I couldn’t speak. All I saw were gray blobs, ogres charging the crowd in the middle of our tournament. Elves screaming as the ogres trampled them into the ground. I’d been slinging arrows at targets. I already had the next one nocked when an ogre ran for me. I sent an arrow in greeting. It whooshed loose. But then, to my horror, the ogre tripped. As he fell forward, the arrow zipped over him. Right behind the ogre, Conall rushed to my aid, gaze intent. He thought he was going to save me—right before my arrow shot through his neck.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Fraya
The bow slipped from my fingers. At first, I couldn’t tell whether I stood horror-struck in the past or the present. My stomach lurched.
“Excuse me,” I said absently, eyes on the ground.
I gave the barest tug. Luckily, Helio relented, letting me slip away as he resumed his parable about my glory days. I’d done his bidding, and he was pleased by it. I could still hear his boastful voice as I dragged my feet over the lawn. Reaching the stone steps, I halted, my heart sinking through quicksand. I couldn’t return to that prison.
I made a dash along the outer brick walls and hurried around the corner, into the shade. It was easier to breathe without the sun blistering my skin. I scorned its light, its heat. This was where I belonged. Alone in the dark.
I’d vowed never to shoot another arrow after the accident. Even dear, sweet Conall would look upon me in revulsion if he could see how I’d honored his memory. He’d seen right through Helio’s act from the beginning. Conall was the kind of male who was polite to everyone, but in private he told me he didn’t trust Helio’s honeyed tongue and lavish gifts offered under the guise of congratulations from my “biggest fan.” How much would Conall hate me now if he knew I’d given in to Helio’s pursuits? That in those dark days of misery, I’d spread my legs and allowed him to plant his gilded seed?
If only one of us could have survived that cursed day, it should have been Conall. He was the best male I’d ever known. He was good. Kind. Fair. Patient. Accepting. Loving. He had made the realm a better place just by existing. Why hadn’t he been the one to survive instead of me? I was a waste. A disappointment. A shadow against Conall’s daylight.
Anguish tore through me. I fell to the ground and sobbed.
Alok rounded the corner, face tight, and descended over me like a storm cloud. “Get up,” he growled.
“Leave me be,” I snarled back, sick of males ordering me around.
When I didn’t obey, he reached down and hauled me to my feet. His grasp on me was tight, but unlike Helio’s bruising grip, Alok’s fingers tore at some long-dormant need buried in that deep, dark well of desire that refused to die out.
“Accidents happen. Grave mistakes. I should know.” His eyes blazed. They scorched my soul. When Alok loosened his hold, I slumped. He gathered me back up and shook me. “What happened to you, Fraya? Why are you with him?” His upper lip curled.
If he knew the truth, that I carried that asshole’s child, he’d likely throw me back on the ground in disgust. I turned my head away, trying to avoid his searching eyes.
“Fraya!” Alok yelled.
Heat seared up my esophagus and burned through my brain. Energy and strength returned to my limbs right before I pushed Alok away. “I wanted to feel alive again. He made me feel like I was awake.” My fingers clenched into fists.
“And now?” Alok demanded.
“Now I hate him. I hate him so much.” Angry tears glossed over my eyes, but Alok didn’t let up.
“And me? Do you hate me?”
“I wish I did!” I yelled. “I’ve tried so hard to hate you, Alok, but I can’t. I can’t hate you! Not even a little.” My chest rose and fell rapidly with violent exhalations. My nostrils burned as I sucked in air. The heat inside me felt like it could burn away all the shadows cloaking us.
Alok lunged for me, crushing his mouth over mine. He eclipsed the shadows, a force beyond the natural world, a typhoon overwhelming me.
In that kiss, I was swept back to an achingly familiar time and place when I felt happy. My heart sighed with pleasure as my body charged to life. The yearning inside me rose up, quickly morphing into something far more urgent. Our tongues intertwined, sending wet need seeping between my thighs. I tried to drag him to the ground, but Alok steered me to the brick wall and kneed my legs apart. My breath quickened. Everything inside me was turning to liquid. I could hardly hold myself up when desire felt like a whirlpool sucking me under.
