No one had yet asked why Ranelle insisted on being at Jalen’s side, or questioned her right to be, even though she wasn’t Elvin. And although she had seen them glance at her enrli, none had remarked upon it.
The following day, the day after the battle against Zanden, Renn sat with Ranelle at Jalen’s bedside. Ranelle was clothed in a sheer robe, foregoing Elvin tradition to remain nude within the kingdom. Renn had a short kilt wrapped around his trim waist, knowing that Ranelle felt uncomfortable being around her brother when he was naked.
When told of Jalen’s joining with Ranelle, Renn had shaken his dark head and muttered, “Sotted fools.” But Ranelle knew Renn was secretly pleased. Pleased that his younger sister was now wedded to his brother-at-arms.
Jalen’s color had improved, no longer as pale as it had been after the Battle at the Moors. His expression seemed relaxed, and Ranelle sensed his growing strength. Hopefully he would wake soon and she could once again hear his deep voice and feel his gentle touch upon her skin.
Seraphine was a beautiful place, each room a part of the forest, blending and mixing with nature. In Jalen’s bedchamber, wildflowers in hues of blue, purple and white were laced into the walls and ceilings that were fashioned of woven vines and trees. Golden orbs hovered above, similar to the ball of light Jalen had used in the cave. The soft light bathed the room, casting a glittering hue across the furnishings that appeared to be designed from living wood. Ranelle had learned the Elves used magic to create the furniture, and would never harm any living gift of the goddess.
To Ranelle’s surprise, her brother had become her staunchest supporter and friend within the confines of the Elvin kingdom. They had spent time re-discovering one another in the hours spent at Jalen’s bedside, and Renn had shared with her much of what she had missed in the years she had been gone from Phoenicia.
Only yesterday, as Jalen and Ranelle had been crossing the moors, Liana had married Aric, Ranelle’s oldest brother. Her heart-sister was now Queen of Phoenicia and Renn and Ranelle’s sister-in-law. And Liana was pregnant—with twins!
Renn and the other warriors had been called from the ceremonial feasting by Ranelle’s Nordain cry for help. If it had not been Aric’s wedding night, he, too, would have come to Ranelle’s aid. But Renn had demanded that Aric stay with his bride, that the other warriors would aid the Nordain in distress. They hadn’t known it was Ranelle ’til they arrived.
She also learned that Renn had promised his brother that he would find Tierra and return her safely to Phoenicia. Ranelle considered telling Renn of her visions, but decided to keep them to herself. Now that she knew who the scarred man was, and had time to consider her visions, she knew he would never harm Tierra—and if anything, Renn would need to beware of the mischievous and headstrong redhead.
Since the moment they arrived in Seraphine, Renn had been fiercely protective over Ranelle. He even went so far as to warn her not to eat or drink anything that he had not sampled first.
“The Elves are a devious folke.” Renn’s gaze cut to Damianne as the tall, sensuous, and naked Elvin woman entered the room. “None are to be trusted.”
“You have us confused with the Faeries.” Damianne’s enrli at her forehead and mound glittered amethyst as she knelt between Renn’s thighs and rubbed his cock through his kilt. “Come,” she murmured, loud enough for Ranelle to hear. “What you need is a good fuck.”
“Leave, wench,” he growled, his muscles flexing—but lust filled his silver eyes.
Damianne ignored him, pushing his kilt to his waist and sliding her lips and long fingers down Renn’s cock.
Renn roared. He wrapped his hands around Damianne’s slender waist and pulled her away from him. In the next moment he threw the laughing Elvin woman over his shoulder and strode from the room.
With a grin, Ranelle shook her head and turned to look at Jalen, her love. Her husband.
Her very core ached for his touch. She needed to be near him. To feel his muscular body pressed against hers. To hear his deep and vibrant voice.
She stood, letting the silken robe slide from her shoulders, onto the carpet of moss at her feet. The moss felt like velvet beneath her bare soles, and the air was cool against her naked skin. Her nipples tightened at the sensual feel of the moment, and at the sight of her nude husband who lay flat on his back. Even in slumber, his semi-erect cock was an impressive sight.
She eased onto the bed and snuggled next to Jalen. Warmth radiated from him, filling her with a sense of well being and love. My heartmate, Ranelle murmured in thought, holding her hand to his heart and feeling the strength of its beat. His heart seemed to quicken at her words, or perhaps at the feel of her skin next to his.
Perhaps she might wake him in her own fashion.
She eased up and straddled him, her knees to either side of his hips. Slowly she moved her lips across his massive chest. She pressed butterfly kisses to his skin, drinking in his heady male scent that grew more intoxicating by the moment.
Jalen stirred and murmured beneath her touch. Her own heart beat faster as she sensed him awakening and felt his cock hardening against her belly. Smiling, she continued kissing his chest, flicking her tongue against his salty skin as she worked her way lower and lower, until she reached her prize.
A groan rumbled in Jalen’s chest as her lips slid over his cock. Her tongue swirled over the head, tasting a drop of salty-sweet semen, as her fingers traced the enrli above his staff. In the next moment his hands fisted in her hair.
