She was naked. And, since there didn’t seem to be anything for her to wear, she might as well attempt a shift and find out right now if the ability was gone forever. First Form would be easiest, but she couldn’t bear to be the gríobhth right then. Instead, she went for a cat. Like sliding her hand into a glove, the form came to her. Thank you, Moranu.
Coming back to human form wearing a simple, black woolen gown, she realized she’d forgotten shoes. Clearly her shifting would need a bit of attention to get back up to par. Padding barefoot out the door, she tried sharpening her sense of smell, pleased when that ability came back easily enough. Following Lena’s scent, Zeph found her friend in a smaller set of rooms a few doors down the way.
Lena, who’d been standing by a cheerful fire, warming her hands, whirled as Zeph slipped through the door. With a strangled cry, Lena flung herself at Zeph, catching her in a bone-crushing embrace. She was saying something—and crying at the same time—so her words made no sense.
Zeph opened her mouth and found salt water running down her own cheeks. So she clutched Lena in return, rocking her gently. Finally, Lena subsided, gulping back sobs and wiping her face. “I can’t believe you saved us,” she finally managed.
“You saved us,” Zeph corrected. “You found the fold.” Remembering, she scowled and gripped Lena by the shoulders, anger rising. “Though you were trying to kill yourself, you gruntling idiot.”
Lena smiled weakly. “I’d already put you in jeopardy by making you come to my rescue. I only wanted to give you a chance to live.”
“Saying your goodbyes like that,” Zeph growled, feeling a bit of the gríobhth’s ferocity returning, beyond relieved that it didn’t hurt.
“Speaking of which…” Lena jerked her chin at the other room. Zeph peeked through the open door—to see Rhy sprawled on the bed, fully clothed like Astar, and equally unconscious. “Nilly said she had to put him out because he wouldn’t sleep, waiting for me to wake. She did the same with Astar.”
Ah, that explained it. She frowned in confusion, though. “How is Rhy even here?”
“There are many questions,” Lena agreed, then hesitated. “I’m in no position to ask a favor of you, but…”
“I am not taking you back to study the tentacle things,” Zeph informed her decisively.
Lena grimaced in distaste. “Good name for them. But no, I was going to ask—would you not tell Rhy the things I said? In that place.”
Zeph cocked her head. “Of course. Though, I feel I should point out that, when you thought you were going to die, he was the first person you thought of and wanted me to give a message to.”
“I know.” Lena rolled her shoulders, releasing a heavy sigh. “And I meant what I said. The thing is—I love Rhyian, but I can’t trust him. When I thought I was going to die, I could let him know I love him, without having to suffer the consequences of him breaking my trust again.” Her pretty blue eyes filled with tears, making them all the more luminous.
Zeph embraced her again, gently this time. “I understand. Love should be easy, and it just isn’t.”
Lena held on. “Neither is trust. It should be, but… it just isn’t,” she finished wryly.
The roar of an enraged grizzly strained through a human throat had them startling and springing apart. Lena raised her brows. “Is that—?”
“Astar,” Zeph confirmed with a grin, delight and joy bubbling up in her like Ordnung’s finest sparkling wine.
The door flung open, banging hard on the frame, and both women shushed Astar, pointing at the other room where Rhy still slept. Zeph frowned to herself. She knew Rhy well, and something about the lines of his body made her wonder… was he only pretending to be asleep?
“Zephyr,” Astar said hoarsely, seizing her attention and then—in three strides—seizing her and lifting her into the air to crush her against him. “You’re awake,” he breathed, like it was a miracle.
She pulled back a little to frame his face in her hands. “I am awake, and I’m just fine. I’m right here.”
Cupping her head in his big hand, he pulled her down for a greedy kiss, the intensity of it melting her against him. “I thought you were gone forever,” he finally said, leaning his forehead against hers. Remembering himself, he turned so he could see Lena, who watched them with fond amusement—and maybe a bit of wistfulness. “Both of you. I’m so glad you’re back unharmed, and I want to hear everything.”
