by Quinn Loftis
He answered her question with a question. Cyn hated when people did that. He took a step toward her.
“Surely an alliance between two races as powerful as ours is a subject of the utmost importance, requiring the attention of someone with decision-making authority. Are you upset with me because I didn’t tell you I was the prince?”
Cyn considered his question and then answered him honestly. “No, I’m not upset with you. You have every right to keep your identity to yourself. I’m irritated with myself for letting my emotions control my actions.”
Thalion’s eyes narrowed, and she felt the weight of his attention. Cyn forced herself to keep from squirming under his intense scrutiny.
“What emotions? What do you mean?”
His voice wrapped around her causing a shiver to run down her spine.
Cyn cleared her throat as she took a side step, keeping a healthy distance between them. “I won’t waste your time, Prince,” she responded, ignoring the question. “Have you an answer for the council?”
“Thalion,” he said as he took another step closer.
“What?” she replied, her eyes mesmerized by the way his body moved.
“I don’t want you to call me prince. I want you to call me Thalion,” he said smoothly, taking yet another step toward her. “For future reference, nothing you could ever say would be a waste of my time. I can think of nothing I would rather do than listen to your sweet voice.”
Cyn felt the air rush from her lungs as his fingers touched her under her chin. She hadn’t even realized she’d dropped her head until he was slowly raising it. His touch was warm, and she could feel it all the way to her toes. Warmth spread throughout her body, and she was sure he would be able to see the flush in her skin. Damn these emotions. She finally let her eyes meet his own. He was well over a foot taller than her five-foot-nothing height, and his shoulders were twice as broad as her own. Standing this close to her, Thalion effectively blocked out everything around them and all she could see was him. She was pretty sure that had been his intention when he moved into her space.
“It would be inappropriate for me to address you by anything other than your formal title, Prince,” she said, forcing calmness into her voice so that it did not come out in a breathy mess. “And my emotions are not what are important. The high fae council would like your answer.” There, that didn’t sound like a female about to faint from the sheer lust rolling off of the male in front of her.
Something inside of her was screaming at her to run—to run far and fast from the man in front of her. The man made her feel something she’d never felt before, and he seemed to somehow know the effect he was having on her. But instead, she stood her ground and waited for his answer. She wasn’t about to admit to him that he made her feel cold and hot at the same time, that he made her needy and breathless. He made her feel safe, yet completely vulnerable.
“Cyn,” he said softly, her name practically a prayer on his full lips.
She didn’t know how she responded. Cyn couldn’t hear anything but the blood rushing through her ears as the prince of the elves took yet another step closer. She barely noticed her feet backing away until she felt the hard bark of a tree. There was nowhere left for her to retreat. In battle that meant two things: surrender or die. Neither of those things seemed like very good options.
“No.”
Her brow furrowed as she stared up at him. “What?”
“My answer is no,” he said, his voice only barely above a whisper. “I cannot commit my people to fight battles that are not their own.”
She wanted to be upset by his answer, but she was too focused on his firm body, which was now pressing into hers. How had he gotten that close? But those thoughts were fleeting because not only was his body pressed to hers, his hand was now on her waist. She felt his fingers flex against her. She fought the urge to close her eyes and savor the closeness, knowing it was completely inappropriate. But it was a battle she was going to lose quickly if she didn’t get away from his touch.
“The high fae council is waiting to hear back from me,” she said, hoping he would get the message and back away. He didn’t. She didn’t want to flash while she was touching him because he would be flashed with her, and that was not something Cyn wanted. That’s what she kept telling herself anyway.
“Then perhaps you should be going,” Thalion said in a low, velvety voice that had Cyn’s insides purring like a contented cat.
The tone in his voice and the look in his eyes told Cyn that he understood if she flashed while he was touching her, he would be going with her. Damn prince, she growled in her mind. Thalion was rattling her, and from the smirk on his too handsome face, he knew that as well.
