by Lucy Roy
Ordona appeared somewhat mollified by her words, but there was no mistaking the meaning behind the tight set of Byrric’s and Salazar’s jaws.
“I think I’m full,” Aer said after a moment. He smiled at Freya. “Walk with me?”
“Oh, and that’s another thing,” Ordona said, not seeming to get the hint that her son wanted out of the conversation. “Perhaps for your last night, you should maintain separate rooms—”
Aer held up a hand to cut his mother off. “No. We’re adults. We aren’t sleeping in separate rooms to create some ridiculous facade of propriety that was shot to hell weeks ago. The only creatures in this palace who could possibly consider premarital relations uncouth are the humans, and I doubt my betrothed and I enjoying each other behind closed doors will damage foreign relations.”
“Gods above,” Freya muttered, rubbing a hand across her forehead, surprised at the bite to his words.
“Perhaps a walk would be a good idea,” Byrric told them, sending her a look. “Settle yourselves, get a good night’s sleep.”
Ordona cleared her throat. “Yes, tomorrow will be a long day. You should certainly rest up.”
Salazar lit a cigar, staring at them both as he puffed on the end. He blew out a long plume of smoke, then tapped it on a glass dish, the ruby on his ring glinting. “I hope, Aerelius, for your sake, that when you have children, they aren’t nearly as tiresome as the pair of you.”
“You know, it’s funny,” Aer said, smiling. “I actually hope they turn out just like us.”
Chapter 44
A short while later, they found themselves staring out over the dark mountains as they settled down on the ramparts at the rear of the palace where the crenelated walls rose highest over the grounds.
“What can I do?” she asked, holding out her hand for his.
He hesitated for a moment before linking his fingers with hers, then tightened his grip as he let out a quiet breath. He’d hidden his anger well enough at dinner up until the end, but Freya could see it continuing to seep through now. The annoyance and aggravation of dealing with his parents—she could only assume he’d had similar discussions with them before—was wearing on him.
“I don’t know,” he replied, not taking his eyes off the dark forest. “I truly have no idea how to make my parents less demanding, less… irritating. I can’t fathom why they think we’d need to be told how to handle the most basic of tasks.”
“I would imagine they’re just as nervous as we are,” she said, then put her fingers to his lips when he opened his mouth to protest. “We’re all nervous, Aer. There’s no shame in admitting it.”
An argument sparked in his eyes, but his shoulders relaxed, so she let her hand fall.
Freya bit her lip, thinking. “Aer, look at me.” When he complied, she took his other hand. “Have I given you any reason to doubt my feelings for you? Any reason to think I would have to force an air of contentment with you on our wedding day?”
He averted his eyes. “No, Freya, it’s not that.” With a sigh, he let go of her hand and draped his arm around her shoulders, then pressed a kiss to her hair. “I’ve always felt as though my life was chosen for me,” he began. “You are something I would’ve chosen, if given the chance, so please don’t mistake my annoyance now with reluctance in regard to you. You know that isn’t the case. But this pressure, this need for our parents to control it all, down to the way I look at you—” He huffed out an annoyed breath. “If it were up to me, I’d toss the crown aside and tell you we should run off together, choose our own path, and be done with it all.”
She smiled to herself. Though it was something she’d kept to herself, she’d often felt the same way. It would be simpler, she thought, if she could go back to the easy life her father had given her in Watoria and just bring Aer with her. She’d cast glamours over them both and they could live however they pleased in perfect anonymity, making their own choices with no crowns weighing down their heads.
Freya thought for a long moment, then, before she could second-guess herself, she climbed into his lap, straddling his hips. Ignoring his suggestive smirk and the slide of his hands on her legs, she let out her wings, wide and dark in the moonlight, and slipped a feather from the lower, non-venomous edge of one.
“Give me your hand,” she whispered.
He looked down at the feather, then gave her a curious look. “What—”
She paused. “Do you trust me?”
His response came without hesitation. “Of course.”
“Then give me your hand,” she repeated.
Still eyeing her warily, he released his hold on her thigh and wrapped his other arm around her waist, steadying her on his lap as he held out his hand.
She kissed his palm and stared into his eyes. “Ever since we were children, I’ve wanted you in my life. You fit, even when you made me angry, even when you were nothing but a gross little boy,” she said with a wrinkle of her nose. “You were what I looked forward to every time I came to the capital, and when my father took me away, it hurt to be apart from you.”
The anger in his eyes softened and he smiled. “I knew you’d come around eventually. Does this mean I’ve won our little bet?”
She took a deep breath, then before she could think twice, she scored his flesh with the tip of her feather, ignoring his sharp hiss of pain. Quickly, she did the same to her own hand, then dropped the plume and pressed their wounded palms together.
Touching a finger to his lips to silence him, she met his eyes determinedly and spoke the words she’d memorized weeks earlier. “I, Freya of House Balthana, pledge myself to you, Aerelius Harridan. I give myself to you fully in mind, body, and soul, to be your faithful wife, confidant, and friend.” Trembling, she pressed a kiss to the back of his hand, then met his gaze, wide-eyed. “On this day, I give you my heart freely and take you as my mate.”
