by Elena Lawson
Removing the blanket Finn had wrapped around my shoulders, I stood, my legs sturdier than they had been all evening, “Send him in please.”
Alaric cleared his throat, running a hand through his dark hair, and stood at my side. Finn put away his blade, and Kade propped himself up on an elbow.
Tiernan entered the room with an air of uncertainty, his teeth pulling at his bottom lip, “I’m sorry for the intrusion. I wanted to see you were well.”
I crossed the room in three long strides and pulled him into an embrace. He softened at my touch and loosely hugged me back, brushing the scruff on his jaw against my hair. I breathed him in, the peaceful scents of sea spray and pine bringing me a sense of calm.
“I’m alright because of you. If you hadn’t found me, I’d be dead, and then so would Kade. I don’t know how to thank you.”
He released me, and I stepped back, finding Alaric next to me. He shook Tiernan’s hand, “Thank you, Tiernan—on behalf of all of us,” he said, and the newfound respect he had for the Day Court emissary was clear in each word. “We’ll have to think of a way to reward you for what you did.”
Tiernan inhaled deeply, pushing the hair from his face, “I have a request,” he said, his eyes flitting to mine.
“Name it.”
He pulled a sealed letter from his trousers and held it out. I took it into my hands, recognizing the seal of Suriel, Queen of the Day Court. I cocked my head at him, not understanding what it meant.
Tiernan sighed, gesturing at the letter, “It’s a formal notice to the queen. It states I hereby relinquish all ties to the Day Court.”
My pulse quickened, “What are you asking?”
He regarded me then, his gaze steady, unwavering, “I would like to be given a place here at the Night Court, as a sentry in your Royal Guard. If you’ll have me.”
I looked to my males for guidance, waiting for them to dispute his request, but none did. “Kade?” I asked, “What do you think?”
The giant warrior spread half-naked on my bed pursed his lips, “He saved you when I couldn’t. He deserves the position—maybe more than I do.”
“Don’t say that,” I snapped at him, earning myself a roll of his ochre eyes. I turned to Finn, “And you, what do you think?”
Finn shrugged, “I trust him. And I can’t say that about most,” his eyes flitted to Tiernan, whom he gave a grateful nod.
Alaric said nothing when I turned to him. He stared into my eyes as though attempting to decipher my thoughts. His brows pulled together, and then he must have seen something within me, because all at once his expression softened, and he blew out a long breath.
Alaric nodded to the emissary, “Welcome to the Royal Guard, Tiernan.”
I could only imagine the uproar that inevitably would ensue when the denizens of my court found out. But they would come to accept it in time. I hoped.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Alaric sent Kade and Finn back to their chambers to rest and instructed Tiernan to take one of the vacant rooms next to theirs. He would have his belongings moved down tomorrow. Reluctantly, I let my males go, already anticipating when I’d see them again—afraid to let them out of my sight for even a moment.
In only a few hours, Ronan would be hanged, and both threats against me will have been eradicated. At least, both threats from within the palace walls. Thana’s words repeated in my head, poisoning my thoughts with doubt. It’s time for him to reclaim what’s his.
His.
The Mad King.
The sentries Alaric sent out returned with disturbing news. They found three of the missing Fae. Dead—each stabbed in the chest, their bodies left to desiccate on the cliffside. I had a suspicion I knew who’d stabbed them and for what purpose. The Blessed Blade was not a myth. I had seen it. And it was the Mad King who intended to wield it. With the blade he could steal a Grace from any Fae he pleased. But he wanted my Graces.
I twirled the ring on my finger again, feeling its sentient pulse again. The blade wasn’t complete without the dragon’s eye stone. And I was willing to wager, the Mad King couldn’t do what he had planned—whatever that was—without it. Never take it off, Morgana had told me. And so, I never would. I would die before I let it fall into his hands.
I would have to tell Alaric, eventually. But for now, I wanted him to have a reprieve from the constant worry and stress. Tomorrow. I would tell him tomorrow and we would figure it out together. The five of us. I wouldn’t let anything tear us apart—never again.
