“Sebastian? Ben? What’s happened?” Her voice caught in her throat.
“We’ve been saved by this dragon, darling.” Sebastian turned toward her.
Mor didn’t take her eyes off of the dragon, who was staring at her now. She forced her feet to move at a walk instead of the run she wanted. As she moved toward Sebastian and Ben, the dragon laid its head down across the fire, reaching his head toward her. “Who is this?”
“I don’t know,” Ben grunted. “Care to shift?”
The dragon flicked his eyes toward Ben before turning back to look at Mor. “Would you please shift?”
The dragon sighed, lifted his head, and shimmered. When he stopped shimmering, a large man was standing on the other side of the fire. Without hesitating, he walked through the fire to stand in front of Mor. She looked up - and up and up - to his face. He was grinning at her, with perfect teeth set in a chiseled face. His eyes were emerald green and his hair was black as night. Woah. Mor forced herself not to shake her head. Black as night? What the fuck?
She cleared her throat, forcing herself to keep still. She really wanted to run her hand along those arms and see if the muscles were as hard as she thought they were. “Um. Thank you. For saving us.”
He opened his mouth, but Ben cut in. “We wouldn’t have needed saving if your guard had let us through.”
A growl filled the camp. “The guard will be dealt with. I left orders for you to be sent though immediately.”
“Oh fuck! You’re the king!” Mor gasped. “I mean, fuck, no, dammit. I’m sorry. I cuss a lot,” she finished lamely. His smile came back and Mor damn near swooned. What the fuck?
“You can say whatever you want to.” He grinned down at her. “Now, where is this missing queen your messengers were talking about?” His eyes never left Mor’s face.
“Um. Me. I’m the missing queen.” Mor started to raise her hand. No. Raise her hand? Seriously? What the fuck? Mor mentally slapped a palm on her forehead.
The king’s eyes lit up. “Mmmmm.” His voice was a rumble as he paced closer to her until she could feel the heat of his body. “I’m going to enjoy working with you.”
Mor suppressed a gasp, or was it a moan? Fuck. “I need to get my people to a safer place than this.” Mor congratulated herself on the steadiness of her voice
“Of course.” His eyes drifted down her body and back up once more before abruptly stepping back. “My guards should be catching up momentarily and then we will escort you to the castle. Have your people pack up.”
“And our...dead?” Now her voice did catch.
Mor was shocked when the face of the king softened. “I’ll take her myself and we will observe any rituals your people may have.” He stepped back past the still-burning ring of fire surrounding the camp and shimmered into a dragon.
She stood frozen to the spot, Sebastian standing behind her as the others hurried to pack the camp. With a gentle nudge, Sebastian got Mor turned around to go where Samantha knelt next to Liz on the ground, tears streaming silently down her face. She fell to her knees and pulled Samantha into her. She couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to lose one of your mates. Samantha’s body shook as she latched on to Mor and started sobbing. A moment later, Cadi ran up and fell sobbing next to Samantha. Mor wrapped her arms around both of them and just waited. She sat there with Sebastian and the dragon king watching over them. Sebastian gently squeezed Mor’s shoulder, making her look up. Ben, Atreyu, and Max stood in front of them.
“We’re ready.” Ben’s voice was soft.
Mor stood, pulling Samantha and Cadi up with her. “Come on, it’s time to go.”
“NO! I can’t leave her!” Samantha’s voice broke as she tried to pull toward Liz. Cadi held her tight, not letting her go.
“Shhh, it’s okay. The king will bring her. It’s okay.” Mor whispered, keeping her arms around both Fae women.
At her words, the dragon stepped forward and gently worked his claws underneath Liz’s body. He cradled her body into his chest and waited for Samantha and Cadi to nod. Mor coaxed them up onto a horse, then took the reins from her after she mounted her own. Looking around, she noticed that several dragons now surrounded the camp, but the king was still watching her. With a hopefully regal nod in his direction, Mor nudged her horse into movement, following behind Sebastian and Max as they led the way.
