Adric's Heart

by Rebecca Rivard

  Cleia spoke. “You owe the fada a boon, Prince Langdon.”

  “My sister’s life,” Adric said.

  “And Lord Adric’s,” Rosana quickly added. “We’ll accept nothing else.”

  “Come,” Cleia said. “That seems reasonable. After all, this was started by your own son.”

  Langdon eyed Adric coldly. Adric had a sudden insight—the prince was searching for a way to save face in front of his people. But more than that, he truly wanted to get to know Merry.

  And it was Merry’s birthright. She had the right to make her own decision.

  “As for your granddaughter,” Adric added, “as far as I’m concerned, the choice is hers. Not yours, and not Lord Dion’s.”

  Rui do Mar made a sharp movement, but Dion nodded at Adric. “Go on.”

  Adric dropped his voice so that only Langdon, Cleia, Rui, Dion and Rosana could hear.

  “When Merry comes of age, then you’ll invite her to visit the court. I’m sure Lord Dion will agree that the choice at that point will be hers. But for now, leave her where she is. She’s safe, happy. The river fada have done a good job of protecting her, and the queen keeps an eye on her as well. Too many people are interested in her.”

  A muscle in the prince’s cheek worked. His gaze slid to the nearby night fae, straining to hear the low-voiced conversation.

  “Very well,” he said. “If you and Lord Dion both swear that when my granddaughter comes of age, the choice is hers.”

  “No tricks or coercion,” Adric said. “She must be given a true choice.”

  Dion waited for Rui to nod, and then said, “That’s acceptable to us.”

  Langdon inclined his head. “You have my promise.”

  “And my promise as well,” first Adric, then Dion said.

  Langdon hesitated. “I would like the chance to get to know her, though. Perhaps a meeting or two a year.”

  “That’s up to her father,” Dion said.

  Rui crossed his arms over his broad chest. “No.”

  “And that goes double for me,” said Jace from behind Adric’s shoulder. “You had your chance to get to know her when she was on the run from Tyrus. Now, she stays with us.”

  The prince’s mouth tightened. “Very well. But perhaps you can ask if she wishes to meet me. I promise, I want only to become acquainted with her.”

  Rui’s dark brows lowered. “We’ll see,” was all he’d say.

  “Thank you.” Langdon stepped back. “Let them leave unharmed,” he told his warriors. He bowed to the queen. “Peace to you and yours, Cleia.”

  “And to yours,” she returned with a gracious bow of her own.

  Adric and Marjani exchanged an incredulous glance. But that was the fae. Polite even as they slipped a knife into your rib cage.

  In the exodus that followed, Adric sidled up to Langdon. “Just so you know,” he murmured, “if you take Merry, I’ll know. Every earth fada in the clan is connected to my quartz.”

  “I see.” Langdon’s eyes dropped to Adric’s pendant.

  Adric fingered it just to make sure his point was taken. “You can hide her, but eventually, I’ll find her. And I wouldn’t advise looking for a way to break the connection. It might work—or you might kill her. We’re not the enemy,” he added. “Your own people are.”

  Langdon’s gaze flicked at a priest setting the metal bowl back on its stand. Others had faded back into the shadows, so that only their faces were visible. Watching. Waiting.

  “I’m aware of that,” the prince said, and striding back to his throne, settled onto it with his legs sprawled in front of him as if he hadn’t a care in the world.

  Adric’s chest heaved. It was over.

  He reached for Rosana, but she was already there. She took his head between her hands and gave him a smacking kiss, uncaring that her brothers, Cleia and the upper hierarchy of both their clans were watching. Or maybe, that was the point.

  “You did it!”

  “No, we did it,” he corrected, enfolding her in his arms. “I love you, you know that?”

  “Right back at you.” She buried her face in his neck and they stood there, arms tight around each other, rocking back and forth. “I was so scared,” she muttered.

  “I’m sorry, angel.”

  She pulled back. “You should be,” she said with a crooked grin. “Now take me home.”

  He glanced at where Marjani was crouched next to Luc, speaking in a low voice. The wolf growled and shook his head.

