by Willa Hart
Ah…glad to be of service, little bird. A wicked smile curls over his face, and he rolls toward me, his cock engorged with want. I’m wet for him without even a kiss or a touch.
Oh yes, little bird, may it always be like this between us.
I fear it might, I think.
Fear? Let it be a want, a desire, a need.
He presses his lips to mine, lifts my leg, and with one solid thrust he is deep within me. I am impaled on his cock. His lips pull away from mine, and he dips his head and sucks my taut nipple into his mouth. My fingernails dig deep into his bicep and The Bear releases my breast.
He is in my mind, and the pleasure he feels is so aware to me. Heat. Wet. Soft. Flesh. Perfection. They aren’t even words as much as sensations that we share. His sensations of me and my sensations of him, and it is nearly too much for one mind to inhabit. Then blinding light as the two of us collide in pleasure. And the roar, again the roar of The Bear.
I lie in his arms and look at him. “They are on their way here,” I say.
“You know too?”
I see them as you do. I think.
Ah…yes…we are mated now. You know it yes?
My heart opens wide and I can’t deny the truth; although I know it might be easier to pretend that this isn’t happening—us being fated mates.
I would give up a kingdom for you, Sarkany thinks.
You must not.
I know not yet what I must not do, only that I must forever be with you. Whether you be my Queen or no, you shall always be my mate. It’s the fate of the Roya to mate once and to mate for life.
I sigh, because I know it’s true. So easily we now move in and out of each other’s thoughts; there is no way that I could now, even after such a short time together, imagine being outside of Sarkany’s thoughts again or he not part of mine.
They will not be pleased, I think.
Oh, but they will be much pleased when they surrender to the truth—as they will—as they must.
They bring bad news, I think.
I know.
Upon these thoughts, we rise together and walk to the shower as there is little time before we must not only take on his brothers, but also, it would seem, the entire Kingdom.
“You need to come back to the Palace, and you need to come back alone.” Leo stands in the living room next to the fireplace. He wears his coat as though he intends to snatch Sarkany away this very moment and return to the Palace. His gaze lands on me and he lifts an eyebrow. “I see you’re well.”
“I’m recovered,” I say. A chill runs through me as Leo’s eyes trail across my body.
“And there is much we’ve learned about you and your past, is there not?” Leo asks.
“There are more questions than answers,” I say. “But I intend to find the truth no matter what I need to do to find it.” I can’t imagine a time when I shall think that Leo is indeed meant to be my fated mate. Of course, it is always one Queen and three Kings but…at this point I do not like Leo. I can admit that he has a certain…appeal. He is sexy and smart and well-spoken, with a sense of humor that is wicked and sharp. But the smug nature of which he inhabits this world as though he deserves anything that he desires simply because he is Roya, so much higher and better and—
Bird, you realize I hear your thoughts, Sarkany thinks.
I turn to him where he sits beside the fireplace. He smiles at me. You must work on your blocks, especially if you want to think negative thoughts. It’s not fair to me, you, or Leo.
Agreed. I’m sorry. I…I am not used to the closeness of your mind.
Nor am I to yours, and yet here we are—
“Please stop,” Leo says. His brow is creased. “It’s so fucking obvious and so fucking annoying. The two of you communicating by thought and mind as though no one is in the room. And we can’t even hear you. What the fuck? Really must you be so rude to your own brothers? And with a damned Dreg!”
Sarkany is up from his seat in flash, his hand around Leo’s throat.
“You shall never speak ill of her again, brother, for if you do, it shall be the final words you speak.”
“Sarkany, please,” I plead.
“Sarkany, you must stop.” Taraz enters the room.
Leo sputters and chokes. His face blossoms red, turning to purple. Leo wheezes and gasps for air.
“Enough, the Kingdom is already at war, we can’t be at war amongst ourselves too,” Taraz says.
Please, I beg in Sarkany’s mind. Please do not let this be how our union begins.
