“Sorry, your majesty,” Rose nodded her head demurely, and completely at odds with the earlier more laid-back version of herself.
“What brings you here Lady Eira?” the Queen asked.
“I came for a party,” Eira answered, the irony of how little fun she was having not lost on her. She’d have to remember to take it up with Leth later. And to say no next time he invited her to visit his home.
“Yes, apparently so. But then, why did my son seem to think bringing someone that reeked of winter in front of me was a good idea?” the Queen asked, her lips curving up into a self-satisfied smile. Rueben took a step forward, but Josh held out an arm to stop him, shaking his head to drive the point home.
“Because he loves me, I’m his mate, he has no choice. Take your pick really.”
Eira shrugged. Maybe winding up a reigning Queen was a terrible idea, or at least it was if Leth’s hiss behind her was anything to go by. But she refused to let anyone talk about her men like that. After all, they wouldn’t let anyone talk about her that way, it was only right that she protected them too.
“How dare you!” The Queen’s veneer of calm slipped slightly, and an angry look crossed her face. While inside she was twisted up in knots, Eira was determined not to let her discomfort show. She couldn’t, not with what felt like her life at stake. That was probably a little dramatic, but she was facing off with a powerful woman. And one she wouldn’t be able to use her own magic against. Good job she had Josh’s too then.
“No, your majesty, how dare you. It isn’t up to you who your son mates with. It’s not even up to him, it’s up to whatever higher power sodding well decides these things. Leth is mine, and I am his, you’d better get used to that.”
The older woman’s rapid breathing said all that her words didn’t. She was particularly unimpressed with Eira’s words. Well, that was fine by her. Not waiting for a response, she spun on her heels and stormed from the room, leaving the others to trail behind her.
While she wasn’t about to admit it to anyone, her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest, and she was feeling slightly sick. She wasn’t used to being so forceful, and if she was honest, she didn’t really like it. That wasn’t the kind of person she was, nor was it the kind of person that she wanted to be.
“Woah, Eira,” Rueben said, catching her as she almost stormed into a wall. “You’re okay, we’re here,” he murmured the words into her ear as he pulled her back against his firm chest. She relaxed slightly at his touch, relieved to see that Leth and Josh had followed too, though Rose had stayed behind, probably to do damage control. For the first time, Eira regretted her choice of words slightly. She’d maybe pushed a little too far, she just hoped it’d be fixable for the Princess.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t—”
“It’s fine, E. She pushed your buttons, we know that. We’d have done the same.”
She met Leth’s gaze, trying to work out from his eyes if he agreed with Josh. But he stayed silent, warring emotions flitting over his face in quick succession. At a loss for what to say or do, she loosened Rueben’s hold on her, and moved towards her fae mate, circling his waist with her arms, and pulling him close, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s okay,” he replied, but she wasn’t convinced. She looked up at him to see the same conflicting emotions on his face, but said nothing. Leth sighed. “It really is okay. Not ideal, but you haven’t ruined anything that wasn’t already bad.”
Eira frowned, not liking the sound of that one little bit. “Will there be any consequences?” she asked, already scared to know the answer.
“Quite possibly, but given what she’s already doing—”
“You mean the frosts?” She gave him a stern look, and his expression finally cleared, giving way to sheepishness.
“Yes. When did you figure it out?”
“Breakfast the other day. I didn’t know for sure until she said winter with such disdain, but she was top of the suspect list anyway,” she admitted. Leth’s frown broke and a small smile replaced it.
“And there’s one of the many reasons I love you,” he murmured, his eyes flicking to her lips. She could get on board with that, and leaned in to press her lips against his.
“But you should have told me,” she said as sternly as she could manage once the kiss had ended.
“I couldn’t, Frostie.” Instead of annoying her, this time the return of his nickname for her settled her mind. He couldn’t be that mad at her if he was using it after all.
“You’ll have to explain all the rules to me at some point.” She sighed, thinking of all the ones she’d encountered so far, and realising that none of them actually seemed to make any sense. It was if the fae wanted people to run afoul of their rules.
“I have a question,” Josh interrupted the moment, and the two of them turned to look at him. “Where was the Spring Princess?”
Eira frowned at him, thinking back over the events of the evening. He had a point. She’d met Summer and Winter, and with Autumn M.I.A., or rather at university with Izzy, it did leave Spring unaccounted for.
“Aledwen?” Leth asked.
“If that’s the name of the Princess, then yes,” Rueben grumbled. “But we wouldn’t know, the rest of us aren’t fae.” He gave Leth a pointed look. Surprising Eira, Leth looked at least a little abashed.
“Yes, that’s the Princess. I can’t tell you exactly where she is, but the Fae Queen of Spring is a little overprotective. I think I’ve met Aledwen a grand total of once, when she was maybe seven or eight? I’m not so sure, she was younger than I was and didn’t interest me. She’ll be having a ball we can go to alongside the Birth.” Leth took a deep breath, seemingly his first while speaking.
“Birth?” Josh raised an eyebrow. She was grateful he’d asked, she had no idea what Leth was on about.
