It wasn’t the right time for dusk, was it? As I looked up at the sky, I had the sense that Salem and Mag Mell were linked. The dying evening light and the gold of the fire blazed over the bodies of the dancers. I felt like a moth moving toward the fire, drawn by its brightness.
I scanned the crowds, trying to stay alert. Revelers were having sex against the trees, dancing naked around the fire. Where was I supposed to find the weapon?
When I turned back to Salem, I found his eyes burning with coral and blue hues that matched the skies. He looked at peace here. I thought if he only had his cat and his little tree house, he might have some semblance of happiness.
And there it was again, that empty cavern opening in my chest. When I took in his broken wing, I felt an overwhelming urge to heal him. The instinct to press my hand against his chest and fill him with my magic was almost overpowering.
Why heal someone I was about to kill? Dizziness slammed into me, a feeling of wrongness. It was like an iron thread was tugging me by my middle, forcing me closer to him. His seductive magic skimmed my body, and I wanted to wrap my arms around him.
But if I was going to find this weapon, I needed to get away from him.
My silent prayers were answered when a woman with gleaming platinum hair ran for us, interrupting my thoughts. Apart from a sheer thong, she was practically naked. Gossamer wings swept down her back. She smiled at Salem, then slid her arms around his neck.
I felt a bizarre pang of jealousy. “I see what you mean by hedonism.”
Salem pulled the woman’s hands off him. “You fail to spark my interest.”
Undeterred, she moved closer. Her body glowed. “King. Mate with me. It’s Anamfel. Fill me.”
More of these nymphs were now running from the festival, drawn by his smell or his magic. They were laughing, eyes bright.
“King!” one of them shouted. “The fallen king!”
“How do they all know you’re the king?” I asked. “Are they all a billion years old as well?”
He shot me a sharp look. “They smell it on me, and they feel it in my magic. My soul is bound to this land.” His gaze slid down my body, and I knew he was imagining me naked. “But you are the one who lured me here, and I have no interest in the rest.”
Before I could reply, the silver-haired woman danced over to me, then grabbed me by the hands.
She pulled me toward the fire, and I didn’t object. At last, I had a moment away from Salem. Quickly, I got lost in the throng of half-naked dancers. The music swelled in the air, a deep and sensual song that nearly made me forget why I was here. I nearly tripped over a couple rutting on the ground, the woman on all fours.
Life surrounded me, but death was my mission.
I scanned the revelers, trying to stay alert while my mind was growing increasingly delirious. With the music and the golden light, the air swelled with an erotic heat. Around me, fae were kissing, writhing, and stroking each other.
We wove between bodies that glowed golden in the flickering firelight.
Remember your mission, Aenor.
Over the flames, I glanced at Salem. His hungry eyes were on me. Even with the nymph-like women draping themselves on him, their bodies demanding, he was looking only at me.
The heat of the flames warmed my skin, and I searched frantically for a messenger or a sign of the sea glass.
But as soon as I started pulling away from the silver-haired woman, she grabbed my wrist. All the delirious wildness was gone from her eyes, replaced by a keen awareness.
She pulled me in closer in a hug, and then whispered in my ear, “The Merrow sent me from his prison. Lure Salem away from the crowd, and then plunge this into his heart.” She slid a piece of glass into my palm.
Excitement and fear crackled over me, and I slid the glass into the pocket of my skirt. “How am I supposed to overcome someone as powerful as he is? He can control my mind.”
“It’s Anamfel. Everyone wants to mate. You’re overcome by the music, or at least you can fake it. Seduce him until he lets down his guard. Do this, or the world turns to ash. You have no choice.”
My mind was ablaze. I glanced at the fire, a reminder of what lay ahead of us if Salem succeeded.
The silver-haired nymph snatched a silver goblet out of the hand of a dancer. Then she handed it to me, moving in close again to whisper, “Get rid of your inhibitions. This will help. Do it, now.”
