by Meg Xuemei X
“So, the tie between the goddess and our bloodline isn’t as strong as the myth said,” I said.
But the land’s magic had responded to me when I’d called upon it. I wanted it to be stronger—at least strong enough to aid me to take down the black witch.
“With Arianrhod’s quest, you present your case,” Daghda said with a wishful sigh. “And she either shows herself or she doesn’t. We used to have a temple in the realm for the people to worship her and pray to her.” That must have been the abandoned. I remembered the temple covered by moss. “I neglected my services to the goddess as well.”
“So, we just wait for her to show up?” Blaze asked in displeasure.
“Goddess Arianrhod can’t be pushed or rushed,” Daghda said. “She doesn’t answer to a mortal or an immortal’s whim. She chooses her own time, place, and fashion—if she ever shows.”
“We don’t have time,” Iokul said. “Lysandra is taking over the realm. The longer we stay here, the harder it’ll be to get the cities back, if we haven’t lost them already. The Humans Superior and First movement is going global, and we need to snuff it out before it turns to wildfire.”
“I’ll return to the realm to confront Lysandra,” Daghda said. “It’s my mess. I’ll fix it. I’ll announce the return of my heir and crown her.”
“It won’t work,” Elvey said. “No offense, Your Majesty, but you’ve lost to the humans. It’s in their every bone to fight and crush you. Your consort has made sure of it. All six cities have declared to support her.”
“What about the humans with more potent dragon blood?” Daghda thundered.
“They’ve kept silent so far,” Elvey said.
Daghda glared at Elvey, but Elvey merely raised an eyebrow at that. “Daisy, however, is fresh blood. People thought she was lost, but now she’s returned. The legend about her vanishing fascinated the humans. We could use that. We can make them fascinated with her. She’s a young, gorgeous immortal. If we present her right, they’ll fall for her.”
I narrowed my eyes. Present me?
My mates’ hands on my shoulders tensed. They didn’t like other males flattering me. I was theirs to flatter.
“She won’t just be the face, of course,” Elvey flashed me a disarming smile before I could hiss at him. “There’s a lot of work to do to counter the black witch’s every move, and none of them will be easy.”
“Problem is, we don’t have time for all the legwork to counter the witch,” Rai said.
Elvey nodded. “True, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work on them. And most important, Daisy still needs the power of the land to convince or terrify the humans that the Danaenyth dynasty is hers. With that display, she’ll settle the score with Lysandra in public.”
“But the king just said Goddess Arianrhod doesn’t answer to a mortal or even an immortal’s whim,” Adrian said.
Elvey flashed a coy smile. “She’ll show. She has to. If you want, we can place a bet. The losers will do three tasks I ask them to do.”
None of us felt as confident as him, but I also knew there was something he hadn’t told us and wouldn’t tell us. It was as if he knew Arianrhod personally.
“So, we just wait in the mountains and do nothing?” Blaze repeated.
“There’re plenty of things to do here,” Elvey said. “I myself intend to explore this marvelous extension of the Dragon Realm that no Fae has ever done before. I like snowy mountains. I want my solitude. I’ve always been around annoying people. As for you, Highnesses, you might want to work diligently with the dragon knights to secure this haven and protect your mate effectively. The demons have attacked us on multiple occasions, all the way from Pandemonium to Inanna. They won’t just stop. The enemies might send something worse and bigger.”
“Let them come,” Daghda said viciously.
“Let them come,” Rai echoed fiercely.
Daghda rose to his full height. “I’ll guard this fortress for my granddaughter. No one will take her from me again.” He turned to the guards. “She’s now queen to you all.”
As one, everyone dropped to one knee and bowed their head, except Elvey and my princes.
“Long live Queen Danaenyth!” they chanted.
“For your formal coronation, we’ll have to wait until we take the witch trash out,” Daghda said, leaving the room.
All guards stayed except the two who had been with my grandfather since his rule.
I called for the guards to stand up, and they obeyed. They were my royal guards now.
My mates ordered the guards to wait in the grand hall for a security debriefing. War and security were their forte.
Elvey cleared his throat for attention, and Blaze stared at him in a flash of annoyance. “What now, Elvey? Are you going to join us for guarding duty or go sightseeing?”
“Neither,” Elvey said. “All I want is to be with Daisy alone.”
“How dare you?” Blaze hissed, ready to attack.
I put my hand on his arm.
“Well, I need to have a talk with Queen Daisy in private,” Elvey said. “I don’t think she answers to you.”
“She’s my mate,” Blaze said. “Everything you have to say to her, you say in front of us.”
I’d used the line to get my grandfather to back off, and now Blaze was quoting me. Though I didn’t like to be spoken for, I let it go. I needed to have the image in public that we were a united front, but I’d talk to my mates about this overstepping when we were alone.
I wouldn’t put up with it next time.
We’d vowed to rule together, but we didn’t have any experience or practice on how we should carry on. I didn’t want a power struggle between us to drive us apart.
“Actually, this doesn’t really need a private hearing,” Elvey said with a sardonic smile. He’d spotted a dark dash of exasperation in my eyes at Blaze, and he didn’t want to cause trouble between the fire dragon and me.
