by JL Madore
I held my hand up. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Sire, but these are the men chosen to advise me on the needs and status of the Realm of the Fair?”
Colum made a noise I had heard Samuel make many times when he was annoyed. “Aye, have ye got a problem with that?”
I nodded. “It seems to me that with the realm in such a state of upheaval, I would be better counseled by the race leaders so they could tell me what is happening in their communities. You and your men may know the laws of the regency but have any of you been off this property or involved in the day to day battles with the Scourge?”
“Our duty is to protect the throne?” Colum sputtered.
“The throne is more than a piece of furniture in a pretty silver palace. The throne represent a uniting leadership of all the races. The Realm of the Fair is under attack. We must come together as one people for the sake and safety of all.”
Colum’s face mottled a ruddy red color. “And ye think ye can change the way things are done because ye’ve been queen for all of ten minutes?”
“She absolutely can,” Castian said, seemingly amused. “If this is not the council you imagined, what is, Lia?”
I looked at the angry and worried faces around the table and swallowed. “Mayhap Colum is right. I know little of what goes on—”
Castian shook his head. “Don’t stop now. You’re on a roll. What does your imagined council look like?”
I caught Samuel’s gaze as I surveyed the room. He dipped his chin in an almost imperceptible nod. Say it, Luv. Show them yer a fox. Yer choice. Yer life.
I flattened my damp palms on the table and smiled. “With no offence meant to any of you fine men, I ask that you vacate all but one seat to the heads of the races. The Order shall retain one voice and one vote.”
I swallowed again, my throat remaining dry. I wished I had something to drink. Instantly, a glass of wine appeared at my place. I sipped the burgundy liquid and nodded my thanks across the table to Castian.
After my second sip, I felt calmer. “Reign, as the Director of the Talon I want you at my table. Samuel, you are my guardian and my guide through this journey. Take a seat as well.” The two nodded and pushed off the wall.
I looked to Deaglan standing guard at the door. “Please invite any leaders of the races to join us if they happen to be in attendance.”
“All the races?” the weasel-faced man from the Order said. “That’s almost thirty people.”
“I am aware.” I smiled as Samuel slipped into the seat to my right and Reign took the one to my left. “Reign, could you invite Bruin and Lexi to join us, please?”
“The council is fifteen. Fifteen of the senior Order.” Colum said, his fists balled against the table.
“It was fifteen,” I said. “Now it is more. And other than needing a larger table and more chairs, I fail to see the problem.”
After the room shuffled and a half-dozen bewildered looking race leaders were brought into the room, I asked Reign to bring them up to speed. Samuel squeezed my knee under the table. It was meant as a show of approval, but the warmth of his touch called my desire forward unbidden.
I took another sip of wine, half hoping it would help me focus while the other half of me hoped he would inch up my dress and slide his hand between my thighs.
After Lexi and Bruin arrived, Reign described how Abaddon’s forces had gained in strength and purpose, kidnapping me, releasing Rheagan’s essence, and now escalating in violence. “As Queen, Lia will inspire a new order and unite the races of the realm. Our challenges lay in the fact that she has no experience in warfare and tactics. It falls to us to offer her counsel until she feels more confident.”
Hah. He spoke as if that time might ever come.
“You lived among Abaddon and his men?” the weasel-faced male from the Order asked, looking disgusted.
Reign frowned. “She was taken, yes. Samuel infiltrated Abaddon’s camp under the guise of a disgruntled Talon Enforcer to secure her and bring her back to safety.”
“I found where Abaddon kept her and called for an extraction team.” Samuel squeezed my thigh under the table once again and I eased open my knees.
“You?” his father said, the swelling in his lip making his sneer all the more twisted. “You retrieved the Queen’s heir from within the walls of Abaddon’s camp?”
“Aye, with the help of the Talon and her kin. What of it?”
“Ye shoulda called us in. Ye ken yer duty. The Aina Ohtar are sworn to protect—”
Hostility toward the man burned hot in my veins.
