The Glass Queen

by Gena Showalter

  So he had spent his hard-earned gold on me. “Saxon,” I whispered, tears gathering in my eyes. I let him slide the bracelet onto my wrist, next to the other one, and hugged them both to my chest. “You’ve done too much for me.”

  “I haven’t done nearly enough,” he said so softly I almost missed it. He looped his elbow loosely around my neck, clasping my opposite shoulder. It was a possessive, protective hold that pressed my body against his. His wings arced forward, the tips brushing against my calves.

  He’d enclosed me with his entire body, becoming my shield against the world.

  “How much did you pay Ophelia for the bracelet?” I asked, with a tremor in my voice. “And don’t try to tell me it’s another gift, because she isn’t the giving type.”

  He sighed, his breath fanning the top of my head. “She took no gold from me. Instead, she demanded something called a get-out-of-jail-free card. She tells me she can now commit any crime against me at some point in the future, and I must forgive her without retaliating or seeking restitution.”

  “But that’s a more expensive price tag than money.” What Saxon had done...his thoughtfulness... The fact that he didn’t know about Leonora and, and, and—

  A sob slipped free, tears pouring down my cheeks.

  “What is this?” Saxon turned me and gently collected a tear. Torment etched his features. “This was supposed to make you happy, Asha. I don’t break you with cruelty but with kindness? I can—”

  “I’m happy,” I burst out. “And I’m miserable. This is just so kind of you and you shouldn’t have done it, because you don’t know the truth. You feel guilty about what Raven and Tempest did to me, and maybe that’s why you think you want to have a forever with me—That’s it, isn’t it? It’s a restitution proposal. But, Saxon, you don’t owe me anything.”

  He cupped my cheeks with both of his big, calloused hands. “You are wrong, Asha. I owe you everything. You gave me something I’ve craved since my first life.”

  I sniff-sniffed. “I did?”

  “You did. You taught me how to find peace. For the first time, I know what I’m fighting for—my own happily-ever-after.”

  So he’d given me two avian bracelets, my own forge, and now the most romantic words ever uttered, and I’d given him a pack of lies, letting him continue to believe I was a reincarnation of a fire witch.

  Another sob left me, and I sagged against him, resting my forehead against the center of his chest. I was the worst person to ever live.

  He held me as I cried, tracing his fingertips up and down the ridges of my spine. “What is this about, Asha? The truth you mentioned, the one I do not know? Is it that you have been meeting with Milo in secret? I know you aren’t to blame.”

  “How? How do you know I’m not to blame?”

  Rather than answering, he said, “You should know I suspect Milo is poisoning your father and blaming it on Queen Everly, the sorceress. He claims she’s draining the king for his magic.”

  Milo, poisoning my father? “He doesn’t have any magic.” Like me? I thought I felt power stirring—power that had nothing to do with Leonora. Buy why would I notice it more now than ever before? “Why would he believe a sorceress drained him?”

  “He had a magical infusion at birth. He might not have manifested an ability in adulthood, but he still has the power inside him.”

  Ohhh. And Milo did hope to rule the kingdom. I should have guessed something like this was happening. “The king needs to be told the truth.” I didn’t like the man, but I didn’t want him dead.

  “He has been told. He refuses to believe it.”

  Then what more could be done for him? “You were right. I do need to talk to you about the meetings I’ve had with the warlock, but that wasn’t the secret I meant. There’s one about... Leonora and me.”

  He arched a brow. “Do you think my knowledge of this secret will taint our time here?”

  “Maybe,” I hedged. “Probably.”

  “I think I know what it is, then,” he said, peering deep into my eyes. “But even if there’s more, even if I’m off, trust me enough not to tell me. Trust me enough not to worry about my reaction when you do confess. Trust me enough to know that this truth won’t change how I feel about you, or the future I want with you. Give me this chance to prove myself worthy of you.”