  “You go,” he told Rosana. “I’ll be right with you.”

  Her gaze had followed his own. “Of course.” She hugged him again and then turned to Dion, who was waiting to wrap her in a hug of his own.

  Marjani looked up at Adric, biting her lip. “He won’t leave. I think he’s bonded to her somehow.”

  Adric scowled down at Luc. He’d thought the next time he saw the wolf, he’d rip off his face for what he’d put Rosana through, but now he just felt sorry for him. Besides, if he knew Luc, the wolf would punish himself more harshly than anything Adric could do.

  He set a hand on Luc’s head. The wolf pushed into his palm, taking his alpha’s scent on himself.

  “Luc. Come with us. The clan misses you. I miss you.”

  The wolf turned his head to look up at Adric. His eyes had lost their madness. He gave Adric a decided nudge toward the exit. Go.

  Adric’s throat tightened. He wanted to argue further, but almost everyone had left now. Besides him and Marjani, only Fane, Cleia and a couple of sun fae warriors waited, and it wasn’t fair to ask them to stay in this nightmare of a court any longer than they had to.

  “Okay. If you’re sure that’s how you want it.” He rubbed his cheek against Luc’s. “But when you return, your place in the clan will be there. That’s a promise.”

  Luc dipped his head in acknowledgment.

  There was still one thing left to do. Keeping a wary eye on the circling ravens, Adric thrust his quartz toward at the woman trapped within. “Lady Blaer,” he commanded. “Look at my quartz.”

  She glanced up and dully shook her head.

  He let the fire flare inside. “Lady Blaer,” he repeated in a hard voice. “Look at my quartz.”

  This time, her gaze caught on the quartz. Held.

  Maybe it was because he was so determined, or maybe it was because she’d been weakened by her fight with Langdon, but when he said, “You will forget the secret words. You’ll even forget they exist,” she gave a jerky nod.

  “Say it,” he ordered.

  “I will forget the secret words. As if they never existed.”

  “And you’ll never use them against a fada again,” he added.

  “And I’ll never use them against a fada again.”

  “Good.” He bared his fangs at her. “Because if you do, the next time we meet, I’ll carve your fucking liver out.”

  He rose back up.

  A tear ran down Marjani’s mud-streaked cheek. She touched Luc’s shoulder, then turned and stumbled toward the portal, where Fane wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Together, she, Fane and Adric exited the clearing, Cleia and her men behind them.

  Dion and Tiago waited on the other side of the portal, along with Rosana, who had an arm around each of them.

  “You came.” She was laughing and crying at the same time. “You came.”

  “Of course, we did,” Dion growled and handed her off to Cleia for a hug.

  “You were awesome,” Rosana told her. “Totally kickass.”

  The queen grinned—and swayed on her feet. Her skin was pale under its dusting of gold. Dion was instantly there, sweeping her into his arms.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he said.

  Together, he, Tiago, and Rui hurried the two women through the forest. Rosana cast an apologetic look over her shoulder at Adric, but allowed it. But when she stepped through the second portal, she halted to wait for Adric.

  He immediately set an arm around her waist. Staking his clai
m in front of her brothers.

  Dion cast Adric a dark look. “You really mated with this filho da puta?”

  “I was dying.” Rosana moved closer to Adric. “He saved my life. We’re bonded now. You can’t undo it.”

  “But we would like your blessing,” Adric added.

  Tiago sneered. “What about your clan?”

  “They’ll treat my mate with respect, or they’ll find a new clan.” Adric touched his quartz. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”

  Beside him, Marjani and Jace nodded agreement.

  Dion gave curt nod. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  Rosana beamed. “It will work,” she assured her brothers. “You’ll see.”

  As they started forward again, she lifted her face to a ray of sunshine. With a shock, Adric realized it was morning, the sun rising in a winter-blue sky.

  His lungs expanded. Inside, his cat gave a luxurious stretch.

  A dizzying exhilaration filled him. This was happiness, he realized. This light-as-air feeling.

