by J. E. Taylor
He had stopped as well and turned in my direction. Neither of our guides seemed to notice we had stopped.
“I don’t want to be separated from you,” he said.
I nearly melted into the floor on the spot. His vulnerable admission matched my exact sentiments. I reached my hand out and nodded my head in the direction Anna went. He didn’t hesitate. He crossed the distance and took my hand. Warmth radiated from the spot our skin made contact. His eyes still held a haunted sadness that made me want to wrap my arms around him and hug him until that look went away.
When we reached my room, I nearly stalled in the doorway. It was bigger than the entire cottage in the enchanted forest.
Anna gasped at the sight of Zachary standing with me. “He’s not supposed to be here,” she said, wide-eyed.
“I won’t tell if you won’t.” I pulled him inside, still gawking at the room. Zachary didn’t seem as impressed as I was until we stepped farther inside, and the bathing pool came into view. It was larger than the acid swamp had been, and steam rolled slowly off the water like a silent invitation.
He dropped my hand and headed toward it, ripping his clothes off as he went. As each piece of clothing dropped, more of his golden skin appeared. He was as perfect as a god, and I followed, stripping my clothing off despite Anna’s faltering protests.
“Can you get us some clothes?” I asked and then I stepped into the warm pool. Zachary was already submerged under the water, surrounded by a rust-colored haze. I looked down at the water as I walked, leaving the same rust-colored trail as he did. The dried blood dissolved around me, and I dunked under as well, running my fingers through my hair to clean what I could.
I surfaced and Zachary stared at me.
“The chill that settled into my bones in the dungeon is finally gone.” He splashed water on his face, still looking like Adonis.
I glanced away from him, afraid that I wouldn’t be able to control this need to feel him inside me. A pyramid of soaps on the other side of the pool caught my attention, and I used it as a distraction to the building heat. There were several different scents, from flowery, to sickly, to refreshingly citrus. I chose the latter, but before I could start scrubbing the rest of the blood stains from my skin, Zachary snatched the soap from my hand.
I glanced over my shoulder at him as he began to run the soap over my back. His touch was light, and his brow knit, as if the soap could erase the horrible memories of the last twelve hours. I closed my eyes and indulged in his gentleness.
Disappointment bloomed when he handed me the soap and moved away. I scrubbed my stomach and breasts, soaped up my hair, and then rinsed off before turning to find him sitting on the steps, looking out the window. I bit my lip at the sadness radiating from him.
His wet skin glistened and his hair dripped unchecked. I crossed and took a seat next to him, reaching out to touch his forearm. He sniffled and glanced at me. His eyes glossed over and he blinked. A single tear slipped out of the corner.
“My mother is dead.”
The sorrow strangling his voice shot straight to my heart, and I squeezed his arm.
He blinked again and his lips twitched into the saddest smile I had ever seen. It wasn’t until his gaze ripped from mine to scan my form that interest wiped away the devastation. When he looked back into my eyes, the same heat I had been feeling resonated.
I did not resist when he pulled me to him, and his lips crushed against mine with blissful demand. The moment was broken by a small squeak behind us. We pulled away as if touching each other burned. My gaze snapped beyond his shoulder, at Anna with an armful of clothing.
I cleared my throat. “Thank you, Anna. You can leave that on the bed. And if you would be so kind as to make sure we are not interrupted again, by anyone, even my father, I would be ever so grateful.” I sent her a smile.
“I, um...”
I raised an eyebrow and Anna stopped fidgeting. Her gaze kept bouncing to Zachary and I couldn’t blame her. He was beautiful to look at when he was dressed, but impossible to tear your gaze from dripping wet.
“Yes, m’lady.” She averted her eyes. Blush painted her cheeks and she dumped the clothing on the bed before scurrying out and closing the door behind her.
Zachary turned toward me and cocked his head. A smile toyed with his lips and the blaze igniting in his eyes thrilled me. He stood, giving me a full view of his exceptionally chiseled form, and offered me his hand.
