| |
ERIK
It was a whole new experience, flying through a storm like this.
The snow pelted against my wings as we flew hard against the force of the wind. Marienne gripped tight onto my back, and the warmth of her magic spread through my scales and tingled across my chest.
I threw back my head and roared, sending a jet stream of fire into the cold air, and I heard snatches of her delighted laughter before the gale whipped the sound away.
Despite the blizzard, we covered the barren ground in a matter of hours and approached the mountains. I was strong even for a dragon shifter, and my broad wingspan cast long shadows as we moved over the earth below.
I dove low over the mountain range, banking in the air and swooping down into the valley. We passed over our castle, which looked like a child’s toy nestled among the black hulking rocks.
Before long, Stavrok’s castle emerged from the mists. As we passed through the snowstorm, shafts of sunlight pierced the clouds above us as I flew down toward our destination.
Mari leapt down off my back as I landed, her steps sure and confident as if we had been flying together for years.
As I shifted back to human, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. The woman I had by my side... she was truly extraordinary. She had journeyed with me to the edge of our world and braved the long flight home with no hesitation whatsoever.
She smiled back at me when she caught me looking. Her gaze lingered, trailing lower, and I realized with a jolt why her smile became a smirk.
I didn’t have time to do anything about my naked and obviously hardening cock, however, because a group of guards were already approaching us. One was carrying an armful of fabric, which I took gratefully.
Once I was robed, we followed them inside, down a maze of hallways and corridors until we found ourselves in a small courtyard.
“Sire,” the guard called out to the king as we approached. “You have visitors.”
Stavrok turned, grinning broadly at us. I felt less underdressed when I realized he was shirtless, sweaty and disheveled. We’d interrupted his sparring practice.
“Erik!” he boomed, throwing out his arms and striding toward us. “And Marienne, too! I assume you’re here about the letter?”
He reached out and swept Marienne into a tight hug, his broad arms around her slim waist. She looked taken-aback but accepted the hug with a peal of soft laughter.
A sharp wave of irrational anger flooded through me. I itched to pry his hands off her, drag her away from him...
It didn’t make any sense. Stavrok was a friend, and I knew he wasn’t a threat. He’d never hurt Marienne. So why was I glaring a hole in the side of his head?
Before I could think on it further, Stavrok pulled back and barked with laughter at the look on my face.
“Don’t worry, Erik.” He clapped a broad hand on my shoulder. “You can tell your dragon to stand down. I’m happily married.”
I shuffled on my feet, awkward in his presence. Up until now, I had been certain of myself and my instincts, but... standing here, I was thrown. The whole journey to the north already felt like a lifetime ago.
Mari’s small, soft hand slipped into mine and squeezed. I looked down; she smiled up at me softly.
I smiled back. Just having her by my side was enough to cool the protective instincts that threatened to swallow me whole.
I turned to Stavrok, my gaze sobering. “Marienne and I have just returned from the north. I decided to come straight here and meet with you in person.”
Stavrok’s face was grave; it wasn’t an expression I associated with such a jovial man.
“I read your letter. You were right to reach out to me. Whatever Marienne’s visions mean, they likely concern all of us.” He picked up a heavy-looking broadsword that he’d been training with and slung it over his shoulder. “Come on, this isn’t a conversation to be had in the yard. Let’s find my wife.”
With a glance at Marienne, I inclined my head, and we followed Stavrok through the courtyard to the open doors. Before we could go much further, however, Lucy found us.
“Mari!” She barreled forward, her blonde waves bouncing behind her. The two women hugged tightly. “Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you!”
“It’s been too long.” Marienne pulled back, her face shining with affection. “I’m sorry our visit was cut so short last time.”
She pointedly did not look at me, but my face heated anyway. I pretended intense interest in the blank stone wall in front of me while Lucy giggled.
“I understand. Come, this way.”
She looped her arm through Stavrok’s, and the two led us through the castle corridors, Marienne and I following awkwardly behind.
