by CY Jones
“Come, angel,” he says, slapping my behind when he’s done pleasuring my body. “Let’s get something to eat, and then we’ll train.”
“Ok,” I answer.
“I’m going to take a quick shower first though.”
“I’ll join you,” he says, pulling us towards the bathroom with me laughing behind him. It’s nice to see the carefree side of Kaiden again, and not the serious, stressed out side that’s been a persistent storm cloud since we got here. It was also nice to put my own worries on the back burner, at least for a little while.
The shower was not a quick one, especially when Kaiden saw all the places he could bend me over and fuck me in the lagoon. He’s just as insatiable as he was in my world, but unfortunately, we had to face reality and resurface. I need to train. I have no clue about Raven’s fighting ability, or her powers, and I hate to admit that Kaiden knows her the best, so he needs to be the one to teach me. I also need to find a way to access my own power by command, and not accidentally. I can’t keep borrowing from the guys. In the duel, I can’t even use Kaiden or Asterial’s power, because no one outside our small circle knows I’m bonded to them, and we need to keep it that way.
I definitely can’t use my own Fae abilities, not unless I want to out myself, so that just leaves Tristan’s and Chaos’ powers, plus the most important one, my own lightning abilities. If I do win, I could still face treason charges if I don’t use them, because I will be proving I’m a fraud. I wish I knew why it was so hard to access them, and why I can only do it when I’m near death. I’m not trying to wait that long in the arena, especially when fighting Raven. She’s completely unhinged, and will do anything to have Kaiden.
Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment, but since we’re far away on the beach, I couldn’t help myself when I ask Kaiden, “if you had never met me, would you have married Raven?”
“Yes,” he answers, looking me dead in the eyes. When he sees my face fall, he continues quickly, “I would have done it, but only out of duty, and not love. I would fulfill my duty and produce an heir, continue my bloodline, but I don’t think I would have been faithful to her, nor would I have been happy, and in turn, she would have eventually grown to hate me.
“And our marriage? Is that what I have to look forward to? After giving you an heir, will you’ll require a mistress?”
“Fuck, Winter no. With you, I will be faithful. You are all I want, and that is why you have my heart.”
A tear escapes my eye, and he kisses it away.
“Come on lightning God, show me what you got.”
We practice for hours, and still I have yet to use my own power. It’s like something is blocking it somehow, and everytime I try to access it, I hit a brick wall. Maybe something happened when I made that bolt of pure lightning on Skully’s ship, because that was the last time I was able to access my ability. Everything else seems so easy to form, but my lightning remained elusive.
“I’m gonna die,” I whine out loud, frustrated.
“No you’re not. Stop being dramatic,” Kaiden says, rolling his eyes at me as we walk back to the castle.
“If I don’t use my power, I will. Your mother will have no choice but to execute me, and then we all will die.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little morbid?”
“No, I call it being realistic, because that’s what’s going to happen if I can’t use my power,” I cry out.
“You're just stressed. We have time. Don’t worry about it,” he replies, before kissing the top of my head.
“Easy for you to say. You won’t be the one whose head gets chopped off.”
“Look at me Winter,” he says, pulling me towards him. “It will be fine. I will never let anyone do anything to you. You’re all that matters to me, I swear. I don’t care what I have to do. If I have to leave all this behind I will, and it will be worth it as long as I have you.”
“You’re serious,” I say, looking at him in awe. I never thought he would leave this place. Leave being a prince and future King for me. I guess I still haven’t gotten used to this new Kaiden. The one who would fight for me and defy his mother. It’s still all surreal.
“As a heart attack,” he replies as we walk through the gates, hand in hand.
Kaiden drops me off at my suite, and leaves to get ready for dinner. I opted to stay in my chambers to eat, but apparently, according to his mother, our presence there is not optional. After a long, much needed shower, I step into my bed chamber wrapped in nothing but a towel, when I notice Chaos casually lying on my bed with one arm slung over his forehead. What is he doing here? Quietly, I tip toe over the bed and stare down at his perfect face. He looks innocent and beautiful all at the same time. It really isn’t fair for him to be so good looking. He also looks like a man who has a lot on his plate. It can’t be easy being him. I have a feeling he has way more to deal with than me, and I find myself feeling sorry for him. When I peer down at him, I can’t help but to feel a familiarity with him. Like I’ve known him longer than these last couple of days, but that’s crazy right? Hell, if I’ve learned anything, nothing is crazy anymore.
The human brain is a miraculous thing, and the one of supernaturals is even more astonishing. Particularly the short and long term memory. What the mind chooses to forget and remember, and what triggers that will help release those memories stored far away in the long term memory bank. While studying Chaos, I suddenly remember a previous conversation with Aster on the ship while traveling here. The one when he said vampires develop their powers at a certain age, but the Fae have them from birth. A memory buried deep inside me suddenly becomes clear, and barrels its way to the forefront of my mind. Suddenly, as if a light switch just got switched on, I start to remember doing some extraordinary things, impossible things. It’s like once the floodgates have been opened, a barrel of memories hit me, swirling around me, attacking my brain. Me as a baby laughing at the dancing snowflakes above my crib, freezing part of the beach outside the mansion so Cali and I can go ice skating, Cali and I riding on a unglamored Nala and Orian’s back all through the mansion, and the one and only time I ever seen my father angry with me when I purposely froze Jessica’s fingers when we were little for pushing Cali off the swing set at the playground and making her cry. With each and every memory, Athene is always there, giving me something to drink and I forget everything. I forget how my father used his abilities to make the human witnesses forget just like Asterial did after the bombing, or how he paid the other supernaturals like us to look the other way. They have all been working together, making me forget who and what I am.
