by Elena Lawson
She rose from the armchair and gave me a small bow, “Thank you, majesty, for not having me beheaded or some other ghastly thing.”
I laughed, “Am I that scary?”
She made a so-so gesture with her hand before bowing again and leaving the room.
“Let her go,” I called down the hall, in case any of my males would try to stop her.
They returned to the parlor with a mixture of raised brows and scowls, waiting for me to explain myself.
No more secrets, I reminded myself, dashing the idea of not telling them every detail from my mind. I told them I believed she wouldn’t share my secret with anyone, and that she would be training me, and it was time I admitted to them all how I felt about Valin—and the role Aisling would now play in helping me find out the truth about him.
“You did what?” Kade asked, narrowing his eyes at me, “Valin is no traitor. He’s a hero.”
“That was hundreds of years ago. You don’t know him now, no one at court does,” I argued.
“But to have her trick him into telling her things by—by using her…” Finn trailed off.
I laughed at the discomfort coloring his features, “She’s very beautiful. I don’t doubt she could have almost any male eating from the palm of her hand.”
“Yeah, or buried beneath her skirts,” Kade chaffed.
I rolled my eyes, “Look, I don’t like him. And I think he’s lying. I could be wrong, but until I’m proved otherwise, I do not—and will not trust him. And I don’t think you should either.” I met the steady gazes of each of my males, surprised to find Tiernan smiling with something like pride gleaming in his features.
Alaric ran a fist through his hair, “I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one evening. I’ll take the first—”
“Finn will take the first watch,” I corrected him, having noticed Finn seemed the most lively of the four, “You’re no good to me dead on your feet. Get some sleep. I promise I’ll still be here when you wake up.” I winked at him, already walking away.
“Stubborn as a stallion,” he groaned, but didn’t argue. “Wake me if—”
“Yes, sir,” Finn said, following me to my bedchamber. “I will.”
Chapter Ten
I awoke from a dreamless sleep to a sky brooding with gray clouds and the sounds of raised voices in the other room. Tiernan sat in the armchair next to my bed, having relieved Finn from his watch sometime in the night.
“What are they arguing about?” I whined, wanting nothing more than to climb back under the covers and go back to sleep.
Tiernan sighed, “Something about a memorial,” he shrugged, “I’m not sure.”
Ugh. We sat in silence for a while before I gave up hoping they would shut up and leave. I hauled my tired bones from the bed, hissing when my feet met the cold tile.
Tiernan’s intake of breath had me snapping my head up. He was staring at me—well, at my breasts to be more precise. The chill had hardened my nipples and the thin clingy material of my night clothes did little to hide them.
I smirked at him and he bit the inside of his cheek—to keep from saying what, I wasn’t sure. “Come here,” I beckoned him, watching as he rose to his full height and licked his plump lips.
Perhaps it wasn’t wise, and not the time for such things, but I wanted to taste him. Of all my men, Tiernan was the most foreign, with his sun-kissed skin and golden hair. It turns out, foreign is very sexy, and I had yet to feel the pressure of his lips against my own.
Just a kiss. That’s all. It wasn’t safe to do more—not yet.
I met his haughty stare with one of my own. There was something I had been wondering, and now seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask, “You agree with me, don’t you? About trusting Valin so easily.”
“I do,” he said, catching his lower lip between his teeth as I ran a hand over the leather armor covering his chest.
I nodded, “I thought so. I’m glad at least one of you does—agree with me that is.”
He pushed the unruly silver hair back from my chest and marveled at the silhouette of my body underneath my night clothes. “I think you’ll find we see eye to eye on more than one thing, Liana.”
At the sound of my name from his mouth, I almost came undone.
“What else do we agree on?” I whispered as he moved in closer, standing so my nipples brushed against his broad chest.
He leaned in, his voice a warm whisper against my neck, “You want me,” he said, and I gave a small nod as little darts of pleasure danced over my skin.
“I’ve wanted you from the first moment I saw you… in your nightclothes like you are now. Hair wild.”