  The night fae had been defeated—for now, at least. His sister was free of the death sentence hanging over her, and he’d neutralized Lady Blaer. They’d even bought Merry some time before she’d have to deal with Prince Langdon.

  And not only had he survived, he’d somehow won this smart, beautiful, caring woman as his mate.

  Rosana turned to look at him. Curious at first, and then she broke into a wondering smile.

  “You’re happy. I feel it. Here.” She pressed her fingers to her breastbone.

  “Hell, yeah.” He touched his lips to hers, taking that smile inside him. “Let’s go home.”

  “Yes,” she murmured against his mouth. “Let’s go home.”

  47

  The mate ball was held at the Court of the Rising Sun.

  Queen Cleia had offered, and Rosana had been so thrilled that Adric had agreed, even though he’d assumed they’d hold the ceremony out of his den. Still, at the end of the night, she’d be going home with him, and that was all he cared about.

  The ritual was scheduled for sunset on the spring equinox. Adric slid a finger under the collar of his bronze button-up shirt as he waited for Rosana in the crowded, flower-filled tent. A fae light drifted by, a soft pink dotted with lazily spiraling bits of gold. More fae lights cast a hazy rose hue on the assembled clans—his, hers, and a sizable number of sun fae.

  At his side were Zuri and Jace, and nearby were Rosana’s attendants, Merry and Jenny. Dion and Marjani were joint officiants.

  Dion was imposing in a deep blue shirt and dark slacks, his long hair flowing over his shoulders, his big feet bare. His pint-sized daughter was cuddled in one arm, her bright eyes taking in everything.

  “Savonett.” The other alpha nodded, unsmiling. “All the best on your mate-day.”

  He nodded back. “Thank you.”

  He turned to Marjani, stunning in an African wax-print dress with cheerful red poppies splashed on a green background. It was still a shock to see his sister in something besides brown, gray or camo-green.

  “Jani.” He embraced her. “You look—”

  “Gorgeous?” She hugged him back. “Glowing?”

  He grinned. “Yeah. All that.” He stepped back to scan the meadow for Rosana again, but she was closeted with Cleia and her former nurse Isa in the queen’s fanciful, four-tiered white mansion.

  After they’d left Virginia, Dion had taken Rosana back to Rock Run to rest and prepare for the mating celebration. She’d visited Adric every few days, but at his request, it had been a week now since he’d last seen her. He’d spent the time making his den ready for her.

  But damn, he ached for her. And not just his cock, which had been half-hard all day. No, it was his heart that ached. It hurt to be separated from his mate.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and scanned the tent again. This mating stuff was for the birds. It made you weak, vulnerable—and he wouldn’t trade places with another man in this tent for any amount of riches.

  The sun was painting the sky a spectacular peach and purple when Rosana and her entourage finally emerged from Cleia’s mansion. An excited murmur rippled through the crowd as Tiago and the queen escorted her across the meadow to the tent, with Isa following, a proud smile on her elderly face.

  Adric craned his neck, but after a brief glimpse, all he saw was the top of her black head as she wended her way through the crowd, greeting and being greeted.

  It seemed like hours before Rosana finally came into view—and stole the breath right out of his chest.

  She was gorgeous in a calf-length gown of ivory and gold that clung to her upper body, showing off her high, firm breasts and nipped-in waist before widening to an airy froth around long, sleek-muscled legs. Her only jewelry was his amethyst pendant, the charm bracelet, and a pair of dangling earrings, and she wore short lace gloves on her hands.

  But what made him grin were the red kitten-heel boots on her feet.

  “Breathe, Ric.” Marjani slanted him a teasing smile.

  Breathe. Right.

  Adric sucked in a loud inhale that had everyone nearby chuckling.

  Tiago took his place with the other men, and Cleia took little Brisa from Dion before joining the other women.

  Zuri stepped forward to take Rosana’s hands and thank her before everyone for saving Adric’s life. Marjani and Adric had made sure everyone knew what Rosana had done at New Moon, starting with how she’d refused to leave him alone at the court after he’d been badly injured. It had gone a long way to reducing the clan’s antagonism against her.