  Sob. I think I accidentally snotted on his chest, and my cheeks flamed. “I don’t deserve your kindness and these wonderful gifts, Saxon.” But he did deserve my trust. “I will do it. I will trust you not to break my heart when you learn the truth.”

  “When I’m holding your heart in my hands, Asha, I swear I will take the greatest care.” He offered the words at low volume, but carried great weight. I almost stumbled under the heft of them. “But, sweetheart? There’s another gift to be given.”

  “There’s even more?” I shouted, lifting my head. “Saxon, it’s too much. Whatever it is, it’s too much.”

  “Shall I take it back?”

  “Never. Mine! Give it to me.”

  His shoulders shook as he laughed, and I noticed the amour glistening atop them. I was making him happy.

  “I have breakfast waiting in one stall and a combat training zone in another,” he said. “I will teach you how to subdue or escape anyone who threatens you. Especially the avian. Never again will you be helpless against anyone.” As he spoke, he rubbed his hands up and down my sides.

  The rhythmic caress lit a fuse underneath my skin. Tingling heat gathered in select places.

  Awareness crackled between us. Suddenly I noticed how close we stood to each other...how much of him pressed against me, the hardness that was flush against my softness...how intensely I ached for him, my limbs already trembling.

  “Sax?” I rasped.

  He searched my face. “Yes, Asha.”

  “I want...my body wants...” Everything. I’d almost died without learning every inch of this boy’s body. In seven days, our worlds could change again. Why not celebrate the life we had right now?

  Taking a step closer, he backed me into a stable wall. With a husky voice, he proclaimed, “I know what your body wants, and I’m going to give it to you.”

  25

  Is what you want what you need?

  To get it, must you plead?

  Ashleigh

  I had known I was Saxon’s fated, the one reborn again and again for the chance to be with him at long last, but the knowledge hadn’t meant much to me. I’d been too focused on our failures. I hadn’t understood the rightness of our connection.

  This...this was everything.

  We were worth fighting for.

  I had been Craven’s obsession and for a time, I’d been Tyron’s joy.

  The name whispered through my head, a facet of the past opening up to my mind. My memory, not Leonora’s. Tyron Skylair, king of the avian, had been ill prepared for Leonora the day she’d strolled into his palace to speak with “the love of her lives.” On a rare few occasions, I’d managed to overtake the phantom—because she hadn’t killed me in either of my other lives; I’d been confined to the void.

  Big surprise. The evil stepmother had lied.

  The times I’d managed to break free, I’d sensed great sadness in Tyron, as if he’d lost something precious, but he wasn’t sure what that something was. I’d loved to play games with him, to make him laugh. And I had.

  He’d kept me around longer than he should have because he’d loved our games, too.

  Was I to be Saxon’s peace?

  Would I also be his torment?

  Two hearts, one head. I had the heart of Cinder in my chest. Did I carry Saxon’s heart in my hands, the way he carried mine?

  Strong of heart.

  Could love be the answer to Leonora’s hate? At the very least, it gave me hope.

  I experienced the first stirrings of.
..what was that? Bliss? “What of Leonora?” Wait. Equally important... “What of Milo?”

  He lowered his clasp to my jaw and ghosted his thumbs over the underside of my cheekbones. “Leonora is currently caged inside your head. It’s a temporary fix. When she regains the power she used to heal you, she’ll be able to fight her way free. I don’t know when that will be. Milo isn’t a concern. He won’t win the tournament.”

  I began to shake—oh wow, no. He shook, the vibrations rushing through me. Shock. Saxon Skylair, future king of the avian, was shaking because of the Glass Princess.

  On the battlefield, his aim had remained steady, no matter the skill or size of his opposition. But here, with me, he’d reached his breaking point?

  “It’s just you and me right now?” I asked, suddenly breathless.

  “It is.”

  Then I would waste no time. “I want to be with you, Saxon.” I offered the words boldly. “I want to do everything with you.”

  He searched my gaze, his own flaring with hunger. “You are sure?”

  I nodded without hesitation. I’d never been more sure about anything.