I pulled back from him, just enough to see the fierce need darkening his eyes, his pupils almost fully dilated. An intense heat pooled between my thighs and my breast ached, feeling as though twice their usual size.
Ever the gentleman he waited until I bent my head toward his before he surrendered to his desire.
He tasted like summer. Like warm rain and hot sand and ripe berries. The kiss obliterated any sane thought in my mind. Tiernan’s tongue stroked against the seam of my lips, and I moaned, granting him entry. He delved inside my mouth and a silky wetness further warmed my sex.
His fingers teased my peaked breasts. I wanted him. His fingers, his lips, his tongue. Heat built at my core, and I worked to keep the flames tamed. No, I didn’t want to stop. I pulled him with me, down onto the feather-soft sheets. The laces at my collarbone came undone under his deft fingers. Our lips came apart, and I gasped as he took my breast into his mouth, easing some of the tension, quelling some of the ache.
His other hand traveled lower, lifting the hem of my sheer gown up, and up, over my knees, my thighs, baring me to him.
I quivered, unable to hold the Grace of fire from bursting out much longer.
“We can stop,” he breathed, heavy and hot against my breasts.
I couldn’t speak, only snaked my fingers into his hair, guiding his mouth back down to cover my other breast. He nipped and sucked, his tongue circling my nipple. I shuddered, my sex wetting as I bit back a moan. The heat climaxed at my core, tapping against my nerve-endings, asking please please let me out.
A cry tore from my chest, and I pushed him back. He stood, breathless, his manhood a great bulge beneath his trousers. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t.”
The others barged into the room, weapons drawn as though they were charging into battle.
“Liana?” Alaric asked, confusion twisting his features as he took in the scene before him, “We heard—um, well you sounded like you were in pain.”
Kade whistled low in his throat, and Finn bit back a laugh.
Well, that was one way to turn the fire to ice in my veins.
“I’m fine,” I said, abashedly aware of the way I must look, half clothed, sweaty, an untampered blush staining my cheeks. “Could you,” I squeaked, waving a hand towards the door, “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Alaric cleared his throat, “Right.” And he pulled the two Draconians out with him, not bothering to close the door behind them.
“Does anyone want to tell me what all the yelling was about this morning,” I said, strolling into the parlor. I had splashed my face with cool water and dressed in a simple gown of bluish-gray. Just enough time for the blush to recede from my cheeks and for the churning of lust to settle in my bones.
Alaric stroked a hand through his tousled hair, and cleared his throat, “It’s nothing,” he practically growled, casting a warning glare to the Draconians, “I’m sorry if we woke you.”
“I don’t think we woke her,” Kade said, grinning like a fool.
My teeth clenched, “Actually, you did,” I said, resisting the childish urge to stick my tongue out at him. “So, please, do elaborate.”
Finn looked apologetically at Alaric, clasping his hands between his widespread knees, “It’s the memorial. It’s next week. We’ve never missed it and we wanted to bring you with us.”
“
Memorial?” I asked.
Kade nodded, “It’s to honor the Draconians who fell at Mt. Ignis in Emeris.”
I didn’t know such an event existed, and was confused why I couldn’t attend, which I assumed was what they were arguing about. Turning on Alaric, I asked, “And why shouldn’t we go?”
Alaric sighed, “It’s an open-air event. They do it in the mountains each year. Half the Horde armies attend it and it’s filled with drunkards and brutes like these two,” he said, jabbing a finger towards Kade and Finn. “It’s too much of a risk. Not many nobles attend for that reason alone. I can’t imagine what they’d think if you did.”
Maybe it was risky, but I yearned to leave the walls of the palace for a reason other than training that yielded little to no results. I considered his worries, really—I did. But… “I won’t ask Kade and Finn to miss a memorial for their parents. And it’s as much for them as it is for you. They aren’t the only ones who lost loved ones in the slaughter at Ignis.”
“You didn’t ask them. I told them. It isn’t safe.”
