Elexon’s eyes burned into her as his fae side warred with the loyal warrior in his soul.
Diamond watched carefully. This was a test of his loyalty to her. Any of her guards who took a mate had to remain steadfast and not waver. Diamond unknowingly clenched her fists, pulling up her depleted magic, not entirely sure what she was going to do if he chose to surrender to his protective fae instincts. After a few seconds of holding that fiery gaze, Diamond breathed a gentle sigh of relief.
Elexon lowered his gaze. “Of course,” he acquiesced.
Hugo’s magic tugged gently at her heart, silent approval of her challenge. He was still talking quietly to Erzion, but she knew all in the room had heard her words.
Diamond knelt next to Rose. Ophelia smiled then moved away from them, bustling about to prepare various salves.
Attion returned and stood quietly near the door, watching intently.
“Rose? Will you let me heal your injuries?” Diamond asked.
Rose nodded drowsily.
“When I’m done, Ophelia is going to look after you. And Elexon will stay close by tonight,” Diamond reassured her friend, taking Rose’s hand in hers. Rose murmured her consent, her brown eyes looking to Elexon.
Diamond felt the gentle pulse of his magic against her friend.
The room went quiet as they all watched Diamond kneel next to Rose. None could see what she was doing, but all could feel her power fill the air. Closing her eyes, she touched Rose’s skin. A tingle of energy from the atmosphere licked along her skin a moment before Hugo’s magic wrapped with hers in question.
Do you need this?
Grateful for the help, she nodded before gently threading her magic into Rose’s body. Emotions tumbled around inside her friend. Diamond swallowed her tears. Rose did not need to see her weep or to know she felt them.
A fine sheen of sweat covered Diamond’s skin as she worked. Starting with Rose’s facial injuries, Diamond healed the bruises and cracked cheek bones.
Rose gasped, her eyes remaining tightly closed as Diamond glided through her body seeking out the bruises on her stomach and back and the broken ribs she had sought to hide.
Diamond felt lower.
What she felt, the tumult of emotions…
“Oh, Rose. I-I’m so…”
“Don’t,” whispered Rose, looking desperately at Diamond. Shame filled her friend’s gaze as her large brown eyes flicked to Elexon before she squeezed them shut. Tears leaked down her face.
Diamond didn’t know what to do. Her instinct was to pull away and leave Rose alone. But Rose had suffered enough alone.
“What’s wrong?” growled Elexon, his own face a mask of worry and anger.
“I—err..” Diamond stuttered.
Rose’s eyes flew open, panicked, and she shook her head.
“I think it’s up to Rose to tell you. If and when she’s ready,” said Diamond quietly.
Sudden rage flared in Elexon’s eyes. His anguished growl raised goosebumps on Diamond’s skin. The floating torches flickered as he drew heat from them and his magic flared, heating the air in the small room.
Rose yanked her hand from his and, turning on her side away from him, squeezed her eyes shut. “Please leave,” she said, her voice breaking.
Diamond looked helplessly at Elexon, then Hugo.
“No!” growled Elexon.
“Rose, Ophelia needs to stay...and will you let me?” asked Diamond gently.
Rose began to sob. “I just—want to be—left alone...”
Diamond’s mouth tightened into a line, her heart hurting for her friend.
Rose turned her head to look at Elexon. “Please leave. I can’t…face...” another sob.
Utter devastation on his face, Elexon stood. “It’s all right,” he said hoarsely. With such a tender touch for a big warrior, he stroked the back of a calloused finger down Rose’s newly healed cheek. “I’ll go—for now. But you can’t push me away, Rose. Not this time,” he said. Anger and hurt radiating from him, he turned and stormed to the door.
Hugo slammed a hand against the warrior’s chest, halting his progress. Sapphire eyes met Diamond’s, and his guilt filtered through to her. He still thought Rose’s plight was his fault—even now.
“Wait. We haven’t dismissed you,” Hugo told Elexon harshly.
Elexon’s rage flared, but Hugo snarled viciously at the other warrior.
Elexon backed down immediately. “I’m sorry, my prince. I-I just need to get away. She doesn’t want me here...”
Hugo’s thoughts slammed into Diamond.