“We’d like to hear your end, too,” Lena replied. “There’s much information to exchange, but for now…” She smiled at how Astar had yet to put Zeph down. “I think maybe you two need some time together. We can all convene to tell stories later.”
“Good idea,” Astar said. With no further comment, he tossed Zeph over his shoulder and carried her out of the room.
Hours later, when he thought he might have finally convinced his inner bear that his mate was alive and whole, Astar lay with his head pillowed on a folded arm, watching Zephyr sleep. Night had fallen, so they’d lit some candles, and the golden glow shimmered over her flawless skin. She lay on her side, too, facing him, which let him trace the long sinuous curve of her body, from slim shoulder down her delicate rib cage to narrow waist, then over the exquisite flare of her hip and down again the tapering slope of her elegant thigh.
As he drew his fingers back up the satiny path, he found her deep blue eyes open, watching him. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said quietly. “Go back to sleep.”
She smiled sleepily, wriggling down into her nest like a contented kitten. “I’ve slept enough for a lifetime. I’d rather be awake to savor every moment with you.” A line of pain formed between her brows. “I thought I was good at enjoying the moment, but that place…”
“Do you want to tell me about it now?” he asked gently. She hadn’t before. In typical Zephyr style, she’d declared her own moratorium—on talking—and insisted their mouths be otherwise occupied.
She met his gaze with sober candor. “If it’s all right, I’d rather tell the story once, with everyone there.”
“Of course it’s all right.” He smoothed a hand over her hip, petting her the way she liked, and reining back his own impatience to know what had happened to spook her so.
“There will be decisions to be made,” she warned darkly.
“Fortunately something I’ve been trained to do,” he teased, happy to make her smile.
“Would you…” She hesitated, her fingers knotting the bedsheets. “It’s not fair when I just said I only want to tell my story once, but will you tell me what happened on your end—how did we get back?”
He picked up her hand, kissing those narrow fingers. “You fell from the sky.”
She winced, nodding. “My wings were broken?”
“No, you were in human form. First Lena appeared, falling, then you came after. Naked and unconscious.” When she only listened, pressing her lips together, pain in her eyes, he continued, though he decided to leave out that she’d been as good as dead. “Nilly thinks that you went through some sort of portal as the gríobhth, perhaps with Lena on your back, and that it somehow stripped you of that form, throwing you into your human body.”
“That makes sense,” she mused. “I definitely didn’t shift back on my own. So, we fell—who caught us?”
He cleared his throat, embarrassed for no good reason. “Er… I did.”
“As the grizzly?” She sounded justifiably dubious.
“Ah, no—I flew and caught you in the air.”
Her eyes widened, a delighted expression replacing the haunted shadows. Extracting her fingers from his hand, she punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Really? Wings, Astar! That’s wonderful news. What form did you find?”
He knew he must be blushing. “I didn’t see myself, in truth. It all happened so fast, and I was focused on you.”
She narrowed her eyes, suppressing a mirthful grin. “You’re hedging. And you’re blushing. What is it, Astar? Something big.”
“I needed b
ig,” he said, sounding way too defensive. “To catch you both. Rhy was there, but as a raven and—”
Zephyr knotted her fingers in his chest hair and tugged hard. The mild pain went straight to his cock, renewing the constant hunger for her. “No more dodging. Tell me, or I’ll take steps.”
Tempting as it was to push her, to find out just what lengths she’d go to—and what sweet torments she’d employ in order to get the information out of him—he caved. “A, um, dragon,” he admitted.
Her look of utter astonishment and admiration warmed his heart. “Truly?” she whispered.
“Nilly can verify. She saw everything. Well, so did a lot of people.”
“So much for hiding the monsters from the nice mossbacks.”
