Once Upon a Fairy tale: A Collection of 11 Fairy Tale Inspired Romances

by Danielle Monsch, Cate Rowan, Jennifer Lewis, Jeannie Lin, Nadia Lee, Dee Carney

  Her best option was to leave him for this night. “I’ll leave you to your sleep. I need to think on this. Perhaps I’ll see you in dreams tomorrow night.”

  Lust made his eyes sharper, more intense. “I look forward to it, Princess.”

  “As do I,” she replied. For the first time since Koschei had taken her, she actually did look forward to the next night.

  *

  Ivan slept like the dead and woke refreshed and ready to go. He wanted to leave before most of the court was up and about. He had no desire to see the queen before he left. He had a suspicion she would try to find a way to delay him, and given what he’d learned last night, there was no chance of that. He had a new purpose. In addition to retrieving the gods-damned bird for his father, he would save Vasalisa.

  He updated his father on his progress and packed his things. The trunk with his court apparel would stay here with Yuri. It was mystically locked, but there wasn’t anything of consequence. He wasn’t taking a pack animal or a cart. He’d travel with what he could take in his saddlebags and be damned. He’d endured worse conditions.

  Yuri told him Stribog or one of the others would distract the queen enough that he could clear the gates of the palace before she noticed. Once he left the palace grounds, the safe passage visa would kick in and the queen would not be able to revoke it without reason. And that reason would have to be acknowledged by her council, which she hadn’t bothered to convene since she’d taken the throne.

  It was unlikely, in the event she did call them, the council would be sympathetic to her desire to revoke the visa. Her own actions as queen protected him from her once he cleared the palace wall.

  Whatever the situation, he left astride Merrioc, his saddle bags laden for the trip.

  He breathed more easily in the open fields outside the walls, and more easily yet once he was out of sight of the palace. The sun shone and he fell into the rhythm of Merrioc’s gait. It was a good start to the day.

  The monotony of it allowed Ivan to consider everything. He turned the information over in his brain, examining options.

  The goals were clear, set by his father and by fate. Fate that placed the princess in the same place as the firebird. Fate that gave him two quests with the same path.

  As he saw it, there were three options. The first was to negotiate with Koschei and hope he could bargain for both bird and princess. On the one hand, it was clear Koschei would negotiate under some circumstances, since he had done so to procure the carrion ooze and the princess. On the other hand, the price for both prizes would be very high, and it wasn’t clear it would be something he could—or would—pay.

  The second option was to determine how Marya Morevna had drained powers from the Deathless and held him prisoner. Clearly she had denied him food and water, so he regenerated his power from those things, just like the rest of the sidhe. If he could drain the sorcerer, he could free the princess and acquire the firebird. It wouldn’t solve the larger problem of Koschei, but it would allow them to work on figuring out how to kill him.

  Which brought him to the final option: kill Koschei outright. It was the most appealing of the options, since it gained him everything and fixed myriad other problems at the same time. Removing Koschei from the equation would put him in a position of power over the Rus, both because he dispatched a major threat and because he saved the princess. Yes, that was definitely his favorite option. Unfortunately, it was also the most difficult. It wasn’t clear how the Deathless could be killed, and the only method he knew to find that information involved a visit to Baba Yaga, something he wanted to avoid. Even if he could find a way to kill Koschei, doing so wasn’t likely to be easy, and carried the inherent risk of death for everyone involved. He’d much rather live a long and fruitful life.

  The princess pulled at him, though, and he found he was less sanguine about leaving her to Koschei than he perhaps should have been.

  It wasn’t that she was beautiful, though she was certainly lovely. Instead, it was the spine and the fierce will he’d seen in the first dream that drew him. She wouldn’t be some shallow puppet queen on the throne of the Rus. She would lead her people with grit and honor. He didn’t know why he was so certain of her honor, but he was.

