There was something lurking in her mind that suggested there was something in what he was saying. But she wasn’t too sure what. Or she was, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions and completely miss what he was trying to say. That was how things ended up awkward.
“I’m getting signals from you like you’re my mate,” he blurted out, and the lurking idea in her head nodded along. That was pretty much what she’d thought he was going to say.
“Alright...” She didn’t want to say anymore, she wanted to see where his head was at first. Pressuring someone into saying something they weren’t ready for yet never ended well.
“But it makes no sense.”
“Because I’m fae?” she asked, thinking back to his earlier question.
“No. Because I was getting the same mating vibe from your interactions with the Reed twins.” He sighed, and rested his head in his hands.
“You think the Reed twins are your mates too?” That wasn’t something she’d picked up on. In fact, she’d mostly picked up on amusement from Brandon’s part, and jealousy from Drey’s. Oh...jealousy...
“No...”
“You think they’re mine too. And that’s a problem?” She let the idea settle in her mind, surprised by how little it freaked her out. She probably should be considering he was telling her she’d gained not one, but three, mates in the past evening.
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t think you were mine until...”
“The moment I saw you standing with the Reed twins.”
“Oh.”
“It might be something to do with you meeting them. I know that’s how mating one on one works, so maybe it’s the same if there’s more than one mate involved. But that’s not the real issue.”
“What is then?” she asked, taking a chance and placing her hand softly on his leg. If he was her mate, then maybe she could actually offer him some comfort. She liked that idea. And she really didn’t like seeing him quite so worked up about things. It was disturbing to the core.
“You’re not a dragon,” he admitted softly.
“How much of a problem?” It made her nervous to think he might not explore something just because of what she was. And if that was the way all dragons were, then it wasn’t really his fault. Even if it did suck.
“I don’t know.”
“Is it going to change how you want to act around me?” Her voice cracked a little, and she was surprised by the emotion that was lurking there.
“I don’t think so.” He didn’t sound so sure.
“But...”
He turned to her, his dark eyes boring into her and looking pained. She lifted a hand and left it hovering above his cheek. She wanted to touch him. And she wanted to kiss him, to see if there really was anything between them, but something held her back. Or, not back as such, but it was making her particularly nervous.
Drey’s eyes flitted down to her lips, and something clicked inside her. She wasn’t going to know for sure until she actually did something about it.
She leaned forward, almost not believing she was actually doing this. It wasn’t out of character as such, but she just wasn’t normally interested like this. Instead of just being a kiss, whatever this was leading up to felt like more. It was important, she could feel it with all her being.
Slowly, she drew closer to Drey, and hovered with her lips just in front of his. All it would take was another small movement and they’d be touching.
Neither of them moved, their breath mingling between them and enhancing the importance of the moment for Aledwen. She wanted this. She needed some answers. Or more like confirmation really. If there really was something like a mating bond between them, then she’d have the answers anyway. She just needed the confirmation that she was right about that.
Taking a chance, she closed the small gap between them and pressed her lips against his. Within seconds, he was returning the kiss, soft and sensual rather than hot and demanding. Aledwen’s eyes fluttered closed and she let herself got lost in the kiss.
One of Drey’s hands snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She smiled into their kiss. That wasn’t the reaction of someone that wasn’t interested. And from what he was saying, that meant they really were mates. Maybe there’d be some problems to come with that, but she was certain they’d be able to work through them.
She shuffled even closer to him on the sofa, not breaking the kiss as she did. She didn’t want to lose contact with him unless she absolutely had to. The kiss they were sharing really was one to get lost in, and a large part of Aledwen was satisfied by that.
After what seemed like an age, but nowhere near long enough, Drey pulled away, and looked down at her with hooded eyes. There were a few moments of bliss before panic seemed to take over, and he pushed her away.
She slumped back into her seat, a rather unprincess-like position. She hated that he’d just rejected her so casually. Well, not reject, but definitely not accept the kiss they’d just shared.
“Drey?”
“I’m sorry, Dwen. I have to go.” He pushed up from the sofa and strode towards the open balcony doors. Leaving her completely flabbergasted.
“Why?” she demanded, her voice coming out far stronger than she’d expected. Hurt would likely come later, but anger seemed to be her predominant emotion.
“I need to sort some things out.”
“No. You need to sort this out, Drey. This isn’t something to run away from.”
“You think I’m running away from you?” He seemed hurt that she’d even suggest that, but given the current situation, she didn’t think he had a leg to stand on.
“You’re giving off that kind of impression.”
“I’m not, Dwen. I just...have to sort some things out.”
“But won’t say what those things are, or why they suddenly appeared the moment we kissed.” Her voice was almost raised. It would have been, if her royal training wasn’t quite so thorough. That was all there really was standing between her and a shouting match. She wasn’t even sure why it bothered her so much. She barely knew Drey still, there was no way she couldn’t take this one personally.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Of course not.”
