“Do any remain?”
He shook his head. “Only a handful, as far as I know.” The guard dropped to his knees and bowed deeply. “We welcome your rule, King Salem.”
Seemed I was entering the Court of Silks with quite the esteemed guest.
But like Salem said, the thing about kings was that being close to them could be very dangerous.
17
Aenor
Salem crossed to me, then reached down to scoop me up in his arms. “We’ll fly to the horned palace.”
My throat was like fiery gravel, and I stared at the water between the rings of land. Even knowing that it was seawater, I felt an overwhelming urge to drink it, to soothe my thirst. “Do you have anything to drink on you, besides the vodka?”
Salem shook his head, then asked the guard, “Where could we find fresh water nearby?”
The guard pointed at the rows of houses on the first ring of land. “Knock on any door. Say that Ian of the guards sent you for water. Anyone will accommodate you. We all welcome you.”
We walked along a straight stone walkway that led through the circles of land, and the cool October air kissed my skin—a nip in the breeze.
“This place is not what I expected,” I said. “I thought there would be people dancing and kissing everywhere.”
“Kissing? How adorable.” He frowned. “But you’re right, I expected some more debauchery. And that man looked as if he hadn’t seen a woman’s breasts in a decade. It seems very empty, doesn’t it? Not a single couple fucking up against a wall. Disgusting, really.”
When we reached the first ring of land, Salem turned off the walkway onto a path lined by houses. The facades were white, with crisscrossed wood. Light glowed through narrow diamond-pane windows.
We stopped at one of the doors, a house where quiet silhouettes moved behind gauzy curtains. I had lifted my hand to knock on the door when a thudding against the window startled me. It took me a moment to realize what had caused it—one of those silhouettes had slammed against the glass, hands splayed. My heart kicked up a notch.
I started to understand what was happening. Through the narrow window, there was just enough room to see one breast pressed against the curtain. The woman’s mouth was open, and I could hear her breath from here.
I was so surprised that I just stared for a moment, forgetting all about my parched throat.
I said, “Well, maybe we found the debauchery.”
The curtain flicked aside, and I found myself staring at a woman’s face, uncomfortably close to mine. Her eyes swept down my body, and she smiled. She whispered something to her partner, then yanked the curtain shut.
“Let’s try another house,” I suggested. I began to turn, but the sound of an opening door stopped me.
I pivoted to find a man standing in the doorway, smiling at me. He was buttoning his trousers but otherwise fully dressed. His long blond hair draped over broad shoulders.
The man took a deep breath, staring at me. “We don’t get many visitors anymore. Not like you.”
It was starting to feel like the Court of Silks was full of weird, excitable yokels. “Just hoping to get some fresh water.” I gestured at my throat. “I’m a bit thirsty. A guard named Ian said we could knock on a door, and that you might help us.”
The woman appeared behind him, and I was surprised to find that she was now fully dressed in a gown of thick wool, covered up to her neck. A tight corset cinched her waist, and her dark hair was pulled up into a tight bun. “I’ll get you some water, of course.”
The man still stared at me like he was apprising a horse, and he scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “Not many around here dressed like you. With the legs out. And the dress you can see through.”
I glanced at Salem and saw a bit of fire simmering in his eyes, the air heating around him. This man’s leering was annoying him. “Just the water, and we’ll get on to the Horned Palace. We’re expected there.”
I swallowed, and it was like glass in my throat.
The man’s eyes snapped away from my body, to Salem. “Of course. Just the water.”
The woman peered out from behind him, her cheeks flushed. She handed me an enormous glass of water. “This will fix your thirst.”
I put the water to my lips and instantly felt better. As I drank it down thirstily, it felt cool and soothing against my throat.
It was only after I drank it down completely that I noticed two things: one, the seaside yokels were still staring at me. And two, the water had a strange, sweet aftertaste that tingled over my tongue.
I licked my lips. “That was just water, wasn’t it?”
