Freya was good at staying still, it was the best way to hunt and hunting was all she knew. Her belly was flat on the roof as she watched and waited. She had not seen him since she left him buried but she trailed his beta to their secret meeting, inside an innocuous building where no one would think to look for rebels.He was inside the building, she was sure of it because when she glanced at her arms, goosebumps trailed down to her fingers. She had imagined how this meeting could go a hundred different ways and she settled on never meeting him. She didn't trust herself not to fumble a close range fight with him and she frowned when she remembered how strong he was. Close range, he would dominate her so she would kill him from afar, before her senses had a chance to betray her again. The door opened and one by one, men and women filed out. Most of them were important humans in high places, colluding with Riordan to impeach the king and change the royal line. She was surprised at the a
“Who were you running from?” King Ardelan asked her as she sat stiffly opposite him in the carriage. “No one of importance.” She replied and casually pulled her sleeve fully over the tattoo on her wrist. She had no intention of letting the king know she was a Spider, no doubt she was one of his wanted persons. “You do realise I saved your life out there don’t you?” He asked her with a smile. She cocked her head and observed him. Up close, she couldn’t believe she ever missed it. No amount of cloaking could cover up the supernatural energy around him. She had never seen it from afar and for someone that prized herself for her observation skills, it was unforgivable. “I would get on a knee and thank you if I thought it would please you Your Majesty.” She dared. His smile grew wider and he leaned closer with interest. “Do you dare to presume to know what would please your king?” He asked her and she lowered her head in respect. “On the contrary. The question burns in my mind, why
Freya rattled the handle of the door hard, still surprised when it didn’t budge. “Open the door!” She pounded on it but the footsteps receded, leaving her trapped. A prisoner once again? She was livid. She abandoned the door and ran to the window and she laughed sardonically when she found it reinforced by bars. Not ordinary bars, she realised as she put all of her strength into trying to bend it and it didn’t budge. “Oh he has no idea who he’s dealing with!” She growled and ran to the closet, holding up her prize a moment later. The bejewelled pin would do. She dropped into a crouch in front of the door and jammed the pin in, getting to work. It was more difficult than it looked as the door was no regular door. It was meant to contain someone like her but the king had never met ‘her’ in person. It took her a few minutes but she finally heard the telltale click and she smiled with satisfaction. The plan had changed. She refused to be here when the king came looking for her again.
The kiss was the softest of touches, Riordan’s lips grazing hers helplessly.. once, twice. It was an impulsive move on his side in the heat of the moment and they both froze because dammit, she didn’t expect it. Nor did she expect him to taste so good. Her lips tingled and Freya forgot to shut her eyes, buried underneath the onslaught of desire that serenaded her body. He realised immediately what a mistake it was. A dam of craving was breaking open and the both of them were in danger of drowning. Riordan pulled back slowly, staring at her lips hungrily and Freya hated herself for her weakness because in that moment, she craved him more than any other thing. She yanked her wrists from his grip and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, dragging him back down and her lips collided with his. The dam broke. With a growl, Riordan claimed her lips fully in a passionate duel and she moaned silently as she kissed him back. He grabbed her ass and crushed her into his rigid cock as his finger dr
King Ardelan rose when Freya entered, a brilliant grin on his face.“Miss Reynette.” He said and pulled a chair for her. She sat gingerly, trying to read the room. The king sat beside her and clapped his hands once. The next second, the servants streamed into the room with trays laden with food. “I hear there was some difficulty locating you.” King Ardelan said. “I had an urge to visit the gardens, I didn’t know the guards would cause such a fuss. I’m not mistaken to think I’m free to go as I please am I?” She asked and the king laughed. “You are my guest. You are free to do as you will. Tell me next time you feel an urge to see the gardens, I shall escort you myself.”He personally poured her a glass of wine and she watched his profile. What was his game?“Tell me about yourself, Miss Reynette.” He said and she shrugged. “I’d rather not bore Your Majesty with details about my life.” Said Freya. “I insist.” He replied. Reynette... what about her? Freya made it all up as they ate
Freya stepped into the ball on the king’s arms and everyone grew mute, watching her with wide curious eyes. “The king of Ilryia, King Ardelan, first of his name!” He was announced. The entire room flowed into respectful bows and curtsies as the both of them walked down the red carpet. “It gives me no greater joy to have the most beautiful woman in the room on my arms.” King Ardelan whispered in her ears and she smiled. She hadn’t given him a definite response but she couldn’t deny his offer was a gift horse and she would be stupid to reject it outright. They both played a game, but at the end of the day one of them would play it better. “Such words of flattery from you, Your Majesty.” She replied and he smiled. “I’ve never uttered words more genuine.” He said. She couldn’t see Riordan but she felt his gaze like a piercing arrow on her skin. He dared much, not lowering his eyes like the rest of he others. Could he tell his time was counting down?“Arise!” The king announced and