  So, perhaps his options weren’t quite what he thought they were. If there was a chance he would bargain with his life for the princess, then bargaining was a poor strategy. Which was fine with him, since fighting was more his way.

  But how do you fight something that won’t die?

  He turned it over, looking at it from every angle.

  At mid-day he stopped to let the horse rest and graze for a bit, taking the opportunity to eat his own food. The problem of how to attack the Deathless seemed unsolvable. He would dearly love access to his father’s library and the tomes and scrolls in it.

  He couldn’t do that, but he could ask his father to have scholars look into it. They might unearth something that could help.

  Ivan dug out the bespelled mirror and sat with his back to a tree. It didn’t take long to get his father’s attention.

  “Well, boy?”

  If anyone else called him that, it would be insulting. But his father’s jovial use made it a term of affection.

  “I’m away from the palace. I should reach the Skazhka Wood early tomorrow, maybe this evening.”

  “And the queen?”

  Ivan grinned. “I haven’t seen her today.”

  Yddris grinned back. “Good, good.”

  “I have something else. You know that I must deal with the Deathless to complete this quest. It would be extremely helpful if I could make him not Deathless.”

  Yddris frowned. “Is there no way to avoid facing him?”

  “Oh, I’m going to try my best not to face him. I don’t relish the thought of going up against anything I cannot kill by magic or sword.”

  “Is it just magic or sword that can’t kill him?”

  Ivan shook his head. “No, evidently he was held captive for a while and they tried to kill him but were unable to do so. They were, however, able to drain his magic and hold him powerless for a while. That would be just as good for our purposes.”

  Yddris grunted, stroking his beard. “I will have the scholars see what they can find.”

  “I have his name, but I cannot say it aloud because one of his magics is to hear it when it is used.”

  “Hm. Does that extend to writing?”

  “I don’t know. I could break the name and write it that way. Give it to you in two pieces that are backwards from how they should be put together. If his name has power, the scholars might find it useful.”

  “Yes, that’s a good idea.”

  After he’d transmitted Koschei’s name, he bid his father farewell and put the mirror away. He cleaned up the debris of the stop, vanishing it, then readied Merrioc to ride. If they made good time, he could camp at the edge of Skazhka Wood tonight and get an early start in the morning.

  Chapter Five

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  The light was a dim glow on the eastern horizon when he woke. He’d camped at the edge of the wood the night before, but it had been so dark when he’d set up camp he hadn’t been able to see more than a few feet from the illumination orb.

  This morning, though, he could see it just fine, and he didn’t feel particularly reassured. The immense, thick-trunked trees formed a solid wall. No saplings to ease the traveler into the forest, but a clear delineation between field and wood. The shadows were so dense he couldn’t see past the first few yards where the path entered the wood. The trees in this forest were old and gnarled, infused with magic. In his experience, enchanted forests this old came in one of only a few types. There were the ones he thought of as fairy woodlands, with open space and dappled light and mostly fair woodland folk. Nothing to worry about in a wood like that. This wasn’t that type of enchanted forest, though. No, this was the kind of enchanted forest with old magic that fed dangerous beasts and forest lords.

  He b
lew out a breath and guttered the fire, laying earth over it to ensure it was completely doused. After packing everything away, Ivan saddled Merrioc and mounted up. He took another look at the path ahead. Fortunately, with an early start he should only have to spend one night in the forest.

  Merrioc snorted and pranced, making his opinion clear. He didn’t like the look of the forest, either. Ivan put a firm hand on the reins and guided the stallion onto the path.

  Under the trees, the air was cool and still, the light dimmed by the thick canopy. The scent of decaying leaves mixed with the green of growing things and the sharp smell of magic.

  He kept alert, watching the sides of the path and glancing overhead and behind. It paid to be vigilant.

  It was early when the dark began to creep in, the shadows lengthening. He was tired from the long ride the day before and the intense level of attention today’s ride required. He didn’t want to be caught without the proper protections at full dark when the most dangerous predators came out to hunt. Time to find a place for the night.