He stared at her, stunned, then tightened his hand around hers as he wasted no time reciting his own vows.
“I, Aerelius of House Harridan, pledge myself to you, Freya Balthana.” He took a deep breath before continuing, his expression full of excitement. “I give myself to you fully in mind, body, and soul, to be your faithful husband, confidant, and friend. On this day, I give you my heart freely and take you as my mate.” Not taking his eyes from hers, he touched his lips to the back of her hand. “Do you know the incantation?”
Still shaking, she nodded. She touched a finger to where their blood had mixed on her palm, then drew a thin line along his collarbones, a bonding mark intended as offering to the gods. Taking his other hand, she dipped his finger in the blood on his own palm, then offered her neck to him.
“Wait,” he breathed. “If we perform the ritual now—”
She shook her head. “The gods will see it as a renewal of our bonding vows when we wed.” Slowly, she guided his hand toward her collarbone. “They’ll accept the offering then, just as they will now.”
His lips curved in a soft smile, then he closed the distance between his hand and her neck, tracing the same offering marks on her skin as she had on his.
“I call to the gods to bind us eternal,” she whispered, letting her wings curve around them. “I beseech the Mother to accept this offering and grant us this favor. Allow our souls to join as one…” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “From this moment on, until the worlds choose to crumble, we swear fealty to our mate and no other.”
Chest heaving, she opened her eyes, and her gaze crashed to his. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words were sucked from her throat when her call was answered.
A fiery hook tore through her, dragging her thoughts, feelings, emotions, her very essence toward him. His hands tightened around her waist and she gripped his shoulders as they pulled each other closer in tandem, the tug of their souls merging nearly overwhelming. The magic swirled within her and around them as it pulled them closer, fitting them tighter against each other.
Tears of relief sprang to her eyes as sh
e realized the bond wasn’t forging something new, as she’d expected—it was blowing oxygen to a fire that already burned deep in her heart. Pieces she didn’t know were missing clicked into place, and she knew without question that this bond transcended all feelings of love.
Moments—possibly hours—later, the magic began to ebb, and she thanked the gods she hadn’t had to feign any sense of calm as the magic had sealed their bond.
“Freya—” he rasped, his breaths coming in heavy pants.
She loosened her grip on his shirt. “Hmm?”
“It was… everything I feel… it was—”
“Already there?” she whispered.
He stared at her, wide-eyed. “For you, as well?”
Resting her forehead against his, she laughed. “Thank the gods we didn’t do this in public.”
He gazed up at her, then ran his hands through her hair and pulled her face toward his in a slow, heart-pounding kiss.
She put a hand to his chest, marveling at the way their hearts now beat in perfect rhythm. Breaking the kiss, she ran a finger along his clavicle, smiling when she saw the bonding marks had vanished—their offerings to the gods had been received.
“It’s amazing,” she murmured. “I can feel you…”
“That will certainly take some getting used to,” he replied, then let out a quiet growl when she slammed her lips to his again. His hands slid under her skirt and up her thighs, fingers curling around the bare skin of her waist as she rolled her hips against his.
A small whimper escaped her lips when he pulled away.
“Not on the roof, my love,” he said, his eyes tender. “The gods only know who’s already been watching us.”
Smiling, she dragged a finger across his lips as she retracted her wings. “Take me to your room, my prince.”
Keeping her legs tight around his waist, he stood and carried her toward the stairwell. “Taking advantage of me so soon? I’m beginning to question your motivations, Valkyrie.”
“As though there’s nothing in it for you,” she teased, laying a kiss to his neck. His pulse beat against her lips, echoing her own.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, he pushed a large section of stone inward, revealing a dark passage.
Moments later, a latch clicked and he was pushing open a door into his chambers. Kicking the hidden panel shut behind them, Aer pressed her against the wall, his mouth plundering hers. She tore at his doublet, then his shirt, the fabric tearing as she revealed the smooth skin of his chest. In that moment, all she wanted was to explore every inch of his body, all of the most intimate places that might’ve made her blush just to think of a few months ago.
“Bed,” she breathed, gasping when his lips found her throat once again. Her nails dug into his skin. “Now.”
“So impatient,” he murmured, setting her on her feet. Slowly, he dragged his hands down her sides. “Turn around.”
She did as he asked, turning and bracing her hands against the wall, taking several deep breaths to steady herself. When he ran his hand down her spine, her eyes fluttered shut. With gentle fingers, he began to undo the laces that held her dress up, pausing now and then to kiss her bare shoulder and back.
When he was done, Freya let her dress fall to the floor in a puddle of pale green silk, leaving her in only her undergarments as she turned to face him, her heart thundering in her chest. She’d never been ashamed of her body, had always liked the way she was shaped well enough, and he’d seen her in various states of undress in recent months, but her heart still pounded as she let her prince take her in fully for the first time.
This was all so new. The way he looked at her, pupils dilated as he ran his eyes over her body, was so very, very new.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped toward him, shoving her dress aside.
“Gods above, Freya,” he breathed, cupping her face in his hands. “You are everything.”
