by Camille Rae
I watched him, his dark hair curling around his face, his dark eyes closed in concentration. My heart clenched, achingly in love with him already.
His touch was the hum of a promise and my entire body sang along with it.
He slid a finger inside of me and I clenched around him, craving him inside me.
“Please,” I begged.
I needed him. All of him.
He pulled away from me, lowering my legs to circle his hips as he kneeled. He grabbed my hips and pulled me to him, then wrapped an arm around my back, picking me up to straddle his lap again.
I nuzzled his neck, taking in his warm, evergreen scent. How could he still smell like freedom and outdoors when he had been inside for hours? I tightened my grip around him, holding him to me, clinging to him with need.
He nipped at the soft skin between my neck and shoulder, digging his fingers into my lower back.
“I want you so much,” he murmured into my skin. “I’ve wanted you forever, it feels like.”
He felt around in the blankets for whatever he had tossed into the bed before. A condom. I was pleasantly surprised as I listened to the crinkle of the wrapper and gave him space to roll it onto his length.
He took my mouth in a harsh kiss, pulling my lower lip between his teeth as he settled my hips back over his, guiding himself into me.
He filled me until I was near bursting, and then paused, his breath hot on my neck. “You feel so good,” he moaned, nipping at my jaw.
I whimpered quietly in agreement, too overcome with emotion to use words. I circled my hips and he fisted my hair in his hand, letting me set the pace.
We fit together so perfectly — his big, strong body wrapped around my own, but I still felt incredibly powerful in that moment, riding him, claiming him, making him feel as good as he made me feel.
With our bodies so close together, every slight move of his hips affected me deeply, and it didn’t take me long to ride the rhythm until I was at the peak, the beginnings of climax building in my lower back and legs. I tried to hold back, wanting more time, wanting just one more moment of this incredible thrill.
“Caia, come,” he commanded, and I obeyed, shattering around him.
I held onto him for dear life, afraid I’d float into the sky without him grounding me. He pumped his hips quickly, and crushed me to him as his own climax took hold.
We both relaxed, clutching one another, sweaty and sticky and exhausted. I kept my eyes closed, lying my head on his shoulder as I came back down to Earth. Or if not Earth, then Laeris.
He tensed, whispering urgently, “Look.”
I opened my eyes, feeling drowsy and confused, and immediately gasped when I saw it.
Dozens of tiny sparks of golden light were floating around us. They were no bigger than marbles, but they floated and danced in the air.
“Are these…” I asked, reaching out to try to catch one in my hand as though it was a firefly.
“Who knew this was all we had to do to get your magic flowing,” he teased, swishing his hand in the air and watching as they floated in the breeze.
“You think you’re so good in bed that you made my magic come to me?” I asked playfully, kissing down his neck.
“Caia, I have to tell you something,” he said, his voice suddenly serious, but resounding only in my head. His lips didn’t move.
“Yes?” I responded through our connection.
His cheeks reddened and I waited, staring into his eyes.
“Shifters… we have mates. Destined mates. When we find our mate, it’s like a tether you can never cut,” he began, his voice barely a whisper in my mind.
I stayed quiet, trying to fathom the idea. Some people believed in soul mates, but that didn’t sound as intense as what Loel described.
“They say when you… become one with your perfect mate, your powers expand. Magnified, in a way.” He stared at me with intensity, as though to judge whether or not I was following his meaning.
“That sounds lovely,” I said, reaching to push his hair away from his face gently.
“Spark. For me, it’s you. You are my perfect mate,” he continued.
“But what if that’s the spell that’s making you feel that way?” I asked aloud. “How do you know for sure?”
“Because right now, I can read your mind. Not just what you offer to me. Not just memories. I can hear your thoughts. And if I pay attention, I can hear the thoughts of the servants down the hall, the people at dinner, children out in the streets. I can hone in on strangers like never before,” he explained.
“But what if that’s just the pack that’s making you stronger? Like how you all touched me as I tried to use my magic earlier? The others have said their powers are stronger, too,” I said, pushing up onto my elbow to stare down at him.
Something dark glinted in his eyes, but only for a moment. “You are mine,” he growled, his voice ringing clear through the quiet room.
I watched him in disbelief, the rational side of myself warring against the feelings I had for him.
It felt as though fucking him had sealed him to me.
Because as scared as his demand of ownership made me, I felt it right back.
He was mine, as much as I was his.
His eyes widened, and I realized he was reading my thoughts.
“We can talk more about it tomorrow,” he said.
I lay my head back down on the pillow, trying to clear my mind.
“Sleep now, my love,” he said, tucking his arm around me to pull me in close.
He smelled heavenly, still like evergreen, but with the masculinity of sweet sweat. I kissed the side of his pec, the closest skin I could reach.
“Loel?” I whispered.
His eyes were closed, but he made a small questioning noise.
I wanted to tell him I felt it all for him, too. That I loved him. Needed him. Felt bound to him in a way that didn’t make me feel caged, but instead, free. I considered my words, knowing I’d never match the eloquence of his speech from earlier.