  It took some time to find the spot he wanted. Leaving Merrioc to browse in the protected hollow, he gathered firewood and started the fire. Merrioc didn’t like it, but the fire was the best way to keep predators away.

  As an added measure, Ivan put up a basic protective circle, which would provide an alarm and keep most animals out.

  He didn’t have time to hunt, so he ate from his store of travel provisions. Afterwards, he sat beside the fire, letting his body settle from the day. He honed the edge of the sword in the firelight. Eventually the repetitive motion lulled him into a more relaxed state of mind.

  Leaving the sword unsheathed, Ivan settled to sleep under his cloak. He breathed in deeply and listened, learning the smells and sounds. Any change would wake him.

  He drifted off wondering if Vasalisa would visit his dreams this night.

  *

  “Hello, Prince.” Tonight he was again bare-chested, revealing the runes that haunted her in her waking hours, but he wore the thin, soft leather pants sidhe warriors often donned under open-backed greaves. They were laced over his groin, emphasizing the bulge there. It made her want to pick at the laces. She forced her attention back to his face.

  “Hello, Princess.”

  She smiled at him. “Does it strike you as odd that two royal heirs meet in dreams?”

  His answering smile moved something in her chest. She might have said it was her heart if that wouldn’t be so ill-advised.

  “The burden of royalty is to serve the needs of our people.”

  “Well said,” she murmured. That was exactly right. It was a lesson of royalty that Alina had never understood, and the reason sidhe like her father’s advisor Stribog never wanted to rule. The human tales of fairy princesses focused on the magic and the benefits. They never mentioned the pain and the work and the loneliness of ruling well.

  “I do not wish to presume too much, Princess, but I don’t want to spend our time here discussing our respective courts, court politics, or anything of that nature. Is it too much to ask to spend this dream only with each other?”

  “You are very direct,” she said, unsurprised to hear the breathiness of her own voice.

  “Neither of us has the luxury of time. You could be taken from me at any moment. I can’t do anything to protect you.”

  “And you face danger on your quest,” she murmured.

  He smiled at her. “I think my position is far less precarious than yours right now. How long before Koschei decides to torment you again?”

  She looked away. She tried very hard not to think ahead too far. Unwilling to answer him, she shrugged.

  “That’s what I thought,” he murmured, reaching out to brush her cheek with his fingertips.

  She braced herself against the shock, but this time it wasn’t the staggering electricity, it was a soothing warmth. The heat from his fingertips warmed her skin, her blood, her body. She felt cocooned in soft power. Frowning, she looked up at him. “What is this?”

  “I don’t know, Princess.” Ivan looked down at her with eyes a little blurred. It made her wonder if he felt the same thing she felt. “Every time we touch there is magic, but the magic changes. It makes me wonder how it will feel every time my flesh touches yours. It makes me wonder what it will feel like if more of my flesh touches yours.”

  That was beyond direct, but Vasalisa found she didn’t mind. She wondered the same thing.

  His hand shifted so his palm cupped her jaw. She tilted her head so her face rested in his hand. The warmth grew, filling every bit of her with that safe, soft haze. It confused her, making her want to just float with the sensation though she knew it was dangerous. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why it was dangerous, but her instincts were clear. She just couldn’t seem to care.

  He tipped her chin up, lowering his face toward hers. She knew what was coming, and she wanted it to happen. She wanted to feel his lips on hers, wanted to find out what would happen. She found herself wondering how he would taste.

  Then he was there, his firm lips pressing gently to hers. He didn’t rush, but took long moments to coax her response from her.

  Vasalisa hadn’t been kissed in a very long time, and never like this. She sank into the sweet seduction of it, allowing her body to sway toward his, lifting her hands to rest them on his chest.

  He slid his hand down her throat, his thumb resting against the pulse at the base and his fingers running over the join of her neck and shoulder.