  “Do you crave my kisses, Asha?” he asked.

  “More than anything.” I wound my arms around his shoulders.

  He nipped at my lips. “This everything you mentioned?”

  “Y-yes?”

  “I’m going to give it to you.” Without looking away from me, he called, “I’m taking your mother inside. Unless you want to see your parents naked, you’ll stay out here.”

  I laughed as the dragons squawked in horror. But my amusement only lasted a moment. Saxon brought his lips to mine, and I forgot everything else.

  We kissed, ravenous, devouring each other. He cupped my bottom and lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, my dress hem hiking up in the process.

  He walked me backward, past the doors, the kiss continuing. The most amazing sensations poured through me. Heat in my veins. Delicious aches here, there, everywhere. Flutters in my belly. Tingles. So many tingles.

  He eased me upon the pallet of furs, his weight settling over me. “If I do something you do not like, tell me to stop. If I move too swiftly, tell me to slow down. Your word is my command. Understand?”

  I struggled to keep my mind on his speech, my focus remaining on his mouth. I wanted it on me again, his tongue dancing with mine. His minty taste was my drug.

  Feeling as if I were in a trance, I nipped at his bottom lip. “I think we’re overdressed. I want to see you. Let’s wear the same outfit to the party.”

  “Skin?” His eyes hooded. As he kissed me again, he pulled at my clothes. I pulled at his, too.

  Soon, no garments separated us. I’d never revealed my body to a boy. I expected nervousness to flare, maybe a little shyness. As he looked me over, I experienced neither of those things. The most delicious feminine power uncoiled. He didn’t just study me. He worshipped me.

  The most powerful warrior in all the land wasn’t just shaking now. He was quaking before me.

  “You are beyond exquisite, and you are all mine.” He sifted my ring between his fingers, brushing his thumb over the metal. “I’m glad you have this.”

  A pang rent my chest. “I’m glad I have you.”

  The look he gave me...my heart thundered. He rolled to his back and anchored his hands behind his head. “Study me as long as you wish, Asha. When you finish, I’m going to give you the everything you asked for.”

  Study him at my leisure? The best gift of all.

  I sat up, resting on my haunches between his legs. His knees were bent, caging me in. Light seeped through the wooden slats that made up the walls, illuminating every amazing inch of him. Like, a lot of inches. So many. Now nervousness kicked in. No wonder the first time was supposed to hurt.

  I forced myself to look away from it, cataloging the rest of him. Muscles galore. Skin dark and smooth. Scars, a testament to his strength. The piercing in one nipple. Tattoos graced his lower abdomen and legs, each one a rose. His own version of the ring? And his wings...those beautiful blue wings. I slid my fingers through the baby-soft down, and he moaned.

  Perhaps I was his peace...and his pleasure.

  After repositioning, I leaned down to kiss the rose etched on his left thigh, then lifted to kiss the one on his lower abdomen. He groaned, his muscles jerking beneath my lips.

  Emboldened, I ran my hands over his chest...his thighs...his calves. Muscles continued to jerk. So sensitive. All my aches and tingles grew in intensity, slowly taking me over.

  “You are beautiful, Sax. And powerful. And...perfect.”

  “I’m not perfect.” His voice...passion-rough. “Far from it.”

  “You are perfect—for me.” I returned my hands to his chest and flicked my finger over the metal bar stabbing through his nipple. A shaft of heat shot straight to my core. Too hot. Not hot enough. I needed...something. “S-Saxon?”

  He understood. He rolled me to my back, hovering over me. Then...ohhhhh. The things he did to me.

  He kissed his way down my body, his mouth hotter than the forge outside. He touched every inch of me, no spot taboo. He slid two of his fingers inside me. I moaned and I writhed, desperate for more and unable to stay still. The wicked things he did with those fingers...the sensations he elicited...rapture, ecstasy. My head fogged, my body hurtling toward some kind of finish line.

  Pressure was building...building...my breaths coming faster and far more shallow. My thoughts fragmented, every thought a command. Want. More. Now.

