Her wings kept her afloat as her kiss puffed lips tasted the sides of his shaft. He slid his hands to her hips and pulled her core towards his mouth. “Just like that,” he crooned before his own mouth descended over her heat. “Perfect,” he mumbled.
Soon the cabin was filled with only the sounds of mutual pleasure.
Still peppering small kisses against her inner thighs, Rowan was loathe to dislodge her perfect mouth from his cock. And yet…
He wanted to be fully seated inside her warm body. He tugged against her and her lips gripped his cock tight enough to make him almost regret pulling her from him in order to bury himself between her thighs.
Her tongue and lips were no match for his strength and his cock bobbed out of her mouth with a soft “pop” and a little whine of displeasure from Snow.
He sat up, pushing her to her back and lined himself up to enter her. “I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to crush your wings.”
Snow smiled up at him. “Perhaps I should be on top, my love?” She rolled him over until she was straddling his hips. Rowan reached down in order to find her sultry core once more.
“Mine,” he said, thrusting up and pushing his sweet little mate down on his cock.
She whimpered, fighting both the pain of his penetration and the lure of her own desire.
“Shh, my sweet bella,” he said. “The pain will last but a moment and the pleasure will all be yours.”
Her blue-grey eyes met his almost dark eyes. “I love you,” she whispered as he finally became fully seated within her sheathe.
His hands were gentle as he brought her mouth to his. “I love you,” he said against the shell of her ear before kissing her.
And there, beneath the flashing, shimmering, pulsing lights of the aurora borealis, Rowan made her his own and pledged his life to her.
Chapter Four
“You’re late,” Snow said, looking up from a quilt she was patiently making for her wedding bed.
“My father had need of me,” Rowan said, tugging at the laces of his tunic. Exhaustion beat from all of his pores and Snow rose to hug him.
“Is he still worried about an attack?”
“Always.”
His fingers traced the fine bones of his wife’s shoulder. “You’re so delicate,” he said. “I worry I will crush you with my need.”
“Don’t be,” Snow said, brushing her body against his, yearning for his skin against her own. “I love your need of me.”
“I know you do,” Rowan said, his gaze helpless with love. “I bathe in your love nightly.”
“Come, my prince, my husband, my lover,” she teased, pulling at his hand. “Come join with me again.”
The December winds howled with displeasure as Snow lay warm in the confines of the bed she shared with her husband. The tension in her husband followed him even into his light elven sleep. She knew he worried about his uncle challenging for the throne once more as well as his father’s reluctant acceptance of their union.
They decided to live in the richly appointed apartment within Glacier Keep during most of the dark months so Rowan might more easily help his father prepare for Christmas. After the Spring Equinox, they would travel to Firefly Glen so he could meet her family, and then they would return to Ice Keep to continue her lessons.
Toffee was due in the morning and between helping the kitchen prepare for the feast, her lessons with her aunt, and staying up late sewing her bridal quilt, she should be exhausted. Celebration preparation was tiring enough. Of course so was her husband’s insatiable hunger for loving her.
She grinned in the darkened chamber. Who was she kidding? Her hunger for him was just as insatiable.
But as she lay warm and cozy in her mate’s arms, her mind drifted and nagged at her. She had forgotten something. She just knew she had. But what?
The staff at Glacier Keep was efficient and knew their job so there hadn’t been a lot for her to do, except be presented to the king and the retainers. She was just beginning to learn everyone’s name and title at Ice Keep and now she had so many more names, faces, and titles to remember.
No wonder she forgot things. She let her mind and eyes drift shut as her husband’s deep breathing lulled her into sleep.
Mushrooms! Her eyes flew wide at the thoughts. She had forgotten to tell Cook to prepare a special mushroom dish for Toffee.
The dome which protected Glacier Keep was held artificially warm by the Christmas Magic the king and his sons wielded. It encompassed many acres, including a small forest on the far side of the lists. There had to be mushrooms there, she thought. She looked up to wake Rowan, but he looked so peaceful, she hadn’t the heart.
