CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
BETH
Returning to the tavern was a hell of a lot less exciting. The king had sent two servant girls along to… I wasn’t sure what. Feed me? Help me pack?
Two armed guards escorted us to ensure our safety. They were probably also supposed to keep an eye on me. For now, they stayed outside the house, guarding the entrance.
I’d told my grandfather there was no need for servants, but he’d ignored my objection. “I shall send them, anyway. You will have some use for them.”
Mistress Olwen still hadn’t returned, and the kitchen was starting to smell. It freaked me out because what I’d seen of the older woman, the tavern was her pride and joy, and there was no way she’d abandon it.
The two girls got busy immediately. They cleaned the kitchen in record time and got the hearth going with whatever Fae magic they used. One of them served me an omelette, and while I ate, they hauled buckets of hot water upstairs.
Bleddyn was still missing. I’d asked the king and immediately regretted it. He’d grimaced and scolded me.
“I understand that Bleddyn found and looked after you. However, he owes his duty to me and to my son. You did not grow up with our customs, so I shall be tolerant of your ignorance.
“But I must warn you. Do not become fond of a vassal. As my granddaughter, you have certain duties to fulfill. When you join us soon, we shall speak about future consorts.”
I’d nodded dutifully, not contradicting him to his face. It sounded to me as if he was going to arrange a marriage. Maybe that’s how the Fae chose their partners, but it was not something I’d ever allow him to do.
My muscles relaxed in the scented heat of the bathtub, and I sank below the water surface until only my head was visible.
As my mind grew fuzzy, I closed my eyes and drifted in an in-between stage—not awake, but not asleep, either. When I came back to myself, the water was cold, chilling my skin, and my stomach growled.
I dried off in record time, got dressed, and went to find something else to eat. Faerie food didn’t stick to my ribs, filling me up in the moment, but never lasting long. I called out for the servant girls, but they seemed to have left already. It was getting late, after all.
Downstairs, it was dark, with only the light from the street lamps illuminating the empty space. Through the window, I could see one guard still outside, leaning heavily against the building. The other had presumably returned with the girls.
I spent the next five minutes opening all the kitchen cupboards and drawers to find food. Vegetables, even unfamiliar ones, wouldn’t be hard to cook. I found some in the larder that reminded me of carrots, even though they were white and purple.
I broke one, and the smell was the exact same as regular carrots. There were also yellow mushrooms and zucchini. I couldn’t find a freezer, and the servants had thrown away any meat left out. Vegetarian it was.
In an earthen jar, I discovered some neutral frying oil. Another container contained salt, and the third one was full of dried herbs. The pungent smell tickled my nose, and I added a cautious teaspoon to my finished stir-fry. Then I carried the plate into the dining area and dug in.
Mistress Olwen was a much better cook, because my dish filled my stomach, but didn’t make me swoon with flavor.
When I was done, I returned my dishes back to the kitchen. To clean up, I’d have to fetch water from the river. But it was pitch dark outside, away from the street lamps, so yeah, I’d rather not. Instead, I placed my dirty plate next to a large sink.
Where the hell was Olwen? I tried not to think about it anymore, because it made me restless with foreboding. Like something had gotten her while I hadn’t paid attention.
I didn’t know what to do with myself. It wasn’t that late yet, and I wasn’t tired. But I was completely alone in the big guesthouse, except for the guy at the front door.
What would he do if I snuck out through the kitchen? Was his orders to follow me, to protect me, or to drag me back to the palace? My grandfather had been welcoming, but there was something about the prince that made me feel on edge. It hadn’t sunk in yet that I was next in line to the throne, but now my thoughts were whirling, trying to make sense of it.
If I accepted my place in the royal family, I’d have the power to help this world, these people. But I’d also be a target. My uncle would lose his position at the court. How would I feel if I’d been raised all my life to be the next king? And then some nobody took it away? Would I take it lying down? Or would it give me a reason to get rid of the competition?