“Of Spring. It’s a tradition, like the frosts coming, the leaves turning or the summer equinox.”
“Hate to break this to you, but I’m not coming to one of these again,” Eira said, moving away from Leth’s arms and resting her hands on her hips. “Now take me home.”
“With pleasure.” Leth drew his magic even before he’d finished speaking, and a door appeared before them. “After you,” he said, opening the door and holding it open for her. She nodded weakly, noticing the looks of relief on both Rueben and Josh’s face. Guess it’d been a long day for all of them.
Eira yawned. Damn, there went any chance of being distracted again.
Nineteen
Eira stretched awake, her muscles surprisingly sore from all the dancing. And from the sex. She couldn’t forget she’d done that the night before too. Though it was kind of easy to given all that had happened. She couldn’t say she’d ever faced off against an angry Mother-in-law before, never mind one that seemed to control a quarter of the year’s weather. Eurgh. Why had she thought about that? If she hadn’t, she could have stayed in denial, but facing that meant accepting that some of her word choices hadn’t been the greatest.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” Josh said, pushing through her bedroom door with a steamy cup of coffee and a plate of what smelled like toasted goods. Which were definitely welcome. She was feeling the effects of the night before. It almost felt as if she’d drunk her weight in cheap vodka and then some. Maybe it’d been the fae travel? She’d have to ask Leth if that was a common occurrence. If he said yes, then she’d quickly be informing him that t wasn’t something she’d ever be doing again.
“Mmm,” she murmured into her pillow.
“I brought you breakfast, E. Then there’s something we want to talk to you about,” he seemed nervous, and she wasn’t really sure why, but it was enough to have her sitting up. “Well, that got your attention.” He took a seat on the side of her bed, next to where she’d propped herself up.
“Call it curiosity,” she said sleepily, taking the coffee from him and taking a sip, delighted to discover it was the
perfect temperature. She wondered if he’d done that on purpose. The satisfied grin on his face made her think he had. “How long have you been doing it?”
“Doing what?” His smile turned slightly cheeky.
“Making my coffee the perfect temperature,” she stated, trying to keep a straight face as if she was mad at him, when really, she just thought it was kind of sweet. It was the little things like that she should have picked up on before. Then she’d have known how he truly felt and maybe they could have avoided the past few years. Then again, maybe not. Without meeting Rueben and Leth, Josh still wouldn’t have been able to touch her after all. It kind of made sense in a somewhat cruel way.
“Erm...”
“Years, isn’t it?”
He nodded sheepishly, and her serious expression broke, a laugh bubbling out of her and filling the room.
“You’re not mad?”
“Of course not. You’ve been looking after me for years, how could I be mad?”
“I don’t know if you were in the same room I was last night, but you seemed to get pretty angry then. It’s not unreasonable to think you would be now,” he pointed out, though she didn’t think he really believed that.
“I was angry because of how she spoke about you,” she admitted, refusing to meet his eyes and taking another sip of her coffee instead. It was easier to do that than to accept that she may have over reacted.
“I figured, you were calm before that. Now come talk to us all, and I’ll give you the bagel.” He waved the plate under her nose, and Eira’s mouth began to water.
“Where did you even get one from? I haven’t been food shopping in days.” She was a little ashamed of how swept up she’d gotten in events and that she’d neglected necessary tasks like stocking up her fridge. At least she’d remembered to shower.
“I may have kept a steady supply after that time when you—”
“Josh!” she half-shouted before he could continue the story. She knew Rueben would definitely be able to hear from the next room, and no doubt Leth would be able to as well. She didn’t want them knowing about the time her PMS had been so bad she’d spent two hours crying because she didn’t have any bagels. It was a perfectly valid reason to cry if anyone asked her, but most people would disagree.
“Sorry.” He smirked. Not sorry then.
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” She hid her face in her hands, but really secretly loved that he’d been that thoughtful. Then again, it was probably for his own protection more than anything else.
“No, but it also means you won’t run out of bagels for the rest of your life.”
“Hmm, that does sound good. Are you going to give it to me now?” She fluttered her eyelashes in a way that she hoped made her look innocent. Josh chuckled.
“I don’t know, making you wait sounds kind of fun.” He stood up, and left her sitting on the bed alone. Groaning in frustration, she swung her around and placed her feet on the floor. When she got hold of the witch, he was going to regret denying her food.
She padded through to her living area, where she wasn’t surprised to find all three of them waiting for her, though she was slightly taken aback by the intense game of chess that seemed to be going on between Leth and Rueben. She wished she knew enough to be able to tell who was winning.
“Have you slept at all?” she demanded of them.
“Yes, we took it in turns,” Leth answered, knocking one of Rueben’s pieces off the board.
“We’re fine, E,” Josh said, handing her the plate with the bagel he’d cruelly been blackmailing her with on it.
“Thank you,” she said, taking a big bite of the cinnamon-y goodness. Yes, that was one of the three who could stay around for the rest of her life. All he had to do was ply her with baked goods and she’d be happy.
“Have fun without us, sleeping beauty?” Leth grinned at her, and she glared. Whatever he was insinuating, she didn’t like it.