Alok pinned me against the wall with the firm planes of his chest. He reached a hand beneath my skirt, going straight for my center as surely as I’d sought out the bull’s-eyes on the lawn. When he found I wore no underclothes, he hissed in a breath. Two long fingers entered my drenched sex. I gasped and sagged against him. Throwing my arms around his neck, I pulled his mouth back to mine and moaned when his fingers began to thrust. I seeped around his warm joints. My body had always turned into a wellspring around Alok. He inserted a third finger and set his thumb to work rubbing my nub. My hands slipped from his neck to his shoulders, fingers digging in as I panted with pleasure.
More. I needed more of him.
Since our very first kiss as teenagers, I’d pledged myself to him. I’d wanted him to be my first and had been robbed of the experience. I thought I could forget. I thought he’d fade with time. Now, echoes of that want responded to the strong hand between my legs, becoming louder and more urgent—a deafening demand.
My hard nipples rubbed against my frock as he worked me with skilled fingers that slid back and forth rapidly. I felt like there were strings inside of me, strings Alok was pulling. They all connected, from my fingertips to my curling toes, causing my entire body to vibrate with each stroke. Everything felt strongest at my core. Molten lava ready to erupt. Building. Building. Building. This blinding ache. Any second, I would burst.
I clenched around his fingers, wishing it was his cock. I wanted him to rip down his pants and pound me against the wall. I wanted our thrashing bodies to knock the entire estate down brick by brick, but Alok stroked persistently until I was rocking into his hand. I whimpered in ecstasy, squeezing my eyes closed as if it would help me hold on to that primal bliss racing through my blood.
The pressure built with every thrust of Alok’s finger and stroke of his thumb. I felt like a bowstring pulled taut. As I gave in to my release, the whole world turned right side up once more.
I orgasmed and fell against the black-haired Fae, my chest heaving as I regained control of my breath. He held me tightly, enveloping me in his powerful arms. He felt like home. Like comfort. Happiness.
My senses overpowered me. Satisfaction came and went on raven wings. I wanted more. I wanted him.
A familiar possessiveness surged inside me to make Alok mine for all time. He’d been devoted to me once. Was it too late for us?
Mom and Aunt Mel claimed obsession ran in the Elmray family. Well, a Keasandoral could hold her own in that department.
I reached for the fastening on Alok’s trousers. With a growl, he spun me around. I caught myself on the wall. Alok flipped up my skirt, exposing my backside to him. I pressed my palms into the bricks, arching my back and lifting my hips in invitation. I felt his long, hard length press against my rear, hot against my bottom. The anticipation of feeling him inside me made me moan.
Faint laughter in the distance made Alok still. I didn’t care about the elves on the front lawn. They had no reason to walk into the manor’s shadowed borders. Cursing, Alok pulled down my skirt. I turned to find him refastening his trousers. The heady pulse between my thighs demanded fulfilment. When I tried stopping Alok, he grabbed my wrists.
Hot breath on my neck, he looked half-feral with his nostrils flared and teeth clenched. “Not here,” he gritted out. “I will not be interrupted. Once I take you, I won’t be able to stop.” My breath hitched. “Go to your room. I’ll follow shortly.” Alok released my wrists.
I couldn’t speak, only nod, and try to appear ca
lm as I walked away.
Alok
The light, floral ruffles of Fraya’s short gown swished below her swaying hips. Blonde hair tumbled down her back, nearly reaching her bottom. Sky above, she was the most beautiful female to grace all the realms.
I had to force myself not to chase Fraya down as she walked away. It would be too easy to pull her to the ground and take her on all fours over the grass.
My cock twitched.
“We’re not animals,” I reminded myself and the insurgency taking place in my pants. “A prince of Faerie doesn’t treat a female that way.”