* * *
The rest of the journey through the night was silent, broken only by the occasional sobs escaping from Samantha and Cadi. Mor could hear their low voices as they comforted each other and trusted Mor to lead them. The dragon king circled continuously, staying with them as he had promised. On the ground next to them, five other dragons paced slowly, keeping the party surrounded. Just as dawn was about to break, the king flew ahead and landed in front of a, well, dragon-sized gate in an enormous wall. He gently placed Liz on what looked like a gilded carriage and then shifted back to his human form. Sebastian and Max nudged their horses to part and Mor rode up between them and stopped in front of the king.
“Queen Mor of the Fae, welcome to the city of Camelot. Please, allow me to escort you to my palace. I’m sure you are weary from the journey and need to make necessary preparations for your fallen.” He bowed.
Mor’s jaw dropped. “Camelot? Seriously?” At the gasps around her and the smirk spreading across the king’s face, Mor whispered, “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
A chuckle rumbled from the king, doing ridiculous things to her insides. “I find your lack of filter…refreshing. And since you presumably grew up in the human world, then you would know nothing of our world. Think nothing of it.”
Mor gathered as much of her dignity as possible and said, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Come, we shall retire to the castle. I’m sure you all need to rest.” With that, he turned and started through the open gates. The driver of the carriage carrying Liz started behind him.
“Mor? We need to follow.” Sebastian’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Right. Let’s do this.” She nudged her horse and followed the King of the Pendragons into Camelot. What the fuck was going to happen next? Was the Lady of the Lake going to come and throw a sword at her? Would she suddenly find herself in Atlantis? Was that a thing? El Dorado? Asgard? She shook her head. What the fuck had she gotten herself in to? Shaking her head, she looked around. The streets were large, presumably so a random dragon could wander down it and not knock over the houses. Yep, there was a dragon on a side street. Woah. Mor was having trouble keeping her jaw shut. Absolutely shut. The buildings looked simple in design, but many of them were covered in carvings. She wished she could stop and look, but now was definitely not the time.
Her eyes locked on the carriage again. She had no idea what to do. She’d need to ask her guys what needed to be done for Liz. Briefly, she closed her eyes in pain. How was she going to manage this? A simple trip to a neighboring country - well, as simple as that could possibly be - and she’d already lost someone. What about when the real battle happened? By the time they had reached the castle, she couldn’t speak. She looked up at Sebastian, hoping he would understand what she needed.
Sebastian dismounted and then helped Mor down before speaking. “Your Majesty, if you would please lay Liz in your holy place, we’ll have one of our people talk with yours about our rituals and how we may adapt them here.” He glanced down at Mor. “For now, however, I believe my queen needs to rest. Today has been trying.”
“Of course.” The king clapped his hands and a woman strode through the doors. At the collective feeling of anger she felt from her guys, Mor took a better look at the woman. Long silver hair. Glowing white skin. Selina. Her eyes narrowed as the woman sauntered up to the king and stroked his arm. When he flinched back from the touch, Mor felt a weird satisfaction. “Selina. We have guests that were unexpectedly delayed at the border. Please take Queen Mor and her mates to the suite I ordered prepared for them.” His voice was hard.
Turning
to them with a polite smile, her face changed as she saw Atreyu. “Well, well, well. Look who we have here.” She walked over to Atreyu, hips swaying as she went. “Fergus. I’ve missed you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to lean up to kiss him.
Mor’s temper snapped and with a gesture, she sent a gust of wind to blow Selina back, forcing her to stumble before almost falling. “He is mine!” Mor hissed. What the fuck was wrong with her? Now she was hissing. Fuck. But she couldn’t stop herself now. She strode over to stand in front of Atreyu. “Do not touch what is mine!”
Selina’s face was comical. “You’re mated?” Then she threw her head back and laughed. “And to think you could have had me instead of this frumpy little thing.”