He smiled, his eyes still closed, and said, “I know, Spark.”
Chapter 22
Caia
“Caia? Caia?” The voice came panicked, and I was in a dark room, unable to see anything. But I’d know that voice anywhere. Jude.
“Caia, please, help!” Jude cried out, further away now.
I spun around with my hands out, trying to see anything. A blue orb began to glow in front of me, illuminating Elestra’s face.
“You really shouldn’t be fucking them,” Elestra said, tsking.
I tried to open my mouth, tried to ask about Jude, but Elestra was walking towards me, and I was retreating for fear of getting too close to the fireball — or whatever it was — in front of me.
“When you take things that belong to me, it makes me very unhappy,” she said, frowning.
How did she know? Was she in my head? Was she watching?
I turned, trying to run, but I was against a wall.
Jude. Where was Jude? I strained to hear her call for me.
The room lit up suddenly, and I could see Jude about twenty feet away, her hands bound. She knelt on the floor and looked completely helpless. I tried to run to her, but my legs wouldn’t move.
“Oh, right, your little friend is here,” Elestra said, the blue orb bouncing between her hands as casually as she might juggle oranges.
Where were they? How could I get to them?
“You already know where we are, Sister,” Elestra said. She tossed the orb at me and I ducked just in time, turning to watch as it hit the wall behind me to explode into sparks.
“Come find us,” she sing-songed.
My eyes shot open, but I willed my body to stay still and silent. I was finally getting used to the dreams, to waking up in a panic.
I knew what I had to do.
Right now.
Loel breathed slow and steady beside me, and I carefully unwound my limbs from his, extracting myself from his arm. I
grabbed a pillow and pushed it back into the space where I had been as he murmured, “Ky.”
I paused, watching him to see if he was awake. Judging by his even breathing, he didn’t seem to be. I waved my hand in front of him, but he didn’t move or startle. I tried to keep my thoughts clear, knowing he might be able to interfere with what I had to do.
I resisted the urge to touch him, to lie back down and crawl back into his arms, his protective embrace.
My sweet Loel. My chest ached already, knowing how hard it would be to leave him. To sever the tie that bound us now.
But now I knew where Jude was. Queen’s City. I had obviously suspected that all along, especially after Flora’s visit, but after having Elestra confirm it, knowing she was inside of my head, I had to leave immediately.
Some part of me wanted to believe that Jude had gotten away from the Blues. That she had somehow escaped and was biding her time in the woods until we could find the way back together.
Could it be a trap? I had to risk it. And that risk was keeping me from involving the Wolves. I could be captured or murdered, but if anything were to happen to the men, the Rebellion would suffer.
The idea of Loel suffering made my throat swell with emotion.
I took a deep breath and cleared my thoughts again.
I slid off the bed as smoothly as I could, and bent, grabbing my boots, pants, long-sleeved shirt, and underwear. I went into the bathroom and shut the door as quietly as possible, cringing as I heard the sound of the lock catch.
What would I tell Loel if he heard me now? Sorry, couldn’t sleep, figured I’d go find some food, was the best I could come up with, and I dressed quickly.
Jude was in trouble. She needed me.
Immediately.
I opened the bathroom door slowly to see if Loel was still sleeping. He was, looking as angelic as ever.
He looked so young when he slept, the dying glow of the embers in the fire lighting up his cheekbones and highlighting his long, straight nose, and his soft, rounded lips.
I grabbed my cloak and nearly knocked into the flowers that sat on top of my dresser. I put a hand to them to stop them from tipping over and gasped as my ring burned red hot against my skin.
A flash of light clouded my vision, and I could hear a voice say, “Get to Queen’s City. She needs you.”
I took a deep breath, taking my hand off the flowers.
I knew that voice.
Flora.
I stared at the flowers, dumbfounded. How long had those been in my room, and how long had I ignored them?
Suddenly, the flower in her hand made sense. I must have forgotten all about that detail after the attack.
I pressed my hand to the flowers again, warily testing it out, but my touch was met with nothing more than twelve stems of tall flowers, their hard stalks cool against my skin.
I looked back to where Loel still slept, confirming I hadn’t awoken him with my strange vision. How that man slept through me being so loud, I had no idea. He really did make a terrible psychic when his guard was down.
I didn’t press my luck on him staying asleep much longer, and I slipped from the room.
I couldn’t just traipse out the front door of the Citadel, but the only unguarded entrance I knew was the training dungeon, and I knew that part of the wall well enough to scale it, fortunately.
I’d need food and a map if I was going to survive out in the Hollow Wood. I remembered the map Silas had shown me. Queen’s City was due east of Nos, and if I tracked the sun, I could stay on the approximate path. I knew my journey would involve a lot of hiking through tough terrain and even a sea passage. If I thought I could get away with stealing a horse, I definitely would, saddle soreness be damned.
If I had to choose one thing to bring, I’d choose food.
I pulled the cloak around my shoulders and ran down the stairs toward the kitchen.
I wasn’t sure how late it was, but as far as I could tell, I was the only one awake. The torches still lit my way.