  There was something possessive in that light pressure, something that spoke of an intimacy they hadn’t yet achieved.

  Her lips parted, but he didn’t take advantage immediately. Instead, he laved her lower lip with his tongue, spreading heat like a balm. She moved her hands up to grip his shoulders and opened her mouth a bit wider in invitation.

  Finally, finally, he slid his tongue alongside hers and the cold mint and man taste of him flooded her mouth. It was like the ice wine her father had traded for from the Evenki: potent and sweet at in the same tasted. Her legs seemed to lose the ability to hold her upright and she sagged into him. Her breasts pressed into the flat planes of his chest, her nipples contracting to tight points at the contact. The leather of his pants caught the thin material of her shift and created a delicious, light friction against her thighs.

  His thumb swept across the hollow of her throat, a light pressure that both aroused and alarmed. Her pulse was beating much too fast, and her thoughts were drifting away. That seemed like it should be important, but she didn’t care just now. All that mattered right now was the heat of his body against hers, the sweet-cold taste of his kiss.

  Her fingers clenched into his shoulders before releasing. She hadn’t been able to really touch the last time they’d been together, and she wanted to do that now. She let her hands move down over his collar bones, along the sides of his chest and over his ribs until the rested along his hip bones at the waist of the pants. She loved the way his skin felt smooth and soft over the hard muscle and bone. Her fingertips slid under the edge of the leather pants, tracing the curves of his hip bones.

  His heart thudded heavily against her. He was as affected as she by this light, exploratory kiss.

  He pulled back, his hands moving to cup her shoulders. Looking directly into her eyes, he licked his lips. “You taste of sunlight and apples.”

  She blinked. “You taste of mint and ice.”

  His lips quirked. “Together I think we make dessert.”

  She gave him an answering smile. “Fire and ice and minted apples?”

  “I want another taste,” he murmured.

  “Yes,” she agreed, her fingers tightening on his hips.

  Ivan hesitated a moment, studying her face. “You know I’m not going to stop at a kiss. If you don’t want more than a kiss, you need to tell me now.”

  She licked her lips, and his eyes followed the movement. “I don’t want to stop at a kiss.”

  The pale blue of h
is eyes went sharp. “How much more, Princess? How much more are you willing to give me?”

  Oh, he asked too much. She didn’t know what she would give him, and she wasn’t going to tell him how much he could take. “That is yet to be determined, Prince. Kiss me and find out.”

  This time his lips were demanding, the kiss going deeper, faster. His hands dropped, one to her waist and one in the center of her back, pulling her more firmly against him.

  Heat, pleasure, and something perilously close to joy, spun out inside her. She answered the kiss with hunger and heat of her own, matching him demand for demand.

  This time when he broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard, and his pupils were dilated with arousal. The pulse of his cock behind the lacings of his pants beat into her belly, echoing the deep throbbing in her core. How had they gone so far with just a kiss?

  They stared at each other. She was stunned by the power in their kiss. Her body yearned toward his, her hips pressing forward. Everything in her body wanted a connection to him. Shaken by her intense desire to cement a bond between them, Vasalisa sucked in a breath, bracing for him to take a step away from him.

  Instead, his mouth was on hers again, devouring and demanding. She gave it back to him, eager for more of his taste.

  His hands moved, dropping to cup her ass through the thin material of her shift, gripping and kneading. The motion pressed her hips upward, lifting her onto her toes to align them more closely.

  She lost all interest in keeping a distance between them. She lifted her arms, twining them around his neck, and she lifted one leg, sliding it behind his, grinding into him.

  He grunted, lifting her off the ground so she could wind her legs around his waist, seating her along the ridge of his cock.

  They both groaned in relief, and Vasalisa canted her hips so he settled into place perfectly. If not for the clothes, he’d have been inside her.

  His grip on her never wavered as he dropped to his knees. He released her ass and put his hands down to guide them gently to the floor.