“I need you to step away,” Cyn told him, keeping her eyes on his.
“And if I do not?” Thalion asked.
Attempting nonchalance, Cyn shrugged. “I suppose you will find out what Perizada thinks about having an elf prince in her home.” Cyn would report directly to Peri. The younger fae rarely faced the whole council, a fact for which she was grateful. She didn’t particularly like Alston, or Lorelle, who just happened to be Peri’s sister.
Something flashed in his eyes, but it was gone before Cyn could put a name to it. His hands began to slip away, but before they left her waist completely, Thalion leaned forward and pressed his mouth close to her ear. Her body froze as she felt the heat from his breath on her skin.
“I will see you again, Cyn … soon.” His lips pressed softly against her cheek before he finally took a step away, dropping his hands to his side.
Cyn didn’t think. She flashed before she could throw herself into his arms and beg him to put his lips back upon her body. She was shaking, and her lungs didn’t want to expand enough for her to get a deep breath. Cyn knew she couldn’t show up in front of Peri that way. She had to pull herself together. Instead of appearing in Peri’s home, she arrived just outside the fae veil in the human realm. Cyn paced the forest floor, shaking her hands at her side as she attempted to gather herself. She couldn’t remember a time in her existence where she’d been so flustered over a male.
Sure, there’d been fae men that she’d dabbled with over the centuries, but nothing serious and no one that had made her feel the way Thalion had.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Peri’s voice drew her back to the present. “You mean to tell me you were having an emotional breakdown slash epiphany and didn’t let me watch?”
“That sounds disturbingly like something Jen would say,” Alina quipped.
“I was created way before that little hussy. She acts like me, not the other way around.”
“By all means, let’s make sure we know who was a pervert first,” the Alpha female laughed.
“Just keeping it real, wolf-queen.” Peri turned back to Cyn. “Now, why didn’t you come talk to me?”
“I was confused,” Cyn answered. “I’d never experienced anything like that, and I honestly didn’t know how to feel about it. He’s an elf. I’m a fae. The mixing of races is still taboo. Back then it was unheard of.”
Peri waved her hand as if swatting a fly away. “Fine, I get it. Now keep moving forward. He said he would see you again. When was your next encounter with the prince?”
“Well,” Cyn said as she thought back to her third encounter with Thalion. “It was a dark and stormy night…”
Peri threw her hands up as she scoffed, “Oh come on!”
Chapter 6
“You’ve captured me. My mind, body, and soul are yours. You hold power over me, and your wish is my command. You do not know it yet, but there is nothing I wouldn’t do for you. One day, you will be mine.” ~ Thalion
“You have to leave them wanting,” Reeve said, his voice sounding weaker than it had been when Thalion had arrived at the elf’s house earlier that morning. “You didn’t even taste her lips nor allow her to taste yours. I’m curious now to see what your next meeting with the lovely Cyn was like. Did she even remember you after such an
anticlimactic goodbye?”
“Please, friend, do not hold back. Tell me what you really think about my inability to woo the opposite sex,” Thalion said as he leaned back in the chair and propped his right ankle on his left knee.
“What did I tell you about the dying?” his friend asked.
“That they believed they have the right to be as annoying as a drunk pixie?”
Reeve gave him a small smile. “Looks like, if nothing else, Cyn has given you a sense of humor.”
Thalion thought about all the things that Cyn had brought into his life since they’d first met. Most of all, she challenged him. She didn’t settle for his excuses, no matter how right he believed himself to be.
“I’m not getting any healthier here, prince. Please continue telling me the story of how you failed to capture the beautiful fae called Cyn.”
“I didn’t see her again for 180 days, five hours and twenty minutes. I remember because I was incredibly angry that she hadn’t kept her word to me. She’d told me that we would see each other in a few months. Instead it was half a damn year.” Thalion growled as those very emotions rolled through him. He had been livid. She’d so easily forgotten him when all he’d done was wonder what she was doing, what she was wearing, whom she was talking to. She was driving him crazy, and she didn’t even have a clue. Once again, his mind left the present and remembered a different time and place.