The answer was easy. Alliances that had been built carefully—my presence changed everything. I was a threat to everybody at the court. Once I lived there, I’d be easy prey. A push down the stairs, an unexplained illness, or maybe he’d tell the king I’d gone home. I’d disappear as quickly as I’d arrived in Faerie.
A lead weight dropped into my stomach, and I laid my head on the tabletop, groaning with distress.
For a moment, I’d allowed myself to believe I’d found a family. Maybe not a happy, fuzzy family, but an uncle and a grandfather, nonetheless. And yet, they were strangers to me. Beyond all of that, I couldn’t get over that they thought abducting and killing humans was okay.
Seriously, who did that? Yes, I understood the reasons—their survival was teetering on the edge. And yet, there was no excuse for it. None.
So it came back to this: if I could stop it, wasn’t it my duty to at least try?
It was too much for me to think through. I needed to talk to someone. Maybe, just maybe, Bleddyn could help. If he ever showed his stupid face again.
For a moment, my adrenaline spiked. Had Prys done something to the warrior? Made him disappear? I had a feeling it wouldn’t be beyond the prince if he felt like it. He came across as a spoilt, dangerous jerk.
He’d be no match for Bleddyn, though. When he’d shown his sword skills? Damn, that guy had talents. I shivered pleasantly, remembering his fluid movements. I didn’t have the slightest doubt he could look after himself. Yet my restlessness remained, and my mind was racing.
Soon I paced to and fro in the dining room, trying to get my churning thoughts under control. What if the prince had ordered somebody to stab Bleddyn in the back? What if there’d been a whole army of people jumping him? I wrung my hands in frustration, walking faster and faster.
There was a rap on the door in the back of the kitchen. It came so suddenly, I nearly jumped out of my skin. What should I do? Tell the guard out front? What if it was Bleddyn?
The knock came again, this time even more insistently. I walked to the back door and called, “Who’s out there?”
“It is me, Daeary. May I come in?”
I gasped, my hand flying to my throat. With the excitement of the day, I’d all but forgotten about the Fae with the fiery eyes. Now I remembered, and my belly fluttered.
His voice wrapped itself around me like treacle, sweet, sticky, and oh, so exciting. I whimpered quietly as I pressed my thighs together. That guy was pure sex appeal, and it never entered my mind I shouldn’t let him in.
Without missing a beat, he moved past me through the kitchen, his gaze scanning the area for any threats. His hand lay on the handle of his sword, prepared for trouble.
I followed him, a little alarmed after all. “What is going on? Why are you here?”
After convincing himself that there was no immediate threat, his face relaxed, and he finally released his weapon. Reaching out with both hands, he grabbed my upper arms and pulled me close.
“I could feel your agitation. I had to rush to find you, to make sure no harm befalls you.”
His hot palms on my bare skin felt like brands, sending shivers through my body. Yet his words confused me. “What do you mean, you felt my agitation? How can you feel what I feel?”
He let go of me and stared at the ground. Was he embarrassed? Suddenly, he didn’t seem so dangerous anymore.
I waited patiently, looking at him properly for the first time. His eyes were black, with no signs of the fire living within them. He was much taller than me, with big hands and muscular thighs.
The bulge between his legs was the size of a wine bottle. I swallowed drily. I’d never considered myself to be a perv who’d ogled men at every opportunity, but this guy… Daeary. I caught myself before sighing dreamily. Get a grip, Beth.
But honestly, the contrast between his pale skin and his black hair falling over strong shoulders… Oh God, I did sigh. This time, he looked up, his eyes amused, and his gorgeous lips pulled into a grin. Thankfully, he kept his mouth shut.
Instead, he scanned the dining room one last time, and then sat down. His gaze ran from my face to my chest and lingered for a moment. Then he skimmed past my hips to my feet, and back up again.
“Nothing seems to ail you. If you are not in acute danger, then our connection is even stronger than I thought.”