The two fae glanced at each other, smiling faintly as though sharing a delicious secret.
Salem’s smile was easy, but there was a ferocious look in his eye. “Is there something you’re not telling us, by any chance?”
Did they hear the quiet threat under his words?
The woman’s hand flew to her mouth. She was ignoring Salem, still looking at me. “Do you feel anything yet?”
Her lover opened the door wider. “Perhaps you’d like to come in and join us. We’ll make sure you enjoy yourselves. Like the old days. The very old days.”
Salem cocked his head, looking perfectly at ease, hands tucked into his pockets. But his smile was pure death. “If you have done anything to harm my”—he seemed to catch himself—“my servant, I will rip your throats out, slowly, then light your corpses on fire.”
I actually was starting to feel something. Now, the sea breeze felt humid and silky, like a lover’s caress around my legs. In fact, it felt so delicious that my mind began to wander.
My pulse raced, skin heating at the thought of wandering into the water and dipping my legs in. How perfect the sea felt on a naked body… though, right now, the soft sweep of damp cotton against my thighs, the hem of my dress, felt like a strangely erotic rush in its own right.
Whatever had been bothering me before—the yokels, the true love, the fact that I was about to die in a few days—wafted out of my mind like steam.
I grinned. “That water—was amazing.”
Only pleasure mattered. Nothing lasted forever, and all we could do was enjoy ourselves while we could.
After a moment, I realized I’d closed my eyes, and I opened them again to focus on what was happening around me. The three people were staring at me.
Salem’s chin was tilted down, and he still stood in a casual stance, but he was exuding a quiet menace. “I am King Salem, and I’ve returned.” A slow, dark smile. “Now, why don’t you tell me what’s in the water?”
The two fae stared at him, all delight draining from their expressions.
The woman fell to her knees. “It was just a little… just a taste of a love potion. I thought, with how she was dressed, she might be here for pleasure. Like the old days.”
A love potion… I could already feel it heating my skin, making my pulse race. On the plus side, it had completely erased my thirst. I felt scrumptious.
Salem cut them a sharp look. “What do you mean, just like the old days?”
Instead of answering, the woman pushed her husband back into the house, then started to close the door. Through a crack, she said, “Your swan will be fine. Just, you know, enjoy her.” The lock clicked, and I heard the sound of a bolt sliding.
A ripple of pleasure washed through me, making my knees feel weak for a moment. Not a care in the world. I was acutely aware of my nipples against the damp fabric of my shirt.
“Have you ever swum naked in the sea, Salem? Under the moonlight?” I think I let out a giggle—something I rarely did. Then I found that I was toying with the hem of my dress, swaying my hips from side to side.
If I dragged him into a dark forest, pulled off my dress, and got on all fours, would he take me now?
Salem cocked an eyebrow as he looked at me, his gaze hungry. It was only at that moment that I realized I’d moved closer to him and pressed my palms against his chest. I felt his pulse
through his shirt, nestling in closer against him. The feel of his magic was like sex on my skin, and a shiver thrummed over my body.
When I closed my eyes, I felt an ache building between my legs, my body swelling with need.
“Let’s go get you cured,” he whispered, so close to my ear that the warmth of his breath sent a thrill through me.
I let him gather me up in his arms, pulling me close to him again, and my head rested against his powerful chest. His feathered wings appeared behind him, stretched out and blending into the shadows. Without realizing what I was doing, I reached out to touch the tops of his wings, the feathers soft under my fingertips. I stroked them back and forth slowly, thinking of him moving between my legs, in and out…
As I toyed with his feathers, Salem took a shuddering breath. I stared at his mouth. Those perfect, full lips. Gods, the things I’d like him to do with that beautiful mouth, with his tongue, on his knees before me… He’d promised that, hadn’t he?
“It is insanely distracting when you touch my wings,” he murmured. “And that look on your face… it reminds me of how you looked before the Ollephest arrived.”
