He stalked down the hall to get the freaking princess a dress and was turbulent inside. What did she mean she had a vision? Dammit! This was not going as planned at all. Why was it so hard to win this woman? He had plenty that would kill to be in his arms, and some that had in fact. But this mortal was such a pain! He had just two nights left to win her and this was not going well at all. Apparently just his sexual nature was not going to cut it. He was going to have to actually be nice.
When he returned the wet dress that she had looked so beautiful in was crumpled on the floor and he had another in his arms. She was on the balcony looking over the city and what’s this? She is crying? Dammit, not tears. He hated tears.
He approached her slowly and offered the dress when she turned. “I’m sorry Isabel. I should not have said the things that I did. You didn’t choose this and it was wrong of me to behave like that. Please understand that this is just so frustrating for me.” He ran his long fingers through her hair and tucked it behind her ears. “Please stop crying.”
Tears streamed from her eyes and she took the dress, walking back to the chamber to put it on. With her back to him she slipped it over her head, ever aware of his eyes on her. His choice now? A lilac fabric, cut low again in the front and the back. If her breasts were not as full as they were she would certainly be spilling right out of this.
“Morkain, I want to get to know you. Is that so unreasonable?” She glanced at him. If he was the one she had to be with, then she needed to make an effort to. But she would not just fall into his bed because of that vision, her heart would have to be there too. The problem was, with only a few days left with each of them, she was going to have to learn as much as possible. Maybe then her mother’s words would make sense.
He eyed her from the balcony and took in a deep breath. “What is it that you feel the need to know Beauty?”
“Well, for one, what is my place here in these lands and why have I not met my grandmother the Queen?”
Isabel walked out to the balcony and stood next to him, thankful that he was wearing pants again.
“Your place here is as the Princess of Albequen and when Queen Lorelei steps down from the throne your place is to rule these lands. Of course, that would change if you were royalty in Loveryn.”
No shit, really? Kind’ve hard to rule two places at once. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared out towards the city instead of looking at him.
“As for the second question, the Queen is eagerly awaiting your introduction but she is being patient due to the curse. Because of the magic that is woven within it, we must be careful who you meet in the realms. It was decided that when you came it would be only the men that you would meet so that there would not be any sway in your decision.
Right, Too late for that. Hello? Mom is in an eternal sleep because of this. I would say that’s a pretty big decision swayer. She turned to face him so she could see his eyes even though it was difficult to look into them without heat blazing through her. But she had questions that needed answers. “How did my father die?”
She looked at him squarely, daring him to speak anything but the truth. He flinched slightly she noticed and then sighed before looking away from her again.
“Are you sure you are ready to hear this?” He asked without looking at her.
“Yes. Please tell me. I know so little of him.”
“Okay Isabel,” he looked down and laced his fingers together. “Norgelon was in Loveryn when a Sidhe child went missing, her name is Serafina. It is rare that such a young Fae-such a young Sidhe,” he corrected himself, “would be permitted to wander alone because the protections of Loveryn only reach out in that realm. Serafina is a very gifted Sidhe though and even as a child she needed little watching over. Anyway, she had wandered past the edges somehow and ended up on a ledge of the eastern cliffs, on a kind of log that jutted out from the embankment. She couldn’t fly off of it because she was so young and she was scared. Your father came along just in time. He saved the child but unfortunately fell to his death in the ravine because the log couldn’t hold them both and as you know, Elves can’t fly. Your father is a brave hero among their people and he was well loved here too obviously. It was a tragedy in the worst sense, especially since the Queen only had one child.”
My people too Morkain. And you turned out okay because of his death.
“But I thought immortals could only be killed by beheading?” He looked at her grimly.
“Most of them that is the case but Elves are a little different. If the injuries sustained are substantial and not healed immediately, then we can die. Your father fell a few hundred feet into a shallow gorge. There was nothing that anyone could do for him. I’m sorry Isabel.”
She just looked out over the lights of the city and nodded. She needed to know about her father and no one had told her yet how it happened. He was a hero and a brave warrior and he loved her mother very much. He was a good man, how she would’ve liked to meet him though. She sighed and turned back to Morkain.
“Did you like him?”
He looked at her strangely for a moment then his features softened. “Yes, of course I did. Everyone liked him. And the two of us were raised like brothers together. I would think that our bond went much deeper than most.”
That’s interesting. She wouldn’t have thought he would be so gentle with his words. Sometimes he could be really nice after all.
“I think I would like to walk awhile if that’s okay?” as she looked at him she noticed that his chiseled features looked especially pleasing in the moonlight.
“Of course Beauty, let us walk then,” he grabbed her hand and walked her down the staircase again and out a second door this time, bypassing the garden she had previously gone to. They walked along an empty field before coming to a small waterfall and pool. She lay down in the grass and stared up at the stars. It was so beautiful here. Being from a world with so much electricity and lights, you never notice all of the things that you are missing until you see them clearly. Like the twinkling of a million stars above your head. Of course, the forest of Troy had a magnificent view but it still did not compare to this at all. These worlds seem so untouched in their pure beauty. He laid down next to her and propped himself up on one elbow.