As I got older and stronger, it was harder for me to contain my powers. They were always accidentally slipping out, no matter how hard I tried to contain them. The dancing, martial arts, meditating weren’t a permanent solution. They helped some, especially in the beginning, but my abilities were far too powerful and were proving too much for me to handle. Too much power for me to control. I would have destroyed myself a long time ago if it weren’t for a familiar pair of crystal blue eyes guiding me along the way.
“Chaos,” I whisper to myself softly. He’s the one who drove away all my nightmares, and not just the one I had on Skully’s ship. He’s the one who kept me balanced and in control. He’s the one who saved me when no one else could. He’s always been there for me, but why? How?
“Because I’ve been in love with you since the first time I laid eyes on you,” he says in a sleepy voice, startling me.
When I look down I see he’s wide awake, staring straight at me. We’re both quiet. Neither one of us moves an inch. I don’t even think we’re breathing.
“Why am I remembering all this now?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“It can be a number of things. Since coming here, you’ve grown stronger, and the spell I put on you to block your memories has been growing weaker until now, when it finally broke. Traveling through the veil and going into the inbetween did a number on the spell also. It takes a lot o
f work to keep hold of it for so long, it’s been draining me to keep it up. I may have relaxed my hold on it subconsciously, since you’re so close to me now, and I can tell you’re no longer in danger of burning out,” he explains as he sits up.
I’m shocked beyond words. This beautiful, considerate man has been protecting me all my life, and weakening himself in the process to do so. I don’t know what to think, or how to react. Despite Kaiden’s declaration today, I’m not so sure he would have done the same. The more I think about it, the more I know he wouldn’t. He’s already said that he’s willing to follow his mother to whatever end before he knew me, but Chaos? He chose me. He’s always chosen me. I don’t think I could ever express how much that meant to me.
“Thank you,” I say with tears forming in my eyes.
He looks at me intensely. Springing up, he kisses me suddenly and the force pushes me backwards onto the bed. He attacks my mouth as we both battle with our tongues, trying to claim each other. Ripping my towel away, he kisses down my body, sucking my breast in his mouth so hard tiny hickeys start to form. He repeats the process to the other, while he unbuttons his slacks, pulling them down his legs. Quicker than possible, he’s pulling me onto his lap and impaling me on his dick, and I moan in pleasure as he fills me with his thickening length.
He takes my body like a man possessed, pounding into me so hard my tits bounce frantically in his face and he circles them with his tongue. He feels so good, and I feel complete as he pounds into my g-spot. The missing piece has finally clicked in place, and now I’m free. The walls around us rumble, knocking things off the walls, sending them shattering onto the floor around us, which neither one of us cares about. Chaos could bring this whole damn castle to the ground, and we still wouldn’t stop.
Pounding into me in his frantic ball busting pace, he says breathlessly, “as much as I want to drag this out, we’re going to be late for dinner.”
I don't answer him, I can’t. I can only close my eyes and moan in pleasure, lost in his magic dick, wondering who cares about fucking dinner. I’m in the land of pleasure, and have no intentions of coming back, screw Hera’s stupid dinner.
Standing, he holds my weight, and I wrap my legs around his waist while he thrusts into me harder than before, going so deep I swear I can feel him in my stomach. Hitting my g-spot, he circles my clit with his finger and I cum, shouting his name. A smug smile takes over his face, and he pumps himself faster into me as he cums with a roar ricocheting off the castle walls, filling me with his seed deep inside my womb. Breathing hard, I kiss him softly and he kisses me back with the same intensity.
“I love you,” he whispers with his forehead against mine as we both try to calm our frantic heartbeats, and I smile in pure bliss. But all good things eventually come to an end. “You need to get dressed. We can’t keep Hera waiting,” he grimaces, just as unhappy about dinner as I am.
Groaning, I unravel my legs from around him, and step down, wishing we could stay like this forever. Why does Hera have to ruin everything?
It turns out I didn’t have to glamor up an outfit, which was a good thing since I was completely exhausted. With the earlier training with Kaiden and Chaos fucking me into oblivion, I didn’t have the strength. Chaos was here in the first place because he had brought me a couple of dresses to choose to wear tonight. A beautiful vintage short cream bohemian style lace dress caught my attention, but with the low v front I wouldn’t be able to wear it with all the hickeys Chaos just gave me covering my breasts, which by the way he’s totally unapologetic about. I decide on a short, glittering, ice blue halter dress instead that shows off my entire back, and beautiful silver strappy heels. Going into the secret room, Chaos places a platinum and diamond diadem on top of my head, and glamored my hair so it flows freely around me in soft curls.