My hands were shaking as I took a sip of the wine, steeling myself for the assassination that would come next.
As soon as the wine hit my tongue, I realized it wasn’t ordinary wine. When I swallowed it, a wave of ecstasy rippled through my body. My panicked thoughts grew quieter, and I felt connected to the earth beneath my feet. The music pulsed in my mind, dulling my worries. I touched the shard of sea glass in my pocket. I knew what I had to do.
“Good,” she said, smiling now.
I drained the glass, then the nymph snatched it from my hand. “That’s enough.”
Not a care in the world…
I danced away from her, my bare feet padding on the soft earth.
With the wine in my system, I felt the urge to pull off my clothes, to let the forest air kiss my bare skin. We were wild creatures here. Heat warmed my cheeks. That nymph had been my savior, and now I’d save the world.
When I reached Salem, the women surrounding him fell away from him, like a sea parting. It was all coming together. This was my destiny, and I’d been born for this.
When I reached him, I grabbed his hands. I smiled at Salem, lowering my chin with my seductive morgen look. Desire sent my pulse racing.
It was hard to truly seduce someone without actually being turned on.
I traced my hand down my body, then toyed with the hem of my skirt, lifting it a little. “I like Anamfel.”
His eyes were on my thighs. His magic, stroking my body, had a dark, erotic feel.
With the way he was looking at me, like he wanted to rip my clothes off and fill me, I could feel the hot blush spreading on my cheeks, my heartbeat racing. “Like you said, I hate just about everything about you. But maybe you’re right. There’s something in the air with this festival.”
“I don’t recall saying that.” His voice had grown husky, eyes burning. “But you have my attention.”
I licked my lips, and his eyes locked on my mouth. “And maybe we hate each other, but you are right here.”
“Right here? Is that my most appealing attribute?” he purred. “Not the fact that I have the body of a god, or a perfect face? I find that hard to believe.”
I let out a shuddering breath. “We have a few minutes, don’t we?”
“A few minutes? I’m afraid you still underestimate me.”
I was so close to him now that my breasts brushed against his muscled chest, and his muscles went completely taut. When I looked up into his eyes, I felt like he was peering into my very soul. He could take me apart with erotic torment, then slowly piece me together again.
The wine and the heat from his powerful body lit me up, and my thighs clenched. But he was broken, and I wanted him whole. Without thinking about the consequences, I pressed my hand against his chest to heal him. When my palm made contact with him, a wave of hot pleasure rushed through my body. Every inch of my skin felt sensitive, my breasts peaking.
The hungry look he was giving me was stoking a need I wanted to ignore.
His wings stretched out behind him, glowing as I healed him. My magic twined with his, and the majestic beauty of his wings made my breath catch. He closed his eyes, letting out a low sigh.
As I healed him, I breathed in his scent. My heart beat faster, and I realized his smell was like an aphrodisiac to me.
I watched my magic snaking over his body, caressing his wings. Something about it seemed… perfect. Meant to be.
Lure him into the woods. End it all.
When I’d finished healing him, I pulled my hand from his chest, and his wings shimmered away.
&nbs
p; He reached for my waist, running the back of his knuckles up and down my side. Tingles raced over my skin. He leaned down and whispered, “Let’s come away from all these people.”
His breath warmed the shell of my ear. Already, my body was aching with need for him.
He leaned down and scooped me up, carrying me away from the festival. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and gods, I wanted to wrap my legs around him. Close to his body, I felt his heart pounding.
When I glanced down at his chest, where I had to stab him, my thoughts sharpened into a crystalline arrow point.
Kill the beautiful man.
Away from the other revelers, he stopped walking, and I slid down his body. “I have you alone, at last,” he murmured. “Take off your clothes. I’ve been desperate to see you naked since I first had you under my control.”
That command made heat pulse between my thighs. Gods, I wanted him to see me naked. I wanted to get down in the dirt and let him claim me…
But I was here for another reason, and I had to remember that.