“So tell me Morkain, what would be the course of your life should this curse not have been placed?”
“Well, without an heir to the throne the Queen would have to choose someone not of her blood to rule or have another child, which she seems to have no plans for. The chosen would probably be me since I was raised by her too. But I don’t really care too much for all of that. Even being her advisor is sometimes far too much politics for me. I am a warrior at heart and ruling the kingdom would probably bore me to tears.”
Not. That much she could see in his eyes. He loved this kingdom and did wish it to be his. The palace was his home. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It is a place beyond imagination.
“Besides, she does have an heir to the throne so none of that matters, even if you are unwilling to accept that right now. We cannot fight fate Beauty. It will be as it should be.”
“So you would rise to the throne even without me then if I chose not to take it?”
He let his hand trail over her hair and down her ears , small ripples of pleasure in each new touch. “I would in either case, yes.”
So he stood to gain nothing from lying to her. Why couldn’t she just let go with him? She wanted to. She wanted to take Amele’s advice and let him have his way with her too but even with the thrills and chills it was missing something. The vision of the future that she saw kept plaguing her mind though so she let herself further into his heat. The mere stroking of her hair was causing her to tremble a little. Why couldn’t just one of them be a little bit less attractive than the other?
She closed her eyes and willed away more thoughts of Bodhe’s face, seeing the strong curves of Morkain instead. She gasped when his hand touched her stomach, rising up to her
throat and then to her face. Gentle and sweet.
“Open your eyes and look at me,” he said hoarsely.
She did. His large hand was cupping her face tenderly and his eyes were piercingly blue again; heat consumed her. When he saw that her eyes went gold he brought his heated mouth to hers and kissed her slowly, letting his mouth show her what he wanted. God he was good at this. But then, he probably had a lot of practice too.
Fire raged from her stomach and traveled wherever his hand went, currently it was reaching beneath the fabric of her dress to play with her hardened nipples. His groan only mounted her pleasure and his hand became more daring. It slipped down the length of her dress and began pulling up the fabric, the warm breeze touching her thighs. He never let go of her mouth, never gave her a chance to protest. When his hand rose to the wetness between her legs they both moaned and he bit at her lip.
“You cannot tell me that you do not want me Beauty,” he whispered. “The proof is all over my hand.”
He began to rub his thumb over the little nub and her body arched up to him. When he reached inside her with one of his fingers it was all she could do not to scream. “Yes Morkain, yes I do want you,” she moaned.
The flurry of heat was too much to bear. He stroked her inside and outside with equal mastery and nibbled her neck as he did so. Freeing one of her breasts from the fabric he took that into his mouth too, suckling her and growling. “Oh my God.” she stammered, eyes rolling back into her head.
His body slid closer to her and she could feel the size of his erection against her leg. How she wanted to be filled with him. The image of him standing out of the bath just made her moan more, forgetting completely everything that was in the worlds.
“Isabel, I want you to scream for me,” he said brusquely in her ear, rubbing her faster and nipping her newly pointed ears.
She felt the now familiar rise of heat rising from her core. Her body was trembling and she wanted to scream for him. She wanted to scream so loud that that she woke all of the kingdom.
“That’s it Beauty, imagine the length of me pushing inside you. I would make you scream then.”
Artfully his hand rubbed her, stroking her inside and out with perfect rhythm. His head came down and suckled her neck and she could feel him trembling slightly too. Her hands dug into the grass and in his back as she whimpered, the heat overtaking her. She could feel his hardness pressing against her and she closed her eyes and imagined it slipping inside her wetness.
At that thought, the volcano erupted and she did scream out for him. At least she thought she did. But the name that echoed in his ears stopped him cold even with her body convulsing around his fingers.
He looked at her flushed face and it took every ounce of strength within him not to strike it. Instead, he got up and walked away, leaving her alone in the grass to mutter the words that took her home.
Chapter 13
“You did what? Oh Gods Isabel! I can’t believe he didn’t try to kill you right then!” Amele doubled over in laughter.
“It’s not funny Amele! What am I supposed to do now? I’m so embarrassed! Even if he is the one how could I ever face him again?” She hid her face in her hands.
“Ah, he’s a grown immortal, he will get over it,” she chuckled. “Besides, it’s not your fault really. You’ve been thrown back and forth between the two of them with scarcely a chance to breathe! And they both come at you like hungry beasts, it’s no wonder you are mixing them up!”
Isabel looked at her, completely unconvinced.
“Ah girl, don’t worry about it. It will work itself out. I promise.”
Isabel’s face was burning red and all she wanted to do was crawl under the covers. Or maybe go kill something. Yes, that would do.
“Amele, please tell me that the horde of Uglies are still outside?”