We stared out into the bright dawn of a new day as it filled the sky with golden light. Alaric pulled me to him, wrapping me in his warm embrace, rubbing warmth back into my arms.
“Everything is going to be alright,” he told me, and I turned to find a deep sincerity in his steady gaze.
I tried to smile. I wanted to agree with him, but knew the danger was far from over.
Alaric tucked my hair behind my ears, cupping my face in his large hand. Devotion and fear filled me as his Grace flowed from his hand into the core of my being. Slowly, he kissed me—tenderly and with so much passion my chest tightened and legs trembled.
He pulled away, but kept his forehead pressed against mine, “I’m sorry,” he whispered against my lips, “I should have been there.”
I hushed him with a finger pressed lightly against his mouth, “What happened wasn’t your fault, or Kade’s—it’s mine. I should have trusted you about Thana, and I should’ve known something wasn’t right. I just didn’t want to believe it—I still don’t.”
“Liana—” he started, but I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I knotted my hand into his hair and pulled him to me hard and fast. His resolve broke and he kissed me hungrily, igniting something deep within. My pulse pounded and my hands hook where they clutched his back, my nails biting down into the leather of his vest.
He moaned, and my sex wetted in response, expectant. I fumbled with the clasps on his vest, and he tugged it off—baring his toned chest and abdomen. He shuddered as I ran my fingers down the length of his tan skin, emitting an animal-like sound.
Reaching lower, I tugged at the belt holding up his trousers, and he stilled, bringing his hands down to cover mine.
“Liana, wait,” he said, his breaths hard and voice raspy, “We can’t. I won’t force you to bed me first. It was wrong of me to ask that of you,” he sighed, his face reddening, “I was jealous.”
I could feel the proud length of him growing beneath my hands, only the thin material of his trousers separating us. Force me? No. “I want you. I’ve wanted you since the first moment I saw you.”
He licked his lips and brought my hands up to his lips, kissing each one of my fingers, making gooseflesh rise on my skin. I swallowed, trying to concentrate on breathing. The desire he’d awakened within me smoldered, and the need was becoming almost painful.
Gritting his teeth, Alaric tore himself away from me and dragged in a shaky breath, “You need to rest, my queen. You’ll need your strength for what I intend to do to you.”
Bound by Secret
Book 2
Chapter One
The torch flickered, casting ominous shadows along the slick stone walls of the corridor. It turned out there was more to the secret passageways in the palace than I thought. In my haste to find where the painful pull in my chest had emanated from only a week past, I had missed it. There were openings in the corridor everywhere and each led to a different place. I bet one could arrive anywhere in the palace if only they knew which paths to take.
In the days following the Solstice Ball, I made it my personal agenda to map out the tunnels and stairways hidden behind the walls. I had found exits leading to the servant’s quarters, the kitchens, and the ballroom. Though it seemed no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find the way back to Morgana’s statues, and I hadn’t heard her voice in my mind since I was last there.
I rounded another bend, throwing my torchlight into the next corridor. Rats scurried away from the light o
f the flame and a shiver rolled up my spine. I had been following this path for an hour now, trying to head in what I thought was an easterly direction, down and down and down. But it only grew darker, and I saw no sign of an exit anywhere up ahead.
Alaric would be furious if he returned to my chambers to find me gone… again. I’d been given a taste of freedom since the threats against my life were eradicated. But I still hadn’t told him everything about the Mad King, and the Blessed Blade, and the stone I still wore on my index finger. I would have to tell him eventually, but then it would be back to escorts everywhere I went and an audience while I slept. Ugh.
Just another day. One more day of freedom and I would tell him, and we’d figure it all out together—the five of us.
A snorting sound up ahead threw me off balance, my foot caught on a loose stone and I winced, my toe throbbing. A low whinny echoed through the dark and a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I raced ahead, careful to keep an eye on the uneven ground. The corridor dead-ended up ahead. Mustering my strength, I shoved at the stone wall, and was rewarded with a groan as it inched open.