“You’re not a monster, Zephyr.” He untangled her fingers from his chest hair and kissed her. “You’re a hero.”
“And my mate is a dragon,” she added with a grin. “I’ll bet Gen is having a fit.”
“I didn’t plan it that way,” he said. Zephyr was no doubt correct, as hard as Gen had worked to discover the secret of dragon form. “I’ll talk to her, but I know she will be mostly happy that you and Lena made it back safely.”
“True.” Zephyr’s smile took on a mischievous note. “I can always drive her crazy about it later.”
“Do you mind?” he asked earnestly.
“That you attained dragon form without even trying?” She pushed him onto his back, straddling him and using her nails on his nipples. Unable to help himself, he arched under her, already breathless with wanting. “Yes, I mind. I’m horribly jealous, and I intend to make you pay.”
He lifted his hands to her gorgeous breasts, kneading them just a little on the hard side, so her eyes blazed with answering arousal. She bent to kiss him, hot and long and lovingly. Then lifted her head to gaze into his eyes. “To be clear,” she breathed. “I don’t mind. I’m happy you found your wings. And I’m selfishly pleased that you bested Gen. I never really wanted to be a dragon—the gríobhth is plenty—I only tried for dragon to annoy Gen.”
Laughing at her, he dragged his hands through her hair. “You’re incorrigible.”
She fluttered her lashes. “Why, thank you, Your Highness Crown Prince Astar.”
The use of his title gave him pause. “I do want to talk to you about something.”
“Oh?” She sobered, searching his face. “A bad something?”
“No.” He ran his hands over her back. “You called me your mate.”
“You are my mate,” she replied bluntly, the ferocity of the gríobhth rising in her. “I thought I’d made that clear already.”
“You did,” he allowed, “but I need to tell you something.”
She sat up, face going stony, invisible tail whipping in the air. “What?”
Smoothing his hands over her thighs, he smiled. “Don’t look like that. It’s a good thing. At least,” he amended, feeling uncertain in the face of her fierce expression, “I think you’ll be happy. About some parts. Maybe not all, but—”
“Astar, my only love,” she replied silkily, not fooling him for a moment, “if you don’t spit it out, I’m going to use my teeth on you.”
He nearly choked on that threat—alarmed and aroused, as only Zephyr seemed able to do to him. “You’re my mate, too,” he informed her. “I won’t marry anyone else. Ever.” When she stared at him blankly, he forged on. “I decided, when I was afraid that you were gone forever, that I’d never be with anyone else. You are my one and only.”
She considered that, head cocked like the gríobhth, but softening otherwise. “What about the high throne?”
“What about it?” he returned evenly.
“You need a queen.”
“I don’t, in fact. But the only way I’ll have one is if she’s you.”
Zephyr smiled oddly, dropping her gaze and tracking one of his nipples with a sharp nail. “We both know I’m not queen material. Not who Ursula would choose.”
“Ursula picked her own mate; I will, too. All I care about is that you love me,” he answered with raw honesty. “Unless you don’t love me enough to—”
She stopped his words with a kiss. “I love you enough to anything, Astar,” she murmured into his mouth. “Everything that I am or will be is yours. Whatever you ask of me, I’ll give. I thought of some things to tell you, too. If you need me to be your queen, then I’ll figure out how to do that.”
He felt the smile bloom across his face, the wonder filling his heart. “Truly?” he asked.
She shrugged, pretending to nonchalance. “How hard can it be?”
“Nothing is beyond your abilities,” he replied with total honesty. “I’m so proud to be yours.”
Smiling, she kissed him. “I promised you would be,” she confided.
“You did?” he asked, not quite following.
Becoming the cat for a moment—and giving him a quick lick on the nose—she returned to human form with a folded piece of paper in her fingers. With a smile that looked almost shy, she handed it to him. The promise she’d given him on the Feast of Moranu, the one he’d given back to her, unread. Carefully unfolding it, for he knew he’d keep it all his life, he read the simple message.