The memory of my shift prickled hot and uncomfortable around the collar of my robe. Marienne seemed to be remembering it, too. Small spots of color appeared on her cheeks, and she wouldn’t meet my gaze.
Lucy opened a door, and we entered a cozy round room with large, floor-length windows. She settled in an armchair and indicated we do the same opposite.
“I’ve called for some food,” she said. “You must be hungry.”
As soon as she said the words, my stomach growled. I smiled at her, relaxing onto a long, low sofa. “Indeed. My dragon flew a long way, and I am ravenous.”
Mari cleared her throat and I glanced at her, to find her cheeks fully ablaze with pink. Suddenly, remembering the way her legs had gripped my scales and her hands clung to my dragon form as I flew, I was ravenous for something else altogether.
After an awkward moment, broken only by a bark of laughter from Stavrok, I forced my desire for Mari back down and tried to concentrate on the matter at hand.
“So,” Stavrok began. “What happened on your northern expedition? Tell us everything.”
Between the two of us, Marienne and I managed to relay everything that had happened on our travels, minus a few details here and there. I hoped that getting captured wouldn’t make it into the history books when they talked of my reign.
Stavrok and Lucy listened attentively.
At some point the food arrived, and we took bites of delicious bread and cheese and drank steaming cups of hot chocolate while we talked. Their eyes grew wider and wider when they heard the truth about Damon, and when Marienne described the state of his kingdom, Lucy laid a hand on Stavrok’s arm.
“We have to help them,” she said.
“We will, my love.” His brow furrowed as he stared off into the middle distance for a moment. “We must.”
Lucy shifted, turning to Marienne. “Come and meet our little ones. You haven’t had the chance yet, have you?”
She stood up, brushing her skirt down, and Marienne took the opportunity to get away, after a glance in my direction.
I recognized the gesture for what it was. A chance for me and Stavrok to talk, one-on-one. Ruler to ruler.
Smart little human, that Lucy.
Not much seemed to get past her. She may not have been born in this realm, but she fit into it perfectly.
If she can do it, maybe there’s hope for me after all.
“So....” Stavrok leaned forward. “It seems that the loner king is nothing like he’s rumored to be.”
“I suppose it’s easy for a king to be misunderstood,” I replied, and Stavrok nodded. “My instincts told me he wasn’t a threat. I think he’s telling the truth.”
“I met his father once.” Stavrok squinted, like he was trying to recall a vague memory. “At a tournament, a long time ago. He was a brutish man. He hated the other clans and wanted nothing to do with them. Everyone assumed that all northerners followed his example. It seems we were wrong.”
“Not all sons turn out like their fathers,” I pointed out.
Stavrok chuckled. He lifted his mug, and I clinked it against mine, grinning.
“You’ve certainly shown that,” he said. “I’ll fight by your side, Erik. We’re allies, and I’m a man of my word.”
I bowed my head out of respect, but he shook the gesture off, putting his hands on my shoulders and looking me dead in the eye.
“You are a king, Erik,” he said firmly. “It is your birthright, your bloodline. You bow to no one. Remember that.”
As he spoke, sunlight pierced through the windows behind us and filled the room with a golden glow. Somehow, his words gave me a sense of purpose, of peace. I hadn’t felt such a thing on the day of my coronation, but I felt it now.
I was the King of the Black Mountains. I accepted that role, now. And I would defend what was mine until my final, dying breath.
***
MARIENNE
I knew a ruse when I saw one, but I couldn’t be annoyed at Lucy for separating me from Erik for the time being.
It was clear how much Erik respected Stavrok. Besides, it was good for us to be apart. I needed to get my head straight. Especially if we were going to fight this war that was coming, together.
“So,” Lucy said, and grinned, leading me up the grand staircase. “Tell me everything.”
“About what?” I asked.
