Royal Enchantment (Skeleton Key)

by Lia Davis

  Ava, on the other hand, had a lot going through her mind. Her great-aunt’s words were in the forefront of her mind.

  “What is it?” Finn asked and caressed her cheek.

  She shrugged. “Kenia said that we’d be stronger together.”

  He dropped his hand to grip hers. “Yes, a marriage bond would enable each of us to use the other’s power. We could also combine our magicks.”

  Making them the most powerful couple in Edra. Just as long as Quinn and Sana didn’t bond, which would be just what they would do to destroy the kingdoms.

  Making eye contact with Finn, she announced, “I will marry you and bind my life to yours.”

  His lips lifted in a smile while his brows dipped in a frown. “You don’t have to do it. I mean, I want you to say yes because I know you are mine. The one I’ve waited for to rule by my side. But I don’t want you to do anything you are not ready for.”

  “I have nothing in the human realm. Without my parents, I’ve just been existing. Here, with you, I feel alive. I have a purpose.” She kissed him.

  He released a low groan and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her closer to him. He licked the seam of her lips, and she opened for him. Her body ached for his touch, to feel his skin against hers.

  Breaking the kiss, Finn framed her face in his hands, his green eyes lit up with passion. “Are you sure? You’re not doing it to stop my uncle and your sister?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. Stopping them once and for all is just a bonus.” She hugged him close. “I can’t explain it. I’ve never felt like this with anyone. It’s like I know I belong here. Everything in my life is making sense, and I’m finally home.”

  “Once we bond, there is no undoing it as long as both of us are still alive.”

  “Then I’ll have to kill you when I’m done with you,” she teased.

  He chuckled as he scooped her up in his arms and moved to the stairs. “The bond has already begun from when you shared your magick with me to save my life. All we have to do is open our hearts and minds to one another while making love. The magick will take care of the rest.”

  “Ah, so this whole thing is just to get me in the sack?”

  “Of course.”

  She laughed and relished the thought of pretending for one night that she wasn’t being chased by people who wanted her dead. No, tonight I’m all Finn’s. We’ll deal with reality in the morning.

  He kicked the door to his room open and carried her to his bed. Her stomach felt like a hundred hummingbirds were fluttering inside. She wasn’t a virgin, but she’d never felt this turned on or nervous in her life.

  Laying her down on the cool sheet, he kissed her lips and moved to trail kisses across her jawline to her neck. Tingles of desire raced over her skin and burned in her core. When he lifted his head, his eyes seemed to glow.

  After urging her to sit up, he gripped the hem of her tunic and lifted it over her head. Then, with slow, teasing motions he pulled her leggings and panties off. Being bare to him amped up her arousal. Her sex pulsed with need, and she had to fight to keep from touching herself. No, she wanted him to touch her, pleasure her.

  As if knowing what she craved, he crawled back on the bed and placed his hands on her thighs, gently urging her to spread her legs. She complied, opening up for him. When his lips touched her core, she sucked in a breath and closed her eyes briefly, rocking her hips in time with his very talented tongue.

  He lifted his head and held her gaze as he slid one hand up her thigh to finger the little bundle of nerves. Spreading her lips, his teased her with his tongue before he slid two fingers inside her. A moan escaped. Never in her life had she ever felt so much pleasure.

  He covered her fully with his mouth as he pumped his fingers in and out of her pussy. Their energies mingled, and his power wrapped around her. Just when she thought she would burst from the mounting passion, he lifted his head and moved up her body with his fingers still inside her, his thumb replacing his tongue. “I want to hold you when you come,” he whispered in her ear, and then kissed her neck.

  Ava wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her hands in his hair, bringing his mouth to hers. The pleasure built as he moved his fingers in and out of her while his thumb rubbed her clit until the convulsing wave of an orgasm overtook her.

  After the last shudder had left her body, Finn pulled away from her, slid backwards off the bed, and smiled at her groans of protest. Their eyes locked and stayed fixed on each other as he removed his pants. Gods he was beautiful. And rock-hard, she noted as he removed his clothes.