“We are here to see the prince,” a male fae said to the guards at the wall of the Elven castle. Thalion, unbeknownst to the fae below, had been on the wall speaking with one of his commanders and had a clear view of the fae below him. He would normally have his guards inquire as to the nature of the visit, but just before he could give the order, the fae shifted and he saw her.
Just like the first two times, Cyn took his breath away. He felt the air rush from his lungs. His heart was suddenly beating so fast and hard that he was sure those around him could hear it. The guard looked up at him and Thalion held up his hand, telling the guard to wait. He made his way down the battlements, all the while attempting to regain control of his emotions. He was angry but also overjoyed to see her. When he was on the ground, he nodded for the guards to open the massive doors. They creaked and groaned as the hinges moved for the first time in a long time. Most entry and exit through the castle walls was done through a small door next to the giant fortified gates. There hadn’t been a need to open the main gates in a very long time. And, if he was being honest with himself, there was no need to open them this time. But like an ape beating his chest, he wanted to show off.
When the doors were partially open, Thalion stepped through them. Guards attempted to follow, but he stopped them with a fist held up in the air. As he walked toward the two fae, Thalion gave one fleeting glance to the male and then his total focus was on Cyn. She was adorned in fae warrior garb—a vest that left her arms free to move, snug pants, and boots that laced up her legs to just below her knee. She wore leather bracers on each arm that covered her flesh from wrist to just before the bend of her elbow. He saw the hilts of several knives, easily accessible in various locations, upon her person. And he knew there were certainly more that he could not see. Thalion drank her in with his eyes, remembering what it had felt like to be so close to her at their last encounter. When he finally locked onto her face, he couldn’t stop the smirk that formed on his lips. Her teal eyes were practically dancing as she tried to keep from looking at him. Her foot tapped on the ground as though she had somewhere else she needed to be in that exact moment. Too bad for her, he wasn’t about to let her leave so quickly.
“Cyn,” Thalion said with a slight bow of his head. “It is good to finally see you again.” He knew that his words were clipped, but he couldn’t seem to keep all of himself under control, not when it came to her.
“Prince,” she said quickly, sparing him only a quick glance.
“Who have you brought with you into my kingdom?”
“I am Adam. Like Cyn, I am a fae warrior,” the male said.
Thalion swallowed down the words he wanted to say to Adam, which were something along the lines of, ‘I wasn’t speaking to you so keep your damn mouth shut.’ He had a feeling Cyn wouldn’t like him speaking to the warrior in that manner.
“You’ve not needed an escort for our previous meetings,” he said, continuing to speak to Cyn while ignoring the other fae. “Why did you bring your companion?” He walked closer, passing Adam until he was standing in front of the woman who had captivated him. “Scared?” He taunted and loved the anger that flared up in her eyes. Anger he could work with. But the cold indifference that she usually wore like a favorite cloak was infuriating to him.
“Hardly,” she replied through clenched teeth. “Though traveling in pairs is much safer.”
“And just who do you need to be kept safe from?”
“I’m not saying that I need to be kept safe from anything or anyone specifically. I only mean, that in general, it’s good to have a partner,” she told him, still attempting to keep from looking at him.
A throat cleared from behind him just before Adam spoke. “The council wants to know if you’ve changed your mind. Are you willing to make your warriors available to us?”
Thalion knew what his answer was, but he also knew that if he gave his answer Cyn would leave. He wasn’t ready to let her go. He turned his body slightly so that he could look at Adam. “I will give my answer to Cyn.” He paused. “In private. She may accompany me inside the castle. You will wait here.”