Mor growled and started forward, ready to defend herself and her guys. She was stopped by the king roaring, “Selina!”
She glanced back at him. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“How dare you speak that way to the Queen of the Fae! By the laws of hospitality, you owe her a debt. Be grateful that I do not add to your punishment.” He stared at her until she lowered her eyes. “Go. I will show them to their suite myself.”
“Um, You-”
“What?!” he roared again.
Selina’s voice was a whisper as she said, “The rooms aren’t ready…”
Now he stalked toward Selina, his voice deadly and low as he said, “And why, Selina, are they not ready? They should have been ready. Last. Night.”
“Um…I…”
“GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!” The king’s face turned red as he yelled at her. After several calming breaths as he watched Selina scramble out of the way, he rubbed hand over his face. “My apologies. Allow me to take you to one of our parlors for some refreshments while your suite is prepared.” He glanced over at one of his men, who took off at a run.
“Thank you, that would nice.” Mor suppressed a groan and followed the king as he strode into the castle. She couldn’t keep his pace, as tired as she was. Finally, she snapped out, “Would you slow down?”
More gasps from those around her. The king turned, a smile spreading across his face. “I apologize, my queen. Please, allow me.” He held his elbow out to her. Mor glanced at Max, who gave her a subtle nod, even though he was frowning. Mor stepped forward and slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. “Now I will be able to match my pace to yours.” His voice had deepened. Was it hot in here? Mor swallowed hard. “How was the journey? Other than being held up at the border and being ambushed.” Now the king grimaced.
“Nice to know I’m not the only one to speak without thinking.” She heard groans from behind her and felt her guys internally cringing. “It wasn’t too bad at all. I’m just not used to riding for that long.”
“With a little practice, I’m sure you could get used to riding anything.” Now his smile was wicked as he looked down at her.
“So….” Mor cast around frantically for a thought that wasn’t sex. “What’s your name? No one has actually told it to me.”
“My name is Arthur.”
“Seriously? What the fuck!” Mor slapped a hand over her mouth. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what is wrong with me. Ever since meeting the guys, I seem to have lost my filter.”
Ben cleared his throat behind them. “We think it’s due to the sudden onset of her powers.” He gave her a look that sent more shivers down her spine. Ben was feeling feisty.
King Arthur, no fucking way was she going to say that out loud, just laughed. “I can understand why you would say that. It must be surreal to find that the mythology of the human world does have some basis in fact.”
“Yessss. And that you’re probably thousands of years old and still hot.” Mor froze. “Okay, I’m going to stop. I think I need sleep. Or something.”
Arthur was still chuckling as he turned and continued down the hall, leading them into a parlor. There were snacks laid out and Mor walked straight to them. She was about to pop a bready something into her mouth when she heard Ben clear his throat. Mor turned to see him giving her a look. She paused, food part way to her mouth, mouth hanging open. His eyes moved toward the king who was watching her with a slight smile on his face. Closing her mouth with a snap, Mor swallowed hard. “Um.”
“It’s alright, go ahead. You’ve had a long night.” Arthur stepped toward her, his hand coming up to stroke her face.
She leaned into his hand a little bit before catching herself. She deliberately stepped back, then went ahead and took the bite. Arthur’s gaze never left her lips as she chewed and swallowed. He reached up and brushed a crumb off her cheek. Heat flared across Mor’s body. What was wrong with her? Deliberately, Mor walked to stand next to Ben, who wrapped her in his arms. She rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. This was where she belonged. In the arms of her guys. Not King Arthur Pendragon. She snorted, then shook her head when Ben gave her a look.
“Rest here, Queen Mor. Your rooms should be ready shortly.”
“Thank you, King Arthur.” She snorted again. “I’m sorry, it’s really going to take me some time to get over that.”
His laugh was a low rumble. “Think nothing of it, Your Majesty. I’ll see you for dinner.” He bowed and left the room.