“Growing by the minute, and yes, we can go fight them today. The guard could use our help. They have effectively moved them further back but for every one we kill, two more come from the other side. It’s really irritating actually,” she wrinkled her nose. “If there was some way to get more warriors here from Loveryn then it would be a slaughterhouse out there, hell, even some Elves would do, but those two realms are frozen and none can enter or leave at the moment so we can’t even send word to our other allies either. Well, we’re all frozen here except for you of course, which does us no good since you can only go to the frozen areas. The prince must be going out of his bloody mind at the moment.” she grinned wickedly.
“Do you dislike Bodhe, Amele?” She looked at the smug expression on her face curiously.
“Of course not! He is my nephew after all. But he has a hell of a temper, takes after his auntie with that,” she winked,“and as you can imagine as the high prince he is very used to getting his way.”
Yeah, I’m sure there aren’t many that have turned down his bed.
Amele’s eyes perked up. “He didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what? And stop the mind reading crap, it freaks me out,” she crossed her arms over her chest and began to pace.
“Tsk tsk Bodhe. Well, no matter. You will know everything soon enough. Now, how about a quick spar to get the blood pumping?”
“My blood is pumping. Now what is it that he didn’t tell me?”
“You know I can’t discuss it Isabel, I’m really sorry I brought it up at all. Though,” she drummed her fingertips on the comforter, “I guess it doesn’t harm anything telling you about me.” She thought about this for a moment and then smiled. “Let us just say that I’m the only explorative one in the royal family. They have different standards than yours truly.”
Isabel just looked at her dumbfounded. She can’t be serious. But he didn’t deny it? He also didn’t confirm it. Really? They weren’t all sex crazed maniacs?
Amele burst into the kind of laughter that always brought tears to her eyes. “No Bel, that’s just me. I am definitely the exception. Not the rule.”
“But why didn’t he tell me?”
“Oh, I never pretend to understand the motivations of men. Nevermind, scratch that. I usually do. But this little ménage à trois that you’ve got going on is beyond me. Maybe he didn’t want you to think of him as inexperienced?”
“Well, I can tell you that he feels anything but inexperienced when he’s got that mouth on me. So what, royalty are born with that kind of gift?”
Amele chuckled again. “You could say that dear. I mean, I was a sex goddess by all rights from my very first kiss many centuries ago. It’s really something that you’ve got or not. You know?”
Information processing. She could not be serious. Never? Not once? God the way he made her blaze. Just the thought of him made her bite her lip and smile. It was hopeless. She was a wanton of lust now and these thoughts just hours after Morkain had made her scream his…well, it wasn’t actually Morkain’s name now was it? But it was Morkain’s hand and mouth that brought her there. Why did she so feel guilty about that?
“Don’t do that Bel, you’ll make yourself crazy. It’s part of the process and can’t be helped. Whichever one is the one, he will forgive you. It’s a freaking curse after all.”
She squealed. “Stop doing that! At least give me the illusion of privacy Amele! We make a deal right now. Unless I speak to you out loud, no answering me okay?”
“Oh alright. You may have your illusion. Now. Sparring before we head out? I do believe that I can rationally explain blinking you to the corn fields again since you were wounded last time when you were out there,” she grinned, gazing out the window.
Isabel got dressed and strapped both her sword and her dagger on and nodded. “Let’s go.”
~Back in Loveryn~
Once inside the Mages study he took a seat across from one of the most powerful that they had in the Kingdom. “Tell me how to leave Loveryn, I have to get to her,” Bodhe’s eyes blazed green with frustration.
“But there is no way out your majesty. You know that. Even our magic
is bound right now to within the realm.
“I don’t care how you do it Syon, just get me to her so this wretched curse can be ended!”
“Your majesty, with all due respect it will not end before her heart is in the right place, not just her body. I will begin research to see if there’s any way around the curse but I cannot guarantee it. The Elemental Gods would be the only ones who could.”
“Yes Syon, I’m aware of the boundaries of the curse! But do your research and tell me something I don’t know.”
His fist came down hard on the table between them, remnants of a cup of tea thrown to the floor and shattering. Bodhe put his head in his hands for a moment and sucked in a deep breath. He rose and looked at Syon.
“My friend, forgive me. I just feel as if I am a caged animal right now. Please look for a way. I must find her before it’s too late. Something is going to happen, I can feel it in my heart.”
“Of course your majesty, I can only imagine the pain you must be suffering right now over her. I shall do everything I can.”
Syon bowed and began setting to the futile task immediately. Even he had no hope to overturn the magic of an Elemental though. It would be like trying to crumble brick wall with a feather. Not impossible but very much improbable. The door slammed and he could hear the Prince no more. What a mess this had all become. With just the thinning veil every mage in Loveryn was busy around the clock trying to keep out the shadow creatures. And even then there were so many that got in. Warriors were keeping them out of the city for now and the mages were exhausting themselves with protective shields around the perimeter but still he was expected to defeat an Elemental’s magic? How would he do that when he could hardly keep his eyes open as it is? Even immortals must sleep sometimes! Grumbling, he scribbled out a list and called to his assistant.
Immortal Dreams Page 14