I shook my head at him, “Then I won’t go as the queen of the Night Court. I’ll go as a subject.”
“And who do you think you would be fooling?” Kade asked, his eyebrow raised.
“There isn’t a soul like you on Meloran. And besides—all four royal guardians seen surrounding one female,” Finn inclined his head to me, “It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out who you are.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, “Do you forget that I spent the entire beginning of my life living as a peasant on an isle? If you think I can’t play the part, you’re mistaken. And as to your other worry, there won’t be any need for such protection, not for a peasant girl. Tiernan will escort me in—they don’t know his face—and the rest of you can watch from a distance.”
“You’re being stubborn,” Alaric huffed.
“And you’re being an overprotective ass,” I snickered at him, mostly joking, eliciting myself a half-smirk from Finn and an outright laugh from Kade.
“Liana—” he started.
“We’ll all go to the memorial. I’ve made up my mind.”
And I could have been mistaken, but I thought I saw something like wonder, or perhaps admiration flash over Alaric’s eyes as he watched me walk away.
Chapter Eleven
“Majesty?” a servant inquired as she poked her head into the parlor later that afternoon. Kade was sitting across from me and didn’t pay any mind to the maidservant—his focus instead was on the chess pieces between us. It had become something of a ritual—playing chess with Kade. We’d even taken to playing when he guarded me in the night. He had yet to win, poor thing. I didn’t bother telling him I’d played with the seven sisters on the Isle of Mist almost daily since I was eight.
“Yes?”
She stepped into the room, her arms neatly folded behind her back, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Aisling just sent word requesting to meet with you in your chambers.
A sly smile tugged at my lips, I wondered if she’d managed to glean anything from Valin. “Of course. Please let her know she is welcome.”
The servant nodded, and I felt bad not having learned her name. As I’d reminded my men, it wasn’t so long ago that I myself was little more than a lost little girl, sleeping on a bed of hay in a cottage of stone.
I rose and followed her from the room, earning myself a confused stare from Kade, “I’ll only be a second, don’t worry,” I offered him, and he went back to narrowed brows and a puckered expression, considering the glass and bone pieces on the table before him.
She spun as though afraid upon hearing me approach behind her, “Majesty,” she said, with a hand to her heart. She had a slender figure, and hair as black as ebony framing a face set with vibrant steeped tea eyes. “Is there something you need?”
I shook my head, “No, it’s only, I don’t know your name.”
She looked taken aback at the question in my words. She was new on my staff. After the incident with Thana, they had replaced every member of my staff except for young Rin—gods bless him—even after being poisoned, he requested to stay on as my taster. I was happy to give him the position.
“It’s Jaen,” she said in a small voice. After a beat of silence, she cleared her throat, looking decidedly uncomfortable, “I should—well, I should go send that message for you, majesty.”
“Yes, sure. Thank you, Jaen.”
Jaen took off down the corridor as a rat would scurry from flame. Am I really so frightening? I shrugged, heaving a sigh as I made my way back into the parlor.
“You better not have tampered with the board while I was away,” I said with no malice, “If you did, I’ll know.”
Lifting my skirts, I resumed my seat opposite Kade, who was so wrapped up in his own thoughts and focus he didn’t bother to reply. I grinned. I liked the Draconian like that, all pensive and intense. His muscles rippled with tension where I could see them along his densely corded arms and in his shoulders. If only he’d take off that ridiculous armored vest, I’d have a full view of his perfectly sculpted chest. But then, I don’t think we’d be playing chess anymore—at least, not the kind you played on a checkered board.
I swallowed back the hint of warmth spreading through me at the thought of Kade bared before me, swallowing air in a way I hoped he wouldn’t notice. I watched him consider the chess pieces before him, and I knew from where he looked what he would do, but it would be his end, he just didn’t know it yet.
Kade clenched his jaw, reaching out to move his bishop into the perfect place for me to check his king.
“I wouldn’t,” I warned, and he groaned in frustration, placing the bishop back to where it had been.