  “I think you’re ready for me, Asha.” He growled the words. He positioned himself directly over me, with my legs bracketed outside his hips.

  “Please,” I begged. More. Now. I thrashed my head. I groaned. The pressure needed to splinter. Please, please, please.

  Now!

  “Going to make it all better, love.” He entered me slowly, and it hurt, just as my mother had claimed, but it also felt right. As if we’d waited for this moment our entire lives. As if we were building something strong—unbreakable. Once I’d adjusted to the sensation of being filled, he began to move, as slow as before, arching forward...drawing back. Forward. Back.

  He held my gaze, as he liked to do. Forward. Back. Still so agonizingly, blissfully slow. For...ward. He draped one of his arms over my head, caging me in fully. I breathed his breaths. He breathed mine. The moment, the man, both were just right, utterly perfect, and it was then that I admitted I’d been madly in love with Saxon Skylair forever, but never more so than now.

  * * *

  We cuddled for hours. Saxon toyed with my hair, and I drew hearts on his chest. Every time I completed a new one, he smiled, and oh, it was a good look for him.

  I know Saxon wanted me to wait and trust him, but I was starting to feel guilty. I wanted him to know the truth. And the fact that I did trust him made it so much easier for me to blurt out, “I’m not Leonora’s reincarnate. I’m my own reincarnate who’s possessed by her spirit. She’s a phantom, not a witch, and she’s able to jump from body to body, undying. That’s what I wanted to tell you before.”

  He kept playing with a lock of my hair. “I know.”

  “You know?”

  “I figured it out.”

  And he truly hadn’t cared. He hadn’t turned on me. “She’s possessed me all three lives. This time, she took up residence inside me the day of my birth.”

  “How did she find you after the first life?”

  “Magic, maybe. Instinct? The only reason she didn’t overtake me completely this time was because of my mother. Momma knew what Leonora was and took measures against her, paying a warlock for a magical potion and a spell to keep my uninvited guest hidden from me. At the time, I didn’t know why Mother forced me to endure the ritual every year. She didn’t tell me before I...before she died. Milo is that warlock’s son, and he knows
Leonora is a phantom, too. He burned his father’s journals so that I couldn’t re-create the potion or the spell. Now the barrier has fallen, and there are two of us in here, each vying for control.”

  A thousand emotions blazed in Saxon’s eyes, each one quickly burning up, leaving only remnants behind. Rage: the weapon. Sorrow, fear, and despair: the wounds. Knowing him, everything he was feeling was self-directed.

  Unfortunately, I wasn’t done. Stomach protesting, I whispered, “She cannot be killed. When I die, she’ll slip free of me and continue on. Equally devastating, I don’t know if I can live without her. The more the barrier between us weakened, the stronger I became. But I can’t live with her any longer, either. When I fail to stop her from taking over, innocent people usually die.”

  “Then we will find another way to create the barrier,” Saxon said with such force the ground shook, birds taking flight from the stable rafters.

  “We can’t let her live.” What was I doing? Pushing for my death?

  “We can if it means you live, as well.”

  “And risk your life? The lives of your people?”

  “We know apple babies. They’ll find a way to strengthen your defenses against the phantom. I just wish I’d put the pieces together sooner.” He thought for a moment. “Would a magical ability of your own help power your heart?”

  “I think I have one. I can feel it, so close to the surface. But as much as I’ve always wanted to manifest one, I fear it right now. I sometimes have access to Leonora’s magic. Do we really want to give her access to mine, making her even more powerful?”

  Doomed.

  The word echoed in my mind, an insidious beast there to rampage my calm, and I shifted.

  “You were twice born into a magical family,” Saxon said. “No doubt you have the soul of a witch. Yes, I’d bet you do have a magical ability of your own and Leonora’s overshadowed it.” He caressed my cheek. “This life has unfolded so differently from the others. It will have a different end, as well. We will make sure of it. We will find a way to subdue her. I’m not losing you again.”