I took it, expecting to be taken right there on the pool steps, but he pulled me from the water and handed me one of the towels from the bench. He took the other towel and started drying off his body. I did the same, towel-drying my hair as I mulled over his reserved actions. It was as if he had a change of heart from earlier. As if all this pain and death had stripped him of being able to be attracted to me.
He wrapped the towel around his waist and turned. I hadn’t bothered hiding my form from him and dropped the cloth on the ground, hand-combing the knots out of my hair. His chest rose with a great inhale as he scanned me from tip to toe and back.
“Damn,” he whispered and met my gaze.
I stepped forward and licked my lips as I cupped his cheek. My other hand landed lightly on his chest. The pounding of his heart against my palm told me all I needed to know. I slid my hand into his wet hair and pulled him to my lips. This time, the kiss was magical enough to slow time. I stripped him of his towel and was rewarded with a low groan in his throat.
Zachary’s hands gripped my cheeks as he deepened the kiss and he maneuvered me to the wall before he broke the kiss. His green eyes flared bright as he stared down into my face, searching my gaze for any doubt. “Are you sure?”
I smiled up at him. I had no doubts about this moment. “I want all of you.”
His smile rivaled the heavens above, and his hands slid from my face, down my throat to my breasts. His touch sent tendrils of heat tingling through my entire form. I reached for him, but he stepped out of range.
“Not yet,” he said, and his lips followed his hands.
He gently sucked my nipples until they were so hard, I thought I’d scream. He sent a sly grin up at me as he trailed down my stomach, stopping to delve into my belly button. His hands slid to my hips as he dropped to his knees in front of me.
He drew his knuckles across my sensitive bud, and I gasped at the sensation. Zachary lifted my leg and hooked it over his shoulder, running his fingers from my knee to my core in a tease that left me breathless. When he leaned in and licked me, I ran a hand into his hair, keeping the other against the wall to maintain balance.
When he said he wanted to devour me, I never guessed that I would be so incredibly satisfied. He built me up to the breaking point and then dialed back until I was too crazed to reason with.
“Please, Zach. Please, dear God,” I panted.
“Come for me,” he whispered and then went back to his masterful ministrations.
My entire body felt as if it were on fire. And when I finally did come, it was a rush that nearly blinded me with its force. All I wanted was him inside me, and he obliged, standing and entering me in one motion as he wrapped my legs around his waist.
I didn’t have a chance to catch my breath at my body’s reaction to Zachary. It was like stepping into heaven. We moved in frantic thrusts until his muscles tightened and he groaned, and another wave of heat filled me.
He panted in my ear, with his weight pinning me to the wall. We stayed that way until both of our breaths evened out. When he finally unwrapped his arms from around me and pulled away so I could see his face, the sadness had returned to his eyes.
I swallowed hard and tried on a smile.
He gently kissed me and let go of my legs, uncoupling and letting me slip to my feet. My legs couldn’t hold my weight and his grip tightened as he turned and pressed his back against the wall, with me firmly pressed to his chest.
“Dear Lord, you are amazing. I could stay in this room with you forever,” he said with his head b
ack and his eyes still closed. By the time he regained normal breathing, that bliss that covered his face faded. He glanced down at me. “But I have to go bury my mother.”
His words were like a cold slap of melancholy.
“Will you come back?” I asked, afraid of the answer. He had a kingdom to run now, and I was his enemy’s daughter, despite what he had said in the closet before we both almost died.
He smiled and wiped my hair from my face, planting the softest of kisses. “Of course. I plan on marrying you.” He gave me another peck and picked up the towel, wiping off the sweat from his chest before he crossed to inspect the clothing.
I used the towel I had discarded to clean up before I stepped next to him, mildly disappointed that he was covering up his god-like form. I pulled the dress over my head and smoothed it over my skin. This was a different gown than what I had been wearing. The midnight-blue satin was sleeker and hugged my form more than the ballgown from earlier.
