by ERIN BEDFORD
“Then how did it happen?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
Dorian sighed and stepped closer to me but didn’t try to touch me. “Look, you have to understand, Ms. Liddell is an immature brat that does not know how to keep her nose out of things. Which means she needs to be rescued a lot.”
“What does skinny dipping have to do with you rescuing her? Was her clothing attacking her?”
He laughed slightly. “Actually, it was. She had gotten into a patch of brusselbutch, and if you had ever been in contact with that particular bush you would know that it burns like the Reaper when it touches your skin. So, I had to pull her out of the bush and in the process ended up getting myself covered in it. Thus causing us to have to take all of our clothing off.”
I chewed on my bottom lip at his explanation. I’d never heard of a brusselbutch and wouldn’t know the first thing about if it burned the skin or not but his story made sense. I tried to still the jealousy in me, but it was hard. I’d spent my whole life pretending not to feel things and now that I had the freedom to feel what I liked when I liked it was hard to go back the other way.
“Lynne,” he whispered, his hands wrapped around my upper arms. This time I didn’t pull away from him. I let him draw me closer. “Nothing has or ever will happen between me and that human. You are the only one for me.” He tipped my chin up with his fingers. “My peach, I love you. No one else.”
He brushed his lips against mine and I softened. Throwing my arms around his neck, I let myself get lost in his kiss. Like he said, she was a brat. I should pity her not feel jealous of her.
After a moment, Dorian drew back from the kiss and smiled. “Now, let me show you this beautiful fountain that sits at the heart of the UnSeelie Court. It is so scandalous even your mother would laugh.”
“All right.” I giggled. “Show me this fountain of yours and then take me home and make love to me.”
My words caused Dorian to stop laughing and his eyes darkened. “Actually, on second thought, the fountain is not that great. Let us retire home.”
I smacked his arm with a grin. “No you don’t, you promised me a laugh. Now you must pay up.”
“Very well,” he sighed in defeat and then smirked, “But then we will spend the rest of the evening in my bed.”
“Oh, the horror.” I mock fainted as Dorian clasped my hand in his and led me out of the dark forest.
The UnSeelie Court was ever changing. One second you are standing in a dense forest and the next you are stepping out of the trees and onto a cobblestone road.
“Come, it is this way.” Dorian held onto my hand tightly as he took me through a stone archway and into what looked like a maze.
“You UnSeelie are really into defense, aren’t you?” I commented as we moved through the maze. Each twist and turn looked the same as the last.
“Like I said, the best offense is a good defense, and we do not lack for defenses.” He paused for a moment and turned to me with a serious expression. “You have to promise me you will not wander on your own. At least not until after we have married. I do not want you to accidentally get swallowed by something.”
I gulped. Swallowed? That didn’t sound good.
“I promise.”
“Good.” He nodded and then started walking again. This time he didn’t stop until we heard the sound of water. “We are almost there.” He tossed me a grin before picking up his pace, almost running down the path.
I laughed and held my skirts to keep up with him until we came to the end of the path. The path exited into a square area surrounded by stone walls. Each corner had a tree in it and then in the center sat a fountain. As we approached the fountain, I began to understand why Dorian had said even my mother would have laughed at it.
The stone fountain had four women in a circle. They were scantily clad and their expressions were that of mid-orgasm. The designer had to be a man. There was no other explanation for it. As my eyes scanned up and down the figures I thought, a very sexually deprived male.
“How can you allow this to be in your kingdom?” I asked, not really upset but more curious. My mother would never have allowed such a thing. Sure the Seelie Fae were all for showing off their bodies at parties but outside of that, it was all about decorum.
“Believe me, we have tried to get rid of it, but every time we destroy it it shows back up in a few days.” He placed a booted foot on the edge of the fountain. “Either it’s the UnSeelie Court messing with us or there are some really fast satyrs around here.”
“Satyrs?”
“Yes, half goat, they are pretty into the whole sex scene. Which is why you should never come here by yourself.” He turned from the fountain and then froze. “Or one of those will show up.” His eyes focused on something behind me.
Standing at seven feet tall was the biggest hairiest creature I had ever seen. He had large horns on his head and his legs were as thick as my whole body. His dark eyes briefly looked at Dorian but bypassed him and focused on me. The curl of his lips made my stomach drop.
Oh no.
CHAPTER 16
Dorian
SATYRS, WHILE LARGE AND strong, were not the smartest of creatures and were purely focused on mating day in and day out. Any female had to keep their guard up and their legs firmly closed.
“Pretty lady,” the satyr’s deep voice said as his large steps caused the ground to shake around us. As he approached, his hand reached between his legs to grab himself.
Narrowing my eyes, I stepped in front of Lynne. “Stop where you are.”
The satyr didn’t even pay me much mind. One would think that he would recognize his prince and bow immediately at my feet, but the UnSeelie Court was not so organized. I was lucky if half the residents knew who I was, and since I spent the majority of adult life in as many female beds as I could find, I could only blame myself.
“Did you hear me?” I snarled. The satyr paused for a moment before his hand whipped out and slammed into me. My body flew away from Lynne and to the other side of the courtyard.