“By the goddess, woman,” he murmured, his tone husky as she sucked his cock. “You know how to wake a man.”
Intense pleasure filled her at the sound of his voice and the knowledge that he was finally awake. But she concentrated on her task at hand, and mouth, sucking and stroking him until he shouted. His delicious come filled her mouth, the taste of it as fine as any dessert she had ever sampled.
His large hands moved from her hair to her shoulders, and in one quick movement he raised her up until she was sitting on his face, her folds pressed to his mouth.
“Are you sure you are all right—” Ranelle started, but then moaned as Jalen’s tongue dove into her folds. She grabbed onto branches on the wall behind the bed, clinging to them for support as Jalen devoured her.
His tongue flicked against her clit, and he thrust two fingers into her. You taste better than the immortal food of the goddess, Jalen murmured in her mind as he feasted on her.
Ranelle’s orgasm ripped through her. She arched her back and cried out with her release, not caring if every Elvin man and woman in Seraphine could hear her screams.
Before she had a chance to recover, Jalen lifted her from his face as though she was no more than a doll, and moved her down to his hips. In one thrust he buried his cock deep within her.
Ranelle shrieked at the incredible feel of it. Jalen brought her mouth hard to his, and she tasted her own juices on his tongue, and wondered if he could taste himself on hers. She rode him hard as he fucked her, taking him as deep as she possibly could.
When they both reach the pinnacle, Ranelle pressed the enrli at her forehead to Jalen’s. The world exploded into such an intense climax that she saw nothing but brilliant flashes of light—and felt nothing but her endless love for Jalen.
* * * * *
Jalen strode toward the Council chambers but paused outside the guarded doors as an Elvin warrior approached him. His eyes narrowed at the concerned expression upon her face. Chrys had forsaken removing her clothing and was still garbed in battle gear, her bow slung over her shoulder.
When she reached Jalen, Chrys bowed, the lavender enrli upon her forehead glittering. Tall for even a Seraphine Elvin woman, Chrys was almost Jalen’s height. Her fire-red locks were swept from her face in a single braid, and her lavender eyes snapped with their own kind of fire. “Your Highness,” she said.
He returned her bow. “Chrys.”
“King Aric seeks your assistance.” Chrys shifted her bow and quiver, her gaze darti
ng to the guard outside the Council doors and back to Jalen. Lowering her voice she added, “He is calling for aid from all peoples, human and faire folke alike. In secret Zanden has been amassing an army. The King’s scouts tell him the Sorcerer will strike within the week. King Aric fears his bride is in danger.”
Jalen’s jaw hardened. “Inform him we will set out for Phoenicia on the morrow.”
Naked, as was Seraphine tradition, Jalen stood before the seven members of the Council, his head high, his hands behind his back. He sensed Ranelle’s concern as she waited with Renn and her Elvin escort, to Jalen’s right. The Council Chambers were packed with countless Elvin men and women as they waited to hear whether or not Ranelle would be the first non-Elvin accepted into the world of the Seraphine Elves as one of their own.
Yanea, Queen of Seraphine, and Jalen’s mother, reclined upon the center throne. The gold circlet around her head sparkled, and her enrli glittered, matching her amethyst eyes. Jalen could not read her thoughts or her expression—
Until she smiled. “Welcome home, my son. I am pleased the goddess has seen fit to renew your lifeforce and heal you quickly.”
“I am eternally grateful for all the goddess’s gifts.” Jalen bowed, his eyes remaining fixed on Yanea. “But most of all, I am grateful that she chose Ranelle as my heartmate.”
Yanea’s gaze flicked to Ranelle, and back to Jalen. “Present your wife to me.” A smile hovered upon her lips. “So that I may properly greet my new daughter-in-law.”
Pleasure flooded Jalen as he held out his hand to Ranelle, and she came toward him. By the goddess, she was so beautiful, her dark hair flowing around her shoulders, her silver eyes wide, the enrli at her forehead and mound glittering.
His heart squeezed with emotion as she placed her small hand in his, and then they knelt before the Queen, their heads bowed.
“Rise.” Yanea’s voice was clear and filled with love for her son as she stood before her throne.
When Jalen and Ranelle were face-to-face with her, Yanea placed one hand on her son’s chest, and her other hand between Ranelle’s breasts. “I give you my son Jalen and his heartmate Ranelle, your future King and Queen,” Yanea announced.
And as she bade them to turn to the packed Council Chamber, she said, “Sh’lai noirei vu simnai, Jalen né Ranelle.”
Pride coursed Jalen’s veins as his mother repeated the ceremonial words that he had spoken to Ranelle in the cave. In the eyes of the goddess, and now of his people, Jalen and Ranelle had become one.
Yanea walked from behind the couple to the center of the chamber and addressed the crowd. “I wish to bestow a gift upon my son and my new daughter.” The Queen faced Jalen and clasped her cool palms on his cheeks. “It lightens my heart to see you so happy,” she murmured, and then kissed first one cheek, and then the next.
She moved to Ranelle and stroked her hair from her face. “You have brought joy and completion to my son’s life. For that I am eternally grateful.” She placed a kiss on each of Ranelle’s cheeks.