The more Freya watched, the more obvious it was that Riordan was doing something he ought not to. She followed him discreetly as he skulked down the hallway and from her perch, she saw a pair of guards approached the corner with him. Her heart lurched and she just barely stopped herself from shouting a warning but the next moment, Riordan was nowhere to be found. The guards went through the hallway and she watched as Riordan dropped down from the roof. Her relief was met with disgust. Was she really going to be so stupid as to call out a warning to him earlier? Riordan picked up pace, heading deeper into the castle and she cursed colourfully as she realised she couldn’t follow him on the roof anymore. She swung in through the window silently and went after him. Or she tried to, because after a few minutes she had to confess that she lost him. “Looking for me?” She heard behind her and spun around, her dagger at the ready. “Were you following me?” He bit out angrily and she scoffe
“Melanie.” Freya said, confused. “I’m sorry Freya.” She said and blew into her fist. The entire room exposed with mermaid dust and instantly, the magic seized hold of Freya’s body. She collapsed to the ground, immobilised. Anger swept through her and she gritted her teeth and pushed against the fog pressing on her mind but the magic held her down, making her unable to move a muscle. She watched through the colourful dust as Melanie entered the room and lifted the box from inside the hidden floor. Inside the clear box was a dark collar, so black it seemed to drink the light from around it. She stopped struggling, the collar stealing her attention as it seemed to pulse. Melanie held it up and a high keening sound filled the air, piercing her ears and jarring her. It was coming from the collar, eerily similar to the sound she heard before she passed out in that alley earlier. She struggled to cover her ears against the terrible sound but she couldn’t, it was everywhere; in her ears an
The ball that evening was the most intricate and bedazzling one she ever witnessed. She walked in on the king’s arm and muted words of adoration went up into the air.“Can you hear them?” The king asked. “You are the embodiment of your mother’s beauty.”And she truly had never felt so connected with her mother as she did in this court. From across the room, she felt Zeldaurus’s burning gaze, those icy eyes drinking her in like she was a bottle of water offered to him in the middle of a desert. A thrill raced down back and she got lost in his eyes as she allowed the king to walk her forward. The ballad resumed as he steered her in another direction. “Freya, allow me to introduce you to Prince Mondrake II of Red Cove and brilliant Commander of my armies. Prince Mondrake, this is Princess Freya, noble of birth and the most extraordinary female in the realm.”Freya rolled her eyes but her gaze caught on the male being introduced. She had been wrong to think that the Winter court was fil
“Your mother was the most beautiful female I ever came across, both inside and out. When I heard she died, I was thrown off balance for a while and my court suffered for it. She didn’t deserve to leave so soon.”“No, she didn’t.” Freya agreed. “Prince Zeldaurus mentioned in your letter that you don’t wish to stay in Faerie, probably because he knew I would try to convince you to stay in the Summer court.” He said and she scoffed. “If I wanted to stay anywhere at all, this would be the place. Believe it or not, I don’t exactly have a great relationship with my aunt.” She said and he laughed.“Who does? The Winter Queen is a perfectly complicated creature but she is not without her charms.”“What was their relationship like?” She asked and the king hummed.“It was an interesting dynamics. Your mother and the queen used to be close, much like ying and yang.”“No way...” She said and his eyes crinkled with laughter. “They were. Tiana adored her and worshipped the ground she walked on w
It wasn’t until after they had portaled into the Summer court that Freya could finally draw a breath and admit that they had finally escaped the wicked witch of the north afterall. The Summer court was just as beautiful as the winter court and she thought, maybe even more so. There was none of the harsh beauty of the winter court, everything here was natural and sublime. The sun cast a rosy glow on the horizon and butterflies flitted from flower to flower. It was a lot like where Adrian’s portal had taken her before but this close to the castle, the air was different. The castle stood huge and grand, ornately designed as if it had stood strong through several centuries. Flowers draped the sides of the castle aesthetically and all the Fae were dressed in brilliant and dazzling dresses, looking as light and carefree as the breeze that swayed their dresses. “Come.” Zeldaurus offered his hand she slipped her hand into his, unable to contain her smile. She liked this side of him. This fa