His shoulders relaxed as he realized once again that no matter where he moved, I would end the game within two turns. “You are maddening, you know that?”
I barked a laugh, “And you’re just mad you got beat by a female—sorry, that you keep getting beat by a female.”
Kade’s lips shifted into a coy smile. “One of these days, I will win. You’ll see.”
I put the pieces back into formation, “I doubt it.”
He chuckled low, standing from the armchair to stretch out his stiff muscles, “Oh, do you?”
“I do.”
“How about a deal then, since you’re so cocky?”
I considered what he could be after but could only think of one thing. Heat pooled between my thighs.
“If I win,” he said, his voice taking on a husky tone that vibrated through the air, settling over my skin like a warm blanket, “If I win, I get you.”
My lips were suddenly dry. I licked them. Kade growled in response to the gesture. When I didn’t answer right away, he added, “You don’t have to agree, if you don’t want to. I enjoy playing with you whether or not there’s a reward.” He winked.
He really had no idea, did he? How badly I wanted him. If I was being honest, how badly I wanted all my men. Alaric, the contemplative. Tiernan, the lionheart. Finn, the scholar. And Kade, the flame. They were all pieces to my broken puzzle of a self. Bits of my soul I lost along the road to finding my crown and accepting my duty.
I needed them to feel whole.
“I accept the challenge,” I said to Kade, rising to meet his wide-eyed gleaming stare, “But you have your work cut out for you, Kade.”
A delicious, slow smirk spread over his lips, crinkling the tan skin around his honey-amber eyes. His gaze roved along my frame, taking in my neck, my breasts, the curves of my waist and hips, settling on a spot somewhere just below my navel.
Swallowing, I offered him my hand, but not as his queen, as his equal. As a male does another male when a bargain has been struck. His smile faltered, replaced with an earnest respect. He put his hand in mine and shook it, once, hard, before he pulled me into his warm, solid chest.
“You’re incredible,” he whispered against my hair, “The Night Court is blessed to have someone like you sit upon the t
hrone.”
I was shocked—not only at his words, but at the sincerity with which he said them. As though it was fact, and not to be argued. I hugged him back, burying my face in his warm leather and spice scent.
“Damn,” he said, pulling away, “Someone’s coming.”
I blew the hot air from my lungs, trying to expel the blush from my neck.
“Is this a bad time?” Aisling said, strolling into the parlor, looking back and forth from me to Kade and back again with approval, and a curious tilt of her head.
Kade bit the inside of his cheek, “No, I was just going to get something to eat,” he said to her, turning to me, “I’ll be in the dinning room, holler if you need me.”
Ever the brute, he gave Aisling a long and burning warning look before he strolled, almost too casually, from the room.
“He’s a bit serious, isn’t he?” she said, moving further into the room.
“Not once you get to know him. He’s the opposite, really—well most of the time anyway.”
She nodded, accepting that I would say no more, “Handsome as the gods, though,” she said, more to herself than to me.
“So, tell me,” I started, gesturing to the cushion beside me for her to sit, “Were you able to learn anything from Valin?”
She made a so-so gesture with her hand, “Yes and no.” Sitting next to me, she sighed, “I’m really not sure what to make of it all.”
My lips pursed, “Tell me everything and then maybe we can figure it out.”
So, she did. Aisling told me how Valin asked her to dine with him, not for the first time, she said. But this time she accepted. They dined together on the northern terrace, and he wasn’t even remotely subtle about his intentions towards her. Though, when she offered to retire to his chambers with him for a glass of wine, he became tense, and tried to coerce her into allowing him to enter her chambers instead.
“Which is impossible, considering I take my rest in the palace infirmary with Loris in the healers’ quarters.”
But before they parted ways, she insisted on checking to make sure he was healing properly. All too eager to have her touch him in any way she would, he eventually relented. “I checked again, just to be sure, and well—there isn’t any trace of lingering injury in his mind. Nothing that would account for his loss of memory.”