Mostly, I didn’t want to risk being caught. We’d been down this road before. All it would take was one guest or footman to round the corner and ruin everything. I meant what I’d said. I could hardly maintain control of myself with Fraya’s arousal still damp upon my fingers and lingering inside my nostrils. I hadn’t waited this long for a quick tumble on the lawn. No. I meant to claim. Consume. Take my bloody time until our bodies were satiated and muscles limp from mating. If there was a portal nearby, I’d transport her to my room in Hailshadow, where her pleasured screams could echo along the empty hallways.
I made myself wait. Gave her time to clear the lawn and make her way inside. I drummed my fingers against my thigh and started slowly along the brick wall.
The arrows had been removed from the targets, and footmen carried away the stands. A few elves lingered in small groups, conversing on the front lawn. When I saw my sister among them, I winced. She stood with Blythe and two male elves I didn’t recognize. I hesitated between sneaking past or going over to remind the males that Reyna had a brother who would be watching to see that they behaved themselves in her presence.
Before I could decide, Reyna noticed me. She said something to her friend, then rushed over to where I stood between the stone stairs and lawn. She held her long skirts up slightly as she bounded over. My sister had been smiling in the group. With her back turned to them, she frowned at me. She’d been doing that a lot since we arrived. I didn’t like how it reminded me of Oreal’s critical attention. I knew Reyna’s censure stemmed from worry, but I wished she’d trust me.
Reaching me, she placed her hands on her hips—a stance I’d rarely seen my sister take. She wore her dark hair pulled back in a low bun, soft, loose wisps framing her porcelain oval face. “You bedded her, didn’t you?”
“Not yet.”
My sister scowled. “But you intend to.” When I didn’t refute her, she crossed her arms. “King Liri already wants you dead. Do you want Fraya’s fiancé to join the Fae hunt?”
“She doesn’t love him,” I growled.
My answer only deepened the worry lines in Reyna’s forehead. She shook her head. “You’re always trying to look out for me. Now it’s time for me to look out for you. I can’t lose you, Alok. When Mother abandoned you at the Fable Festival, it ripped my heart in half. I can’t go through that again.”
“You won’t,” I assured her. I glanced over Reyna’s shoulder at the stone steps. My muscles tensed, ready to run to Fraya’s room, bar the door behind us, and finally claim the only female I’d ever wanted.
“You can’t promise me that.” Reyna’s lower lip pouted.
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine.” It was hard not to lose patience, but this was my sister, and like me, she’d been through hell. For Reyna, it had been even worse. She’d never had an escape from Frostweather, not until I fled Dahlquist and reunited with her.
“You used up all our coins to pay a servant to dump ale over her fiancé.”
I grinned at the memory.
Reyna glowered. “You risked your life to send a message on her behalf in Faerie.” I’d tried to keep that bit of information from my sister, but she’d taken one look (and one sniff) of me and demanded to know where exactly I’d been and what had happened. She’d needled me until I relented. No interrogator in all the worlds could compete with a twin when it came to excavating information. “You didn’t eat anything this morning because you were too busy trailing after her again.”
“I didn’t use all our coins,” I protested.
“She’s just using you,” Reyna insisted.
I clenched my jaw. “You don’t know anything about her.”
“I know she shot you with an arrow. She could turn you over to King Liri in an instant.”
“Fraya would never do that,” I growled.
Reyna stomped her foot on the lawn. “She looks down on you and insults you, yet still you run after her like you’re chasing the sun. Get too close and you will get burned, Alok.”
I loved my sister dearly, but she didn’t know what she was talking about. Fraya had her own inner demons to fight. When I looked at her, I saw a female who shrank away from the light. The shadows called to her now. She craved the darkness. She wanted me.
“Don’t worry,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “Try to enjoy the rest of the time we have left.” I nodded in Blythe’s direction. When I started away, Reyna followed alongside me. “What are you doing?” I demanded, about to lose patience.
“I thought we could spend the rest of the afternoon together.” My sister’s voice had turned cheerful, as though we hadn’t been arguing two seconds ago.
I breathed deeply, tamping down the urge to snap. “Fraya is waiting for me.”
“Then we can all hang out,” Reyna insisted stubbornly.