  His lips lifted as he settled between her legs, positioning his cock at her entrance. Before giving her what she wanted, he reclaimed her mouth. He pushed his tongue between her lips so it could dance with hers. Heat spread through her, and she was growing impatient to have him inside her.

  She raised her hips slightly, rubbing against his erection and drawing a groan from him. A moment later, he thrust inside her. She gasped at the sudden waves of passion slamming into her. Magick wrapped around them in a lover’s embrace, intensifying the pleasure between them. Then she felt it, the threads that would bind them, weaving together to create a beautiful canopy of their future.

  He increased his tempo, and each movement pushed them further into ecstasy until he roared in his own release. Ava’s body jerked and fell over the edge with him.

  Finn rolled to his side and gathered her in his arms. They were silent for a few moments, and she was okay with that. It wasn’t awkward; they were just enjoying the bliss, the afterglow. She could feel him in her mind and heart. Her own magick was amped by his, and she wondered if it was the same for him.

  “I feel you inside me,” he whispered in her ear. “Our souls are connected.”

  Yes, she knew that. The great thing about it all, she wasn’t afraid or regretful. “Together we’ll make everything right again.” She stretched up and kissed his lips softly. “I’ll stay and be your Queen as long as it takes for us to grow annoyed with each other and one of us has to kill the other.”

  A laugh burst from him. “You have a strange sense of humor.”

  “I like to keep things interesting.”

  He flipped her on her back and entered her, filling her once more. Desire rose back up, ready for round two. And so was she.

  Chapter Eight

  Since the announcement about the Royal wedding in three days, Ava was ordered by Finn and Kellam not to leave the palace. Both of them feared Quinn would be waiting for her to be alone. Although annoyed, she understood. But still. “I know you said announcing our engagement would protect me from harm, but wouldn’t it make Quinn react? I could lure him into a trap.”

  “No. I can’t allow you to be bait. We’ll find another way.” Finn didn’t even look up from the stack of papers he sifted through.

  Ava set her jaw. “How long are we going to wait for him to get stupid?”

  A chuckle escaped Kellam, the sound surprising her. Up until that moment, the guard had been only serious and grumpy. “Quinn is already stupid.”

  Laughing, Ava sat back on the sofa and propped her bare feet on the coffee table. “It makes me anxious, knowing he is plotting our deaths and we’re just sitting here.”

  Finn set his pen on his desk and stood. A moment later, he sat beside her and drew her into his lap. “The thought of your life in danger kills me. I am very patient. However, if Quinn touches you, no one will be able to stop my wrath. I beat him once before, and I can do it again.”

  “Is it because the magick is muted?”

  Cocking his head to the side, he narrowed his emerald eyes at her. “Muted? The magick is depleted.”

  She didn’t believe that. Since waking that morning, she was full of power and life. Everything around her was alive, and energy flowed through every flower, animal, and the elements. “I don’t think so. I can feel the magick everywhere, but it’s dull, like greyed out. It’s there, but not within your reach.”

  Hope lit up
Finn’s face. “You can reach it?”

  She frowned and glanced at Kellam briefly. “I’m not sure…maybe. Since we completed the bond last night, I’ve been able to see this realm more clearly. But I need to go outside to see if I’m right.”

  “Right about what.”

  “That your uncle cursed the land to believing the magick is depleted. He could be keeping it for himself. If so, then he’s planning something much bigger than any of us could imagine.” Ava shivered. The little visual Sana had showed her would be nothing compared to what Quinn could do with all the magick under his control.

  Finn worked his jaw for several moments. “Kellam will take you to test your theories. But you will not go outside the walls surrounding the palace.”

  “I didn’t plan on it. The gardens will be enough for me to connect to the natural world.” She kissed him quickly on the lips. “I will be careful. Besides, now that we are bound to one another, you can track me anywhere.”

  Finn growled low. “I don’t want to have to.”