“I’m sure there’s fae secrets you can’t tell anyone but your mate,” he pointed out.
“Not really. I’m the princess, I’m not bound by those oaths.” She’d always found that one odd too. Surely she was just as capable of spilling sensitive secrets as any of the other, more common, fae.
“I just can’t yet. I need to sort something out.”
“Fine.” She turned away from him, and walked over to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. While she tried not to, she couldn’t help but hear the faint beat of wings as he left her balcony and flew back to his people.
When he returned, and she had no doubt he would, he’d have some major explaining to do.
Eight
She was still mad at Drey. She’d tried not to be, he probably was telling the truth about having to sort things out. But maybe he should have thought about that before letting her kiss him. She felt like a fool. And no one made her feel like a fool.
Wow, that sounded conceited. Even to herself.
And it wasn’t even quite what she meant. She just didn’t like feeling the way she was right now. Like her kiss had chased a man away. And not just any man, but one who was quite possibly her mate. It was seeming more and more likely with each moment that passed.
Aledwen sighed, and turned back to the book on elvish politics she was trying to read. She was conscious that her meeting with the ambassador from House Paige was coming up, and she didn’t want to seem completely clueless when he showed up.
While she was aware of the customs and Houses of his people, she wasn’t aware of the actual politics. Apparently, the way other political systems work wasn’t important enough to be a part of her education. She added it to the list of things she’d change when she was Queen.
It was pro
bably time to start a list of things she wouldn’t change. It’d probably be shorter.
“Princess?” A vaguely familiar voice drew her attention to the door.
“Yes?” she asked, looking up and not being surprised to discover the elf she was expecting standing in the doorway.
“I was wondering if you were ready for our meeting.” While on the surface, he seemed calm and collected, some kind of vibe he was giving off had her convinced he was nervous. Maybe there was something in the treaty that the fae wouldn’t like.
“Of course, why don’t you take a seat?” She gestured towards the chair on the other side of her table, and closed the book she was reading firmly, sliding it to the side.
“Thank you.”
He moved into the room and pulled out the chair so he could sit on it. He’d come with surprisingly little on him. Just a few sheets of parchment and a pen. It made her feel a little less under prepared. But only a little.
“That’s very dry reading you’ve got,” he said, nodding towards the book. It surprised her. She didn’t think he’d comment on it at all. Or that he’d be the one to open the meeting. Which was possibly unfair of her. She didn’t know him well enough to make judgments like that about him.
“I couldn’t very well come to a meeting unprepared,” she replied, surprised when he returned the smile she gave him. Despite herself, she found herself warming to him a little bit.
“I know how you feel. There’s nothing like being taken totally by surprise.”
“And yet, I suspect that’s exactly what you’re going to be doing within the next half hour,” she joked.
“I’ll try not to.”
Weirdly, she actually believed him. “Aledwen,” she said, holding out her hand.
“Not Princess?”
She shook her head. “I’d rather not, no.”
“Fane, then.” He took her hand in his, and something like magic felt like it was battering against her skin, causing a confused expression to flit across her face before she righted it again.
“Good to meet you properly, Fane.”
“You mean without your mother?” he asked with a fakely innocent look on his face. Aledwen’s jaw dropped. “Sorry, that was out of line,” he added hastily when he noticed her expression.
“It’s okay, I just didn’t expect you to be so blunt about it. Doesn’t make it untrue though.” She hated thinking her mother had created such an impression. And that this was the legacy she’d be inheriting.
“She’s a formidable woman.”
“Yes,” Aledwen admitted, not saying any more as she wanted to shut the conversation down. Without being rude, naturally.
“Did you find anything interesting in your book?” Fane asked, nodding back towards it. She was grateful for him changing the conversation. She’d begun to get uncomfortable.
“Not that I could understand. Your political system seems convoluted.”
“That it is. It almost makes less sense than a monarchy based on the weather,” he quipped.
“I suppose you may have a point there. But the systems are what they are. We can either try to understand that, or not. Personally, I want to understand it. I believe it’ll make me a better ruler when the time comes. And able to forge better relationships with the other paranormals around.”
“Well said,” he acknowledged. “Want to practice now? If there’s anything missing from your elvish knowledge, then I can fill you in.”
“And you’re okay with that?” she checked. She couldn’t forget that ultimately he was here with a treaty, and therefore was automatically placed against her in the agenda they were working towards.
Kind of, anyway. She was sure his aims were similar to hers. That he wanted peace and something useful between their people.
“Yes, I’m okay with that. I feel like I might actually get our people somewhere with you at the helm.”
“You should keep in mind that I don’t have any power to make the final say,” she pointed out, dreading to think what would happen if her mother overturned all of this. It was her prerogative as Queen, but that would mean nothing in Aledwen’s heart.
“I know. But you can certainly argue our case.”
“I can try.” It was all she could really say, there were too many possible variables in play for her to say for definite one way or another.