He’d been so worried about his uncle and the intel they were getting back from their scouts and allies. Krampus had been spotted but was lost in a swirling mist of snow.
Snow thought about waiting until morning but shook her head. At last report, Toffee and the retainers coming from Firefly Glen were safely camped and would be at the castle gates by breakfast.
She had to gather the mushrooms tonight.
She slipped out of their bed and quickly donned her magical woven dress. It stirred, ever eager for her husband’s touch. Arousal hit her and she wavered between wanting another banquet in her husband’s arms and providing a banquet for her best friend.
“Be still, you silly hussy,” she hissed and both she and the dress calmed down.
Snow rolled her eyes, still unsure how the enchanted dress worked.
She darted out of the bedchamber and slid along the dimly lit corridor until she was in the Great Hall. She looked around to get her bearings before deciding to go left. There was at least a 50/50 chance she would get it right.
Picking a basket up along the way, she crossed the bailey and spotted the lists in the dim magical light. She shivered before her dress picked up the temperature change and began embracing her in its warmth.
Maybe, she decided, she could get used to enchanted dresses after all.
She cursed herself for forgetting a torch as she entered the even darker part of the forest. A deer scuttled across her path and she smiled at the exquisite doe eyed creature. It stirred, looked past her and bolted deeper into the woods, past where even her fae eyesight could take her.
“Come back, sweet girl,” she called, keeping her voice low and melodic. “I wasn’t going to hurt you.”
“Perhaps not,” the voice behind her said, sizzling with menace and ill-will. “But she was smart enough to run from me.”
Snow startled and turned to see the dark figure behind her. As tall as most elves, he lacked their honest straight-forward gaze. His movements were shifty and determined and lacked even the barest hints of elven grace. “You’re a drow,” she accused, backing away from the beast. “How did you get in here?”
“I’m more than a drow, you stupid child. I am Deemas of the Sea Clan, second only to Krampus himself. Did you think yourself safe in a domed keep? It didn’t take us long to locate a bolt-hole in the place.”
Snow took flight, anxious to leave this dark, evil Elf and ring for the sentry. She was surprised at how quickly Deemas could move and how easily he grabbed at her ankle. Elven reflexes, she realized. He pulled her down and her wings were no match to his warrior’s grip.
“I am no one,” she said. “No one of import and certainly not worth detaining.” She pointed to her discarded basket. “Sent to the forest in the middle of the night to satiate his majesty’s craving for mushroom soup,” she improvised, pulling away from the demon who held her wrist.
“Quiet,” he said, shaking her by the wrist. Snow whimpered, sure he would break her thin bones but it was he who howled in pain when the sleeve of her dress grazed him.
“For Odin’s sake,” he cried. “Is that dress made of nettles and razors?” A thin strip of blood dripped from his hand.
Seeing her opening, Snow attacked for all her worth, using her enchanted dress as a weapon. She sliced where she could and vowed to
thank Serena as soon as she could. Deemas hissed and cried out before calling for help from two additional men. “Bind and gag her,” he ordered. “Then cut that damn gown off her!”
Snow writhed and fought and did as much damage as she and the dress could manage. She was pretty sure one would have a permanent limp and the other had blood coursing down his face from the deep scratches she gave. Eventually, though, the demons were too strong and she found herself bound and gagged on the forest floor.
The limper pulled out a dagger and went to cut at her dress. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of her beautiful gown being shredded by such monsters but found instant amusement when the knife was unable to penetrate the weave.
“What kind of witchcraft is this?” Limper said, muttering. He stabbed at her again but this time, instead of merely bouncing off the fabric, the knife bent.
Her mouth was gagged but Snow’s eyes promised them retribution for daring to enter her home and disturbing the peace of Glacier Keep.
Deemas rolled his eyes. “Toss a net over her,” he said, “so she can’t fly away and let’s take her back to camp. Krampus will know what to do with her.”
“Guardian Crystal! Come quickly!”
Crystal looked up from the book she was reading to stare into the violet eyes of a raven haired Gnome. “Diana? What’s wrong?”