Castian pointed a finger. “Samuel knows his duty, Colum, and despite personal hardship, he served me, the Talon, and the Realm of the Fair. He did as ordered. To question him is to question me. Is that your intention?”
Colum glared at his son; the look, a silent promise of retribution. “No, milord.”
“Right,” Reign continued. “So, once Lia was reclaimed and safe at Haven, we hoped that would be the end of it.”
“Until?” The Centaur leader asked.
“Until a few weeks ago when Abaddon laid a formal claim against Lia in the Fae courts. He claims her to be his wife from the time she spent in his compound. Since his act of force was thwarted, he means to take control of her through Highborne laws.”
Colum cursed. Ye gave Abaddon a foothold to the throne. How stupid are ye, ye fecking—
I stood, my palms leaning heavy against the table. “I gave him nothing.” The table looked startled. “If I lose my fight against Abaddon with the Fates, trouble shall knock on all our doors. If I win, there will be violent retaliation. You need to bite your tongue sir and learn to work together.”
“Bite my tongue? I said nothing.” And I’ll not fall to my knees for the likes of a madman’s whore.
“Be silent!” My entire body tingled. The moment froze in time, the energy inside me igniting my very cells—for what he said, for what he did to Samuel, for the smug arrogance in his leering male glances. “You will be silent or be gone from my sight.”
Colum’s mouth fell open as a queer look flashed across his face. Stumbling back, his hands gripped at his chest and he fell to the marble floor. Chaos ensued as chairs scraped floor and the Order men raced to his side. Reign rolled Colum to his back, opening the collar of his shirt. Samuel and Galan moved to stand at my sides.
In the next moment, Colum’s reddened face fell lax. With one last shallow gasp, his eyes widened and then fell sightless.
Castian raised his hand and a glass of red wine appeared in his palm. He took a long swallow and glowered at the males of the Order. “Well, that was dramatic. Take his body out so we can continue with the meeting.”
“Continue?” I said, my voice shaken. “Should we not . . . what about . . .”
“Death is nothing new, my dear. A man should consider his aging heart before getting so worked up. Still, no time for tears over a pompous tyrant. No offence to you, Samuel.”
“None taken, Sire.” Samuel’s expressionless mask lent no indication of how he felt as his father’s body was carried from the room.
My feelings were conflicted and I knew him less than a day. I lost my temper. And now, Samuel’s father was dead . . . because of me.
Not because of you, sister-mine, Galan said, moving me back to the throne and taking a seat beside me. The male let his anger and prejudice do him in. Not your fault. But Castian is right, there is much to discuss.
The clarity of my brother’s thoughts in my mind brought me back to Colum’s insults. How did I hear Samuel’s sire without him speaking aloud? His words rang in my mind with such a vile distaste, I had indeed wished him ill.
Before I could think further, Castian sat forward in his chair and grew serious. “Samuel, as oldest born of the Murray clan, you now assume your father’s place as head of one of the founding families. Therefore, you are sworn to protect your Queen with your life and on your honor. Do you accept?”
Samuel blinked, his mouth dropping open. “I . . . uh, I am hon
ored, Sire, but I cannot.”
The other Order males gasped.
Samuel kept his gaze locked on the God of gods. “I will guard Lia, of course, with my life and on my honor. I will serve you and your realm, but to do that best, I must be free to leave these grounds, fight if I must—with both sword and magic—and put her before all else. Even my own family oath. The honor of the Order should fall to Deaglan.”
A hint of a smile graced Castian’s face. “So be it. You can explain things to him once we’re finished here. Carry on, Maximus. You were saying?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
“Keep yer guard up, Luv,” Samuel called from the stone plinth he sat upon.
Gathered in the open area behind the Queen’s palace, a group of my protectors spent the better part of the next day drilling me in the damp shadows of the stone ruins. Kobi worked on the handling and wielding of weapons, Galan and Tham focused on using nature as a means of concealment, and now Savage was brutalizing me in the ways of hand-to-hand combat and defense.
“It is hard to keep my guard up,” I said, grunting as Savage smacked my backside with a steel palm, “when I can no longer feel my arms.” I turned and thrust forward, my wooden sword swatted to the side like a bothersome fly by my tattooed opponent.