“Thank you,” I say looking at myself in the mirror, and he kisses me softly, taking my breath away.
“Come on. Let's go cause trouble somewhere else,” he says, pulling my hand. Laughing, I let him lead me out the room with Orian close on our heels. How much trouble can we possibly get into over dinner? “Lots,” he answers my unasked question with a challenge in his crystal blue eyes.
Chapter Twenty
Winter
Turns out Chaos was right. There’s plenty of opportunity to get into trouble judging by the guest list at dinner tonight. The small intimate dinner I was thinking about in my head shattered when I looked around at the people I recognized already seated at the table. Like Raven’s sneering face who was seated two chairs away from the head of the table. Not surprised by the turn out, Chaos leads me over to a seat on the opposite side, and he sits down beside me holding my hand under the table in support. Beside Raven is her mother as well as her brother. When our gazes meet he gives me a smirk, and unapologetically trails his eyes up and down my body like he can see straight through my dress, giving me the creeps. I shiver involuntarily, and Chaos shifts closer to me thinking I’m cold, pressing his warm thigh closer to mine.
Seated at the head of the table is the False Queen, and the look she gives me and Chaos is one of pure death. Kaiden still hasn't arrived yet, and judging by the open seat next to Hera, I figured that’s where he usually sits, and the reason why Raven chose the seat beside it. What I couldn’t figure out was who the other guests sitting across from us were. Four men, and three women. I don’t recall meeting any of them at the ball, so I knew we haven’t been introduced yet.
They were all wearing burgundy robes over their clothes, like they’re all in some kind of secret religious cult. I half expected them to have matching masks in their pockets. Right when I’m about to ask Chaos who they were, Kaiden enters the room halting, right before the table. Instead of taking the seat by his mother’s side at the head of the table, he sits in the other empty seat next to me and softly kisses me on the cheek, causing his mother to grind her teeth in annoyance, and Raven shoots me one of her usual looks of pure hate. Not caring, Kaiden glances over at his mother challenging her to say something. With no other choice than to continue with this dinner party from hell, Hera turns to me, waving her hand towards the robe figures sitting across from me
“Winter, I don’t believe you have meet the members of our esteemed Council.”
Council, really? I narrow my eyes, taking a closer look at their faces. They looked so young, more Hera’s age, and not Tales of the Cript Keeper, like I’ve always pictured them in my head.
Swallowing my shock, I answer, “no, I haven’t actually.”
“Yes well, to your right is Council member Arcus,” she says, nodding her head towards the attractive man with short white blonde hair and blue grey eyes. “He’s the oldest member and current head of the Council, as well as their mouthpiece.”
By the flippant manner Hera is speaking and her tone, I can tell there’s no love lost between her and the Council. If anything, she did not care for them. Not even a little bit, but why would she? Anyone who has any say in her rule is an enemy in her book, and they were my enemy as well. These people sitting in front of me once ordered mine and my mother’s death, and for what? What were our crimes? Falling in love and being born are not good reasons to play God and sign someone’s death warrant. I can feel my anger building and the temperature in the room suddenly rises. In an effort to calm me, Kaiden grabs my other hand, and rubs tiny circles in my palm. Despite my anger, blowing up on the Council and trying to burn them alive would be a really bad idea right now, so I take a deep breath and exhale, doing my best to calm down. Hell, maybe I can figure out a way for these assholes to be useful. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?
Not fazed over Hera’s lack luster introduction, Council member Arcus smiles, and dips his head toward me in a show of respect that makes me want to roll my eyes.
“Nice to finally meet you, princess. We would have met you last night at your ball, but it seems our invitation took a lot longer than expected to arrive.” His tone is accusatory which Hera pays no mind to.
“You know how things can slip through the cracks when you’re preparing for a ball on such short notice. With so many people to invite, I wouldn’t be surprised if yours was the only invitation that reached its destination late,” Hera says gleefully.
For the first time since I’ve gotten here, I was actually grateful to Hera. Who knows what I would have done if I met them my first night here?
“You would have done nothing because I would not have let you,” Chaos whispers in my mind.
Frowning, I shout, “say out my head, you stalker.”
“Why? This is so much fun. For example, now I can tell you how much I enjoyed the way your tits bounced in my face while you rode my dick.”
“Chaos,” I shout as my cheeks heat.
“We can discuss that later, my Queen,” Arcus says in a clipped tone. “For now we’re being terribly rude to the princess.”
I do not want to talk to any members of the Council sitting in front of me, but I sit up straight in my chair, and watch Arcus as he watches my every move, judging me with his stern gaze.
“Let me introduce my fellow Council members. This is Roman,” he says nodding to the man with thick caramel brown hair, and light brown eyes seated next to him. “Helios,” he says, pointing to another man with long dark hair braided down his back and cold silver eyes. Helios smiles at me with none of the warmth reaching his eyes, unlike the golden God of the man sitting next to him. With golden eyes and shoulder-length golden hair, I wasn’t surprised when Arcus says his name is Apollo. His smile is just as charming as his looks, and out of the cold bunch, he appeared to be the youngest.