  “Me either.” She kissed him again, letting her mouth linger on his a little longer. “We will stop him, together.”

  Standing, she waited for Kellam to push off the wall behind Finn’s desk and escort her to the gardens. She wasn’t sure what she’d find, but it was better than sitting around the study doing nothing. Plus, if she could solve the mystery of the vanishing magick, they’d be one step ahead of Quinn.

  Ava stepped out into the cool morning air and breathed in the fragrances of the gardens. Roses, lilies, and the slight scent of jasmine filled her senses. The flowers seemed to hum happily, and the air was full of energy that seemed to recharge her. “Was the air always so alive?”

  “It used to be before the war.”

  She glanced at him and frowned. “You don’t feel it now?”

  His crimson stare met hers. “No.”

  By the way his brows dipped and merged together, she could tell it bothered him. So she changed the subject. “Yesterday, in the Wastelands, the rebel called you a demon. Why?”

  “Demon in this world is an insult. I’m a changeling, meaning I can take many different forms at will. I can also use the abilities of the creature I shift into. It disturbs some people.” A wicked grin curved his mouth.

  Ava laughed. “I guess it would.”

  “There is a stream that runs through the back of the gardens and feeds into a pond. It used to be the strongest source of our power.” Kellam increased his steps.

  Excitement filled her as she fell into step with him. A free-flowing water source could possibly tell her if the magick was lost or just muted.

  Kellam stopped a few feet from a three-foot wide stream, flowing into a large pond. Ava knelt down beside it and dipped her fingers into the cool water. Tingles of electrified energy twined around her hand and up her arm.

  “I believe more than ever that the magick is muted. Maybe only from those who were in Edra at the time of the curse or spell or whatever Quinn did to make everyone think the war used up the power.” Ava stood and faced Kellam, watching the play of emotions in his features.

  “He would want us weak while he built his army.”

  Ava pursed her lips. Something just wasn’t adding up. ”Why would he wait so long before acting?” Unless he was waiting for her?

  A memory flashed in her mind. Jeff had come into the office a few months ago, mumbling about elves and demons. Ava had paid him no attention. They usually kidded around about paranormal creatures making them late. It was their warped sense of humor. Kind of like telling the teacher the hellhounds ate your homework.

  “Kellam, is it possible for elves or anyone from here to cross over to the human realm?”

  “Not since your parents left. The Calim King closed all portals in both kingdoms.”

  “What about the Wastelands?”

  Kellam frowned, then slowly shook his head. “He might have been able to.”

  “I think Quinn or one of his minions killed Jeff, my business partner. They must have found a way to the human realm.” Ava hugged her waist as tears stung her eyes. “He was looking for me.”

  “Ava,” Finn called from inside the maze of roses.

  “I’m here.”

  When he came into view, she smiled and relaxed a little. His brows were drawn together, and she guessed he’d heard what she had said. Suddenly, his eyes widened a moment before he screamed her name. Confused, Ava took a step forward, only to be grabbed from behind and pulled under the water.

  Finn’s screams faded to a muffle then silence as she was dragged through the water. Her lungs burned from holding her breath. She struggled to get loose, and managed to break free. Kicking her legs as hard as she could, she swam to the surface. Once her head broke through the water, she gasped for air.

  A hand wrapped around her ankle, and she was jerked under again. After kicking free, she swam away. This time, she glanced at her attacker. Fuck. Sana. That bitch wasn’t going to best her. Reaching out with her senses, Ava called to the magick within the water as well as the creatures. A school of fish swarmed Sana, giving Ava the time she needed to get to land.

  When she emerged from the water, she came face-to-face with Quinn. Before she had a chance to run, he waved a hand in front of her eyes. The world started to fade, and dizziness consumed her.

  Damn it. She really had to learn that trick.

  Chapter Nine

  Finn roared in fury, then jumped into the pond, hoping to catch the portal before it closed. But Ava was gone, as was the portal Sana had used to grab his mate. And he had no clue where they’d taken her. “She’s gone. She was safe inside the property walls and they fucking took her. They breached the wards and took her!”