“Marienne!” She huffed, slipping her arm through mine as we strode along the hallway. It was sunnier up here, and I tilted my head, grateful to feel the warmth on my face. “Come on. You and Erik!”
I bit my lip to stop the smile that threatened to appear. Lucy was as lively as ever. Her brief stint in Magnik’s castle dungeons didn’t seem to have dampened her spirit one bit.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I widened my eyes and batted my eyelashes, before breaking into giggles at the look on her face. “Okay, okay!”
“Is he your fated mate?” Lucy asked. “I know you, Marienne. Did you have a vision about him? How long have you known?”
“Whoa!” I held up my hands to stop the deluge of questions. “I’ve known about him for years. Ever since I saw him one day in the street, as Magnik and I passed through his town in a procession. As soon as I laid eyes on him, I knew.”
Lucy’s face fell. “Really? That long, and you couldn’t...”
I hunched my shoulders as she trailed off. Her expression was full of pity. I didn’t want her pity. And yet, I understood it. the thought of the long and lonely years I’d spent as Magnik’s queen, knowing my fated mate was out there and I couldn’t be with him, still left me hollow inside.
Luckily, I didn’t have to change the subject. We had come to a standstill beside a high, arched door. Lucy pushed it open and I gasped as we entered a brightly lit room. Three cradles clustered around a window. Gauzy golden hangings swayed gently in the wind, and tiny mobiles hung from the ceiling.
I drew closer, and my heart softened when I saw that each mobile had tiny dragons hanging from it.
Reaching out one finger, I nudged the dragon in the middle, watching it spin around and catch the light. The baby in the cradle cooed, waving tiny, chubby fists at me.
“They’re so precious.” I smiled.
Lucy came up alongside me and brushed a hand through the baby’s fluffy hair. “This little one is always causing me trouble, aren’t you, Anselm? His sisters are good as gold—mostly.”
Baby Anselm blinked up at me, and I reached out a hand, swirling a shimmering stream of magic through the air above his head. He gurgled with laughter, reaching up to try and grab the twinkling light before it dissolved.
As the light faded away, so did my smile. My hand fell away, and I traced the edge of the crib, lost in thought.
“For someone who’s finally able to be with their fated mate,” Lucy said slowly, “you don’t seem very happy.”
“It isn’t that simple.” I turned away from the cribs, sighing. “None of it is.”
“What do you mean?” Lucy put a hand on my arm. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Mari."
“It’s not—it’s not like that between us.” I ran my hands over my face, hating the way my voice caught in my throat. “It shouldn’t be! I’m hardly the perfect match, Lucy.”
Lucy snorted. “Well, now you’re just talking nonsense. Fated mates are, by definition, perfect for one another.”
I held up my hand and counted off the reasons. “I was married for ten years to his half-brother. I’m not a dragon shifter. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give him children—I was told years ago that I’m barren, Lucy. And sooner or later, he’ll realize he wants someone without all this... this baggage! And of course, he will want an heir, one day.”
I raised my hands and let out a sob as purplish mist swirled around me.
Lucy’s face softened and she strode forward, sweeping me into a tight hug.
She drew back, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “But you’re forgetting the most important thing.”
I sniffed. “What’s that?”
“He wants you, you idiot! It’s obvious how crazy you are about each other.”
As much as I wanted to believe her, I didn’t dare. I cast my eyes downward as I mumbled, “The night he shifted, we slept together.”
Lucy’s face lit up. “And?”
I groaned, covering my face. “It was wonderful! Of course, it was.” I shook my head, smiling weakly. “He’s... he’s everything I hoped he would be.”
The grin slid from my face as I thought of the night we’d shared. “After all this time, I just can’t trust that any of it is real,” I said.
Lucy looked like she was about to say something else, but we were interrupted by a short knock at the door.
Before we could respond, the door opened a crack, and a young woman with a tumble of chestnut brown curls peered through the gap. “C’mon, Luce! Stavrok’s looking for you guys! Dinner’s ready.”