She nodded immediately. “Elexon, you may return here later when you are more in control of yourself and Rose is settled and ready to see you. Until then, you are responsible for my mate’s safety,” said Diamond. “Do as he bids. You are now his guard.”
Elexon whipped his head to her, then back to Hugo, his magic getting hotter, his wings redder by the second.
Erzion watched his son carefully, but seemed content to let Diamond and Hugo handle the situation.
“You are my guard,” Hugo told him. “Did you hear your queen? You do as I say. And I am not done for the night. You may not run away and lick your wounds.” The armour covering Hugo’s torso disappeared. Muscle rippled as he moved closer to Elexon, the tattoo the guardian had marked on him suddenly glowing silver. “I need a training partner. And you need to work off your aggression and anger before you lose control of your magic,” he stated, his voice firm but calm.
Elexon looked back at Rose, who was curled in a ball on the bed. Hurt flashed across his face. Dipping his head to Diamond, he turned to Hugo. “As you wish, my prince,” he ground out. “I will wait in the corridor and show you our training ground,” he said before marching from the room.
Hugo looked at Diamond, heat burning in his own eyes as her gaze raked over his naked chest. “I will find you later,” he told her quietly. “Attion? Come with me?” Attion was not his to command as the warrior had given allegiance to Diamond, not Hugo.
Diamond nodded to her new guard. Attion bowed his head, and together the warriors left.
After helping Ophelia undress and bathe Rose, Diamond sat next to her friend’s bedside. Ophelia left, promising to return with food.
Rose did not wish to tell Diamond what had happened, but the marks upon her body told their own story. Diamond wiped away the tears that welled for her friend. She could only hope Rose would eventually talk to someone about her ordeal.
Ophelia returned, handed Diamond a plate of beef stew, then sat on the edge of Rose’s bed. Patiently she encouraged Rose to take a few mouthfuls.
Diamond’s own mouth watered at the savoury smell. Ravenous, she began to eat, the chunks of beef falling apart on her tongue.
Once they had finished, Rose eyed Ophelia warily.
“Rose? I know you don’t want to talk about it yet. But when you do, I will be here and so will Elexon. He will love you no matter what happened; please remember that,” Ophelia gently reassured her.
Rose swallowed, her eyes dropping sideways. Clearly, she did not yet believe those words.
Ophelia kissed Rose’s cheek. “He will,” she insisted gently.
Silence descended, and Ophelia held Rose’s hand until Rose fell asleep. Carefully, so as not to wake Rose, Ophelia turned to Diamond. In her outstretched hand was a small phial.
Diamond eyed it in confusion. “What’s that?”
Ophelia smiled. “Moonsbane.”
“Oh,” answered Diamond. “Err, thank you.”
“Take it now,” advised Ophelia in a matter of fact but kind voice. “Then you won’t forget in the heat of the moment. Oh, and you’ll need to take more every four weeks until you decide you want a child.”
Cheeks warm, Diamond couldn’t help but chuckle. “What makes you think I’ll need it tonight?”
Ophelia snorted quietly. “Call it intuition and experience.”
Diamond returned her mischievous smile but did not swallow the bitter liq
uid. She was not certain it was needed—yet.
Ophelia bent and kissed Rose’s cheek again, then left to see how Havron was faring.
The next few hours passed quietly, though Diamond did not really sleep. Thoughts of war, and the bloodshed it would inevitably cause, tumbled around her mind. The torches flickered as the door opened, and Ophelia slipped back in.
“How is she?” she asked.
“Sleeping. She hasn’t stirred,” Diamond replied, stretching her aching limbs. Gods, she needed to bathe. Her armour stuck to her grimy skin; her dried perspiration beginning to make her skin itch mercilessly.
Ophelia nodded. “Why don’t you go to your mate, my queen? Don’t worry about Rose. I will see she gets the best care, for both her body and her soul,” she whispered, swallowing hard at that last word.
Diamond nodded. Her fingers grasped the smooth arms of the chair. She pushed up, her legs shaking. Yes, a bath, then sleep, she decided, deliberately not thinking of Hugo and the Moonsbane she had in her pocket. “Thank you,” she said and kissed Ophelia’s soft cheek.