The strong smell of the stables assaulted my nose, filling the space with the vapid odors of sun-dried hay and tangy manure. I peeked out, finding no one there tending to the beasts. But of course, there would be no one, not in the wee hours of the morning. The sun had yet to rise, and the night sky was still dark enough to see the speckling of a thousand stars.
Quickly and quietly, I doused my torch in a bucket of water and slipped out, using my shoulder to seal the hidden passageway behind me. The warm summer breeze pulled at the fabric of my blouse and lifted the sweat-dampened hairs from my collarbone.
The stalls stood to my right, and open-air and the fenced grazing area spread out before me to the left. Another whinny had me standing on tip-toe to peer into the first stall. A brilliant white stallion stood proud inside, lifting his head as though in greeting.
“Hello,” I said to the horse, recognizing him from the intricately embroidered leather saddle, and topaz headstall hung on the wall behind him. It was Tiernan’s horse.
I cocked my head at the massive beast, and after a moment’s consideration, I unlatched the door and opened the stall. The horse eyed me suspiciously, his ears pressed flat against his head. “It’s alright,” I crooned, stepping inside.
I had seen plenty of horses since my return to the palace, but never before then. There was no need for them on the Isle of Mist. It took only an hour to walk its circumference.
The horse stepped back, stomping its font hooves against the hay covered earth.
“What are you doing?”
My heart leapt into my throat and I tripped in my haste to turn around, falling on my rear in a pile of hay.
He laughed and casually strolled into the stall to help me stand. My eyes adjusted to the dim to find Tiernan. I took his outstretched hand and brushed off the bits of hay clinging to me, acutely aware of how I must look. Cheeks stained red, my hair an absolute mess, and wearing trousers of all things.
I swallowed, dropping his hand, “What are you doing here?”
Tiernan shrugged, and I noted how his tunic hung open at the collar. Smooth tan skin showed beneath, and his hair was pulled back with a strip of leather, bundled in a tangle of gold at the nape of his neck. “I come here every morning to tend to him. He’s an energetic horse. If I don’t take him out for a ride, he’s a nightmare for the stable-boys.”
“Oh.”
He raised his brows, moving to fetch the tack from the walls, “Does Alaric know you’re down here alone?”
I pursed my lips at him, earning myself an exaggerated sigh, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him… if you’ll let me escort you back to your chambers,” he challenged, gesturing to his horse.
“On that? Can’t we walk?” I crossed my arms over my chest, my pulse racing at the idea of climbing onto something so big.
He tightened the straps on the horse’s sides, securing the saddle in place. “We could, but where’s the fun in that? I’m assuming you’ve never ridden before.”
“So?”
“This can be your first lesson.” He finished saddling the beast, and stroked its long mane, whispering something in its ear. “Don’t look so frightened. Come, Liana, he won’t bite you. At least, not after I’ve politely asked him not to.”
“That’s reassuring,” I said, snickering at him, but I crept across the stall to where he waited, hands laced together in a sling to help me step up into the saddle.
A horse would not best me. I was certain every noble in the palace knew how to ride horseback and were not intimidated by the animals. It would be simple enough. All I had to do was sit in the curved leather saddle and hold tight to the reins. If I trusted a mischievous Draconian warrior to carry me through the skies, I could trust a horse to carry me over ground. Right?
I stepped into Tiernan’s hands, and took hold of his shoulder, “You’re coming too, right? I don’t know how—”
“Yes, Liana. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”
I heaved my body onto the back of the horse, clenched my jaw, and clutched at its mane when it moved side to side, adjusting to my weight.
Tiernan pushed my feet into the stirrups and took up the reins to lead me outside, the horse following his gentle pull in slow strides. It wasn’t so scary. I took a deep, steadying breath. The warm air filled my lungs. The smell of horse dung was replaced with that of morning dew and cold earth. Tiernan lunged himself into the saddle behind me and tugged on the reins when the horse tried to run.