“You’re strangling the hilt,” Kobi said from the sideline. “Relax your grip and attack like you mean it, Highborne. I tasted the wildcat you cage inside. Let her out to play.”
I spun and threw the thing at his head.
True as an arrow, it soared through the air only to be evaded by an annoying demon. Kobi poofed to the side and plucked the projectile from the air, his chest bouncing with amusement. “There she is. Now this woman, we can work with, eh Sav?”
Savage swept my foot and I stumbled back and landed on my backside. Hard.
“All right,” Samuel said, easing off his perch with one arm bound against his bruised ribs. He strode forward tall and strong, saluting Kobi with his middle finger as he passed. “That’s enough for today, lads. Take the night off and we’ll regroup in the morning after Lia eats and rests.”
“What I need is to soak in a hot bath,” I said, more curtly than I meant. “I expect tomorrow will fail to bring much improvement.”
Galan poured something out of a tall Thermos and handed me the cup. “Then we shall practice each day until you feel confident to defend yourself.”
I took a long swallow from the steaming cup and found there was quite a kick to the drink Galan gave me. Within moments it seeped a warm trail down my throat and pooled into my stomach. Enjoying the sensation, I tipped back the cup and drained it dry.
I accepted a refill as the air around us picked up with a succulent breeze. Zophia materialized in our midst.
The few times I had seen her, I marveled at her ethereal beauty: her long brunette hair, her flawless iridescent skin, her grace and natural resplendence. She was a goddess of the Veil. This evening, however, her look of distress had my stomach churning.
“When am I to appear?” I asked. I knew by the sadness in her gaze I assumed correctly.
“Tomorrow. Castian will Flash you and your party to stand before my sisters at dusk. Normally, we hold proceedings on the grounds of the palace, but Castian doesn’t trust Abaddon to come Behind the Veil while Rheagan is spiriting around, so we will meet at Haven. Neutral ground, you could say.”
“Advantage, home team,” Kobi said, looking pleased.
I glanced at the quiet village of Lothendril. The stone houses with smoke puffing out their chimneys, the hills dotted with sheep grazing inside the labyrinth maze. Kobi, Savage, Galan and Tham all seemed anxious to leave.
But leaving meant my time with Samuel was over.
“It’ll be all right, lass,” he said, close to my ear. “I’ll not let him have ye. He’ll never win.”
In truth, there was no stopping this. “Tomorrow night then,” I ignored the heaving of my insides and bowed my head. “Gratitude for bringing the news yourself.”
She managed a weak smile. “It is the least I can do after my last visit.”
I downed the second glass of heated spirits and felt the jagged edge of my mood recede still further. “The past is over. Now, on to the future. We shall see you there.”
Once again, the events of my life fell beyond my control. The thing I liked most about the idea of being the Queen was that in the past two days, I had an opinion and voice in things involving me and the safety of the realm.
Not with this.
Once Zophia vanished, I moved to Samuel, with as much confidence as I could muster. There was at least one thing I could do. Keeping a polite distance for the sake of my brother’s sanity, I gestured to the two dozen stone houses in the distance. “Go spend some time with your family. They need you now and I am fine here surrounded by protectors.”
His emotionless stare might have fooled the others, but I could read the tightness at the edge of his eyes. “The Murray clan dinnae need nor want me, duck. And you are far from fine. Do ye not think I know what it does to yer insides to be called before the Fates?”
“Lia is right,” Galan said, joining us. “The four of us can stay with her for a few hours. You should be with your family. To mourn Colum’s passing.”
Samuel exhaled. “I dinnae mourn him, but ye might be right. I should pay my respects to my uncles and my siblings. I’ll not be leaving Lia behind though, so ye might as well head home to Jade for tonight. We’ll see ye at the tribunal tomorrow night.”
Galan looked at me, visibly torn. “I shall stay if you need my support.”
