by Allie Santos
“Exactly,” I agreed.
“And what? Our being Fae descendants gives them a right to murder us?” Jasmine snarled.
“No, I’ve come to see it does not.”
The girls screamed. I jumped and whirled to find Roark leaning against the outer bars.
“Since magic has been bound for roughly four human life spans, no one has come into their powers at maturity. I assume Sabine opened her boastful mouth and clued you in,” Roark said and sighed.
I jumped to my feet and was about to storm over to him when the chain tugged my arm backward, making Rosalind cry out.
“Sorry,” I gasped and rubbed my wrist with my free hand.
Roark cleared his throat and opened the gate. He stepped in, and his large shadow loomed over me. The scent of woodlands and fresh air invaded my nose, and I inhaled the decadent scent. Roark reached down. I felt a tug, and the chain holding me, Rosalind, and Thea together snapped. He grabbed my arm and tugged me to the side, but I dug my feet into the ground.
“You can get us out, Roark,” I said, trying to keep my pulse even.
He pulled again, but still, I dug my heels in. He scrubbed at his face when he turned to me. “No, I would not be able to. Every guard here understands the meaning of you all being here. Your death means hope to my people. Why do you think there are so many supporters? They would do anything to complete the unbinding ritual. Even if it’s simply a theory. Our species is dying off,” he finished harshly.
I stared up into his shadowed face, and my shoulders dropped in defeat. Roark tugged at me again, and I looked back to see Thea wave me forward. I knew what she meant. I needed to go. I needed to find out if there was a way out and if we could escape. I gave her a short nod and let Roark pull me. The gate slammed shut behind us and that must have woken Selina because she sat up with a gasp.
“Please, tell me it was a nightmare, please,” she pleaded brokenly. I heard whisperings, and then Selina’s broken sobs echoed through the hall I was blindly being led down.
Roark’s hand squeezed mine painfully, but I said nothing. I needed that pain to remind me to fight and not fall into the numbness I resorted to when bad shit happened.
I almost tripped on the next step. As I stumbled into Roark’s muscled back, he steadied me. “There are steps,” he warned a little too late.
“Gee, thanks for the heads up,” I said dryly and heard his slight chuckle. My ankle protested my weight going up.
He jiggled a latch until the two little doors opened outward and allowed the dim light from outside to filter in. He guided me up the rest of the way until fresh air caressed my face. When my eyes adjusted, I found the two brutes who had held me and my friends down when Karen was slaughtered. They leaned against the stone tower. Guards in case we had tried to escape, I assumed. They sneered at me, and I returned it. When Roark turned to me, their faces evened out into blankness. Cowards.
“I’m taking you to my room. You will be comfortable there.” Roark tugged my hand onto his arm and lead me through the dirt ground.
I looked around as discreetly as I could. There were Fae everywhere, especially at the entrance, which seemed to be the only way in and out. It was surrounded by a towering wall with Fae perched on top as scouts.
Little camps with large tents had been set up sporadically through the grounds. The same wall surrounded both directions, except there were no doors, just plain chiseled stone.
Crap.
We approached an alcove leading into the castle, and my mouth almost fell open at the opulence. The walls looked like they were made of black granite. Sections shimmered under the reflection of the light. It was also bare of any furniture or anything remotely homey. It was all very doom and gloom. Reminded me more of a museum san the artifacts.
I looked around as we passed arching pillars that twirled beautifully. Eventually, they led to a staircase that spiraled up. Bracing for pain, I hoped we weren’t going higher than the first floor. I followed Roark’s steps. Halfway up, I started favoring my ankle and then soon stopped. I leaned against the wall and lifted my aching leg an inch from the ground to ease the twinge.
“What is it?” Roark asked. Realizing it was my injury, something that looked like guilt flashed across his face, but it was gone too quickly for me to be sure. He scooped me up and kept going until we reached the top of the last steps. If there were this many rooms, why did the other Fae sleep outside? Knowing Sabine, it was probably some dominance thing.