Diana rolled her eyes at the Winter Season Guardian sitting in her solar, reading a book, with a heat lamp on! Really. Who had ever heard of fairies needing heat?
“There is a rider at the gate from Glacier Keep. No one can find Snow. King Nicholas has called for a council from you and Lord Aerick,” Diana said, her usual musical voice rising in fear.
“What do you mean no one can find Snow? Isn’t she with her mate?” Crystal cried out, closing her eyes and muttered a curse to the descendants of Iolanthe. “Where could she be?”
Diana placed both hands on her hips and glared at the Guardian. “How am I supposed to know? I am simply relaying the information the rider gave me,” she said with a grumpy huff.
Crystal turned off the heat lamp, closed her well-read edition of The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder and sighed. “Okay. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
She swung her legs out of the hammock, cringing with the feel of the warm stone on her toes. Just how hot did a heat lamp get, anyway? Maybe snow fairies weren’t actually meant to be warm. “Thank you, Diana. Kindly alert King Nicholas’s rider that I will be with him shortly.” She strode out of the warm solar and gasped in relief as the cooler air hit her face. She waved over to a guard. “Get my seneschal and gather a dozen of my warriors.” She was quiet as she walked. “Include at least two archers. We are embarking to Glacier Keep.”
“To attack,” her guard asked, horrified.
“Of course not,” Crystal said. “They may be under attack and we must offer aid.”
“Of course, my Guardian,” the guard said before rushing to do her bidding.
Once gathered and loaded into sleighs, they were on their way. The reindeer pulled relentlessly on the reins as they traveled to Glacier Keep. Fury. Fear. Anxiety kept Crystal tense and aware.
They pulled up to the gates and the drivers entered into the outer bailey where she was immediately escorted into the King’s solar.
“My lord,” she greeted with a curtsey, but dispensed all other formalities. Now was not the time. “What do we know?”
Rowan looked at her and she gasped at his haggard appearance. “Rowan,” she cried. “We will find her.” She reached for his hand. “Have faith.”
“Look. Lord Aerick is here as well,” Nicholas said, trying to reassure his youngest son. “Elder and Birch have riders out looking for her now. Ames is working on a finding charm for her.”
Rowan nodded, massaging a tight spot only he could feel at heart’s center.
Aerick nodded to the others are he approached. “How may Sea Haven help?”
“Stop,” came a small, almost feline voice. “Why are you all in here talking and not out looking for my Snow Angel?”
“Toffee,” Crystal greeted the small brownie with a curtsey. “I’m sorry, in my distress I forgot you were arriving today.”
“Guardian,” Brownie greeted, his tilted eyes closing slightly while he bowed.
“We are looking for her, Toffee,” Crystal assured him. “But we must think and be wise. We need to know where to look. Did she wonder off and get lost or was she taken?”
“Go over the facts again,” Nicholas said to his youngest son.
Rowan glared, the first sign of life in his face. “We presented to you before dinner. All was fine. After the meal, Snow went to her room to work on our wedding quilt while you and I met with your advisors about the threat of your brother. Afterwards, I joined my mate in our chamber and we slept.”
“Did you argue?” Crystal asked. “Was there coldness between you?”
Rowan smiled, remembering the evening in his mate’s warm embrace. “No, Guardian,” Rowan said. “All was well when we fell asleep.”
“Did someone take her from your bed, then? Did you sleep through an attack?”
“No. Elves do not sleep that deeply,” he said. “I fell asleep sometime after the two a.m. bell. I awoke when the church rang the bell for Lauds and I was alone. I thought, at first, she went to morning prayers, but she never showed up to break her fast.”
“Have you bonded with her?” Aerick said, indicating the place on Rowan’s chest that still ached. “Have you established a mating bond with her? Can you track her through the bond?”
Rowan shook his head. “We have not been mated long enough for the bond to form fully,” he said. “I feel it but I am not sure she does. It may be different between elf and non-elf.”
Nicholas muttered something under his breath and Rowan turned on him. “Enough, Father,” he said, his voice harsh. “It is done. She is my mate and even without the elfish bond, our hearts are entwined.”