Connection? What was he talking about? “I don’t understand.”
He drew a deep breath, as if to calm himself. “There is a link between us, my lamb. I felt your apprehension, your fear. I assumed it was something you were experiencing at this very moment. But clearly, you are in no danger. So I ask again, what else is troubling you?”
My shoulders slumped at his genuine concern, and my eyes welled with unspilled tears. “I came to this realm to find my family. Now that I have, I’m terrified. I should love them, but I don’t know them yet. The ones I’ve met are not as friendly as I’d hoped. Two of my best friends”—I didn’t think it was right to call them my lovers in front of him—“are trapped in this realm, and I don’t know how to free them.”
My voice trembled at the last words. I struggled to control my emotions after admitting how overwhelmed I felt. Daeary leaned forward and pulled me into his lap.
The warmth of his body, the comfort of his big arms around me, it was too much. All the sadness, the anger, and the fear poured out of me in heaving sobs. It only lasted a few minutes, but when I was done, I felt a lot better.
There was no judgment in his expression, only understanding. His thumb brushed across my cheeks, wiping away the wetness. His eyes had heated to smoldering embers, and I stared in fascination at the orange glow.
He pulled me closer until our lips met. It was as if lightning had struck me, my skin tingling where he brushed past it. He withdrew for a moment, growled under his breath, and crushed his mouth against mine forcefully.
Wild abandon replaced his earlier tenderness as his tongue entered my mouth, stroking across mine. Had I thought his fire was quiet, burned down to embers? How wrong I’d been.
There was a smokiness to him, a taste of hot metal, and his skin smelled of gunpowder. It should have been unpleasant, but it wasn’t. I chased his flavor, pushing against him as he devoured me.
Every brush of his hand against my skin, every stroke of his tongue against mine, fanned the flames hotter. When I ran out of breath, he stopped kissing me. Then he lifted me by the waist as if I weighed nothing, and swung my legs on either side of his hips.
I gasped, “Wait. Anybody might see us.”
Daeary lifted his face and sniffed. “There’s nobody here but us, my lamb. The guard is asleep. But somebody died here recently. I can smell the spilled blood. It’s too much for that person to still be alive.”
Before I could answer, he grabbed my neck with one hand and held me in position as he plundered my mouth. His other hand snuck between us and cupped my breast. I moaned when his thumb brushed over my nipple. His breathing grew heavier, and I could feel his hardness under his breeches.
“Goddess, I will not leave until you’ve given me your body, your soul. You belong to me tonight.”
“Yes,” I whispered before lunging for his mouth again. My mind brushed against his comment, but couldn’t linger. He was too distracting. I didn’t know what was happening to me, where this wantonness was coming from. My legs spread wide, I rubbed myself against his cock, moaning loudly as it pushed against my opening. My lips were slick, and my clit was already twitching.
I’d never been so close to an orgasm from rubbing against another person without even taking my clothes off. At least he was as affected by our chemistry as I was. His breathing was erratic, and his lower body ground against mine.
I threw my head back, opening my mouth to get more air into my scorched lungs. His lips latched onto my neck, and he sucked hard. I should have been annoyed—I hated being marked for all to see. But instead, the pain sparked even more lust in my belly.
Undulating my pussy against him, I stared into his eyes and froze. The flames had returned, flickering yellow, orange, and red. I tried to look away, but couldn’t.
His gaze held me, and his voice seemed to come from everywhere.
“Come, little lamb.”
And my clit exploded. My cunt contracted violently around a huge imaginary cock, and my nipples tightened as if sucked hard. My throat ached as if it were being fucked.
The weirdest orgasm of my life went on and on, until my mind melted, and I sagged against the strange man with eyes made of fire. My body felt as weak as if I’d run a marathon. My limbs weren’t under my control, and my breathing was flat and weak.
I was vaguely aware of him picking me up, of being carried somewhere, and finally placed on a soft surface. Then the lights went out.