Mor let Ben guide her over to a chair. He sank into and pulled her into his lap. “So…the king.” Ben looked down at her. “You seem to have some sort of…connection with him.”
“Nope, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mor shook her head.
“Come now, darling, we could all sense the tension.” Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her. “So either your mates aren’t meeting your needs frequently enough or we need to consider what is happening.”
“I don’t know what you mean. You said we’re complete. So it can’t be anything other than him being the legendary King Arthur.” Mor shrugged, voice tight.
“Well, you’re complete with the Fae. But there have been cases of Fae and Shifter matings. It’s rare, but not unheard of.”
“No. That can’t be right. I have four mates. Why would I need another?” Mor’s eyes widened.
“Just something we need to keep an eye out for, sweetie. And communication is more important than anything for us.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Atreyu stalked over to where Mor was sitting in Ben’s lap. He leaned over her, hands caging her against Ben’s back. “Mor, your body gives you away. Believe me, we know every inch of this delicious body. We know what you’re thinking - even when you don’t know it yourself.” He bent down and kissed her, drawing a moan from her.
Just as Mor’s hands came up to wrap in his shirt, a door opened and a voice cleared. “Your Majesty, if you would come this way? Your rooms are ready.”
Atreyu pulled back as Ben stood and put Mor on her feet. “Thank you.” Mor smiled at the man. “Please, show us the way. I could definitely use a nap right about now.”
With a small bow, the man turned and led the way out of the parlor. The suite he led them to was huge. They walked into a large sitting room with huge, comfy-looking couches and a - TV? There was a TV over the fireplace. “Through here you will find the master bedroom and bathing room. To the right is a study, should Your Majesty need a work space.”
“Thank you so much. I think for now we’ll just rest.”
“Very good. King Arthur left instructions for lunch to be delivered to your room, however, he is planning a welcome dinner for you all this evening. Should you not have suitable attire, you will find the wardrobe fully stocked.” He eyed them as if he was sure they wouldn’t have suitable attire.
Ben cut in before Mor could say anything. “Thank you so much. I’m sure we will have everything we need.”
The man left, and Mor turned to Ben. “Suitable attire? We were just attacked! Liz is dead. And that is what they are worrying about?!”
“I know it isn’t what you want to think about.” Ben’s voice was soothing.
“Y
ou’re damn straight it isn’t what I want to think about. And it isn’t what I should be thinking about!”
Max chimed in. “Unfortunately, it is what we should be thinking about. We need the Pendragons. And if a formal dinner with a fancy dress code is what is needed to gain the king’s aid, then that’s what we’ll do.” His voice was hard. He gripped Mor’s chin when she tried to say something. “We will do what is necessary, within reason. And a fancy dinner party is within reason.”
“Ok. Whatever it takes.”
Chapter 10
Arthur
His mate was here. His mate. And she was a Fae. Not just any Fae, but the missing Queen of the Fae. Holy fuck. He felt a grin sneak across his face and he forced it down. He wasn’t totally sure how his people would react to this. He’d have to tread carefully. Especially with that bitch Selina. He knew she’d had history with one of the Fae, and she definitely had history with him. Fuck. This was a mess. He should send her away, but then he’d risk the wrath of her family. And he would need their support since he was absolutely going to throw his support behind his mate.
His mate! He grinned again, this time unable to stop it from spreading across his face.
“Well, brother, what has you in such a good mood?” The light voice of his sister, Morgana, echoed down the hall.
Arthur turned to look at her and said, “I’ve found her!”
She grinned and ran toward him, wrapping him in a hug before shoving him back. The stories had it wrong about pretty much everything. Morgana was kind and fierce. He hoped his mate wouldn’t assume the stories told the truth about them. “You’ve found her! Who is she? What Clan is she from?”
His grin grew. “She’s from no Clan. She’s the Queen of the Fae.”
“The royal Fae family has been missing for hundreds of years.”
“Do you remember the emissary I told you about?” He waited for her nod before continuing, “She was found by her four Fae mates in the human world.”
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