Wordlessly, he scooped her off the ground, his fingers digging into her thighs as he brought her to his bed and laid her down, then gently slid her undergarments down her legs. Before he could settle himself on top of her, she put a hand to his shoulder and sat up.
With trembling fingers, she began to undo the laces and fastenings on his pants, then slowly drew them down his hips. When all of him was bared for her to see, she met his eyes, surprised at the amount of boldness she felt. Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to his stomach. She wanted to touch and taste, please him in every way possible. Seeing her intent, he touched a finger to her chin, tilting her face toward his, and gave a slow shake of his head.
“Later,” he murmured. “We’ve got all the time in the world and I think we’ve waited long enough.”
Kneeling on the mattress, he caged her body between his arms, then brushed his lips across hers, down her neck, lingering at her collar bones where the bonding marks had been. She arched her back and gasped when he took her breast into his mouth, her fingers curving around his shoulders in response.
The bond that had awoken in her soared.
“I’ve always been yours, Freya. I hope you know that now,” he whispered just before he brought his mouth back to hers.
“Show me,” she breathed against his lips.
His eyes found hers, wide and dark in the moonlight, as he slowly eased their bodies together, joining them as one. She breathed through the sharp burn, focusing instead on the way his body fit against hers, the scrape of teeth against her neck, the taste of sweat when she dragged her lips across his shoulder, her nails as they dug into his back.
Slowly, the pain ebbed, replaced by the thrum of their hearts, the thrill of his skin against hers, and, finally, as pleasure worked its way in, anticipation.
Never in her life had she been happier, more content, than she was in that moment.
Later, when he collapsed on top of her, chest heaving, she closed her eyes and smiled, then gently ran a hand up and down his back.
He laid a soft kiss to the dip of her shoulder, then laughed.
“What—are you laughing right now?”
“Shh… no,” he whispered. “I’m just… a bit in shock. When you said you’d break molds with me…”
“Ah,” she murmured, her body relaxing. “Sealing a blood bond on the roof of your palace the night before our wedding wasn’t what you planned?”
“I would’ve expected it to be my idea, not yours. I’m a bit perturbed you thought of it first, to be honest.” He paused a moment, then laughed again, harder this time. “Gods above, Freya. Our parents are going to murder us.”
Chapter 45
“Goddess help me, they really did it!”
“Clearly, you imbecile. It reeks in here.”
“All of you need to go away,” Aer groaned.
“No, you two need to get up now,” Lea said firmly as Freya rolled onto her back, pulling the blanket up around her chest. “Right now before anyone sees you! It’s your wedding day, for heaven’s sake, and Freya is expected in her room in less than an hour!”
“What were you two thinking?” Collin asked. “Ervic said he saw you both on the ramparts last night and something… happened.”
The room was silent for a moment, then Laz let out a snort. “You two completed your mating bond, didn’t you?”
Tightening the blanket around her chest, Freya tilted her chin up. “Yes, we did.”
Collin groaned.
“Technically, we haven’t done anything wrong,” Aer said. “A bit unconventional, maybe.”
“Maybe, he says,” Collin muttered. “Your parents are going to kill you both for keeping them in the dark, you do know that, right?”
“You’re lucky Ervic came to me and not the king or queen,” Lea said with a tsk. “Kallan will be here in an hour, Freya, so you’d best get in your room before Dina brings your breakfast. I’ve already told her you requested something outlandish, although I’m sure Maghda has seen straight through that excuse.”
Still holding her blanket up, Freya arched a
brow. “A bit of privacy, then?”
Collin sent them another mildly disapproving look, then sighed. “We’ll tell your guards to make sure no one comes down this way until you’re both presentable.”
The moment he left, Freya threw back the covers and made to climb out of bed, only to be stopped by Aer’s vise-like grip on her waist. He pulled her back down, immediately pinning her to the mattress. Smiling, he brushed her hair, still mussed from sleep, from her face.
“What is it?” she asked quietly.
He kissed the tip of her nose, then ran his eyes over her face. “You. Waking up with you like this… it’s different than I expected.”
“In a good way, I hope.”
“Very good,” he murmured. He trailed a hand down her side, his heat-filled eyes boring into hers. “Tonight,” he whispered as his hand drifted lower, stopping at her hipbone, “I’m going to kiss you everywhere.”
A sigh slipped past her lips as he lowered his mouth to hers and slowly began to use his hands on her. She felt his heart quicken against her chest, mimicking the rhythm that beat there.
Perfection, she thought, her mind going to mush as she went pliant against him. Absolute and utter perfection.
There was a pounding at the door.
“Time is of the essence, you two!” Collin called.
“Ignore him,” Aer whispered. “We’ve got a few minutes and I’d like to start our wedding day off on a high note, wouldn’t you?”
Biting her lip, she nodded. Casting a glance toward the door that led into her room, she gave a quick flick of her wrist, locking the outer door.
Grinning, Aer rolled on top of her, then paused a moment, his face turning serious as his eyes searched hers.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I love you, Freya.” He brushed a kiss against her lips. “If last night didn’t make that abundantly clear, I just wanted to say the words aloud. I don’t care if it means I’ve lost our bet.”