Something electric crackled between us as I unbuttoned the top of my shirt. His eyes dipped to the swell of my breasts, and I took another step away from him.
His gaze drank in my body. He was hungry for me.
As his magic stroked my skin, licking my body and warming me like firelight, warmth pulsed between my thighs.
I backed up against a hawthorn tree and unbuttoned another button. The forest air kissed my skin. Salem prowled closer, then pressed his hands on the tree trunk on either side of my head.
“Take it off, Aenor.” His deep, erotic tone skimmed my exposed skin.
One more button, and his eyes dipped to my breasts, nipples hardening under his gaze. They were aching for his touch.
He was boxing me in, looking down at me with wonder, and fire blazed in his eyes. “Just one temptation,” he murmured softly, “before my destiny awaits.”
He lowered his head and grazed his mouth against my throat, and I nearly moaned. Pleasure rippled out from where he kissed me. I tried to remember my mission…
I touched his well-built chest, and his muscles tensed. They were like steel under his smooth skin.
Slowly, he brushed his lips over my neck. I arched my throat, making myself vulnerable to him. I felt strangely protected around him. Safe, for reasons that must have been insane. As his tongue moved over my skin, sexual need burned through my body.
Or the world will burn…
I reached into my pocket and grabbed the sea glass. Ice spread through me.
In one swift movement, I lifted it to his heart.
Now, it was all over.
Salem
My mind nearly went blank as I stared down at the gleaming shard of blue glass pressing into my chest. One of her hands was curled around the back of my neck.
With the other, she’d jabbed the sharp tip of the sea glass into my skin, just below my sternum. One sharp thrust upward, and it would be in my heart. Every muscle in my body was rigid, my desire to live warring with the instinct not to hurt her.
So this was Aenor’s plan. She hadn’t wanted to seduce me, but to kill me. Why in the name of the gods had I trusted a morgen’s seduction? This was what they did. What an idiot I was.
I tried to summon my magic to invade her mind, to stop her—but that little point of glass in my chest was already draining my power.
Of course she’d wanted to kill me. I’d taken her world from her—her magic, her kingdom, her mother… She’d sworn vengeance. I’d forced her to work for me, mocking her as I did. I’d even invaded her mind, making her lust for me. I’d imagined making her strip for my pleasure. Of course this was all part of her plan.
Since when had I ever let my guard down like that so easily?
And yet… she hadn’t killed me yet. Was that the mate bond stopping her?
A single streak of black blood streamed down my chest. Already, I could feel the weapon poisoning me, pain radiating through my chest like a toxin.
“Well, Aenor. I thought we were just starting to get comfortable with each other.”
Her jaw was set firmly, eyes focused. Her entire body had gone rigid. With her shirt halfway unbuttoned, I could see her chest rising and falling fast. “Why can’t I do it?” she asked.
She still didn’t know.
“I feel as if you are asking me to advise you on how to better kill me. I’m not inclined to do so.”
Her eyes gleamed with tears. “I was talking to myself.”
“Only one person can kill me.”
“It’s me.” Her eyes shone. “So why can’t I do it? I have to. I’ve seen what happens if I don’t. I’ve killed plenty of evil men before. You’re the worst. I don’t understand why I can’t kill you.”
“I still feel as if you want me to convince you to jam that into my heart. I won’t help you with that, I’m afraid.”
Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she gritted her teeth. “It’s like… I feel safe around you even though it makes no sense. It’s objectively insane, given our history. Is this your magic? The fruit you gave me?” She bit her lip. “Or is it the festival and the wine… Maybe both. I just feel like… we should be…” She seemed like she was coming unglued, trying to convince herself of something that fate wouldn’t let her do. “Like we should be together? This doesn’t make sense. I just need to fight through the confusion and do it. Okay. I can do this.”
“I’ve never been less enthusiastic about giving someone a pep talk.” She wouldn’t do it, would she? She was my mate.