Freya had tried everything she could think of to break out of her room. The door didn’t give way no matter how much she pounded on it. Her claws left no dent on the surface and her claws didn’t graze the walls either. She stared into the white roof, looked at the white walls, the white floors and she thought that the colour white had the power to drive someone mad.When the door opened once again, she leaped into a sitting position but her excitement died down when she found that it was just the Princess. “Were you expecting someone else?” Princess Kastilla asked, a smirk on her lips. “Where is Zeldaurus? He is not still being punished is he?” She asked. “Perhaps, perhaps not.”Freya growled and Princess Kastilla raised her hands. “Easy, Wolfie.”“I never told you I’m a werewolf.” She replied and Princess Kastilla laughed. “Do you have to tell me it’s day?” She countered. “About your questions, the Queen has a soft spot for him. She will let him off the hook soon if she has not
For a second, even Freya was afraid of her power and what it would do. She just knew that she wanted this torture to end and so her power exploded from her fist to do her bidding. There was a flash and when it cleared, the Queen had a shield of ice up, pushing back against her thick tentacles of darkness. The two warriors behind shouted and ran for her and the whipper faltered, gaping with shock. Zeldaurus was up before she could blink, his bloody tattered body lunging between her and the other warriors. “Get out of the way, Zeldaurus.” One of them gritted out, his body shaking with the effort of restraining himself from ripping into her. “No.” Zeldaurus gritted out. In front of her, she saw his huge body ripple and shudder and she knew he was also fighting the urge to snap her neck. “She is not a threat to the queen.” He snarled. “Think! What can a clueless untrained female do to the Winter Queen?”They paused, looking between them and oh, Zeldaurus had never been more wrong. Her
“I did.” Zeldaurus replied. “While in the town, I found a female who seems to have lost her way. She is not registered; belonging to neither the Winter or the Summer court. I have brought her to you so you may chose her court.” He replied. “The woman?” The queen glanced at her again and she felt the heat of being under her withering stare. “Come closer so I may see you.” She ordered. Freya walked up the flight of stairs until she was at the foot of the dais. “On your knees.” Zeldaurus unexpected voice in her mind startled her and she obeyed. How did he do that? Amongst everything else, she had forgotten to ask about that. “Come closer, female. I want to look at you.” She cooed and Freya attempted to stand. “On your knees.” She added sharply and before she could stop herself, she raised her face with a dark glare. “Lower your eyes!” Zeldaurus commanded in her head and she did, but not before she saw the surprise and interest in the queen’s eyes at the action. Biting her tongue
The touch of his lips to hers rocked her like an explosion at her feet. Her hands fisted in his lapels and she pulled him closer. He was still for a moment and then as if she had opened a dam, he flipped their positions and pressed her into the mirror. He kissed her the same way he approached life, thoroughly, profusely, meticulously. She felt it all the way to her toes which curled and she felt her hands shift into claws which gripped him tighter.She wasn’t the only one that felt this, of that she was sure as he finally slowed down and released her. Her chest was rising and falling fast and her lips tingled from his kiss and she thought the perhaps she might finally find peace after this but it was like pouring fuel onto a burning fuse. Her body craved his touch back on her skin, his lips back on hers and she took an instinctive step forward. She finally got the sense knocked back into her when he took a corresponding step backward. She watched as his eyes shuttered entirely but not
Zeldaurus was below with their host, getting ready for their departure and Freya headed for the roof. She took in Faerie around her, a realm so terribly beautiful and perfect. Magic was definitely in perfect sync here. It was mind boggling that the same realm had birthed the terrible barren landscape that she had been stuck in for so long. Footsteps behind her came closer until their host came to stand beside her. “I heard you were in there for years.” Syrelia said.“Yes.” She replied and Syrelia shook her head. “The time contrast still amazes me till date. Prince Zeldaurus wanted to come to you immediately but there was a delay before the portaler could get here. I nearly had to restrain him from coming for you because if he had tried you both would have missed each other.”She scoffed. “Well I’m here now and he’s doing a pretty good job of ignoring me.““The truth is... I’ve known Prince Zeldaurus for a while now and I’ve not seen him interact with any female the way he interacts
After a long and refreshing bath, Freya finally felt human again. Being here now was reminding her of the reason she even came to Faerie in the first place, the reason why she held out for so long even when her trials nearly took her life. She was even more determined now to see it done. For the most part, Faerie had not been a gracious host to her, she had seen horrors here and been stuck in Vienna’s body for years. She couldn’t let all of that be in vain, she didn’t want to. Now more than ever, she wanted to finish what she started and she couldn’t wait to say goodbye to the damn realm. She went below stairs to find Zeldaurus but was met with guards that told her he was in an important meeting and had ordered not to be disturbed. “Snap their necks.” A voice said in her head, sounding nearly mad. She shook her head to clear it of the weird whispers and turned away. “Well I’m sure you can pass a message across to him then. Tell him to find me.”Their shocked faces said that obviou