For you, my little bird. Sarkany releases Leo’s throat, and Leo sputters and draws in a deep breath. His gaze goes from his brother to me, his eyes filled with little love and an emotion that can only be akin to hate.
Apologize, Sarkany thinks. His thoughts thunderous.
“I’m sorry,” Leo says. He rubs his hand over his neck. “To both of you.”
“We must speak with one voice now,” Taraz says. “We cannot, in any way, appear as though something could come between us. We’d appear weakened.”
“Smart brother,” Leo says, still rubbing his neck. “Our enemies will use anything they can to drive a wedge between us, for we’re weaker if there is discord between us.”
“You’ll understand one day soon, why the fated mate is so important to the Kingdom,” Sarkany says to his brothers. “For there can be no discord sown between the fated.”
Leo rolls his gaze toward the ceiling, and again I doubt that I shall ever be his mate.
“While I can agree with you in theory,” Taraz says, his voice soft and filled with kindness, “and I am even open to determining if Meela is in fact my fated, I cannot yet agree with you in practice, Sarkany, for I’ve yet to spend time with Meela to determine if we are compatible with each other.”
“But you know, brother, the fated mate of one is the fated mate of all,” Sarkany says.
“Yes, I do know this to be the case in the past, but you must admit the circumstances here are unique.” Taraz walks toward the fireplace and stops. “In the past, the fated mates were always people that knew each other for most of their lives. I mean think of it—Mother grew up going to the same schools as our fathers, the same parties, knowing all the same people so she had a wealth of information already about each of them when she started to fall for them. That is not the case here. You’re the only one who has been able to spend time alone with Meela, and while I’m not disregarding your feelings or denying that she is perhaps our fated mate, I am saying that I cannot know for certain until I’ve at least had the pleasure of her company. Until I’ve spoken to her and spent time with her.” Taraz looks at me and smiles, his eyes filled with kindness. “That is, if she’d even be willing to spend time with me.”
I smile. While Leo is being a complete ass, Taraz is being quite kind. “Yes, yes, I would.”
And you shall, Sarkany thinks. For he realizes, as do I, that no matter how I should ever feel about Taraz, those feelings shall have no bearing on my feelings for Sarkany. For we shall all be one and yet we shall each have our own relationships as well.
Exactly, Sarkany thinks. “Well, then that is what we must do. Taraz you must spend time with Meela and—”
“We have a kingdom to save,” Leo interrupts. “Uncle is killing Dregs and imprisoning Eliterrati in our name, and it won’t be long before the Uprising becomes a Civil War. There isn’t a lot of time for dating and for Taraz to determine if the Ninaku bird is his fated mate.”
“Meela,” Sarkany says with a low growl directed at Leo. “My mate’s name is Meela.”
Leo sighs and turns his head away from us. He stares out the window, where rain beats against the glass. “Do you have any idea what’s at stake?” Leo asks. His voice is soft and low, nearly a whisper. “A line of rulers nearly a thousand years old will come to an end should we fail. And not just that, but we will die and Meela — if it’s discovered that she is your and possibly our fated mate—shall die as well. This isn’t some joke or somethi
ng that can just be dealt with by decree. This is our Kingdom, and if we wish to be Kings and maintain House Roya, then we have no choice but to return and meet with The Counsel and pray to the Goddess that they hand over power to us now and realize that Uncle is not acting in our name but trying instead to destroy the Kingdom so that he might rule as King.”
Deep breath. It’s true. I think. Every word that Leo speaks is true, and I’m nothing but a liability for all three brothers, House Roya, and the Kingdom.
You are my biggest asset. You give me strength and purpose. You take my pain from me and make me live.
I smile at Sarkany, but his face remains impassive; he continues to look at Leo so as not to inflame his brother again with our private conversations and thoughts.
“We must return to save the Kingdom,” Leo continues. “And we must return alone.”
My heart beats faster at the idea of being apart from Sarkany. As crazy as it seems, it’s now nearly impossible for me to consider. So intense is the relationship of a fated mate—one that I had no idea of — that I can barely breathe when I think of being apart from Sarkany.
