The pain I felt lessened only enough for me to hear them converse within themselves. "Ragna, what did she say?" There was panic in it's voice. "Brother, it would seem she called for the Bastard General." "The--" There was a sudden thud and the pain in my head vanished. A horrible screech followed afterwards and hissing and sizzles. The fog still blocked my sight but I could make out the scent of burning flesh. More screeching and sizzling. The screams grew so intense I felt my ears would bleed. Then there was silence. I closed my eyes, willing my ragged breaths to calm. I was in pain. All over. I felt arms around me and I nearly screamed on instinct but I calmed when the scent of man, cinnamon and musky wood filled my nostrils. I shuddered when he scooped me into his arms and I clutched the sleeve of his shirt tightly. I whimpered as he brought me closer to his chest and the whimpers turned to soft sobs. "You left me." I sobbed, unabl
The following days passed unbearably slow but a little less intense. Zephyros didn't come to fetch me for training. Tristan and Priam did. In fact, I'd not come in close range with the bastard since that night. When I did see him, which was when I was stealing glances at him whilst I passed the Greathall by, he was either with Evander who wouldn't stop giving me sensual smiles that freaked me out or he was laughing--yes, laughing--at some courtier's lame joke. I resisted the urge to walk over and pull up the woman's bodice to cover her breasts properly. Zephyros might exude scary masculinity and he might be a walking danger but the man was a walking disaster as well. Especially when he was dressed formally, which he had been doing for the four days just as he'd been dutifully ignoring my presence. In fact, his eyes would slide over me every time he looked in my direction. Feasts were being thrown for the engagement between the Fae Lord and Lady Xanthia which would happen t
I looked up from the book i was reading, a fable Vivi had given me to pass time with when i got bored. His Majesty's Bride, it was named. It spoke of the love between the first Fae the goddess Luna had created and his mate. I sighed, dropping the book on the table that stood close to the hearth. "Who is it?" "'Tis I. Amilie." "Oh." I unlocked the door and set it ajar for her. She came in bearing a pile of clothing and... things in her hand. "Why Amilie? I have enough clothes in my armoire. Why... this? And isn't it too early? The feast isn't until tonight." She placed the heap on my bed and turned to look at me with huge brown eyes. I tilted my head and observed her carefully. "Where are Nori, Cleta and Snowdrop?" "They bring fairydust." "What?" She waved her hand to dismiss the question and pointed at the bathroom. "I already had a bath Amilie." "Nay. 'Tis different. Ken ye not thy skin is a little dry? We
Priam wasn't wrong. He was good. But i was better. He might've waltzed for centuries but i had the best teacher. My mother. Dancing on the gold floors, twirling and moving with accuracy, dexterity and passion brought back memories of when i was still a child. I started dancing even before i could remember. Mother would dance with me all around the house with her being my partner. Father would sit, sorting out ledgers and occasionally peer from his work and steal glances at his wife with hot expressions in his eyes. I didn't understand it back then but now i do. Love. Desire. Passion. Hunger. Admiration. Amusement. My eyes watered as Priam twirled me around and i smiled widely as i spun farther away from him. The symphonic melody changed and i was tugged sideways by another. I tensed and look upwards to find brown eyes staring down at me with amusement. "Who might my lady be?" His grip tightened on my waist and i placed both my palms on his chest as we began moving.