I peered over his shoulder to the staircase. Yeah, my ankle would not have made it up six flights.
Roark stopped in front of a dark cherry wood door with Celtic-looking knots outlining the edges. He reached to open it and stepped into the most beautiful room I had ever seen.
The walls were dark, and the towering bed was dark wood with midnight coverings. The style of the room was gothic, and it was the size of a freaking small house, spanning far and wide, with only two other doors.
I was finally set down, but before I could open my mouth, he prodded me until my back was pressed against the hard wall. The cold granite made me shiver in contrast to the burning heat Roark ignited inside me.
Roark paused, his chest rising and falling as he stared down into my eyes, his lavender gaze intense and piercing. I tried to stifle my heavy breathing. In a sudden movement, he gripped my arms and ripped the cuffs off me, making sure the metal wouldn’t press against me. When he finished, he looked down at the red marks encircling my wrists. Roark brought on of my hands up and pressed his lips against it. I caught sight of burn marks on his hands. They were already healing, but his expression hadn’t changed when he’d touched the cuffs. My chest constricted.
“I… I missed you,” he rasped, confused. He shook his head and frowned for a second, as if hating his vulnerability. I was about to give talking another try when he pressed his lips against mine, cutting me off again.
His lips were soft. Soft and delicious as they gently coaxed my own mouth into relaxation.
A moan escaped me, and the mounting fire inside me roared to life. My fingers curled into Roark’s forearms, pressing so hard he was for sure going to have half-moon indents stamped on his skin. I trembled at the masterful twist his tongue made that caused sharp pleasure to shoot down and tingle through my core.
What was I doing?
I braced myself and pushed him back, fighting how much I wanted to rub myself all over him. I bit my lip to stop their tingling.
“No. I need to say something.” While I caught my breath, I mentally planned my words.
19
Finally gathering my wits, I set my hands on his chest. Calm. I had to remain calm. Logic won things, not hysteria. I needed to remind myself of that little fact. Logic could get a beating to stop. Calm logic did not fuel anyone’s anger. Right?
“Did you know what they were going to do to Karen?” I asked quietly.
“Karen?” he questioned, frowning in confusion.
“The young girl your pair of crazies decided to murder on the way here. They used her sacrifice to cloak this place.” I kept my tone level, but my hands fisted in the material of his shirt, tightening it against his wide shoulders.
His face hardened. “I don’t know what you speak of.”
“Emily and Sabine. They already killed one of us. Selina’s sister. They used the magic from her sacrifice.” At Roark’s mounting confusion, I stared, dumbfounded. “You can’t tell me you didn’t know. Aren’t you a leader in all this? Aren’t you supposed to be their King?” My words were frantic, getting louder with each one that came out of my mouth.
Calm. Calm. Calm. I took a breath.
His face was back to that cold mask he had the first time I saw him. Cold and blank. “They would not make a move against me.”
Could he be any more arrogant? I wanted to yell and rant at him.
“We have a partnership. Sabine would talk to me before making such a decision,” he continued at my look of what the hell is wrong with you. Was
he serious? Defending her to top it off? The tattered edges of my sanity frayed even more.
“They sacrificed her. She was young, in high school, with her whole life in front of her. How could you not know what they planned?” I snapped, getting in his face.
He ground his teeth, his cold mask breaking. “I allowed no such thing.”
“Maybe you didn’t order it. Or you weren’t there, but you are with them. With those psychos. We’re going to be sacrificed, you asshole, how can you not see that?” I pounded a fist on his chest. “You could have helped her. They sent you away on purpose, how do you not see that?” I repeated with a dry sob.
He tried to grasp my arms, but I kept evading him. The expression on his face was one I’d never seen—distress. “What do you mean?”