“She must go with us. And we must tell The Counsel of her existence. We must also allow Taraz and Meela to be alone together so that they might determine if she is, as I already know, his fated mate as well.”
“Brother, do you have any idea what that will do to The Counsel?” Leo asks. “They’ll lose their fucking minds. First of all if she is a Dreg—”
“She’s not.”
“Right, I know what you believe based on the house in the Dark Forest, but if she is a Dreg and you’re calling her your fated mate, that is revolutionary and illegal and would change the entire scope of our government and our Kingdom. And if she’s not—”
“Her mother was a handmaiden to our mother,” Sarkany interrupts.
“So you say but—”
“Are we doing this again?” Sarkany stands and moves toward Leo. He leaps up and has his hand to his hip where his weapon remains.
“No, not doing this again, brother, but hear me out. Lady Alana refuses to acknowledge Meela’s mother as not only a handmaiden but as an attendant at the wedding.”
“Is this true?” Sarkany looks at Taraz for confirmation.
“It is. I was there. This is the picture that was in her mind, and she said that there were only two handmaidens that became two attendants and that they were all killed at the assassination.”
Sarkany and I see within our minds the picture that Taraz sends. The memory is nearly identical to the photo we found in the house in the woods.
“But what? Why? I don’t understand,” Sarkany says.
“Nor do we,” Taraz says. “But, I’m disinclined to think that now is the right time to sort through what exactly causes Lady Alana to pretend that Meela’s mother was not a part of the wedding or the Queen’s entourage.”
Sarkany’s face darkens. And his thoughts…his thoughts are so confused and conflicted.
“Go back,” I blurt out. “I shall wait here. I shall always be yours—you know this.”
“I…I cannot answer this now. I need…I need time,” Sarkany says.
“There is no time, brother,” Leo says. “Why do you think we ride now, in the wind and the rain and why do I still have on my boots and my coat. Uncle is going to war—he has prepared the table for our slaughter and all while we’ve been sitting at it beside him. We must find a way to thwart him or prepare to run. He is killing Dregs and Eliterrati in the North and doing so in our name. It is time to raise our own army against him.”
Sarkany looks to Taraz as if seeking confirmation of the words that Leo just spoke. Taraz adds no new words but instead only nods at Sarkany. “Lady Alana and The Counsel require all three of us. We must act now to prevent more deaths.”
Sarkany moves to the windows. Rain beats down and though it is mid-morning, the sky is dark as night. “She shall come with us and we shall keep her with us but away from prying eyes. I shall not leave Meela here, alone, without us. Should anyone discover her…my feelings for her and what I would be willing to do, to trade, to keep her safe and away from harm, we would have a much greater risk to security than anything that The Counsel might do.”
“It is impossible—” Leo growls.
Taraz holds up his hand. “Not impossible. Not at all. And it’s perfect, I will simply tell everyone that she is a science Dreg, like Jix, and that they’re working together on new technology. This is a perfect cover and it allows me to spend time with Meela, to get to know her. To see…” Taraz’s gaze is warm, kind, gentle, not anything like his brother Leo. “If we are indeed fated for each other.”
Three pairs of eyes land on me. I glance at all of them, and finally I look at Sarkany. “Do you agree?” he asks.
I agree. I cannot be without you, no matter the risk. My entire heart is now wound around yours.
My feelings are the same, Sarkany thinks. To be without you or not near you is no longer an option for me.
“We shall ride when the rain breaks,” Sarkany says. He stands and reaches his hand out to mine. I clasp his hand and lace my fingers through his. “We shall pack and return.”
I clasp Sarkany’s fingers and we exit the living room and head to the stairs. Sarkany places his arm on my waist. The vision in his mind causes heat to flame through my sex and up my body, tightening my nipples and flooding my face with heat.
“We shall enjoy the rain, bird, and our last few hours alone together. I shall make certain of it.”