"Mother?" I whispered. She frowned down at me and looked to Lord Leandros. "Leon, who is this?" I whimpered and took another step forward. "Mother, it's me."I looked from her black hair to her brows, her eyes, her nose, her lips, her frown. I couldn't be mistaken. I would recognize my mother if I saw her. Her features... All mine. Well except the hair and eyes but still, the resemblance was uncanny. "I'm afraid I do not know you child." She said, eyes taking in my appearance with... with... disdain and disbelief. Whispers grew around us but I tuned them out and looked at my mother, amidst tears. Looking closely, I froze. Her ears. The tips were pointed like every other Fae. Not mangled and irregular like I'd last seen it. Perhaps... She wasn't... I buried my mother. Alongside father. We buried her. I flowered her grave everyday and buried my father beside her. I flowered her grave! Until I couldn't afford flowers anymore. Yet... She was standing in
The next hours were crazy and intense, at least for me. I was ushered into a sort of... war room(considering the maps on the walls and on the large table), along with the Fae Lord, Evander, Zephyros, the seven others and four faces I'd never seen before, where we waited for more than half an hour for the four High Lords and a few more people. As soon as the room was filled up and every seat at the table was filled up, I was bombarded with questions. How I knew 'the Draekein', how I could streak when no one else could, how I used my ice when there was an obvious case of Faebane, did I plan with the mortal queen, how did the Draekein get past the wards, did I weaken the wards, was I a spy from the other side, what was the next plan the mortal queen had in mind,...... Questions! More questions that threatened to drive me insane. When it became obvious I could not answer their questions, the High Lord of the Water Court threatened to place me in a dungeon and torture me
I took turns around Alfheim alongside Amilie who lead me to the first wing of Alfheim, clutching my mother's books in my hand(not sure why). It was like a sort of...tour. I had never really left my... room, save for training, the event and searching for a kitchen. I knew Alfheim was large but I didn't know how large. According to Amilie, there were five wings, with more than two hundred rooms in each. She explained that it was made originally for the Four Lords of each race, the High Lords of the Fae Court(partial residency because they still needed to be at their courts), the Lords of Lesser Fae Houses(also partial residency for the same reasons. It did amaze me that the four different races operated differently), the Royal family of humans, as they liked to be called and the Head Mages. That was a lot of people, i thought. She furthermore explained that Lord Leandros preserved the rooms and wings everyone used to occupy and left them as they were before the war separate
Lesser Fae Lord Vasilis is my grandfather. As if things weren't complicated already. Dameon was the Draekein. Faebane didn't affect me. My mother was a twin. My grandfather was one of the Four Great Lords. Lord Leandros tapped his index finger on the table incessantly as he thought. "Perhaps, it is about time I broke that puny barrier." My eyes widened. "You can?!" I exclaimed. He frowned at me and gave me the "You underestimate me" look. "Why didn't you?" He arched a brow at me and I knew it meant, "You don't get to question me". I lowered my head and tapped my fingers on the desk. Zephyros cleared his throat, gaining my attention. I turned slightly and dared a glance at him. His arms were folded and his sinewy muscles were on display. He wore a white shirt that as usual did absolutely nothing to hide those taut muscles. I swallowed as my face drifted again to his savagely handsome face and dropped to his wickedly sensual lips. My belly did
I stood before a large oak tree with my back turned to Zephyros. He had brought me here a moment ago after taking me from Tymon's without my permission. I had predicted something like this. His restraint burned to ashes the moment he saw me in the fighting leathers. I just hadn't predicted he would bring me to the middle of nowhere i could recognize. I felt him behind me,a steady wall of heat that threatened to warm me up from the inside,dare i let it. I closed my eyes as a familiar thrill built up inside me. I could not afford for him to smell my need. Control. I needed to control myself else my skin would light up again. It was difficult but with ice in my core and steel for bones, i turned around and met his predatory gaze with cold eyes. "Why have you brought me here?"My question came out as a song,silencing the birds that chirped in the air and the wind that howled in the distance,each word coming out an octave higher than the last. He gave me a knowing lo
"Why?" I asked with a yawn. My joints and muscles ached from the transformation and the cold. I held the quilt tighter and waited for her reply. She was silent for a long time and I found myself already dozing before she finally said, "Rest. You are tired." I did not protest as her voice was a lull on its own. I fell into dreamless sleep and for the first time in years, I felt like I was being looked after. I awoke shortly after to the sound of raised voices outside my room. I squinted at the brightness and looked out the square window. It was morning already yet I felt like I hadn't slept in days. The voices grew louder, causing my focus to shift from the window. I stared at the door and lifted my right hand. I cocked my head slightly before pointing at the door and glamouring it without so much as a thought. The voices grew distant until all i could hear were the birds chirping from far away. I sighed and drew the covers over my head. I dozed, only to be awoken by something slamming