“It was a good thing the prince did—taking my son away to release his magic and rage. I have never seen Elexon in such a state. I’m glad you are both here. Perhaps having the prince to protect will help my son. I think Elexon will find the time Rose needs to heal—difficult,” she said quietly.
Diamond nodded. “But he loves her, doesn’t he? What they did to Rose won’t change that, will it?”
“No, it won’t make any difference to how he feels—how he’s always felt about her.” Ophelia turned to regard Rose’s sleeping form. “But it is going to take time and understanding to allow Rose to realise and accept that.”
Diamond nodded, dropping a light kiss on Rose’s cheek before leaving.
The corridor was quiet and eerie. There was no sign of her warriors. She nodded at the guard who escorted her along the deserted corridor. His light blue eyes were somewhat disturbing, almost animalistic. Vigilantly he checked the corridor before he nodded at her to proceed. She wanted to ask his name but felt a little unsure. It seemed unqueenly to ask the names of her guards.
Diamond suddenly missed Attion’s quiet company. She hoped Hugo had secured him somewhere to stay and that he was coping with his sudden change in circumstance. He is not the sort to fall apart, she thought with a little snort of amusement.
Leaving the blue-eyed guard outside, she entered Hugo’s room. The bed they had shared the night before was now made up with a soft cotton throw.
The flames of the floating torches flickered merrily as she moved through the room. Groaning, she stretched her back and peered around. There was no evidence Hugo had returned.
She wandered into the small bathing room. Damp warmth caressed her face. The constant flow of water gurgled gently, beckoning her whilst sending tendrils of steam into the air.
Fumbling with buckles and laces, she breathed a sigh of relief as her clothes fell away and her ribs relaxed outward. A moment later she lowered her aching body into the steaming hot spring. Resisting the urge to fall asleep, Diamond scrubbed herself top to toe. Only then did she allow herself to relax and doze—until the sound of a door closing jolted her awake.
Nervously, she pushed out her magic, then relaxed as there was a familiar tug on her chest.
Hugo.
Diamond’s heart fluttered as his prowling gait approached. She turned to the doorway. His presence filled the small bathing room. For a moment he just stood and stared, as if in shock.
Well, I am naked, she reminded herself. Her skin, already flushed from the heat, burned under his regard. “Has Elexon calmed down?” Diamond asked, trying to sound calm and in control when she was anything but.
“As much as a male can when he feels he has let down the one he loves. But I don’t want to talk about Elexon or Rose or anyone else,” he finished on a growl.
The head of his guardian pushed from his armour, its fiery gaze devouring her. Hugo snarled. It disappeared a split second before the armour covering his torso also disappeared, leaving Diamond staring at the glorious cut of muscle across his chest and the dips and ridges of his stomach. Diamond gulped, unable to tear her eyes from him.
Hugo stepped closer to the edge of the sunken spring. Looking down, he grazed his eyes over every inch of her submerged body.
“I need a bath.” His voice was guttural, utterly feral fae.
“I-I’ll get out” she stammered, caught under the intensity of his stare.
“No.”
A tug on their Nexus bond had her gasping.
Suddenly a wave of desire—along with the need to protect and possess—hit her, but underneath all those wild, base emotions was something else, something soft and warm and overwhelming.
Love.
“Diamond.” His voice sounded strangled. “I need,” he swallowed hard. “I need to know how you feel about me. I love you. More than my own life. I know I did not get time to say the binding words to you when I became yours, but I want to say them now. Please, I need to know if you will join your soul to mine?” he asked, his voice trembling now.
The fingers of his big hands curled and uncurled in fists at his side.
Diamond looked up at him. Her wet hair shone as she nodded, her breathing shallow and her heart banging hard against her ribs.
Hugo’s eyelids did not flicker and his gaze did not waver from hers as he spoke the words she had wanted to hear for so long.
“Diamond, you say you love me. Does that mean that you will forsake any other partner in this world? That you will bind yourself to me—heart, soul and blood? That you wish to become mine, as I wish to become yours?” he asked, his voice hoarse. Silver flame ignited in his eyes, drowning out the sapphire blue as he spoke the fae mating pledge.