The newcomer tossed a grin my way.
I smiled back at her, a bit startled at the casual intrusion.
“I don’t think we’ve met. You’re the... sorceress, right?” the girl said.
Lucy rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Marienne, this is Cass. Cass, Marienne.”
One of the babies began to cry, so Lucy rushed to soothe her.
Cass bounded up to me, and she shook my hand within an inch of its life. “I’ve heard so much about you! I’m Stavrok’s cousin. I guess you could say that makes me royalty, but mostly I’m just here for the free food.”
I chuckled. “Well, I could eat.”
“Stavrok says you guys have been all the way up north.” Cass’s eyes glowed with enthusiasm, and I couldn’t help but follow her as she led me out of the room. “What’s it like? Tell me everything.”
I turned to Lucy, who now had a red-faced infant in her arms. “You two go along,” she said. “I’ll stay here for a while.”
“See you later.” I smiled at my friend as she sat down in a nearby rocking chair and offered her breast to her babe.
“I read that the north men all have pointed teeth—is that true?” Cass asked as she led me from the room.
“Um... I don’t think so. Not that I saw, anyway.” I shrugged. “But we weren’t there for that long.”
“Is the loner king really as fearsome as they say?”
“What do they say?” I asked, curious.
Cass shrugged. “That he never comes out of his castle in daylight. That he keeps feral wolves for pets. That his dragon is untamable, and many have died fighting it.”
That didn’t square with my impression of King Damon, but I didn’t want to disappoint Cass, so I just made a noncommittal noise. She didn’t seem to mind, and I let her talk nineteen to the dozen while we approached the dining room.
Lucy’s words were running through my head on a loop. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stay present; they flooded my mind, leaving no room for anything else.
I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Mari. It’s obvious how crazy you are about each other.
I wanted so desperately to believe her. But I couldn’t let my own feelings cloud my judgment: I was the first to know that simply wanting something didn’t necessarily make it true.
Erik sat beside me at dinner. I barely registered what I put in my mouth, much less tasted it. I was totally entranced by his mere presence. Everything about him caught my eye: his hair, the way he smiled, the heat radiating from him as the night wore on. Once, we brushed hands while reaching for the wine decanter, and the spark that shot through me was so potent I almost gasped out loud.
The others talked easily enough, but they seemed to chalk up my silence to exhaustion and left me alone for the most part.
That suited me just fine.
At some point, underneath the table, Erik’s thigh brushed up against mine and stayed there for the rest of the meal. He continued to laugh and joke with Stavrok, looking for all the world like he was none the wiser about what he was doing to me.
The singular point of contact was maddening. I ached for him, deep inside my core.
“It seems like Mari’s ready to call it a night.” Stavrok winked at me over the top of his wineglass. “A toast! Without her, we wouldn’t be any the wiser about King Damon.”
Everyone raised their glasses toward me, and I flushed and looked down.
“I’ve had the servants prepare your rooms,” Lucy said. “Please, make yourself at home!”
Hang on... rooms?
It occurred to me that I wouldn’t be sharing a bed with Erik tonight.
Why was that so surprising? We’d agreed it wasn’t like that between us.
So why does it feel like ice has lodged itself in my chest?
Lucy caught my gaze. If I didn’t know any better, I would say there was a glint of amusement in her eyes.
She knew exactly what I was thinking.
I stood up so suddenly my knees knocked against the underside of the table. All the glasses clinked, and everyone looked up at me with surprise.
“Excuse me,” I mumbled. “Stavrok’s right. We have work to do tomorrow. I should get some rest.”
I pushed back my chair and began to make my way across the dining hall. A clatter behind me echoed off the marble floor. I paused and looked back over my shoulder.
Erik was standing, staring after me. He was still at the table, but the look on his face was pure fire.
I exhaled softly and turned away, beginning the lonely journey up the steps of the great hall toward my lodgings. Frustration followed me all the way into the lovely bedroom waiting for me, like an ever-present itch beneath the surface of my skin.
