by Alice Knight
“So did you recall anything by being back in your old room?” I can hear her hope and I hate it.
“Sorry I got nada” I mumble in response. I feel her eyes on me as we descend the stairs, once at the bottom, Air leads us to the right hand side and into another room.
Looking around it appears to be the same size as the thorne room but in the middle there is a long sleek wooden table surrounded by high backed chairs. Looking over the top my stomach grumbles as every inch of the table is covered in plates filled with food. I hold back a chuckle as I look at Freya’s face and hear her stomach talking as well.
We all take a seat, Rai is at the head of the table with Ave sitting next to him. I take a seat next to my mother as I can pick their brains without have to yell down the table.
To my dismay Thorn takes the seat next to mine, Freya, Air and Lucien sit opposite us. Once everyone is seated I gaze towards the only friend I ever remember having as she mimics pulling a bandaid off of her arm. Subtle witchy, I shake my head at her slightly. I understand where she is coming from about getting the serious shit out the way first but I feel like I need to know my parents before reality sets in.
The King stands, his presents alone demands your attention, “For the first time in over a century our family is complete once again, tonight we eat together as one and tomorrow we will greet our people”. Returning to his seat we all begin to dig into the food with gusto.”
I smile looking towards Freya, I can only just see her over the mountain of food she has already got on her plate. Lucien is plating up his and Air’s food, “May I?” I hear Thorn say besides me gesturing towards my empty plate. Oh brother, can a female not get her own food now? I notice Rai doing the same thing for Ava. In the nicest voice I can mutter I reply, “You may” I paint on a fake smile, I feel so uncomfortable with Thorn waiting on me, tho the idea of Drake doing serving me food makes me feel giddy. Stupid mate bond is screwing me up, more than I already am. Thorn pushes my now full plate in front of me seeming to be happy with his work he begins plating up his own food. I catch him looking at me out the corner of his eye a few times. More than likely wondering what I think of his little arrangement. I seem to have lost my appetite, instead I sit and force myself to eat and act like I’m enjoying it.
“We are so happy that your home sweetheart” My mother admits to me. “It will take some getting used to, but I am happy Aireme bought me back here so I could meet you both.” I nod towards Rai.
“I have so many questions I want to ask about the life you had in the human realm. I feel it would be rude of me to bombard you at dinner though, so maybe tomorrow we could take a walk around the gardens and talk more in depth then?” Ava inquires.
“A walk sounds lovely.” Check me out being all adult. I guess it would be out of bounds to ask for the closest nightclub, that is if they even have them here. God I hope so, I’d kill for one of Jaden’s cocktails right about now to take the edge off.
Rai starts putting down his cutlery, regarding me curiously. “Do you have any questions for us?” Biting my lip I think about my answer carefully, “I’m not sure at the moment, I’m a bit overwhelmed. Why don't you tell me how you both met?” I ask him genuinely curious about his answer. Thankfully this gives me a reason to ignore my plate and give the King all of my attention. Ava reaches towards her mate and they hold hands smiling to one another before Rai begins telling me their story.
By the end, I have my chin resting on my hands completely captivated by my father's words. Well shit, I guess I know where I get my badassness from, the Queen is my kind of crazy. I gaze around the rest of the table, realising that everyone else has stopped talking, equalling entranced by their story.
Once everyone has had they fill of the food we all start to say our goodbyes and turn in for the night. I’m starting to get nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach again at the thought of tomorrows walk my mother.
The only thing that settles me is what I see when I phase back to my room.
Drake is laying on my bed with his arms tucked behind his head and the most relaxed look on his face. Well he kept his word, he is indeed here, I guess I should of made him swear to also be awake when I got back.
I can't resist the look of him anymore, stripping out of my dress and heels I begin to crawl into bed with my mate for the first time in what feels like forever. I sigh and relax, happy and content at being able to cuddle up against his chest. I inhale his scent and as I drift off to sleep I feel him maneuver himself carefully, so he can wrap me up in his arms and hold me securely to his side.
The following morning I’m up, dressed and out before 10am, which is a miracle in itself. The problem with this is, I am in no way mentally prepared for the breathtaking palace grounds or the extremely awkward silence that is currently between Ave and me.
I’m trying to figure out how the conversation went from my life in the human realm to the current train of talk. We take a seat on the stone bench in front of a huge fountain shaped like a lady watering her plants.
Ava rests her hand on top of mine, “I thought Air explained all this to you sweetheart” Confusion is plastered all over her face.
Well I guess she technically did but that was back when I thought she was a crazy person, so I was hardly paying attention.
“The history lesson sounded like crazy talk at the time-” Its a weak defence but I didn't know what else to say.
“Aireme told me about some Royal’s who ship their children off as some sort of payment for an unsteady alliance.” I’m grasping at straws now, trying to recall the little lesson and by the look on Ava’s face I’m failing miserably. I pause thinking over what I just said. Double damn.
“I didn't mean it like that, obviously, you don't just ship off your babies.” Raising her other hand to signal me to stop talking before I put more than my foot in my mouth. “Please let me explain before you judge our way of life-” I can hear the hope in her voice again, so I nod for her to continue.