Diamond had tried to speak those very same words to him only days ago, but the time had not been right.
It was now.
She studied him, her heart thumping wildly.
His body was rigid, wound so tight she thought he might snap. He honestly thinks there’s a chance I’ll say no, she realised with a jolt. Seeing him like this made her feel like the one in control. And she was, far more than he was. He couldn’t look anywhere except at her eyes, as if afraid of her reaction…and his.
Surely, he must know how I feel about him, she thought with a small inward smile. Perhaps though, for all his strength and experience, he is just as scared of making a mistake as I am.
Gracefully, deliberately, Diamond stood. Water cascaded off her flushed skin. She had never been overly proud of her body, but she was not ashamed of it either, not anymore. As Hugo’s eyes dropped from her face and scorched a path over her wet skin, Diamond felt powerful and desirable. She swayed up the steps and out of the spring before she turned to face him.
He stopped breathing as she advanced towards him, head up and proud. The column of his throat bobbed. Stopping an arm’s length away, Diamond dripped steaming water to pool around both their feet.
For a moment Hugo looked stunned and struggled to speak. “Diamond, what …?”
“Shh,” she whispered, placing her forefinger against his lips. It was impossible to look away from his eyes. “I love you. Let me say the words back. Let’s bind ourselves as only soulmates can. You say you love me, Hugo Casimir. Does that mean you will forsake any other partner in this world? That you will bind yourself to me—heart, soul and blood? That you wish to become mine, as I wish to become yours?”
A torrent of emotions hit Diamond, and she swayed on her feet at their impact.
Feral hunger filled Hugo’s face as he growled one word. “Yes.”
Calloused hands held her shoulders, steadying her, but they were not rough or wild. He held her gently, breathing deeply as he brought his emotions back under control. He briefly closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. “Gods. I want you so much, I can’t think straight,” he whispered.
She cupped his face in both hands. “Then why are you waiting?” she asked. D
iamond did not want to wait anymore. She was bound to this warrior in so many ways. She had lost him, had grieved for him and had rejoiced when he had returned to her. She would not wait another second. Threading her fingers through his sable hair, she pulled him down to her, but Hugo was already moving.
Their mouths crashed together.
A sense of possession took her breath away. He is mine! Forever. His heart, his beautiful body and soul, they belonged to her—just as hers did to him.
There was a zing of magic, and suddenly he was as naked as her. Diamond reluctantly pulled away. She ran her eyes over his body. Her heart hammered. His eyes slowly opened; he watched her study him.
Diamond’s breathing quickened, her eyes devouring every dip and cut of hard muscle, and every scar across his chest. Her whole body heated as she took her gaze lower still, drinking in the sight of him. Her body burned, desire turning her limbs fluid.
Hugo released a long, low growl. “Are you going to just look at me? Or are you going to touch what is yours, my queen?” he purred. The touch of his energy zinged along her skin, awakening her nerve endings.
Diamond swallowed, trying to rein in her desire. Instead, she pushed out the lightest touch of magic and caressed his hot skin. A shudder of pleasure rippled through him, but he still did not take his eyes off hers or move to touch her.
Waiting.
He was waiting for her.
His breathing quickened as she explored his body with her magic, her eyes following its trail as he shivered under its caress.
“Gods, please, Diamond. Will you let me love you?” he breathed, his hands fisted at his sides.
A feeling of power warmed her. She hadn’t even touched him and he was pleading with her.
“I love you,” he told her, sending waves of magic so steeped in his emotions she gasped.
Closing her eyes she revelled in them.
“Let me worship your body?” Again, a question.
Diamond smiled up at him and, unable to resist, trailed her fingers up his arms, over the contours of his shoulders to cup his face. “Yes. I love you. I trust you and I want you—now and forever,” she whispered.
Hugo groaned as she ran her hands down his chest. She wanted to feel every inch of his skin. Before she got far, he swore quietly and grasped her face firmly between both his hands. Tilting her face to his, he kissed her gently, reverently—she felt tears prick her eyes. Tasting her, his tongue teased open her lips, running along hers, probing and exploring until the feel of him consumed her mind and soul.
The Goddess and The Guardians Boxset: The Complete Romantic Fantasy Quartet Page 78