He tucked me in close between his legs, my back pressed against his broad, solid chest. His arms came around me and he placed my hands around a horn-like handle at the front of the saddle.
“Do you trust me?” he whispered against my hair, setting my nerve-endings ablaze.
Gripping the handle tighter, I swallowed, and let my body mold to his, “I do.”
He loosened the reins, and tightened his arms around me, “Good,” he stated, and then, “Marron,” he said to the horse, and the beast’s ears turned as though listening for a command, its head nodding, and hooves digging at the soil in anticipation. “Fly.”
My stomach dropped to my toes, and a squeal escaped my lips as Marron vaulted forward. My hands released the horn for only an instant before I latched back on, my body jolting and bouncing in the saddle. I tightened my thighs against the flexed sides of the animal as it soared over the wooden fence.
Tiernan laughed as we crashed back to solid ground and he braced his arms around me to lessen the impact. It was exhilarating. And terrifying. A scream died in my throat, transforming instead into a lengthened sigh. We turned toward the front gates of the palace, and the wind whipped my hair back, cooling the perspiration on my breast.
“Not yet,” I shouted over the roar of the wind in my ears, longing to go further, for the feeling to never end. “There,” I said, and lifted a pointed finger towards crest of a grassy hill to the east of the palace.
Tiernan shifted his weight and spurred the horse down to the road that would take us there. There wasn’t another soul in sight as we raced through the growing dawn. I pulled my hair into a knot on one side of my neck to keep it from lashing Tiernan. His chest rumbled against my back, and he dipped his head into the crook of my neck. His warm breath against my flesh had my own coming in fast shallow gasps. He laid a kiss on my shoulder and shifted the reins into one hand, splaying his other flat against my abdomen.
I turned to face him and found his sea-water green eyes glinting in the dawn light, hungry. An image of Kade and Finn came unbidden into the forefront of my mind. You belong to us, they had told me, and I promised them. But us was my Royal Guard, and they had agreed to make Tiernan a member. Could he now be a part of us?
His hand moved lower and his lips parted. “Liana,” he breathed. I clenched my teeth against the corporeal urge to kiss him. My body shook. My eyes closed, giving in to the desire flooding my veins—but
his hand stilled, and he drew back.
I turned. A shadow crested the hill as we began our ascent. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was our own, but the horse was black as coal and held only one rider. The heat of a moment ago turned to a chill in my core. If the rider came over the hill, he must’ve been coming from the North road.
At this hour?
Tiernan slowed Marron until he came to a standstill, the horse’s massive body heaving and muscles spasming with the wish to push further.
“Whoa, Marron. Be still,” Tiernan whispered, stroking his flank.
I looked back toward the palace, judging if we could outrun the other rider to the front gates—to safety, but I saw how the horse hobbled, barely able to walk, and how its rider slumped in the saddle, as though asleep.
“Who are you?” Tiernan hollered at the rider, “State your business here.”
When the rider made no response, Tiernan’s lips tightened, and his eyes narrowed.
A pained sound came from the rider before he leaned to one side and slid from the horse, landing with a clatter of armor in the grass.
I moved to dismount, but Tiernan stopped me with a hand clasping my hip.
“He needs help,” I said, and tried again to get off the horse.
Tiernan shook his head, “You stay here,” he told me, “Don’t let go of the reins.” He whistled once, loud and sharp, handed me the reins and dropped from the horse, stopping only to whisper soothing words into its ears.
The rider lay limp in the grass, the slight rise and fall of his back the only indication he still lived. Tiernan approached with caution, and the unnamed riders horse bayed, backing a few paces from the Day Court Fae. He stooped to examine the rider, snapping his fingers in front of the man’s face, but there was no response.
A screech filled the valley, and I whirled at the sound. Marron bucked at my jerked movement and I fell from his back, landing hard on the ground. Tiernan’s falcon, Arrow, whizzed past me, slowing to a smooth landing on his master’s shoulder.