I fell face-first onto the soft mattress with a groan. The release I craved was far beyond my reach.
As a matter of fact, he was likely still sitting downstairs, seeming totally in control of his body and his emotions, while I lay here growing ever more desperate.
After a few minutes of silent despairing, I got up and slipped into a sheer nightgown someone had left out for me, then padded around the room in the half darkness.
The excitement of the past couple of days thrummed through me. Sleep felt a million miles away. My mind turned over possibility after possibility for what the future could bring.
One image still haunted me: Erik lying in my arms, the life draining out of him before my eyes.
It couldn’t be true. Surely, with knowledge, the future could change.
With a huff, I turned and crept over to the bed, sliding between the cool, soft sheets. The castle was quiet around me, dark and still. I didn’t know what time it was, but it had to be close to midnight.
I lay in the silence, breathing. In, out. In, out.
This was no use. I’d never get any sleep tonight with all this uncertainty.
I flung a hand above my head to trace the carvings on the headboard. Even in the dark, I could guess their shape by touch alone. Flame, smoke, fury.
Dragon fire.
I sat up and pulled back the sheets. The fabric of my nightgown rustled against my calves as I dropped both feet to the floor and strode over to the door with renewed determination.
Erik didn’t want me in a permanent way. Of that, I was pretty sure.
But I had to be certain. The look on his face at dinner tugged at something in my chest. I had no choice but to follow my instincts.
I reached out and grasped the heavy bolt on the door, sliding it free. The old oak shifted under my hands, and I pulled it open before I could talk myself out of going to find him.
My breath caught in my throat and I almost jumped back in fright.
Standing just beyond the door, with one hand outstretched, as if about to knock, was Erik.
I blinked at him. From the way his eyes flickered across my face, I knew a flush had spread across my cheeks.
“What are—” I began.
“I was just—”
We both stopped, hovering on the threshold, waiting for the other to finish their sentence. Without realizing what my body was doing, I swayed closer. His hot breath ghosted over the side of my neck, and I trembled.
My hands moved without my permission, grasping the front of his shirt. Beneath my fingers I could feel the hot, firm planes of his chest, rising and falling rapidly as if he had been running.
With a growl, he pushed forward, walking me back into the room and tilting up my head. His mouth pressed against mine, and I opened for him with a moan of relief and desire.
I expected him to push me down onto the bed then, and have his way with me. I would have gone gladly.
But he didn’t. His hand cradled the back of my neck, the other trailing down and sliding around my waist. He held me up against him, panting. His forehead pressed against mine. The intimacy was almost overwhelming; there was nowhere to look but straight into those burning eyes.
“I can’t stand it, Mari.” His voice, low and gravelly, made my stomach curl with heat. “I can’t stay away from you.”
I shook my head, hoping he understood; I was beyond words, beyond anything but the need that had me trembling, lips parted, aching for him to put his mouth on every part of me he could reach.
He cupped my face in his huge hands, holding me as if I was something precious to him. He kissed me again, soft and lingering, before angling us gently until I sat at the edge of the bed and he stood in between my open legs.
His hands inched up under the thin fabric of my nightgown. Even the slide of his fingers against the softness of my inner thighs had me squirming. In the dim light, I caught a flash of his crooked grin.
He leaned over me. His mouth found my cheek, the side of my neck, sliding hotly over my collarbone. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry. The last time we did this, it had been relentless, inevitable; just pure, instinctual lust.
He was taking his time now. Mapping out my body, learning what made me gasp, what made me writhe and arch up against him. Slow and reverent.
No one had ever touched me like this.
No one had ever seen me the way Erik did.
He left a blazing trail up my inner thigh, closer and closer to where I really wanted him. Blindly, I reached out and slid a hand into his hair, anchoring him. He huffed as if in amusement, and my skin tingled at the sensation of his breath on me.