His face turned serious. “You’ll need to grasp your Fae magic, Daisy,” he said. “The black witch is only a powerful tool. She’s nothing compared to what’s coming to you. You’ll train with me during your stay in the mountain without any of your mates around. It’s non-negotiable.”
Growls rumbled from my mates.
“Come find me when you’re ready,” he said, and left.
CHAPTER 17
My mates, Adrian, and the guards, watched the mountains and the sky for the enemies.
Two days passed. The enemies didn’t come, nor did the goddess.
I grew restless.
I hadn’t seen Elvey, either. Wasn’t he supposed to train me on Fae magic? Or was he all bark and no bite?
Then his words rang through me. “Come find me when you’re ready.”
He wanted me to go to him. Even with everything at stake, he still wanted me to choose my own action.
Now was the best opportunity to seek him out since all of my princes had gone to patrol the mountains. A hint of shame hit me at that thought.
Ever since I’d left Elvey behind on the savage planet, I’d tried to push him out of my mind. I wouldn’t want to hurt the feelings of my three mates, who meant everything to me. But now with him back in my life again and so close, I just couldn’t help myself.
Well, I mentally defended myself that I needed to work with him anyway. I needed the magic training no one else could help me with except him. And I needed to talk to him about the bond between him and the dark Fae Queen.
My heart pounded with thrilling anticipation at the thought of seeing him.
Sybil flew ahead, zealous to be a guide. She knew exactly where he was. Henry trotted beside me.
I was about to knock on the door just as Sybil flew through the window and Henry howled an announcement. Elvey pulled open the door and stood, facing me.
He was half a head taller than me and much broader. Power, both ancient and new, rolled off him, caressing me.
“Daisy, darling,” he said, his blue eyes brightening. “Finally made y
our decision?”
“Elvey, may I come in?” I asked drily, peeking into the room.
Rosalinda was in bed. Her left arm was now a stump, wrapped in thick bandages. Her face was gray, and her green eyes were no longer vivid. She was still in a lot of pain and would stay that way until I got a nod from Arianrhod.
It really sucked that we had to heal like mortals.
Rosalinda struggled to sit up. A bowl of half-eaten stew sat on the table. Elvey had been feeding her and tending to her.
“Please don’t get up, Rosalinda,” I called. “Sorry I couldn’t come by earlier.”
“Rest, Rosa,” Elvey growled softly. “You don’t need to be all formal and that. You’re injured.”
“Oh, stop being a menace, El,” Rosalinda said.
They endeared each other. She was much closer to him than I ever was. They’d been friends, or more than friends, for centuries, and I could count the hours I had spent with him. I knew it was illogical to be jealous of their relationship and their familiarity with each other, but I was always emotional around Elvey.
“How often does one get a visit from the queen to both the Danaenyth dynasty and Sihde Realm?” Rosalinda asked.
I blinked. She’d accepted me as her queen already and so easily?
Elvey ushered me into the room, and Sybil immediately landed on Elvey’s arm, spreading her beautiful white-feathered wings to the full for him. Elvey stroked her head with affection. Henry went to rub against Elvey’s leg.
Really, my hound, too?
The only ones Elvey couldn’t charm were my mates.
I intended to ask Elvey how to break the blood bond between Tianna and him, but I didn’t want to breach the topic in front of Rosalinda, even though she probably knew everything already.
I chatted with Rosalinda while Elvey leaned against the backside of a tall chair, regarding me. Though I pretended not to notice him much, my self-awareness centered on him. Something inside me tethered me to him. The connection and attraction between us was so palpable that Rosalinda kept darting her gaze between us involuntarily. In the end, she yawned, excusing herself and pretending to fall asleep, insisting I stay.
It was just Elvey and I now, gazing at each other, with Sybil, Henry, and a “sleeping” patient as an audience.
“Hello,” he said with a smile, his eyes warm and seductive.
“Hello.”
And then we fell silent. It seemed a thousand words transpired between us when we looked at each other like this. We had no need for words.
He was my mate, my fourth mate, who should have been the first.
Did he know it? He’d hinted at it, but we’d never talked about it.
And he’d once asked me in a playful way if I had room for one more.
Sphinx’s riddle had spelled it for me that with four mates, I’d find a way home.
I could no longer deceive my heart.
Elvey hadn’t just helped me find a way back to the Dragon Realm; he’d helped me find a way with my dragon princes when he’d forced me to show my Fury forms in front of them. He’d said that they’d need to accept my both forms for the curse to fall off.
He waltzed into my world whenever I needed him the most and drifted away when the problem was solved and my mates’ warm chests surrounded me.
He kept giving, yet never asked anything back.
He never asked me for anything.
He didn’t even ask me to break the blood bond between him and his evil queen, which he wanted more than anything. And that blood slavery had been his curse for centuries.
He was one of the most powerful beings I knew, yet he had no freedom.
He never whined about it, either. Whenever he faced me and looked at me, he was all teasing smiles and harmless flirting.
He gave me sunshine while he hadn’t gotten any.
“Elvey,” I whispered, stalking toward him.
He straightened, his body tensing in anticipation, dark stars wheeling in his heated eyes.