“It’s your own fault I’m tired. I wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for your stupid ball,” she muttered, taking another bite of her bagel while continuing to glare at him.
“I wasn’t the one giving you one against a wall,” he retorted.
“Here,” she shoved the now empty plate at Josh before pushing up her imaginary sleeves as Leth laughed and Rueben tried to smother a smile.
“You’ve done it now Leth,” Josh said, sniggering to Eira’s left.
“Bring it on Frostie.”
Focusing inwards, she pulled her ice to the surface, getting ready to unleash it on him, even knowing it’d just melt by the time it got to him. She gave him a cocky smile, and he grinned broadly in return, clearly realising she was just playing really.
Knowing it wouldn’t do him any damage at all, Eira unleashed everything she had, a chill that even she felt filling the room briefly, along with a bright flash of white, though at least this time there wasn’t snow everywhere. She was controlling her magic, and not letting her emotions run riot like before.
She stopped casting, and stared in complete shock. “Shit.” She rushed over the Leth’s side, touching him softly, but knowing that it wouldn’t make a difference. Not when she’d actually managed to freeze him. “Leth, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She continued muttering, even as Rueben pulled her away from him and into his arms, wrapping her up in a hug that she wished could make her feel better.
“It’s okay, E, he’ll be fine,” Josh said, placing one of his hands on Leth’s shoulder, his green sparks beginning to spread all over the fae’s body. Josh frowned in concentration, leaving Eira to look on, ridiculously worried about what she’d done, and barely able to hold back the tears.
A soft orange glow came from Leth, and the frost melted, dripping into a puddle on the floor before Josh could make it disappear. He looked around the room, a little bewildered, before catching Eira’s gaze and bursting into a fit of laughter.
“Bloody hell, Frostie, how long have you been able to do that?” he asked once his laughter had subsided. Maybe she’d broken something in his head when she’d frozen him. It was the only thing Eira could think of that could cause the reaction he seemed to be having. Either that or fae were just a little crazy anyway. Yes. She’d go with the latter explanation, it was consistent with just about everything she’d discovered the day before. She opened and closed her mouth, looking for the right words to say to him, and finding none.
“I think she’s trying to say it’s never happened before,” Josh supplied. She glared at him, unamused by his response.
“You’ve always melted it before,” she whined, and Rueben hugged her closer, stroking a hand up and down her arm.
“I tried this time, it just didn’t work.”
“But why?” she whined again.
“My guess is something changed inside you,” Rueben said. Eira pulled back from him slightly so that she could meet his eyes, then looked around at the other two.
“If one of you has got me pregnant, I will kill you.”
“Not quite what I meant, but close.” His chuckle vibrated through her, having an annoyingly relaxing effect. She was never going to be able to convince them she was serious if they could have this effect without even doing anything.
“So…” she prompted after he didn’t say anything.
“I’m guessing it’s because you sealed the bond with us all. But without knowing more about multiple matings, I don’t know for sure.”
“Huh.” She frowned, she hadn’t thought about that. It would make sense that mating bonds made individual paranormals stronger. Which also made it make sense that she’d be strongest after sealing all three of them.
“Do you think you could make the frosts come now?” Josh asked.
“I don’t know, I guess I can try.”
He nodded in response, and Eira untangled herself from Rueben’s arms, moving to stand in the middle of the room. She closed her eyes and focused inwards, trying to pull the frosts through her and out into the world, like s
he’d done every other year since she’d turned eighteen and it’d become her job.
“Are you going to start?” Rueben asked. She opened her eyes to look at him, and noticed the amused expression on Leth’s face, and the confused one on Josh’s.
“I had done, but you interrupted.”
“What? There’s no ceremony?” Josh seemed surprised, though she wasn’t sure why.
“Of course not, it’s the weather, not a sacrifice.”
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“It’s fine, now shh, let me finish.” She closed her eyes again, trying to call the frosts through her again. And again. And again. Each and every time, it felt as if the frosts were battering against a wall that was impossible to break. Clearly her personal magic was fine, it was just the frosts themselves that couldn’t get out. Like trying to drink through a straw packed with ice. Something got through, but not the bit that was needed.
“It’s not working, is it?” Leth asked softly. She opened her eyes to find that the three of them had moved, each standing within touching distance.
Already worn out from trying, she dropped down onto her worn sofa, pushing her head into her hands. “No. They’re blocked.”
Josh perched on the coffee table in front of her, but didn’t touch her, much to Eira’s disappointment.
“I think I have an idea,” Rueben said.
“To unblock them?”
“Yes, it’s what we were talking about yesterday.” She looked up to find him exchanging looks with Josh and Leth. She perked up a bit, this was starting to sound a little promising.
“Are you going to tell her?” Leth smirked and Rueben rolled his eyes.
“Well if the three of us individually have the effect we did, what about the three of us together?” Rueben’s eyes met hers and she could see heat blazing in them.
“Are you suggesting…”
“Yes,” Rueben said, a knowing smirk pulling up his lips. Shivers went through Eira as she considered what he was saying.
Saving Eira (Fated Seasons Book 1) Page 12