  Kellam mirrored his fury, yet remained calm enough to bark orders to the guards rushing toward them. “Leave no stone unturned until you find Quinn and Sana. That includes the Wastelands.”

  Finn stormed off to the palace. “I’m going with the party that goes to the Wastelands. For that is the only place he could hide.”

  “My lord—”

  Finn cut Kellam off with a sharp glare. “When I find him, I’m killing him. I won’t make the same mistake twice. He kidnapped the Morna Queen and plans to destroy both kingdoms for his personal gain.”

  After throwing the front door open, he marched to his quarters on the second floor. Fury turned his sight red while his heart broke for the female he’d fallen in love with. He pulled out his scrying mirror and placed his right hand over the runes on the right top corner. “Calim Queen, hear my call.”

  A few moments passed before Willow’s face appeared in the mirror. “I can’t see her. How did they get her?”

  The Queen could see the future, and sometimes the present, but she had never been able to see into the past. “Sana somehow created a portal in my garden pond. You sure you can’t see her?”

  “Yes. I searched the moment she vanished. I sensed her panic and tried to connect with her.” Willow’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Then she’s in the Wastelands. I’m going to get her back.”

  Willow nodded. “Do take care.”

  “I will have guards and warriors with me. Quinn and Sana will not get away with stealing my Queen.” After a slight raise of one corner of Willow’s lips, Finn ended the communication by lifting his hand from the mirror.

  “Everything is ready.” Kellam entered the room in battle gear, holding Finn’s amour.

  It was a good thing his personal guard wasn’t going to talk him out of going. He knew better. Taking the chainmail armor, he put it on. “Let’s go get the Queen back.”

  With a nod, Kellam turned on his heels and led Finn down the hall to a pair of winged horses. Charles, the dragon-sabretooth tiger hybrid, waited impatiently by the horses. The beast was ready for battle.

  Finn smoothed a hand up Charles’s snout. “Today is your day, friend.”

  Charles replied by blowing a puff of air from his nose, smoke rolling out with it. The
n he raised his wings, ready to take off with Finn and the guards.

  Finn climbed on his winged horse and took to the sky, flying toward the Wastelands.

  Ava paced the small windowless room she’d woken up in minutes before. Or was it hours? She hadn’t a clue. There was no magick for her to draw on. No elements to call inside her cell. And she didn’t have any hairpins to pick the lock on the door.

  A squeak sounded from the rear left corner of the room. She whirled around and spotted a small mouse. “How did you get in here?”

  Her heart pounded as hope for an escape rose up within her. Carefully, she crept closer to the mouse. Its ears perked up as it looked directly at her. When she got within a foot from it, the creature scurried up the wall and disappeared behind one of the stones. When Ava touched the wall, she felt an almost silent pulse of magick.

  Ha. There you are. She knew there had to be some way out of there. Nothing is ever that airtight or sealed up completely. Sliding her fingers around the stone, she found a crack large enough to fit two fingers inside. Determination to get out of there fueled her strength. She fixated on what little energy was coming through the crack as she pulled on the stone.

  After a moment, it moved a fraction of an inch. Excitement sparked in her gut and she doubled her efforts to pull the stone free. But it was short-lived when Sana’s voice sounded in Ava’s mind. “What are you up to, little sister?”

  Fucking bitch. “Why don’t you come in here and find out?”

  Whether it was by magick or being pissed off at her evil half-sister, it was enough to raise her natural power up, breaking whatever had held it at bay. Good one, Mom. You bound my powers? And Finn had thought it was from her being raised in the human world. She should have known it was more than that.

  With one last jerk, Ava tugged the stone from the wall. To her satisfaction, it was an external wall. The gloom and doom of the Wastelands welcomed her from the small hole. Closing her eyes, she focused on Finn, visualizing his face in her mind. “My King, my love. Do you hear me?”