I shook my head, noticing how loose it felt on my shoulders. “Samuel’s right. Give Jade a hug from me and we shall see you tomorrow. All of you, go eat and enjoy yourselves. Tomorrow will be a long day and I am safe enough here.”
Kobi and Savage looked to Samuel. “We’ll head over to the town center around eight o’clock, lads. Yer time is yer own ‘til then.”
“Nice, fashionably late for a wake,” Kobi said. “Do you have any female cousins to console? Sisters maybe?”
Samuel scowled. “Lia needs to soak in a bath and get some food in her stomach. My Da will be no less dead after dinner than he is now. And if either one of you lays a manly touch on any of my kin, I’ll cast a spell to shrivel yer cocks so it’s the last thing ye ever do.”
When everyone left us, Samuel held out his elbow, ready to depart. Instead of accepting his gesture and leaving our practice area behind, I backed him against the stone plinth he had been sitting on earlier.
Checking that we were, indeed alone, I slid my hands under the hem of his kilt and over his muscled thighs. The dusk breeze brought the sweet spice of his arousal to me in an instant.
“What, here?” Samuel said, eyeing the clearing. “I’m not recovered by half, Luv, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ll be much got to ye yet.”
I pushed my hands higher, gathering the fabric and baring his flesh along my path. I nudged him backwards and he braced his weight on his palms behind him.
“You are very hard,” I said, caressing a finger down the silky steel shaft I exposed.
“Aye,” he choked, a smile curling at the edges of his mouth. “I could likely split marble.”
“That must be uncomfortable.”
“Lia, ye don’t have to—”
His weak protestation cut off the moment I took him into my mouth. I licked the jewel of glistening moisture from his tip and smiled up at him. “I like the way your arousal tastes. A little bitter but a flavor that is uniquely you.”
I stroked down his shaft as I sucked, teasing for more of a taste. He groaned, his hips flexing up to meet me. “Yer verra good at that. A natural, I’d say.”
I flicked my tongue and teased the two orbs below. His gem pouch tightened beneath my touch and I dug my nails into his flesh. I was beginning to understand Samuel’s body. Could command it to do as I bid.
“Christ, Lia, yer killin’ me. I want to be inside ye. I bet yer slick a
nd hot, throbbin’ for some attention.”
In truth, I was. “Nonsense, this is for you.” An act of gratitude for all he had done and all I wish could be.
Ignoring the growing discomfort in my back and thighs from my position hovering over him, I assaulted him with my tongue, sucked hard while twisting and playing with his jewels.
The sounds and smells were primal, grounding, binding. They were us and we were them. I set every nuance of every detail of pleasuring Samuel to memory.
Micro-tremors wracked his body and he set his hand on the back of my head. Gripping my hair, he gave a gentle tug. “I’m going to come, Luv. Ye’ll want some distance.”
But I did not want distance. Not from Samuel. Not ever.
I remained focused, determined to share this with him, hungry for the taste of his bliss.
Samuel groaned and thrust deep into my mouth. His breathing caught as the first gush of moist heat hit my throat. It was bitter and thick but everything I wanted. I swallowed, greedy to take more from him.
Every way a female could take her male. And he was my male. Even though I could not keep him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The balance of life was a cruel, cruel thing. Lying awake, my mind stumbled over disjointed thoughts. The hearing with the Fates looming large later today, facing Abaddon knowing the truth of his claim, worrying over my impact as Queen of the Realm and saying goodbye to what I wanted with Samuel.
Samuel kicked next to me, trapped in a fitful state of rest. Ironic really. Across the courtyard, the Murray clan mourned the loss of their patriarch while I held Colum’s oldest son in my arms. As much as I wanted to keep him, he was as lost to me as their sire to them.
Samuel grumbled something unintelligible, fighting his nocturnal battles. I brushed his rough chin. The gashes and swelling on his face had yet to recede enough to shave properly, so instead, he looked much the rugged warrior.
“Samuel, wake up.”
Rousing from his slumber struggle, he blinked awake.
“Mornin’, Luv. Everything all right?”
“Right as rain,” I lied. I kissed him and snuggled closer. “Waking with you is my favorite part of the day.”