Damn it. This wouldn’t do at all.
“Please, Reyna. Enjoy your friends while you can. We’ll have plenty of time together back at Hailshadow soon enough.”
Reyna arched a brow. “You plan to leave here at the end of the week?”
“What other choice do I have?” My jaw tightened.
“Then don’t make things any harder on yourself, Alok. Nothing good can come of lying with her.” My sister blinked several times.
I couldn’t speak.
My fervor had died off with the truth of what I faced. I had no home or future to offer Fraya. As much as I wanted her, mating then leaving her would add several thousand layers of misery to my already wretched existence. I’d go stark raving mad back in Frostweather.
“Reyna!” Blythe called, waving and smiling. “We’re going for a ride. You must come with us.”
“You should go,” I said coolly.
“Only if you come with us.”
“Fine,” I said. It wasn’t the kind of exertion I’d been looking forward to, but a cloud had descended over me. I couldn’t even tell Fraya I’d changed my mind. If I went to her room, I wouldn’t be able to walk away. My sister looked ready to follow me if I tried. Better to make Fraya angry. I’d be departing soon. I had no place here with her. Once Fraya left Amberhill, she’d thank her lucky stars she hadn’t debased herself with the most hated male among her family. I was doing her a favor.
I led the group to the stables, suddenly impatient to gallop across Highbloom Park.
Despite the pretty scenery, I felt lost to the gloom as our group cantered past the lake and fields. I couldn’t help feeling angry as my hips rocked against the saddle. By now, Fraya would know I wasn’t coming. If she hadn’t hated me before, she certainly would after being kept waiting.
Our group entered a forest with sunlight leaking through the canopy, turning the leaves emerald. On the return ride, we slowed our horses to a walk. The others paired up. The male with shaggy shoulder-length dark blond hair walked his horse beside Reyna. I heard their voices but not their words. My sister laughed, a sound she’d never made at Hailshadow. It hurt knowing we could be happy if we weren’t doomed to a life in Frostweather.
At the lake, we dismounted and stood around while the horses drank.
“Half the week is already over.” Blythe sighed. “It always goes by too fast. When do you think I’ll see you again?”
Reyna looked at me before answering a soft, “I don’t know.”
“Luthais should marry you so you can remain in the elven realm.”
“Blythe!” Reyna said, her c
heeks flushing.
I narrowed my eyes on the male who had been riding beside my sister.
He tucked his thick hair behind one pointed ear and grinned at my sister. “We only just met this weekend. Perhaps we should have a dance first, before we plan our futures together?”
Reyna spun in place and shot her friend an I’m going to kill you look. Blythe laughed into her hands.
“Yes, a dance—and that’s all,” I said gruffly.
My sister and Blythe frowned at me like I was intruding on their fun. Good. Maybe next time Reyna would think twice before interfering in my affairs.
Fraya had been willing to give me a second chance. After standing her up today, I doubted she’d give me a third.
CHAPTER NINE
Fraya
After changing into a short olive dress with a deep V-neck, I joined Helio and his friends for a light lunch in the courtyard. They were already in their cups, bellowing words at one another and laughing at jokes that made me cringe. I despised them. Them and all other males. Elves. Fae. It didn’t matter. They were all a bunch of faithless pit heads.
I picked at my meat pie, taking sips from a pewter tankard between bites. Before walking over, I’d filled it with lemonade.
“Glad to see you’re finally joining the party,” Helio remarked with a grin.
“Yes. Cheers,” I said, lifting my tankard.
Cheers to getting the hell out of here. I’d been sidetracked by Alok. I still couldn’t believe the jerk had left me waiting for him in my chamber. To think I’d been worried about the bastard. I’d gone looking for him, only to discover he had joined his sister and her friends for a ride through the park.
What kind of game was he playing?
He’d wanted me. I’d seen it in his eyes, heard it in his voice, felt his erection stiff against my backside.
What had changed?
I’d paced my room for a good half hour, anguishing over it before the anger set in. Whatever his reason, it didn’t matter. He knew I wanted him, and he’d rejected me.
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