“My lords!” A maid came skidding in, clutching a basket in her hands. “One of the sentry found this basket in forest when he was out on patrol. Could it be a clue?”
“It’s covered in blood,” Rowan said, losing his knees and nearly collapsing. Aerick guided him to a chair as Nicholas took the basket from the young maid.
“It’s not fairy blood,” Crystal said, her voice cool and comforting. She gripped Rowan’s shoulder. She had been mistaken about Rowan. He did love Snow. “Fae blood shimmers with silver fleck.”
“No,” Nicholas said, his voice slow and even and deliberate. “This is dark elf blood. The Drow have her,” he said.
“Krampus,” Aerick said.
Toffee approached the king but he moved out of range. “Oh, for shiitake sake, let me see and smell it! Brownie senses are better than fae or elf! I may be able to find her trail.”
Rowan gasped. “That’s it! Mushrooms,” he said. “She wanted the cook to make a special mushroom dish for you, Toffee. She went to the forest to hunt for mushrooms and was taken. That must be it.”
Toffee didn’t know whether to be proud that his best friend wanted to feed him his favorite dish or saddened that in the process of the search, she had been kidnapped. Quietly, to cover his pain, he said, “She could have waited. Brownies enjoy hunting mushrooms almost as much as eating them.”
“Krampus will exploit this weakness,” Nicholas said.
“There is no weakness,” Rowan said. “There will be no trade. I will fight him myself for my mate.”
A guard blew on his horn to alert the keep of a visitor. “It’s he,” Aerick predicted.
Aerick and Crystal joined Nicholas in meeting their visitors at the gate. Toffee tugged at Rowan’s tunic. “Come, while everyone is distracted,” Toffee said. “I am her Allegiant,” he said, staring up at the tall elf. “I have to find her.”
“Lead us,” Rowan said to the maid. “Take us to where the basket was found. Toffee will locate the princess.”
Crystal strode into the outer bai
ly, paused and admired the flowering, frosted hoar of faceted snow crystals in the pale morning sky. The bracing cold freed her sinuses and she knew this cold shimmering confectioner’s sugar land was where she belonged. Where her niece belonged. Now, they only had to retrieve her.
She raced across the glacier covered land and approached the outer gates where Krampus and his second in command stood waiting for them. She noted that both men’s faces were ravaged by deep scratches and gouges. It seemed her niece had put up a fight and got more than a few hits in. Good. “Where is she?” she demanded. “Where is my niece?”
The snow pixies kept Toffee and Rowan apprised of the meeting in the king’s Great Hall. “I can’t believe my father invited him within the keep,” Rowan muttered.
“They’re saying they will trade the princess for the life of Nicholas,” Amara said, her high lilting voice growing fierce.
Rowan waved them off. “He will never sacrifice himself,” he scoffed.
Toffee’s nose and whiskers twitched. “This way,” he said, and bounded through the forest. He paused for a moment. “She took to the air here,” he said. One paw pointed to a line of footprints in the loamy soil. He leaned down and picked up a small bit of debris that Rowan’s own eyes had passed over. “A bit of fabric,” he said. He held it up to see it better in the artificial domed sunlight. “Looks like a fishing net or something.”
“To keep her wings from letting her fly away,” Rowan said, his jaw firming and the haggard look he wore slowly leaving. “We must be getting closer,” he said. “My heart bond isn’t hurting as much. Could she have been inside the dome the whole time?”
Toffee held up his paw in a silent, universal gesture of “shh” and moved forward. Rowan followed, his elvish grace quiet on the forest floor. There, behind a pine tree was a large irregular bolder that the dome had been unable to penetrate. The irregular jutting of rock left just enough space around it to create a type of bolt-hole in their defenses. A quick glance behind the rock revealed a small encampment.
A bolt-hole, Rowan was sure, that Krampus had found and exploited. He silently pointed it out to one of the snow pixies who nodded in understanding before darting back to the Great Hall to alert the King of their progress.
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