“It was all part of their plan. When you were in that barn where we were chained, and Sabine told you to go check on Bran? That was just to make sure you left. Sabine said so herself right before you walked in.” My words turned pleading. “As soon as we got close enough to see the towers of the castle, they slit Karen’s throat. Emily chanted and the castle disappeared.”
With every word that passed my lips, a range of emotions flashed across his face. From confusion to anger, until it finally settled on guilt.
“I…” he started, then stopped. He opened his mouth and closed it when nothing came out. He looked at a loss for words as he stared down at me, his hands sliding up to grab my balled hand at his chest.
The door at the end of the room opened, the one I’d thought led to a closet or a bathroom. Sabine stood at the threshold, and behind her, I could see a room mirroring this one. His lips tightened, and I yanked my hand from his grip.
“I heard the little lovers spat from my side of our shared rooms,” she said, throwing me a mocking glance.
Shared rooms? I stepped away from him, leveling a glare at him. Was he freaking serious? He was all lovey and sweet when we walked in, but all along, she’d been on the other side?
“Is what she says true?” Roark went expressionless as he turned to Sabine.
“And what exactly is our darling little mistress saying?” Sabine said, striding in with a Cheshire grin stretched across her face.
My stomach dipped at her words. I wasn’t a mistress. I’d never do that to anyone, especially since I knew how that felt, and they’d had an arrangement… hadn’t they? The panicked squeeze at my throat threatened to close. This was different. They were different. I had to remind myself of that. Her goal was to remind me I was nothing. I tried to snap myself out of the self-flagellation I was careening toward.
“You sacrificed one of them?” he said in a deliberately low voice.
“Oh, that.” She waved her hand uncaringly and carelessly threw herself into a small chaise that blended in with the corner of the room. “It was necessary.”
“Necessary,” he said slowly. In the next instant, he was in front of Sabine, holding her up by the collar of her leather shirt. “You acted without my permission.”
“I knew you’d have some qualms about it. I wanted to save you from the difficulty,” Sabine said earnestly and reached out to grab him by the arm that wasn’t clutching her clothing. I almost believed her words, but she was a liar through and through. She had an agenda separate from Roark, and she didn’t care about anything but fulfilling it.
“I am the future King,” he hissed, shaking her arm off. “Remember that you are below me. You ask me before you act.”
Sabine’s eyes sparked with anger, and my body froze its nervous retreat. I did not want to catch her attention and acquire another limp.
“No, my dear, you recall that I will be your Queen and you need me.” In a quick motion, she pinned Roark to the wall. “Do not move,” she ordered and stepped away.
Roark stayed in place—nose flared. Anger bled through the air, and I wanted to run for cover and attack Sabine simultaneously. Considering that, I didn’t know if it was a good thing that I’d frozen in shock.
“How do you have so much magic?” Roark ground out, fiery rage in his eyes. He slowly moved and broke away from the wall in stiff movements until he freed himself.
Sabine’s eyes sparked with surprise. Visibly gathering herself, Sabine smiled, satisfied. “You could say I’ve had a reserve in me.”
Roark stiffly shook his shoulders out, rage and caution in every line of his body. “How—” he began but was interrupted.
“Agree to what we have spoken about, and I will wait on preforming the sacrifices,” Sabine said.
Roark’s jaw clenched and his hands fisted as he took a step forward, looking like he was about to charge her. Part of me hoped he would.
“Come on, Roark,” Sabine said cajolingly. “It was already the plan. At least this way, you get a little something from it. Anyway… It’s not real.” A Cheshire grin spread. A shadow crossed his face and his eyebrows flicked down. Sabine straightened and looked serious all of a sudden. “Our people need unity at this moment. They sense your… struggle.”
She sneered the last word and flicked a glance at me. It felt like they were talking in code, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out. My eyebrows drew together.
He dragged a hand through his hair and glanced at me with an expression I couldn’t fathom. “Fine,” he agreed. “Allow the potential sacrifices some comfort. They will come up and rest here while we decide how to handle their fates. But, Sabine”—he was suddenly in Sabine’s face, a murderous glint in his eyes—“do not hurt Rae in any way, shape, or form. We will be enemies if you do, and, my dear, you need me.”