  It didn’t hurt that they had a healthy respect for Rosana’s Gift. Some of them were even a little afraid of her, which was a good start. Fada respected strength.

  True acceptance would take longer, of course. But he had a feeling Rosana would win them over. She’d already won over Zuri, and he wasn’t an easy sell.

  As for the hardliners, the ones who muttered their alpha shouldn’t mate with the enemy?

  Adric had made sure they knew that Rosana was his mate—period—and they’d treat her with courtesy, or find another clan. He’d only had to shove a few of the more dominant up against a wall to make his point.

  Now, he stepped forward and extricated her from Zuri.

  “Ready?”

  She took his hands. “You know I am.”

  The ceremony passed in a blur. All he could see was Rosana, blue eyes smiling, a constant smile on her lips. Crazy in love, and unashamed to show it.

  He no longer wondered if she’d ever learn to protect her heart. Instead, he thanked the gods that she’d given it to him. It was a gift he intended to treasure the rest of his life.

  He spoke his vows to her loud and clear, proudly claiming her as his before everyone present. She accepted his claim in the same clear tones.

  His mate gift to her was a three-strand bracelet of semi-precious stones—amethyst, lapis and green jasper—with a silver cougar and dolphin intertwined at the center.

  Her mouth rounded in a soft Oh as he clasped it around her wrist next to the charm bracelet. “I love it,” she said, leaning in for a kiss.

  But he stopped her, removing his quartz. “Take off your gloves.”

  When she did, he wrapped her bare hands around the chunk of gray and orange. The earth fada sucked in a breath, understanding the symbolism.

  Rosana was truly his mate.

  Taking back the quartz, he cupped her face and kissed her as Dion and Marjani pronounced the last few words of the ceremony, asking for their mating to be blessed by the gods and goddesses, the sun and moon, and everyone present.

  When he released her, her eyes were a deep, saturated blue.

  “I love you,” he said, and they turned to accept the congratulations of their clans.

  Hours later, Dion and Adric ended up side-by-side, watching the dancers. Their two clans had managed to get through dinner and the dancing that followed without any incidents. They were even intermingling. Zuri was cur
rently charming a sexy older river fada, and Davi was dancing with Suha.

  A tall, golden-haired sun fae spun Rosana in a circle and then bent her back over his arm. She laughed up at him and pivoted away, the skirt swirling around her slim legs.

  An almost noiseless growl escaped Adric at seeing her so close to another male.

  Mine.

  It was primal, primitive—and he didn’t give a damn. He was a newly mated fada male, and he wanted his woman all to himself. But he folded his arms over his chest and stayed where he was, because he also wanted his woman to be happy, and Rosana was clearly enjoying herself.

  Dion’s look was knowing. “It isn’t easy watching your mate with another man.”

  He scowled and shrugged.

  “You kept her alive. I owe you my thanks.”

  Adric snorted. “Like hell you do. I almost got her bound to the prince in a geas.”

  “You did what you had to do. I know the whole story—how she went to Baltimore, tried to get you to take her with you. And then when she had a chance to leave, she refused.”

  Adric met his eyes. “If this is the part where you say be good to my sister or I’ll bust your balls, don’t worry. I know I don’t deserve her—but I love her. I’d burn down the fucking world for her.”

  A short nod. “I know you would. Do I trust you? You still have to earn that. But in this, I do—you won’t hurt her because it would hurt you too much.”

  Adric moved uncomfortably on his feet. “She’s my mate,” he muttered. “Don’t make me into some kind of hero.”

  Dion grunted. “Believe me, I’m not. I’m a mated man myself, remember? I know how it is.” A feral grin. “And if you did hurt Rosana, I wouldn’t have to do a damn thing. She’d bust your balls for me.”

  Adric gave a bark of laughter, watching as Rosana danced by with another man—Jace, this time. “You’re right.”

  “But I have a proposition for you. I want to see my sister more than once every couple of weeks, and I know you’re never going to be satisfied until you have more land for your clan.”

  “Go on.”

  “Here’s the deal. You need a place for your people to run free as their animals. Rock Run might be able to help you there.”