I turned toward Zachary, and he was staring at me, with his hands paused on the buttons of his shirt.
“What?” I looked down at the dress. “Is this not to your liking?”
He laughed. “Oh, it is very much to my liking.” He finished buttoning up his shirt. “As a matter of fact, I don’t know how I am going to walk out the door with you looking like that.” He pulled me close and delivered a kiss before he slipped on the dinner jacket that was left on the bed. He put on his boots and took one last look at me.
“Can I go with you?”
Zachary bit his lower lip, contemplating, and then shook his head. “It’s too dangerous. My people will be angry when I bring my mother’s body back.”
Danger didn’t bother me. Besides, he had stepped into this castle tonight knowing the dangers. “And you coming here wasn’t?”
He looked up at the ceiling and then back at me. “I’m not sure you are really seeing this from our side. Imagine if I had killed your mother and father, and then you brought me here. How would the people of your kingdom react?”
“I didn’t kill your mother or your father.”
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay, what if my mother killed your parents and you brought me, the offspring of the person who killed their king and queen, here.”
It finally sunk in with a cold certainty. I was the child of the people responsible for their kingdom’s monarchs’ deaths. I did not think the people of the Kingdom of Light would take that lightly if the tables were turned. They would think I was a traitor and string me up along with him. “Your kingdom already hates our kind.”
He nodded.
My chest tightened. “I don’t want to be separated from you,” I whispered and met his shimmering eyes.
Zachary cupped my cheek and gave me the softest peck on the lips. “I don’t want to be separated either, but I have a duty to my kingdom and some serious damage control to do before I can think about us. My mother instilled a vicious degree of hatred into every heart in the kingdom. I need to undo that before there is any hope of peace between our kingdoms.”
I knew he was right but that still didn’t stop the tightening in my stomach or the tears misting my vision.
“You have work to do here as well.”
I blinked and focused on his eyes. “What work?”
“Humans hunt dragons for our blood. That practice has to stop.”
I couldn’t argue with him. I couldn’t see taking the life of a living, breathing animal just for healing properties, but I was a minority in my thoughts. People would still want the magical healing qualities and if it wasn’t given, it would be hunted. People were awful that way. My thoughts zeroed in on a possible solution. “What if your people were willing to donate blood?”
His lips twitched into a smirk. “Out of the kindness of our hearts?” He raised a brow.
“There must be something we have that you need.”
He cocked his head and studied my face. “There may be some bartering power there. In certain seasons, food is scarce, so that is a means of trade.”
“We have plenty of farms.” I smiled.
He laughed. “Honey, we eat meat, not rabbit food.”
Heat filled my cheeks. I forgot for a moment that he was a dragon at heart. Still, it was something that our kingdom had an abundance of. However, with the dragons eating all their meat, what would the people of the kingdom live on? It was all giving me a headache, so I stepped close and hugged him tight.
“Come back to me.”
“I will always come back to you, Rory.” He kissed the top of my head and then peeled out of my grip. “Always.” He turned and walked out of the room without so much as a glance back.
Chapter 12
I fought every urge to run after Zachary and beg him not to go, but he was right—I had to figure out how to heal my own kingdom’s hearts and minds before we could be happy together. Instead of heeding my heart, I turned to the window, taking deep breaths so I didn’t cave in to my desires. The sky beyond my ornate window had just started its daily waking process. The black of night had already transitioned into that deep morning blue. Distant rays played on the horizon, rising toward the heavens like a celestial stretch. Soon all the colors of dawn would paint the sky.
With a heavy sigh, I crossed to the mirror and gasped at my image. My hair was a knotted mess. Thankfully, there was a brush on the counter.
“May I get you anything?” Anna stuck her head in the door.
I pulled the last of the knots free and then glanced at her. “No, thank you.”