My head hit the ground hard, and I saw stars. Shaking my head, I scrambled to my feet as Lynne screamed. The satyr had cornered her by one of the trees and was reaching for her. Lynne’s eyes were full of terror, and it made my insides burn.
I rushed across the courtyard and jumped onto the back of the large beast. Grabbing a hold of his horns, I growled, “Do not touch her.”
“Get off, get off.” The creature yelled shaking his head this way and that as he tried to dislodge me. I lost my grip on the fourth shake and fell to the ground with a thud.
Thankfully, I had angered the satyr enough that he moved away from Lynne and came after me. Not so lucky for me though because his hooves were sharp and slammed into my back before I could get away.
Searing pain shot through my back and I stifled a groan. The pain fueled my anger, and I struggled to my feet. If he wouldn’t listen to reason than I had no choice but to use my magic on him.
Usually, I tried to keep my magical use to a minimum. It took a lot of energy and a lot of the times it caused more damage than I intended. This time though, it was either use it or get pulverized. If I was lucky, Lynne would get away unscathed even though I wouldn’t.
I drew on the magic inside of me, making my skin come to life. I pulled it into my hands and prepared to attack the beast head on when it cried out in alarm.
My eyes jerked from my hands to the beast. Vines wrapped around its waist. They squeezed tightly causing the satyr to scream.
“Let me go!” he yelled fighting against the vines that only tightened more.
I let go of my magic letting it fall silent and then slowly moved around the large body of the satyr. What was on the other side made my brows rise.
Lynne stood by the tree with her hands on the trunk. Green strings of energy pulsated out of her and into the ground beneath her. More vines shot out of the ground and encased the screaming beast.
As I approached her, I noticed her eye
s began to gleam with a bit too much enjoyment. The more the creature screamed, the tighter she coiled her vines around it. She didn’t even notice me until I was right in front of her face.
“My peach,” I said beside her and then when she didn’t answer, I touched her shoulder and shook it, “Lynne, stop. You’ll kill him.”
“Good,” she snapped, “the creature deserves it.”
I frowned at her answer. “No. He does not. Satyrs are like this by nature. They can no more resist the need to mate than we can force ourselves not to need to breathe.”
My words only made her lips curl down into a frown. “Then there is no use for them in this world. We should just get rid of them all.”
“You cannot,” I insisted my grip on her shoulder tightening, “we need the satyrs.”
“Why?” she snapped.
“If war comes who will be on the front lines if not for them? They might try to take what they like but we still need them to fight our battles for us.”
“That doesn’t make any sense at all.” She shook her head at me. “If they harm others, they should be put to death or banished. No good can come from them existing. My mother would never have let them live.”
“But this is not the Seelie Court.” I snapped. “We are UnSeelie, and we do not abide by the rules of your mother. Now, let him go.”
She shot me a look, and for a moment I thought she might kill him anyways, but then the vines loosened and sagged releasing the satyr. The beast fell to the ground his breathing ragged.
“Come.” I took hold of her elbow and led her away from the satyr and out of the courtyard.
We walked for a little while in silence until she finally spoke, “If I am to rule with you, we have to be able to agree when it comes to those situations. If I had had it my way, I’d have killed him without a thought. Nothing that vicious should be allowed to live.”
I sighed. “That is the problem. You only see him as a vicious beast, but he is much more than that. Satyrs create music and even help build homes for our citizens. They cannot help that during mating time they cannot hold back their urges. It is just in their nature.”
“Well, their nature is wrong.”
I stopped and pulled Lynne into my arms. “That is not for us to decide,” I growled and held her tight, “I was trying to make you laugh and here I made you angry.”
Lynne’s tense shoulders softened. “It’s not your fault. I should have listened to you when you tried to tell me that things are more dangerous here than at home. I guess I still have a lot to learn about your world.”
“And I’m sure there is even more to know about yours.” I cupped her face in my hands and pressed my lips to hers. “Come, let us retire. I have some wounds that need attending to, and I know just the nurse to help me with them.”
Lynne giggled as I winked at her before dragging her back toward the palace and away from the nastiness of the UnSeelie world.
CHAPTER 17
Lynne
TOMORROW WAS MY WEDDING day. I would finally be with Dorian forever and never have to be caged again.
Normally, one would not see the groom the day before the wedding, bad luck and all that, but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see him. I needed to see him.
When I rose for the day, I quickly dressed and skipped down the stairs of the UnSeelie Palace. The wedding would be held on this side of the Fae Realm as was tradition. My mother would arrive tomorrow for the big day but not a day sooner. Typical.
Others had already begun to arrive though. The palace was busy with life. Servants ran to and fro, each in a hurry to get everything ready for the biggest royal wedding of the millennia. Fae lived for a long time, so it was safe to say the leadership didn’t change often. Royal weddings were a rare event indeed.
Everything had to be perfect.
I hurried through the halls trying my best not to get run over by the UnSeelie Fae that filled the halls. Dorian usually was in his study at this time of day. He wasn’t one to sleep in. He said he always worked best as the sun rose.