You will be mine.
Once those words had sent him running. Now he exulted in them. Catching her by the back of the neck, he drew Zephyr down for a long kiss. “I want to show you something,” he said against her lips.
Pulling on his pants and draping her in a sapphire silk robe against the chill, he drew her out onto the balcony, closing the doors behind them. As he’d hoped, the sky lights danced with ethereal beauty, and Zephyr drew in her breath in a gasp of delight. Wrapping his arms around her, he savored that he’d gotten his wish from the night before. “I have something for you,” he murmured into her ear. Digging the ring out of his pocket, he held it out to her.
“Salena’s ring,” she breathed.
“For you. Ursula gave it to me to give to my intended bride.”
Taking it from his palm, she slipped it onto her finger. “I’ll wear it with honor. And attempt to take the responsibility seriously,” she added, leaning back against him.
“Not too seriously, I hope,” he teased.
“Let’s not ask for the impossible,” she agreed pertly.
They stood there together, watching the lights. “I have only one question for you now,” he said.
“Oh?”
He kissed her temple. “What next?”
She giggled. “I guess we’ll find out together.”
“For the rest of our lives.”
“A good question to build a lifetime on,” she agreed, turning in his arms, and this time, when she kissed him, they didn’t use their mouths for words again for a very long time.
The story will continue in
The Sorceress Queen and the Pirate Rogue
Coming April 2021
Titles by Jeffe Kennedy
FANTASY ROMANCES
HEIRS OF MAGIC
The Long Night of the Crystalline Moon
(in Under a Winter Sky)
The Golden Gryphon and the Bear Prince
The Sorceress Queen and the Pirate Rogue (April 2021)
The Winter Mage and the Dragon’s Daughter (August 2021)
The Storm Princess and the Raven King (December 2021)
THE FORGOTTEN EMPIRES
The Orchid Throne
The Fiery Crown
The Promised Queen (May 2021)
THE TWELVE KINGDOMS
Negotiation
The Mark of the Tala
The Tears of the Rose
The Talon of the Hawk
Heart’s Blood
The Crown of the Queen
THE UNCHARTED REALMS
The Pages of the Mind
The Edge of the Blade
The Snows of Windroven
The Shift of the Tide
The Arrows of the Heart
The Dragons of Summer
The Fate of the Tala
The Lost Princess Returns
THE CHRONICLES OF DASNARIA
Prisoner of the Crown
Exile of the Seas
Warrior of the World
SORCEROUS MOONS
Lonen’s War
Oria’s Gambit
The Tides of Bára
The Forests of Dru
Oria’s Enchantment
Lonen’s Reign
A COVENANT OF THORNS
Rogue’s Pawn
Rogue’s Possession
Rogue’s Paradise
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES
Shooting Star
MISSED CONNECTIONS
Last Dance
With a Prince
Since Last Christmas
CONTEMPORARY EROTIC ROMANCES
Exact Warm Unholy
The Devil’s Doorbell
FACETS OF PASSION
Sapphire
Platinum
Ruby
Five Golden Rings
FALLING UNDER
Going Under
Under His Touch
Under Contract
EROTIC PARANORMAL
MASTER OF THE OPERA E-SERIAL
Master of the Opera, Act 1: Passionate Overture
Master of the Opera, Act 2: Ghost Aria
Master of the Opera, Act 3: Phantom Serenade
Master of the Opera, Act 4: Dark Interlude
Master of the Opera, Act 5: A Haunting Duet
Master of the Opera, Act 6: Crescendo
Master of the Opera
BLOOD CURRENCY
Blood Currency
BDSM FAIRYTALE ROMANCE
Petals and Thorns
Thank you for reading!
About Jeffe Kennedy
Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning, best-selling author who writes fantasy with romantic elements and fantasy romance. She is an RWA member and serves on the Board of Directors for SFWA as a Director at Large.
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