She frowned as though I had robbed her.
I sent her a warm smile to soothe her obvious unease. “I’m sorry, but I have never had a lady-in-waiting. I don’t know how this works.”
The furrows in her brow smoothed out. “I am here to help with anything you may need.”
This was going to take a tremendous effort to get used to. Having a servant was almost as uncomfortable as the grandness of this castle when so many impoverished people were in such proximity.
“Why don’t you go enjoy what’s left of the food. I will be out in a moment.”
“Thank you, m’lady,” she said and curtsied before she ran out of the room.
I sighed at my image and set the brush down in its place before I headed back to the ballroom. I didn’t want to stay here with all that had happened. I just wanted to be at our cozy cottage which was closer to Zachary than this cold castle.
Both Zachary and I almost died, and the undertone of doom still hung in the air.
I came around the corner just in time to catch a glimpse of Zachary flying out of the palace with the limp corpse of his mother gripped in his talons. He was magnificent in dragon form, and the farther away he flew, the more his coloring blended with the breaking dawn.
My gaze dropped to the dance floor littered with those who had been crushed by the dragon when she fell. My stomach did a slow roll at the carnage, and I swallowed the burn of bile.
Musicians had already packed up and left, along with most of the guests. All that remained were my fae family, the king’s guards, and the castle staff. The latter two were attempting to clean up the mess. Neither the king nor the queen were still in the ballroom.
Felicity turned toward me, as if she sensed my presence. She nudged Autumn and Marabel before she sauntered over to me with a solemn expression. As she came closer, she tilted her head and looked me over as if something had changed. Marabel and Autumn came up behind her, wearing the same curious expression as Felicity.
I shifted under their stares but when they stepped in for a hug, I gladly accepted the warmth of their love. If I couldn’t be with Zachary right now, all I wanted was to be back in my warm bedroom in the forest. But I knew that was impossible.
Anna scurried over to my side. “Can I get you anything, m’lady?” she asked while wringing her hands. Her gaze kept going to the dead strewn over the floor.
I pulled out of the hug with the fae. “Is there anything you can do
to help?” I waved at the bodies.
“We cannot bring them back to life,” Marabel said with a voice so filled with sadness that my throat tightened in response.
“I know. But can you help clean up? Maybe move the bodies to wherever they can be viewed or turn them into dust that the families can save. Or better yet, crystals that could be kept in their homes?”
The three fae looked at one another and then closed their eyes. Magic swelled on the air and a small tornado captured each body, turning it to ash before it reformed in the shape of a beautiful vase of flowers. Each vase was etched with the deceased’s name and different vibrant colors captured their essence.
People gasped and then clapped through their tears as their loved ones became something lovely and bright.
I knew they were strong, but I never guessed how powerful they really were. I should have known when I woke up from the curse. The dragon queen had cursed me to die along with the entire kingdom, and the fae made it so we all just fell asleep in a deathlike state who true love’s kiss could undo.
I blinked and my gaze shot out to the horizon where Zachary went. I knew there was something between us, but it never dawned on me that he was the one that the fae had prophesized. I glanced at them. “Did you create the bond between Zachary and me with your magic?”
Their mouths popped open and their eyes widened. “The dragon prince?” they asked in unison.
I nodded. “Yes. The dragon prince. Was that your doing?” I pointed at them.
They adamantly shook their heads. “No. We just wished for true love’s kiss to banish the curse.”
I believed them and headed for the throne pedestal. I took a seat on the stairs as the entirety of all that happened last night pummeled my muscles. The castle staff still rushed around to clean up the rest of the mess, but at least they weren’t transporting corpses off the dance floor.
Marabel, Autumn, and Felicity sat next to me on the stairs and we silently watched until most of the activity dwindled to just a few people tidying up the last of the remnants of the ball. The sun was high enough in the sky to highlight the gold and silver accents in the ballroom.