What the heck were they talking about? It seemed like riddles. As I tried to make sense of everything, Sabine turned around and flounced out, a secret smile playing on her lips.
The silence became deafening as soon as the adjoining door closed. It was as if the door closing snapped something in Roark because his shoulders slumped. He went into one of those moments where he withdrew. Sure, in Fae eyes, I was a dumb human, but I got a general understanding of what he had just fought for. Relief and gratitude swirled inside me. I knew he would do the right thing. At least now, we would have time to plan our getaway.
I sensed an air of sadness to him. Before I realized what I was doing, I was in front of him, my arms curling around his waist.
“What were you arguing about?” I asked as his body responded to me. His arms closed around me.
I wanted to keep asking until he said something, but the fresh need splashed across his face stopped me. That was the pivotal moment when I realized he needed me.
He needed me.
Roark grasped me like a man struggling for purchase on a cliff. His hands dug into my flesh and pulled me flush against his body. I let myself just feel as my hands trailed up his arms.
His hands slid to my waist, and I jolted at the sensation of his chilled fingers on my skin. His thumb moved in a circle, sending delighted shivers down my back. A moan escaped him. I got to my tiptoes to reach his bottom lip and bit it.
He picked me up with a groan and guided my legs around his hips as he walked backward. The back of his legs hit the bed, and he sat down, my legs on either side of his waist. I gasped at the bulge that rubbed me in the exact spot I craved. A moan escaped, and his hands got greedy, demandingly tugging at my shirt—a top that was suddenly off my body. Seconds later, his lips were on my neck, and my head tilted back of its own accord.
“Roark,” I moaned despite myself.
That seemed to be the trigger because, in a blink, I was on my back. My hair spread around me as he looked down at me, his eyes devouring the swells of my breasts that hinted over my bra.
He tensed as he caught sight of the scratches adorning my body, caused by being dragged through the foliage. His eyes flashed, and his lip curled as he stared down. I reached up and touched the tip of his slightly pointed ear, and that seemed to jolt him out of his dark thoughts.
My breath hitched as he bent down and placed soft kisses on my che
st. His mouth traced up my shoulder, teeth tugging playfully at the strap of my bra. Just as he was about to unveil me fully, my nerves caught up to me. Namely, the nerves called doubt.
With a surge of panic, I reached up and stopped his hands from undoing my bra. Roark’s simmering eyes blazed with heat as he stared at me in askance. The heat of a blush tinged my cheeks. What was I doing? Why was I so weak for him?
“Look, I-I know you and Sabine take other lovers, but I…” I paused, biting my lip, and shifted when his huff pushed his erection against my heat. “I’ve never been with anyone?”
He tilted his head.
“Sorry, I don’t know why that came out as a question.” I laughed nervously. “I’m not experienced all the way. And like I told you, I want it to be with someone committed to me. And not, you know? Kind of with someone else…who’s also a psycho just waiting for you to turn around before she chokes me to death.”
He groaned and flopped on his back. “This again with Sabine. The other stuff I understand. Although, how you were able to stay untouched in this time you humans live in is beyond me.” Roark pushed his hand through his short hair, giving a little tug at the strands. “Did you not hear her? She was right in front of you. She will not touch you.”
“She seriously smashed you against the wall and threatened you, and you still think that.” I closed my eyes, frustrated. “I already said it. She. Is. A. Liar. Next time you see me, my neck will be slit.” My words were dramatic, but I had to get it into his thick skull.
“I will not allow you to die, that is final on the subject. I do not want to hear of it again.”
“You did not just talk to me like that—”
He growled and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. I fell back and splayed on the bed, shocked that he had left so abruptly.
Why was he so dense?
It seemed to be a trait that stretched across every male, regardless of species. I groaned up at the elaborate markings carved into the ceiling.