I smile and walk up the stairs toward my bedroom knowing that Sarkany intends to take my body until the weather breaks, and I look forward to every stroke and caress.
Chapter Eighteen
Taraz
In the distance, like a shard of glass, a sliver of blue slices the thick grey clouds. The rain drizzles from the sky.
You know what they’re upstairs doing, Leo thinks.
Of course I know what they’re upstairs doing. We both know what they’re upstairs doing. If we were each mated to her, we’d be upstairs doing it too, I think.
I can’t believe it’s her, Leo thinks.
You can’t believe it’s her or you can’t believe that she became Sarkany’s fated mate first?
Fuck you.
“That’s what I wondered,” I say. “You seem agitated and maybe even jealous. Which makes perfect sense because you and Sarkany have always been competitive about birds.”
“I do not wish to discuss this now,” Leo says. He jumps to his feet and paces before the windows. “There couldn’t be a worse time for Sarkany to declare that his fated mate is a Ninaku Dreg. Uncle is trying to overthrow the Kingdom, and our brother is breaking the law and mating with a Dreg.” He gazes out the windows. “The rain is ending,” Leo says. “Thank you, Goddess. I can’t stand this shack, the idea of being this far away from civilization and this close to the Dark Wood. Who wants to live like this?” Leo asks.
“Left to his own devices, probably Sarkany,” I say. “He’d love to live here.”
Thunder splits the sky and makes the crystal decanter on the bookcase shake. Lightening follows, but the clouds roll through the sky and past Dragon’s Ridge in the distance. The storm has rolled away and sunshine and blue now decorate the sky.
“Time to leave,” Leo says. He turns toward the staircase.
“I wouldn’t interrupt them. They’ll come down when they’re ready to depart for the Palace.”
Leo lifts an eyebrow and scowls. His lips thin into a tight line, but he stops with one foot on the bottom stair. “How is a Dreg dictating when we leave to save our Kingdom?”
“Brother, she may end up our Queen. It would serve you well to at least acknowledge that Sarkany is in love.”
“You don’t love her, you said that—”
“Not yet,” I say, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t.”
“We’re ready.” Sarkany stands on the stairs. Meela is beside him, freshly dressed, with a hint of a blush on
her cheeks. They descend the stairs together.
My reaction to Meela and Sarkany’s announcement that they are fated mates hasn’t been as intense as Leo’s, but in this moment, with the two of them hand in hand and their unspoken intimacy, sadness and longing flood my chest. For the first time in my brother’s life there is another person who takes precedence over me and Leo. The way that they look at each other, the way he holds her arm, the warmth that cascades between them.
“Before we go, we shall stop in the Ariary,” Sarkany says.
Breath bursts from my chest. My throat tightens.
“Wait? What?” Leo’s face clouds. “We…we have no time, we can’t—”
“We do have time, and we shall do as I say or Meela and I shall not go.” Sarkany’s face is stoic and brooks no sense of negotiation. The stop will take place, or he shall remain here.
Leo’s nostrils flare. “Fine,” he says. He grabs his riding cape, and I grab my coat.
In front of the lodge our horses await, but we do not mount. Instead, both Leo and I follow Sarkany and Meela down a stone path that leads into the thick forest on our grounds. The trees above our heads grow into each other forming an archway where thousands upon thousands of Provarian flowers blossom, their petals the deepest of purple. As we walk beneath them, Meela’s arm encircles Sarkany’s, and they bend their heads toward each other. They are deep in a mind conversation that neither I nor Leo can hear.
“What a waste of time,” Leo says.
“How deeply you are in denial brother,” I say. Leo doesn’t understand what Sarkany intends to do within the Ariary.
We stop before the giant stone fence that encircles the space where our dead are enshrined. The space where our souls are set free and sometimes…forever mated.
The metal hinges of the gates shriek into the empty forest as Sarkany swings the door open. He and Meela walk to the Ariary shrine. A sole tree as old as time. Her branches so long and heavy, with a trunk that would take thirty men to encircle.