Zephyros "You will go and bring her back this instant!" My cousin yelled again and I cringed inwardly at her foul display of childishness but made no effort to reply her. I gripped my pen hard yet not enough to break it. I had cut down men, impaled my enemies on stakes, burned lands and lands that housed creatures that threatened my kind, surely, a cranky woman... Or three cranky women were nothing to me. "The situation at Gantreth?" I question Bren, scribbling down a message for their scrawny leader. As per tradition, to visit a land, you must notify and gain permission first. Showing up and tearing down their gates would have been easier but Father refuses violence. I am a creature of violence and he continuously tries to hold me down. You're brooding. You should go bring her back, Zephyr. I didn't need to look up to know Bren was frowning down at me. I could hear it in his voice. Feel him in my head even. I frowned mentally at him and pulled my mental s
I snorted. "I know what I look like. You are not it." It rumbled again. "You tell fine jokes, child. Without me, you are nothing. Look closely. Tell me what you see. Who you see." I peered up at its bright eyes. It blinked and its slitted gold turned blue, like its scales... I paused. Those eyes... The time I'd invaded Dameon's thoughts, I had seen me with them but I had disregarded it, knowing I didn't have blue eyes. Looking closer at its hairy scales made me want to touch my hair. They were the same color. I snorted. My mind was playing tricks on me. I would know if I was a... A... I frowned again. What was it? "What are you? Do you have a name?" I asked again. "I am you." It repeated in thick layers. I tried to growl but I ended up making an embarrassing sound. It merely watched me with wise old eyes. How was I supposed to ask it questions if it kept giving vague and odd answers? I rubbed my forehead with my thumb. If it thought it was me
My body jerked as he yanked out the sword, cutting through flesh and no doubt bones. I choked again and coughed as I staggered backwards, staring at nothing but my brother's face. An illusion. It had to be. He was dead. He was dead. I fell on my knees as my surroundings started to darken. Was it getting dimmer or was I starting to black out? I placed my hands on the gash and coughed again. The metallic tang in mouth tasted so disgusting I had to spit it out. I looked up. It was him. Kevan. Grown. Fully grown into a man. His eyes were so cold and distant. He smiled down at me and I noticed the fangs in his mouth. Fangs? The tip of his ears were rounded like a human. His hair was long but not the Fae kind of length. He looked ordinary, yet not. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Bren inching towards him with a raised sword. "No!" I cried. He paused, fuming. "No?! He harmed my mate!" His voice came out in layers, making the ground vibrate. His eyes... T
Nyxaria's lips compressed into a thin white edged line. "No. That isn't right. Maybe... Maybe you aren't feeling well. There can not be Faebane here." I blinked uncomprehendingly. "You think I wouldn't know if I was ill?" I pointed at the entrance. "There is something wrong here Nyx. I am not ill." She made an impatient sound and her eyes narrowed. "You don't understand. It is near to impossible that Faebane be in this building. The security--" I inched forward. "Wasn't the security high in Alfheim as well? Yet, somehow, the entire hall got drugged and had no explanation for it. This," I pointed at the entrance again, " This is an actual explanation Nyx. If there is anything I've leant, it's that there's no such thing as impossible." Nyx's eyebrow pulled together in the biggest frown I'd ever seen on her face and her silver eyes burned with anger. "There is no--" Vivi dove between us and held both her hands up in front of her. "Okay. Okay. Calm your h
I got through training, though my thoughts were distorted. I found it hard to concentrate and I had to apologize to Kyria over and over again. It got harder when at the end of it all, I could not do a thing. "Do not berate yourself about it. You made major progress today. A little more practice and you will be perfect at it."Lord Vas wrapped his arm around my shoulder and patted my head on the way out. "Lord Vas. Lady Danae. My my, isn't this lovely?" Tymon walked in through the huge doors, arms spread out like he was expecting a hug. I cocked my head and Lord Vas retracted his arm that rested on my neck. I heard Zephyros's growl behind me and chose to ignore it. "Tym, you are late." Anya quipped beside me, nose buried in another book bigger than her heart shaped face. The girl-woman never stopped reading. Tym's eyebrows rose and he gave that lopsided grin again. "Am I? The lesson's just about to begin."★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ Having Tymon host me was not
Katherine I toyed with the dagger in my hands as we strode to the stables. The horses were unnecessary but it was one of those days. I wanted my slaves to look upon their Queen. My other purpose was strengthening the barrier again. If Leandros was who my grandmother made him out to be, it would be a smart enough move for him to try intrude my lands now. I could not have that yet. Especially not with the resent losses I incurred with the mission. I clenched the dagger tightly with simmering rage. "How many did we lose?"I asked again. "None came back alive, my Queen." Adrienne answered again for the fifth time. I clenched my jaw. "You have investigated like I told you to?" "Yes, my Queen. Our sources tell me it was the dragon. He burned them alive at once." I swiveled and glared at Adrienne. "Did they not tell us Neradia would be unguarded?! Did they not tell us the one with ichor in his veins would be away?!" I screamed. His eyes widened and he b
The pungent smell of Faerie fruit was enough to make me befuddled. I refused the sixth cup that was offered to me, knowing how good I was at holding my liquor. I sat beside Lord Vas and his family on the dias, sticking to the left side of him and being forced to watch how crude the Lesser Fae really were when Faerie fruit was involved. "I must thank thee, My Lord!"A drunk Sylph with wickedly handsome features grinned and bowed clumsily, nearly toppling over the two Nymphs that he held by their waists. The first with long green hair kissed his face and neck, occasionally pinching her nipples through the thin silver fabric she wore. The other fumbled with his jacket and let out a growl when she could not take it off. She looked down and giggled before grabbing his crotch. "Patience pet." The male growled before moving away with his drunken companions. It was not the first nor was it the worst i had seen that night. I avoided gazing at the left corner of t