“When Rai first started courting me, there was a lot of conflict throughout the realm. Kingdoms were in constant state of attacks, eventually 3 of the 4 kingdoms were weakened so much we could no longer defend ourselves separately. We had to find away to become an allied front, a difficult feet when our trust was so shaken. Once Rai and I were crowned rulers of The Immortal Empire, we made motions to invite our 2 neighbouring countries to visit and discuss peace talks. I was pregnant with Air at the time and your father hated the idea of bringing up our child in a war zone.” Her voice is so strong as she tells me her history. I can't stop myself for grasping her hand as a sign of support and encouragement.
Taking a deep breath she carries on, “These talks went on for weeks, we were all trying to come up with a way to become allies without having to worry that we would betray one another. If we didn't find a solution the King of Serpent’s Reach would eventually wipe us all off the map. At the time another Queen had just given birth to her son Lucien, like a shining beacon we all realised that the most important thing to each of us is our families. So we all agreed that this is how we would unit, none of us would ever be able to attack our own loved ones.Aireme and Lucien were the first ones arranged and married when they became of age. Fixing the alliance between us and Delvins Cove.”
Oh god, I feel the blood drain from my face as everything starts to click into place and I become aware of how utterly screw me and Drake are. Finishing off her sentence in barely a whisper “and my marriage to Thorn will cement the alliance between us and Natures Rise.” The kingdoms are in a fragile alliance at the moment, so if I don't marry Thorn we will lose our allies and we all become vulnerable to attack. Oh shit there are thousands of lifes riding on this marriage.
“Please understand we do not want to push you into a marriage when you do not have feelings for the person you will be spending your life with, but when you are apart of the royal family, we must think about what is best for our people.” I hear her talking, as much as I hate to admit it
I can understand her reasoning behind it. Hanging my head in defeat.
“So what happens now?” As much as I hate this situation, I can't run from it knowing how many lives are at risk if I do.
My mind just goes back to that little girl in the city who took my hand and walked home with me, I have to do this so the young fae have a future.
“We will invite Thorns parents to the palace and begin arrangements for the wedding.”
“Okay, if you don't mind though mother this has been a very informative conversation, I think I need some time to process what I have learned.” I give her a small hug, then begin to walk away, forcing myself to go at a normal pace and not run like the hounds of hell are after me.
A hour later, I am in the arms of my mate. Drake phases us out to the forest, we finally get to spend time together outside without the fear of being caught. The odds of someone way out here are slim to none, according to Drake we used to walk through this part of the forest all the time when we first met.
Something that past me and present me have in common is rule breaking apparently. Drake is like my forbidden fruit and I can't seem to resist him. He takes hold of my hand and leads us beyond the tree line, I hear the water before I seen it, it has to be the biggest waterfall I have ever seen, I saw small ones when I was living in Scotland but nothing compares to this. The water is so loud as it lands in the lake below yet so peaceful at the same time.
I stop dead in my track and take in the beauty of this new world. Bright flowers snake up the rocky cliff side, walking towards the lake I notice a blanket and basket set out on the shore. Looking up to Drake I notice he is trying to gauge my reaction, I’ve never been the romantic type but I'll take anything my mate is willing to give me.
I go up on my tip toes and kiss him gently, “this is perfect Drake, now enough with the mushy stuff, Show me the food” I demand in a playful voice. Throwing back his head and laughing at my order, I scream in surprise as he sweeps me off my feet, taking me towards the set out picnic.
Lowering us both to the ground I sit between Drake's legs, he leans slightly and brings the basket closer to us, Drake starts unpacking the various foods. Cut up fruits, sliced meats, sweet treats. I wipe my mouth as it feeling like I'm drooling over the little feast he has made us. I get a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of my stomach as I watch him roll up a small slice of meat, he brings it up to my lips, I smile before I open my mouth to let him pop the food in.
It tastes similar to smoked ham, I moan around the food which only encourages Drake to feed me more delicious snacks. Feeling giddy I look over all the food and start picking out the items I think he will like, we take turns feeding eachother.
With the noises we are making, any passer byes would think we were having sex, not simply eating. I think my favorite so far was a slice of sweet fruit on top of a small cube of cheese, Drake fed me that combo a couple times before moving on.
Surprisingly my mate has a giant sweet tooth, preferring the berries over the meat rolls. We continue this give and take for a few more minutes before he phases the food back into the basket and lays back, bringing me flush against his chest.
I breath in his scent signing happily to myself as he begins running his hands through my hair. My roses are pulsing uncontrollably under my dress, I rest my hands on his chest and push myself up so I’m straddling his waist. He relaxes, putting his hands behind his head, letting me take the lead. This thrills my inner goddess at the possibilities. I lean down to him, kissing his lips slowly moving along to his jaw and neck, my hands undoing the buttons on his shirt as I go. My lips follow the trail of exposed skin my hands are revealing. I smile against his abs as I start to feel the vibrations coming from his chest.
Shimmering down his legs, seducing my mate, it has me all hot and bothered, I become impatient, slowly revealing him to my greedy eyes.