“Thank you.” He passed her one of the pieces of parchment, and she took it carefully, before pouring over it. Her brows furrowing together as she took in the words there.
“Is this for real?” she asked, shock coming through in her voice.
“Yes, unfortunately so.”
“He realises what this means?” She couldn’t believe what the elvish High Lord was after.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“It could start another fae war.” She knew she was continuing to point out the obvious, but the shock was too much for her to actually handle.
“I feared as much. Is there any way we can avoid it?”
“Not if he wants to marry a fae princess. The summer and winter princesses are married already, and the autumn princess is missing. Which leaves...” It left her. She’d be the fae princess he was after. But that’d cause an imbalance in the fae courts, especially as she’d already reached eighteen.
“No.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I don’t want him to have you.” Fane looked at her with a mixture of admiration and confusion. There was clearly something odd going on.
“That’s very sweet and all, but I guess it isn’t your decision to make.”
She re-read the treaty, dread twisting about in her stomach.
“Maybe not, but it is yours.”
“Yes, it is,” she acknowledged. “And it’s something I can’t go through with. But we need to find a way around that without risking starting some kind of war. I don’t think your High Lord would take kindly to a straight out no.”
“You’re right, I don’t think he would.” Something dark crossed over Fane’s face, and it was so at odds with the rest of how his demeanor had been that she was surprised to say the least.
“How well do you know him?” she asked, suddenly very intrigued.
“Too well. You don’t want to end up with him.”
“I don’t want to end up with anyone I don’t love,” she pointed out.
“You’re not a normal princess, are you?”
“Is there such a thing as normal?” she asked instead of replying normally. She wasn’t even all that sure what he meant by her not being normal. What were princesses supposed to do in this day and age.
He chuckled. “No, I suppose there isn’t. But I suspect even if there was, you’d still break the mold and be different.”
She beamed proudly, that was something at least. And she liked the idea he’d gained that much insight into her already. It said a lot about him too.
“I try. But what can we put in there that stops anything untoward,” she asked, tapping a quill against her lips, and wishing she had a normal pen. Once again, the antiquity of court was just impractical.
“How close are you to being mated?” he asked slowly, his gaze lingering on her lips, before slipping down a little further. He looked back up at her face within seconds though.
“Erm...I’m not sure,” she lied. It was getting a little confusing for her, especially as she was enjoying the attention Fane was paying her almost as much as she had Drey and the twins the day before.
“If you’re close, that could be a way out of it.”
“True, but also a trap. What if he insists on having me, and then I discover my mate? Will he just let me go?”
“I doubt it.”
“And what are the consequences then? I’ve heard it’s particularly hard to deny a mating bond. So I’d either have to sneak around, or go mad with unfulfillment.” Neither of which sounded particularly great to Aledwen. Far from it.
“We could put in that he needs to release you if that happens?” While h
is suggestion was a valid one, it was completely undone by the uneasy look on his face. He didn’t believe what he was saying was possible. Which meant it was probably best they didn’t go down that route.
“How long have we got until he wants the treaty signed?” Aledwen asked.
“He wants it as soon as possible. I think he was hoping your mother would sign it without looking. She has a habit of doing that.”
“Hence why you’re wary of her?”
“Yes. She’s signed away a few things she probably shouldn’t have over the years.” He shifted uneasily in his seat.
“Like?” she prompted, worry filling her.
“I’m not sure I should tell you,” he said.
“Well that statement alone means that you have to.” She narrowed her eyes at him, hoping he’d give in and tell her.
“I’m not completely sure about this, but I think there was a treaty that signed away some magic at one point.”
A lead weight dropped in Aledwen’s stomach. Magic. Her mother had signed away magic. If the other Queens found out about that, then there would be a price to pay. And Aledwen was pretty sure it’d be a steep one. Maybe even her mother’s life. “Are you sure?” she asked.
“No. I’ve not seen it, there’s just rumours about it. Hard to tell if they’re true. A lot of the previous ambassadors have been highly swayable at best, completely corrupt at worst.”
“That sounds...concerning.”
“Oh definitely. One of them even made a deal with a rogue necromancer at one point. It caused absolute havoc within the community.”
“It sounds like it.” She sat back in her seat, pondering the consequences of a necromancer having free rein anywhere. She’d heard that after a recent shake up, there were fewer rogue ones than there had been, but they also had no structure at the moment, and no one to hold the bad ones accountable.
Worrying to say the least.
“Yes,” Fane acknowledged.
“What would he do with the magic he gained?” she asked.
“I’ve no idea. There should be no reason he can use it. I’m pretty sure only the fae can use fae magic.”
“That’s my understanding yes. At least, I’ve never heard of a non-fae being able to use our magic.” She thought for a moment. That wasn’t quite true. There was one non-fae who could use it, but she was pretty sure there was more to that situation that most people realised.
Chasing Aledwen: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Novel (Fated Seasons: Spring Book 1) Page 5