If I was caught, I could just say I was hungry from missing dinner. It wouldn’t even be a lie. My stomach growled in agreement.
I avoided the Great Hall by taking a few extra turns, knowing that a lot of the Citadel staff didn’t have quarters and slept on beds in the hall around the hearth.
I walked into the kitchen — still lit with torches, strangely — and began rifling through drawers and baskets, grabbing a bag from a peg on the wall and stuffing it full of provisions.
Biscuits, dried meat, dried fruit… it’d have to do. Maybe I could forage on the way, though that’d be dangerous, given how little I knew about Laerisian flora.
Once my bag was full, I turned, stumbling immediately into Theo.
My stomach dropped, cold terror flooding my veins.
“Hungry?” Theo’s voice was low and threatening.
I dropped the bag on the counter and fell back, glancing around quickly for a knife, though a rolling pin would do.
“I missed dinner,” I said, swallowing hard.
He touched the edge of my cloak. “And this is for?”
“It’s cold in the Citadel at night,” I said, steeling my nerves.
He reached out to touch my cheek, his hand cupping my face.
I froze in disgust and terror.
“So beautiful,” he leered, and I swallowed down the sick feeling that his touch sent through me. I smelled whiskey on his breath, and I leaned away from him as far as I could.
“I’m just going back to my room now,” I said, trying to move out of his path.
He wrapped his fingers tightly around my wrist. “We could have been something incredible,” he said, a tone of melancholy and wistfulness in his voice. “But you mated with him instead.”
His grip tightened on my wrist. “And that has changed everything,” he continued.
“You’re hurting me,” I said, trying to wrench my arm out of his grip.
“Wait, Everallin,” he said quietly, still holding me.
The word made me freeze again. I knew exactly what Silas had meant when he had told me that words held power. For me, it was that one word, that one name, that affected me every time.
“If you stay, we can still take back Laeris,” he whispered. “It will be yours, ours, if we defeat the Queen.”
“I don’t want it,” I said, shaking my head.
I felt a strange rush of energy come over me, and it took me a moment to realize I was being held, bound from all sides by powerful magic. I struggled against it, my arms pinned at my sides.
“Don’t fight me,” he said, his eyes darkening. “Don’t ever fight me. You think my men actually care for you?”
I stared at him, stunned into speechlessness. Of course I knew that Loel cared for me. And the other men, too, since they were my closest friends in Nos. Why was he bringing the Wolves into this?
“You think you were found by the Wolves out of fate? You think the stars aligned and they just happened to be in the forest where you’d show up?” He took a step towards me, and the magical binds on me tightened.
I pulled against them, but they continued to tighten around me, threatening to break my bones.
“They were there because I sent them there. Flora told me exactly where you’d appear on the 326th moon, and so I sent them there to bring you back to me. They work for me, not you. Never forget that,” he continued, looking smugly at me.
I couldn’t take a deep breath; the invisible ties were so tight.
“Now stop fighting me,” his voice lowered, the threat sounded even more terrifying as a whisper.
He approached me slowly, his boots echoing on the stone with each step.
“You will be my mate. Together, we’ll lead the Rebellion. Our union will bring together all of Laeris. Those still loyal to the Queen will see you and change their minds. We will be great. Together,” he said.
I swallowed, my mouth so dry I could barely speak. “I’m not your mate,” I said.
“Oh, is that what Loel told you? That you were his perfect mate?” His tone was cold, mocking.
I stared at him in confusion.
“That’s adorable,” he said, leaning in to touch my hair. “But it’s a fairy tale. Our choices are more powerful than fate.”
I grimaced, closing my eyes as he stepped close against me. I wasn’t sure what I would do — what I could do, given the magic binding me.
“Now, give me the ring,” he said and reached for my hand.
I tried in vain to put my hand behind my back.
He tugged at the Golden Heart, trying to pull the ring off my finger.
It wouldn’t budge.
He pulled harder and I winced.
“You’re hurting me,” I repeated, ashamed of how little my voice sounded.
I knew damn well from trying hundreds of times that the ring wouldn’t come off my finger.
“Give it to me,” he hissed, frustrated, still ripping at my skin.
“No,” I exclaimed. The desperation in his eyes terrified me more than the anger I had seen flash there a moment before.
“Then I’ll have to take it,” he said, his voice strangely calm again.
He flicked his wrist and I lifted off the ground. With another gesture, I flew back into the pantry, the door slamming shut after me.
I crashed into the shelves as jars and glass containers fell to the ground around me. It was pitch black, and I coughed, choking on what I guessed was flour that must have broken open and exploded into the air. Without being able to move my limbs, I laid limply on the floor, the cool stone pressing into my bones.
“Stay there,” he said with a grin, and I could tell he was mocking me.
I heard his boots click against the stone.
Where had Theo gone?
I rolled onto my back, trying to calm my breathing. I could move, at least.
I was stuck, and my arm throbbed. I wondered if it was broken.
I reached for the door handle, but it wouldn’t budge.
I felt so weak and ashamed... I couldn’t even protect myself when I needed to.
And if I did manage to free myself, how would I journey through the woods with a broken arm?