A shadow cast into the room through the half window, and Sybil chirped in warning.
Blaze stormed in, glaring at Elvey, then at me.
I stopped in my tracks, my lips parting in surprise. Only then did I realize what I’d almost done. I’d forgotten the whole world. My eyes had only seen Elvey. Unable to resist his magnetic pull, I’d been about to throw myself into his arms.
This time, I couldn’t blame Elvey for having enchanted me. It was all me and this urgent need for him. He was the last missing piece in my soul, and I needed to gather him. Only when he was also with me would I feel complete.
It wasn’t that my princes weren’t enough or lacking. They were more than I asked for.
But Elvey was also a part of me.
The more I resisted him, the bigger the hole expanded in me.
The hunger and longing in his eyes also called me to him. I wanted to touch him more than anything. I wanted him with my every fiber.
But when Blaze suddenly appeared, my mood shifted immediately. I turned to him, feeling a sudden stab of guilt, as if I had gone behind my mates’ backs to cheat with Elvey.
I’d picked a time when they weren’t around, even though there was a guard outside the door to Elvey and Rosalinda’s room. As the future queen to the Danaenyth dynasty, I would always have guards around me, except in my bedroom when I was with my mates.
Elvey’s sensual lips twisted to a bemused smirk. “Look who’s here, our Prince Charming.”
“Shove it, Elvey. I didn’t come for you,” Blaze snapped, turning to me, his eyes remaining hard and cold.
He’d never looked at me like that. Even when we argued, and his temper flared, he was never this cold toward me.
The silent accusation in his burning golden eyes made my shoulders stiffen, but it also brought defiance. I stared at him, swallowing any excuse of why I’d come to see Elvey.
“I was wondering where you were, Daisy,” Blaze said, any emotion stripped from him. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Your Majesty,” Rosalinda said from the bed. I wasn’t sure when she’d dropped her pretense of being asleep. “When Elvey instructs you in magic, I’d be honored to be there. I might have a couple of tricks up my sleeves that El doesn’t know about.”
Blaze darted his eyes toward Rosalinda and the stump of her arm. He was still in the grip of jealousy that he couldn’t even ask about her wellbeing. I needed to lead him out of the room before Elvey goaded or scolded him. I didn’t want to see another senseless duel between them while the enemy army could get here anytime.
“That’s a date then,” I said, and immediately regretted it. I shouldn’t have said the word date, but it had slipped off my tongue so easily.
Blaze’s jaw tightened.
“See you two after noon,” I quickly added.
“See you soon, Daisy darling,” Elvey purred.
My heart fluttered and my skin flushed heat. His purr still had the same effect on me, no matter where we were.
Blaze growled.
“We’ll have at least three good days together,” Elvey added in a pleasant voice. “And I look forward to every minute of it.”
Blaze’s armored chest puffed in anger.
I placed a hand on his arm, and the touch sent tingling pleasure up my arm. It was always like that with any of my mates. It never waned. My body buzzed with want. Blaze’s eyes softened. He felt the same need.
“It’s good you’re looking for me,” I said. “I have some new ideas I want to talk to all of you about.”
I interlaced my fingers with his, and he allowed it.
I led my jealous mate down the corridor, with a guard, a hellhound, and a flying lizard-bird trailing behind carefully.
~
Blaze didn’t talk to me on the way to our suite, his anger returning and sizzling.
He’d let go of my hand, despite him wanting to hold me and touch me.
Iokul and Rai, both in their armor, jogged toward us from the ot
her direction. They were probably off duty and taking a break. They smiled at me, eyes sparkling and heated, until they saw the boiling tension between their brother and me.
Blaze stormed into our room, and I followed quietly. Rai and Iokul entered after us, and Iokul closed the door behind him.
Rai frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Blaze and I kept quiet. The mask-free parts of his face were red with jealous rage, and mine was probably more than defiant and a bit cold—an attempt to cover my guilt.
I’d been caught, but why should I feel ashamed? Elvey, after all, was also my mate!
“What happened?” Iokul asked.
“Daisy and Elvey were eye-fucking each other when I bumped into them,” Blaze spat. “If I didn’t stop them, who knew what would have come of it! She might just cheat on us with him.”
My face reddened in anger and humiliation.
Rai narrowed his eyes on Blaze. “Take care when you talk to our mate. Some words once said can never be unsaid. If you wronged her—”
Blaze snorted. “If you choose to be so blind, so be it. Ask her yourself.”
I clenched my fists at my sides, but I didn’t utter a word.
“Daisy?” Rai asked, his tone soft and lethal.
Was this going to turn into an interrogation? I didn’t owe them any explanations.
Rai sighed in resignation, and his hurt got me.
“I sought out Elvey,” I said. “I wanted to check on him and Rosalinda.”
“Our Daisy is good at finding excuses,” Blaze said.
My face burned hot, and I wanted to punch his masked face. For the first time, I didn’t feel sorry for him having to wear the mask every day.
I held back my anger. I didn’t want to say or do anything I might regret later. And I hated this friction between us. It bruised me.
“That’s enough, Blaze,” Iokul warned.