My lips curled up, a memory of the night before filled my head. Dorian had lavished me with his attentions not only once but several times until we both collapsed, and still, he’d woken with the morning light. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about my prince being lax in his royal duties. Or his husbandly duties.
I rounded the corner that led to his study and paused at the door. It was closed as usual. I knocked on the wood but didn’t wait for him to answer before turning the knob.
Peeking my head in, I frowned. He wasn’t here. I pushed the door completely open and stepped into the room.
A large desk took up most of the room. The walls were lined with bookshelves stuffed with so many books I’d had to stop myself from drooling the first time I saw them. When we weren’t getting lost in each other's bodies, I loved to sit and read by his side while he worked. But today I wouldn’t get either of those because my prince wasn’t to be found.
Not to be deterred, I left his office and searched out his mother, my soon to be mother-in-law.
I had noticed that when the UnSeelie Queen wasn’t in her garden, she spent an awful lot of time in her bedroom. I’d come across her bedroom door ajar once. She had been standing in front of a large full-length mirror that took up most of one of her bedroom walls. It had been quite peculiar; she had just been staring at it. The longing in her eyes made me want to ask, but since I wasn’t her blood, I thought it best to keep my mouth shut.
But still, it was curious. What was she looking at?
Shaking my head clear of the thought, I knocked on her bedroom door. Her voice called out from the other side and I opened the door.
Sure enough, there she was standing before the mirror once more. For a moment, I thought I saw something in her reflection but the moment she saw me it was gone.
“Good morning,” I said walking toward her. “I don’t mean to barge in unannounced, but I was wondering if you had seen your son today?”
“You know it’s bad luck to see the groom before the wedding,” she chastised, but her lips curled up in a knowing grin.
“I know.” I glanced down and shuffled my feet. “But I just have this feeling like I have to see him.”
“Very well.” She moved across the room, her skirts brushing the hard floor with a swishing sound. “He mentioned something about going to his spot this morning.”
My eyes lit up at her words. If he was at the tree, we could be alone without interruption. Hopefully, we could get a few more embraces in before the others began to search for us.
“Thank you.” I nodded and headed for the door, but her voice called out to me making me stop.
“While I do not abide by many rules, I feel as if you should follow today’s. You should not see your prince today.” There was a weird tone in her voice that I did not understand as if she knew something bad was going to happen.
“I will take it under advisement.” I nodded again before leaving her room.
I really should follow her advice. It was said the UnSeelie Queen had the gift of foresight. Not like the Seer that knew all of the future, but enough of the gift that the feelings she got were pretty profound.
But I really wanted to see Dorian. Bad luck or not, I would take my chances.
The moment I stepped out of the hedge maze and into the orchard rain began to pour. That’s odd, I thought frowning up at the sky. The rainy season had all but ended, which meant it was the best time for a wedding. But the liquid splashing against my face was undoubtedly rain. A sinking feeling settled in my stomach.
The UnSeelie Court had warmed up to me after my time here, and I hadn’t gotten lost once in the last few weeks. The rain coming down now felt like a warning. Like it didn’t want me to keep going.
First Dorian wasn’t in his normal place, then the queen told me not to go, and now the realm itself was warning me away. To a sane person that would be a clear enough sign that I should turn back and not risk whatever
was waiting for me. But all the signs just made me need to know what was so bad that I shouldn’t see my one true love?
With a determination I didn’t know I had, I hurried through the orchard. My hair plastered to my face and my skirts became wet against my legs. I forced my feet to take one step after the other as I made my way up the hill and to our normal meeting place.
When I reached the top, my heart plummeted. Before my head could finish processing what I was seeing, my feet were turning back the way I had come. I shouldn’t have come.
My feet pounded through the wet grass, hitting puddles of mud that soaked my dress further, but I didn’t care. All I could focus on was what I had just seen.
Dorian had been at the top of the hill, looking as dashing as ever, but instead of brooding like he usually did when he came there alone; he had his arms wrapped around Ms. Liddell. His hands were in her blonde curls, and he held her close to him as he ravished her mouth. Just thinking about it made me sick to my stomach.
I didn’t know where I was going but I knew I couldn’t go back to the palace. They would all be there getting ready for the wedding tomorrow. I cried out as a sharp pain sliced through my heart. I couldn’t breathe.
I’d made it to the other side of the orchard. I leaned against the large rock wall that went around the whole area and tried to catch my breath.
A voice called out to me over the sound of the rain falling. I glanced up to see Dorian running down the hill with Ms. Liddell close behind him.
Shaking my head, I pushed off the wall. I couldn’t see him. It was too soon. Too fast. I needed somewhere to think.
Then as if reading my thoughts, a bundle of bushes next to me shook and then moved aside to reveal a hole. Not thinking twice about it, I hurried into the hole bypassing a worn out sign as I trudged further into the opening.
The further in I went the larger the hole became until I was able to walk standing upright. When I exited the hole, I was in a stone covered dome. Standing in the middle of the area was a single tree. It was large and glowing with brightly colored fruit, it was as if it had been waiting for me.