I give up this torture and phase his trousers and boxers away. Licking my lips in anticipation, I bring my mouth closer to him, slowly licking from the base of his cock up to the tip before taking the head into my mouth. I can only take a little less than half of him before I start to gag.
As soon as I begin to suck him in further, licking up the length of him as I go, Drake is bolting upright which courses me to almost choke around him, which only seems to turn him on more.
“Fucking hell Sky” He tries to get ahold of himself.
This has me wanting to make him lose control even more, I moan around him as I take him further into my mouth sucking at him more enthusiastically.
“Shit, slow down” he begs. I do the exact opposite which has him cursing and gripping my hair harshly in his hands.
I feel him getting bigger in my mouth, as he begins to pull me off of him, I release him with a ‘pop’.
Crawling back up his body our lips crash together in a hot and heavy kiss, I suck on his tongue, causing him to moan into my mouth. The world turns upside down as I’m rolled onto my back, Drake pulls away from me, yanking down the top of my dress. He bites my nipples before massaging the sting away with his tongue, which causes my back to arch towards him.
I curse to myself, pulling him away from my abused breasts by his hair, “Take me Mate” I demand. His eyes dilate so much I can't see their colour anymore, He grabs the neck of my dress and rips it apart, my mouth pops open ready to complain about my ruined dress. I feel the head of his cock rubbing me between my legs, Fuck the dress I can get another.
“Look at me” Drake orders, unable to disobey him at this point in time, I lock my eyes onto his. When he begins to push home, I can't control my eyes trying to roll to the back of my skull as I groan his name. We hold our foreheads together as the sensations take over any and all rational thought.
I try to breath though the feeling of fullness, when he is finally seated all the way inside of me, a wasted effort because as soon as he begins to move my whole world explodes.
Some hours later we are laying naked under the night sky, I have my head resting on Drake's chest listening to his stories about what we used to get up to and how we met. “In the winter my family came here to visit with your father, having no interest in the royal politics I spent most my time here exploring this forest.-” I close my eyes and begin to imagine the scene he is describing.
“I came across this lake, Snow and ice lined the cliff face and made it look like crystals twickling. See that rock over there?” He points to a large rock with a flat looking top next to the waterfall. I nod against his chest, settling against him again.
“That is where I first saw you, I’ve never known anyone to lay out in the snow looking like they are sunbathing. I found it quite odd at first but I still couldn't resist getting closer to you.”
I can see him smiling above me at the memory, I envy him at the moment I wish I could recall those moments we stole away.
“As I moved towards you, your hair was falling over the sides of the rock looking like blood in the snow. You took my breath away, especially when you threw a small knife in my direction-” He gave me a pointed look, “I’m not going to apologise, you earned it if you were acting like a creepy pervert” I resort, defending my past self.
‘Sister I know your in this forest somewhere please make sure your butt is covered I really don't need to see it’
Shit!
Bolting upright I look around the tree line, “fuck fuck fuck, Air is on her way.” I explain quickly to Drake. His smile leaves as soon as the words are out of my mouth. Waving his hands over our bodies, our clothes start to reappear and we are ready for the company without a hair out of place.
“Come to me tonight?” I ask him before he gets a chance to phase away. “Your have to wait and see” He answers with a smirk before kissing my lips quickly. When I open my eyes he has already gone. Just in time to as I see Air burst out of the tree line.
“For a newborn city girl I didn't peg you for someone who likes to hang around in the woods.” She comments as she comes to sit on the ground next to me, I not
ice the blanket and basket have disappeared along with Drake. Thank god his brain was working because that would of been a hard one to explain.
“Well this place it gorgeous and I was getting abit of cabin fever being locked in the palace all day.” I comment going for nonchalance. By the look on her face she isn't buying what I’m selling, but she lets it slide.
“Come on, it’s time to get serious”She says, I frown at her, “Care to explain?” I ask.
She hangs her head “Thorn and his parents are here with mum and dad to discuss your wedding.”
WHAT THE FUCK! Now I’m not one to panic or let anyone tell me what to do, but this is a little out of my pay grade. “I’m really sorry Sky, but this isn't something you can keep running from. The whole kingdom needs this marriage, If there was any other way please believe me when I say we would be doing it.” She pulls me into a supportive hug.
After speaking with Ava earlier I understand the need for these stupid marriages but I can't accept that I have to marry Thorn and not my mate. I thought me and Drake would have more time, I wanted to talk to him before all the shit hit the fan.
I say a prayer up to whatever God is prepared to listen that my mates would understand the position I’m being put in.
Aireme drops her arms and asks, “Ready?”. Right I mentally put on my big girl pants it feels like I’m constantly in them lately, “Let’s do this” that came out sounding way more confident then I’m currently feeling.
Clasping each others hand we phase together to the centre of the throne room and face off with the King’s and Queen’s waiting for us.
The first thing I notice are the two extra thrones on the stage, being occupied by Drake and Thron’s parents. Ava and Rai are sitting in their own thrones, all of them are engaged in conversation. They quieten down as myself and Aireme present ourselves to the royals.
