow and gold rays radiated with light. “Night and day?”
“Life and death.” He pulled me into his side. “The joining of equals. Something Melusina tried to achieve with my father, but her greed for power corrupted the union.”
“We’ll destroy her.” I wrapped my arms around his middle and gave him a tight squeeze.
We continued further down, pausing at the stables for Drayce to thank Enbarr for braving the Summer Court and the Fear Dorcha’s monsters. Eventually, we reached the bottom of the palace, where the windows ended and the caves began. I looked out for the huge laundry room, where I had last found mindless, filthy humans washing piles of clothing.
Instead of a bubbling vat, there were wooden tables arranged in a U-shape, each filled with large bowls of liquid. Gruagrach of differing sizes dipped soiled garments from one bowl to another and then into an empty bowl, where they emerged sparkling clean.
I stumbled over my feet and gaped. “Have they always been here?”
“Osmos probably hired them to replace the humans,” Drayce replied. “They live in a mound on the edge of the Autumn Court.”
“What’s the point of having human servants when the gruagach can do the work?”
He turned to me with a raised brow. “The gruagach require payment, will band together to protect their own, and will leave at the first sign of disrespect.”
“Whereas humans can be enchanted to work and suffer abuse until their bodies fall apart,” I muttered.
Drayce gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze and steered me away from the laundry room. “Make sure to get each of the prince’s blessings before breaking habits that have lasted centuries.”
I didn’t reply and continued down the outdoor slope, passing air vents that released scents of roasted meats, spices, and the warm aroma of baking bread.
He was right that I needed to secure the throne and defeat Melusina before saving all the humans, but it still rankled that people were still out there, suffering under the whims of faeries. He didn’t push the point further as we had already discussed the unfairness of these fae bargains.
We stopped at a narrow opening in the mountain with a low wall. I placed a hand on the rocky surface and asked, “Is this where I can find the cornerstone?”
Drayce threaded his fingers through mine, dipped his head, and led me into its dark depths. “This is the palace’s lowest level. When I was small, I found the cornerstone while exploring. Melusina came in shortly after and demanded it to yield its power.”
This passageway was devoid of light and smell and sound, and I couldn’t even hear the beating of my heart. I placed my free hand on the rough wall and exhaled with relief that one of my senses was working in this cavern.
“What happened?” I asked.
“The palace never
truly accepted her.” Drayce gave my arm a gentle tug.
We continued through the narrow, winding corridors until we reached a lit chamber of pale rock with multiple round openings large enough to house a family of bears. Its ceilings were high enough for us both to stand, and Drayce led me through the largest of the chambers, which contained pale, orange rock thick with stalactites.
I gulped. The last time we’d visited a cave like this, the Queen of the Banshees had screamed loud enough to bring them tumbling down on us.
“Why do you think the palace chose me instead of Melusina?” I asked, trying to keep my mind off past horrors.
Drayce released my hand and scooped me into his arms. He bounded up a mound of orange stones and leaped onto an impossibly high ledge. “Her Fomorian blood? She also murdered Queen Pressyne and didn’t give her a fae burial. Or perhaps the palace found her utterly despicable.”
I squared my shoulders and tried to reassure myself that this was no different from riding on the back of a capall. “Oh.”
As soon as Drayce stepped into the next chamber, a wave of power made my skin tingle, my teeth chatter, and the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Uneven stone-brick walls surrounded us, looking like the foundations of an ancient building.
Light streamed out through the taps in the bricks, illuminating the space. I turned my head up to the ceiling but found a dark void. “I feel it.”
He set me on my feet and guided me along the wall, which buzzed with an unfathomable power that intensified with each approaching step.
I thought back about the Diamount—the diamond-like mountains where we had found the Sword of Tethra and defeated the Queen of the Banshees.
Drayce once said that they were stone during the time when the gods roamed the earth. I hadn’t felt this level of magic at those mountains, but this chamber felt more powerful than a faerie or a demigod or even a Fomorian. This beautiful and terrible power felt like the stone had come from Dana herself.
Mate of the Fae King (Dark Faerie Court Book 2) Page 18