Thalion glanced at Cyn’s face, which was as blank as ever, and grabbed her hand. As soon as he took a step toward the gate, Adam stepped in front of him. Challenge rose in his eyes and his hands hung loosely at his sides, ready to move in an instant if the need arose.
“With all due respect, Prince Thalion, I must insist that I accompany my partner,” Adam told him.
Thalion had to respect the fae for attempting to stand before a prince and give orders, especially a prince surrounded by elven warriors, with his back against his own castle. Brave, or perhaps simply stupid. Under normal circumstances, allowing a fae access to his castle wasn’t really a matter of great concern. But he wasn’t sure of Adam’s intentions toward Cyn, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t just a bit jealous.
“Adam.” Cyn’s voice interrupted before Thalion could retort. “It’s fine. I will be back.”
“Do not attempt to flash,” Thalion told him. “We are in my realm. The magic here bends to my will and mine alone. I could have prevented your entrance at the border to my realm had I been so inclined. Likewise, you will not leave until I am ready for you to go.”
Adam didn’t look too happy about Thalion’s words, but the prince did not care about the fae’s happiness.
He pressed forward, causing Adam to have to jump out of the way or be trampled. Thalion continued to hold Cyn’s hand even after they’d entered the castle. He led her to his study, closing the doors behind them.
“What the hell was that about?” Cyn snapped.
Thalion turned to her, a ridiculous grin on his face. “Finally,” he said, stepping close to her. “Finally, I get some emotion. Is anger the only reaction I can elicit from you?”
“Why do you care about my feelings?” she asked him, her voice still tight with fury.
Thalion lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. He brushed a thumb across her cheek, just a whisper of a touch. He allowed his eyes to roam over her lovely face, taking in all of the features that made her uniquely her. Her warm breath caressed his face and he closed his eyes, briefly reveling in being so close to her.
“What are you doing?” Cyn whispered.
He opened his eyes as his other hand grasped her waist and pulled her closer. “Touching you,” he answered, his voice just as soft as hers had been.
“You sho—” She began but stopped when his thumb ran across her full lips. “You shouldn’t,” she eventually continued.
“Shouldn’t what?” he asked, purpos
ely being obtuse.
“You shouldn’t…” Her words stopped as a gasp escaped her. Thalion had moved his hand on her waist so he could wrap his arm around her. Then he gathered her hair around his fist and tugged the long locks, forcing her to tilt her head back.
“Thalion,” Cyn said breathlessly.
He groaned. “I love my name on your lips.” He dipped his head and ran his nose along the column of her neck, breathing in her luscious scent. Thalion felt her shiver under his attentions and grinned. Though she may not want to admit it, he affected her. Her body could not lie.
“I just need your answer,” Cyn said, trying to gain control of her voice.
“I don’t want to answer you,” he muttered against her flesh as his lips skimmed her collarbone. Thalion pulled her hair tighter, forcing her back to arch. “If I answer you, you will leave. I want to keep you.”
“I’m not a pet. You can’t just keep me,” Cyn told him. She put her hand on his chest and pushed, attempting to get him to release her. But somehow, instead of pushing him away, she only wrapped the cloth of his shirt in her hands and pulled him closer.
“Believe me, beautiful, being a pet is not what I want from you.”
“What do you want?”
“You.”
“You don’t even know me. You’d never laid eyes on me until nine months ago,” she huffed. “How can you possibly think you want me?”
Thalion released her hair, but continued to rest his hands on her neck. He wanted to see her eyes as he spoke. “Tell me you do not feel it,” he challenged. His voice was deep and laced with the passion he felt raging in him. “Tell me this is only one-sided. The minute I saw you, I knew you were made for me. Like a lost key that finally finds its lock, I knew I was finally at home.”
“I,” she began, but Thalion cut her off.
“Don’t lie to me. Speak truth to me, always.”
“I don’t know what I feel,” Cyn answered, her body seeming to deflate.
“Are you with another?” he asked, thinking of the fae standing outside his castle gates.