I nestled my head against his neck, remembering my vision on the boat. “Spanking,” I murmured.
I was startled to realize I’d spoken out loud, and already I could feel heat burning my cheeks.
“Did you say ‘spanking’?”
My muscles had gone rigid. “No. What?”
“It could certainly be arranged if that’s what you want, Aenor.”
We were soaring toward the palace now, and we rose higher. I licked the salt off my lips, holding on to Salem’s neck and peering down at the Court of Silks. The wind rushed up my dress as we flew, a cold balm against my thighs, skimming my silk panties like a light touch.
Get a grip, Aenor.
Salem let out a long sigh, the starlight washing the masculine planes of his face in silver hues. He looked into my eyes like he was trying to read my mind, and I almost felt like he could. “You should be queen.”
“Why are you so hung up on that idea?”
“I want to know that you’re protected when I go.”
My eyes were on his lips again, that perfect mouth. “I’ll be fine.”
“Aenor,” said Salem quietly, “does it seem like he let us in here too easily? We had a skirmish with the ice witches. But given our short time together, I’d grown to expect monsters and cataclysms every time we joined forces. Not just an aphrodisiac.”
I searched the skies around us, but I saw only a clear sky, twinkling stars. “It does seem too calm now. Maybe they ice witches are regrouping.”
“I think you could be right.”
A vision overtook my mind—Salem taking me up against a tree, my legs wrapped around his waist. I had to bite my lip to stop the fantasy from taking over my brain. “And I don’t imagine this Maid of Night will just hand over a cure, will she? What will she want in return?”
A wicked light danced in his eyes. “What does every woman want me to do to them?”
I felt a flash of jealousy. “What? I thought her whole thing was virginity.”
He shrugged. “Until she’s married. But she’s not marrying unless it’s the king. She wanted me to marry her, to become queen and to enjoy me in her bed every night. That was her price, the last time I asked. She was quite vexed when I turned her down.”
“Gods have mercy. If that’s the price, you can’t give it.”
“No, of course not. But I could let her think she’d won me over, if I must,” he said in a deep, calm voice. “You are my mate, which means I will protect you, whatever it takes. I just need you to play along with whatever comes up. I’m not sure what we will find when we meet her. But follow my lead, even if it seems strange. We may need to manipulate her, and we might need to be flexible.”
I looked down at my arms, watching the divine hex slip further up toward my elbows.
A bit of cold dread slid over my heart, cooling my desire.
This was my reckoning, sent by the gods. And whatever Salem thought, whatever faith he had in this Maid of Night, I wasn’t sure there was an easy way out of this.
But as another surge of pleasure crashed through me, all I could think of was the feel of his hands on my body.
18
Salem
I liked holding Aenor in my arms more than I should, the feel of her breath against my neck. When I returned to the heavens, I wondered if I would remember how it felt when her head nestled against me as we flew—that heating of embers in my chest.
I knew what it was like to fall. But I had no idea what it was like to ascend.
Would I still recall how I could hear her pulse racing when I moved nearer? That she smelled like wildflowers, that she bit her lip when she was thinking? I had no idea if I could store these memories for eternity, or if I would forget her as soon as I returned to the skies.
I wasn’t sure I’d remember Mag Mell, although once all of this had been my world. These rings of land had been filled with festivals. I’d tried to fill my emptiness with the pleasure of these streets. When I had been king, I’d stalk the nights here, a louche king, half-dressed. Every house had overflowed with wine and aphrodisiacs.
Which was why the emptiness—the quiet here—was so unnerving.
The man we’d encountered had said something about “just like the old days,” but I hadn’t asked him what he meant. Now, I wanted to know. What had happened to the Court of Silks?
I had a feeling I’d find out soon enough.
I swooped up toward the palace atop the jagged hill. A granite path curved along one of the slopes, leading to the entrance of the Horned Palace. The palace itself had the look of a looming Greek temple, but made of black marble, gleaming like volcanic rock. I set us down just before it, and Aenor slid from my arms, looking up at the building.