I groaned at the sight of his dark head buried between my thighs, and just barely managed to keep from crying out when he licked me, kissing around and over my clit while I bucked and rode up into his mouth like it was the only thing keeping me tethered to earth.
My other hand grabbed the head board, and his large palms slid under my thighs, pulling me impossibly closer. I lay there, trapped between his hot, damp mouth and the mattress beneath us. I could feel my climax approaching rapidly, and I squirmed, nudging at his broad back with my ankles to get his attention.
I didn’t want it like this. I wanted to see him again, connect with him fully.
He glanced up. I shuddered at the wild look on his face, his mussed hair and wide pupils. I shifted beneath him, shuffling until I could wrap my hands around his huge forearms and guide him until he crawled up over me.
I leaned up and pressed a soft kiss against his mouth, heedless of where he had just been, and pushed his pants down his hips. I needed to feel his flesh against me.
He groaned as our kiss turned deeper, and our tongues slid together. My thighs trapped his pelvis against mine, and it wasn’t long before his hips began sliding mindlessly downward.
Closer; closer. He got the message clear enough and reached down, taking his cock in hand and lining himself up. We both gasped when the head brushed against my entrance, and he slid inside slowly. I arched toward him, savoring the stretch and fullness of his organ inside my body.
I wrapped my hands around his shoulders, and pulled him down, pressing the length of his body against mine. He held himself rigid, clearly worried about crushing me under his weight, before relaxing into me. We rocked together, mouths brushing gracelessly against each other, lost to the world, and anything except the feel of each other.
His thrusts began to deepen. He growled against my neck, and I whimpered at the graze of his teeth against the skin there, tightening around him as my orgasm exploded through me. I gripped his jaw and dropped soft kisses onto his lips until he stiffened and roared. His cock pulsed with his own release deep inside me.
We both trembled as he withdrew and flopped down beside me on the bed.
I was utterly sated, wrung through with exhaustion and pleasure, but I smiled up at the canopy above us.
“What is it?” Erik murmured.
I turned my head to find he was studying me with a smile of his own.
I huffed a laugh, and his smile softened into a gentle grin. “It’s just... I’ve been dreaming of you for so long.”
Even in the darkness, I could see his eyebrows draw together. “Really?”
I reached out and pushed a loose strand of hair away from his gorgeous face. “Five years, in fact. Since the day I first saw you.”
“So, you did see me that day,” he murmured, turning fully onto his side and trailing a lazy hand through my hair, tangling it with his fingers. “You looked so beautiful, Mari, dressed in all your finery. I remember...”
“What?” I tilted back my head, allowing him to skim a hand over my collarbone.
He seemed caught up for a moment, lost in thought. “I’d never seen a woman so beautiful. And I knew that I’d never have you. We were so far apart... I thought the gods had cursed me. Set you in my path to punish me. I never stopped thinking of you, Marienne.”
I inhaled sharply, catching his hand in mine and tangling our fingers together. “I’m sorry for all those years. All that pain.” I sighed. “I wish it could’ve been different, Erik.”
“The villagers whispered that you were a powerful sorceress,” Erik mumbled, kissing my forehead, just below my tangled hair. “When I first saw you, I ran straight for the nearest field. I lost control completely... I shifted. I knew I had to get the hell away from the village, but I burned up an entire farmstead by accident. My mother was furious.”
“Were you okay?” I stroked a hand down his bicep.
“Yes.” He chuckled softly. “We had to pay for the damage for years, and no-one was hurt, but I thought you had done something to me. Some magic curse, or spell. I couldn’t understand why my body reacted that way from just one look.”
I wriggled closer, and he wrapped his long limbs around me. I sighed with satisfaction and rested my head on his chest.
“Well, I can assure you,” I said with a smile, listening to the thud of his heart. “I’m just as much under your spell as you are under mine.”
He pressed his face against my temple, and I felt his answering smile against my skin.
“I think I can live with that.”