She closed her eyes and shook her head, and a tendril of blue hair fell in her face, catching in her long eyelashes. I brushed it out of her eyes, and she opened them again. With the way she was looking up at me, so lost, I wanted to pull her closer to me.
There was just this weapon between us, getting in the way. “Drop it, Aenor. You won’t be able to do it.” Pain radiated out from the spot where she was piercing me.
“Why can’t I?”
“Perhaps your mind is clouded by my devastatingly divine appearance. Don’t feel bad, Aenor. My beauty has shattered the wills of more formidable women.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, looking like she was about to change her mind and ram the glass all the way into my heart once and for all. Perhaps this was not the time to irritate her.
What she didn’t know was that the mating bond meant every instinct in her body would tell her not to do it. She was the only one who could kill me, but her own mind would stop her from doing it.
She grunted with frustration, staring into my eyes with intense hatred. “Do you know how many hearts I’ve cut out?”
“Lots, I’m sure. But not this one, Aenor. This one you want to keep safe. You don’t want to hurt me.”
“Don’t use your mind control on me.”
“I’m not.”
Her hands shook as she lowered the sea glass. “Gods have mercy. This is all screwed up. But I’m not done with this. We’ll come back to this.” She shoved the sea glass into her pocket. “I can still kill you.”
Gods, I wanted to pull her into my little tree cottage and make her gasp.
Her dark eyebrows knitted. “I’m going to stick on you like shine on gold. I’m going to convince you not to unleash hell on earth. And if you get close to the driftwood cage before we figure out a solution, I’ll kill you. I will cut your damn heart out. Just not yet. I need to know you’ll really do it before I act.”
I grabbed her hand and pressed it against my heart. Her magic pulsed into me, healing me. I let out a shuddering sigh at the feel of this intimacy. Her flowery scent washed over me. I wanted to nestle my face between her legs.
“Hmmm,” I said softly. “Perhaps I can be convinced not to.” This was a lie. I just wanted her close to me. I wanted her to look at me the way she had when I’d brushed the hair from her eyes.
I’d give in to this one last, perfect temptation before I moved on from this world.
Her lips were
only a few inches from mine, her eyes heavily lidded, and she whispered, “I loathe you very much.”
“But instinct tells you I’ll keep you safe. You know that, don’t you?” I’d never seen anyone so beautiful in my life. I had a wild, insane impulse to give her what she wanted, to promise her that I’d leave my own sister in eternal torment at the bottom of the sea. She was mine, and I could hardly think of leaving her.
Instead, I leaned down and kissed her deeply, and the emptiness in my chest started to melt away.
She was mine, and she was the last thing I’d have on earth.
Aenor
I parted my lips, welcoming the kiss, and that ache started building again, a rhythmic pulsing in my core. There was still time to persuade him…
Bizarrely, he was right. I did feel safe around him, like he’d burn the world down to keep me from being hurt.
Or was it just that—well—he’d burn the world down.
His tongue swept in as the kiss deepened, and his dark, sexual magic curled around me. Every inch of my skin felt alive, burning all resistance from my mind. The forest air kissed my skin, full and warm.
His hand was on my waist, keeping me exactly where he wanted me, and my body hummed with desire. My breasts felt full against the damp cotton of my shirt, my entire body acutely sensitive with craving for him.
God of temptation…
He pulled away from the exquisite kiss, his eyes smoldering as he gazed into mine. His muscles looked rigid with anticipation.
My shirt, already partially unbuttoned, was hanging off my shoulders now.
“You need to finish taking that off,” he said.
At this point, I didn’t care that we were out in a forest with other people nearby. I didn’t care about anything except satiating my need.
I unbuttoned the rest of my shirt, and the warm forest air kissed my exposed skin. Salem’s eyes burned as he watched me. Then he slid his hand up from my waist to palm one of my breasts. He caressed and stroked it until my nipple went rock-hard against his palm.
Sea Fae Trilogy Page 41