Steps led up to a towering, columned entrance, stark in the night. High above, a set of bull horns capped the palace’s roof—a sacred animal here.
We walked up the marble steps, toward an enormous sea-green door, fifty feet tall. I pressed my hand against it, and immediately, the door groaned open, revealing an empty hallway lined with columns. Torches lit a long pool of water in the center of the hallway, and brightly colored fish darted around in it. The place looked well cared for, at least, in better shape than the rest of Mag Mell.
I turned to Aenor, motioning for her to join me inside. She smiled at me again, a look of pure love and desire in her eyes… For just a moment, I forgot about the love potion, and I was sure that look she was giving me was completely authentic. In the next breath, I remembered that it was actually a magic-induced lie. A little measure of disappointment spilled through my chest, and I turned away from her.
Once the potion wore off, the coldness would return. Those words—your one true love—had poisoned everything.
With Aenor close behind me, I started walking through the hall, my footsteps echoing off the stone.
Excellent upkeep on the place, but still weirdly empty. Where were the people shagging up against the columns? The bare breasts, the debauchery?
“Salem,” Aenor said in a singsong voice that wasn’t hers, “are you sure you don’t want to swim? You would look so nice wearing nothing but seawater.”
There it was again, a hot flicker of excitement quickly snuffed out. “Soon, my favorite swan, we will have time for a night of swimming naked in the sea.”
She was a swan again, because now I could hear the whispers of people in the shadows. From behind the columns, they were watching us.
With a jolt of protectiveness, I slid my arm through the crook of Aenor’s.
They moved slowly, murmuring, their eyes wide. They lined the edges of the hall as I walked past the pool.
But this was not the Court of Silks as I remembered it. The men wore long, plain cloaks down to their ankles, with collars buttoned up to their necks. The women had dressed themselves in thick corsets and clothing of a dull
material, covered from neck to ankle. Even their hair was covered in scarves.
Inch by inch, they moved closer, whispering and staring. Aenor was happily sashaying along, but their gaping eyes unnerved me.
Good thing we were nearly at the end of the hall, approaching the stairs to another set of doors. As we ascended, the doors creaked open on their own.
“Wow,” Aenor whispered as we crossed into the next hall.
Peaked ceilings arched high above us, formed of dark stone and ribs of gold paint. It was built like a cathedral, with a narrow pool where the nave would be. Torchlight dazzled off the water, and miniature boats floated over the surface. Aenor leaned into my shoulder, sighing.
Remember this.
And further down, where the altar would be, the two thrones of the court. One, an obsidian throne, stood empty. The other, made of pearls, held the Maid of Night.
I flashed her a seductive smile as we approached. Lady Richelle was a woman of mystery in some regards, but she’d never made her desire for me a secret. I let my eyes sparkle as we approached. I would show her that I belonged here as king—that I truly owned this place, and I was in control.
Already, she was leaning forward in her throne, eyes hungry. Fascinated.
Like the others, she wore a dress of rough wool, with a collar buttoned up to her neck. A tight corset shaped her waist into a severe hourglass, and a stark crown of jet rested on her head, spiked like thorns.
Her large green eyes slowly pulled from me to Aenor, and her grip on the arms of her throne tightened even more. She stared intently at Aenor’s legs, her cleavage. Her pointed tongue darted out, and she licked her lips.
Eyes on me again. “Salem, True King of Mag Mell.”
King Tethra must truly be on his deathbed. If he knew what they were saying about him, he would burn this entire court to the ground and fertilize his fields with the ashes.
“Lady Richelle, Maid of the Night.” I pulled my arm away from Aenor and strode up the dais. With a seductive smile aimed at Richelle, I dropped into the throne like I owned it. I crossed one leg, leaning back against the black rock. “It has been far too long.”
Rising Queen Page 9