“I am the most fortunate of women to have Jalen as my heartmate,” Ranelle replied, her voice trembling but clear.
With a smile, Yanea put her hand to Ranelle’s belly. “My granddaughter will grow to be as sweet and lovely as her mother.”
She raised her voice, and it rang through the Council Chamber as she spoke, “As my gift to my son, I bequeath a long Elvin life to my new daughter, Ranelle of the Nordain, and to all of her offspring.”
Applause and cheers broke out in the chamber. Jalen swept Ranelle into his arms and held her tight. Yanea’s gift was all that he had hoped for, yet hadn’t dared to expect.
“Beleie,” Yanea said, her voice rising above the clamor, and the chamber went silent.
While Jalen kept his arm tight around Ranelle’s shoulders, he fixed his attention on his mother.
I have one more gift, as is Elvin tradition. Her voice flowed through the mind of every being in the room, so great was her power. The sacred gift that will be known only to my son and his bride.
Yanea held out her palm, where appeared a small silver vial. Share with one another the arbonidae, and experience all my gift has to offer.
Ranelle’s glance darted from Yanea to Jalen. He gave her a smile and bowed his head to his mother as he accepted the vial. It felt warm against his palm as he clenched it in his fist, and wondered what Yanea’s gift would be.
* * * * *
Ranelle’s entire being sang with love for Jalen as they slipped away from the Council Chambers.
Jalen silently guided Ranelle through the maze of forest rooms and into the mild evening air, her small hand clasped tight in his big fist. Grass was soft and dewy beneath her bare feet, and a balmy breeze caressed her bare skin, causing her nipples to pucker.
Stars shone brilliant against a silken black sky, the moon still bearing a trace of amethyst upon its face. Across the surface of a small lake, moonlight sparkled like countless gemstones scattered upon it. Crickets chirped and owls hooted in time with the gentle slosh of water against a grassy shore, and scents of jensai blooms and pine perfumed the air.
They came to a secluded cove filled with moonlit flowers and exotic plants, the grass so thick it was like walking on a krstn. When they reached the center of the cove, Jalen held his palm up, facing the lake. A glow expanded from his hand, a golden shimmer that flooded the area until a glittering dome surrounded them.
Ranelle could still feel the breeze upon her naked body and see the lake through the shimmering curtain, yet she knew they were shielded.
’Tis part of the arbonidae, Jalen explained in her thoughts as she turned to him. Our private ceremony. Elvin tradition requires that we experience the Queen’s gift, and we must remain here until it is complete.
Ranelle reached for the vial in his hand and trailed her fingers along its length. Heat rushed through her the moment she touched it. What is this gift?
I do not know. Jalen drew Ranelle against him, the heat of his massive arms and chest coursing through her bare skin, his hard cock pressed against her belly. This we shall learn together.
A nervous flutter skittered through her, like countless raven wings through a night sky. What did the vial contain?
“In all my days upon Dair, I have never felt such happiness as with you,” Jalen spoke aloud, easing her fears. The husky timber of his voice, and the love in his words caused Ranelle to melt against him, as though she was a part of him. “I have lived beyond a thousand years,” he continued, “yet ’tis as though my life did not begin until the moment I first saw you. To know that you shall share the remainder of my days, fills my heart with such happiness I ache with it.”
Ranelle moved her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks and holding him as if she could freeze that moment for all eternity. “You are everything to me.” Her voice faltered, and she could not help hot tears of joy from escaping her eyes. “You are my love, my life, my very soul.”
His kiss was soft, gentle, as he moved his mouth over hers. “I love you, mi enchantrei,” he murmured, his breath warm upon her lips.
“My heart is yours, forever,” she whispered in return.
Jalen thought he might die of happiness as he kissed away Ranelle’s tears, his tongue flicking out and tasting the salty wetness that had come from her soul. Her hands clung to his waist, as though she needed his support.
He knew he needed hers. He needed all of her.
Before he met Ranelle, Jalen thought he did not need anyone. Thought that he had everything life had to offer. Thought that he had all the answers.
Vanilla, spice, and Ranelle’s own erotic scent flowed over him, through his body and straight to the very center of his lifeforce. To the goddess’s ears from his soul, he was the happiest being in all the deity’s worlds.
“I cannot get enough of you.” Jalen’s teeth lightly nipped at the soft skin of Ranelle’s breast. “With every taste I want more.”
Small moans escaped her lips. Her hands slid int
o his hair, massaging his scalp as he suckled on her nipples. “Every part of me is yours, Jalen. All of me.”
The way she said his name, a whispered melody upon her tongue, eased through his soul like the finest of Elvin tonics. Warming, searing his blood.
He raised the silver vial between them and withdrew the stopper. It is time, mi enchantrei.
She tilted her head back and opened her mouth like a small bird, and Jalen touched the vial to her bottom lip. A few drops rolled onto her tongue before he brought the vial to his own mouth.
“It tastes of blueberries and cream,” Ranelle murmured as the sweetness flooded her senses. But in the next moment the world seemed to spin around her. Fire! The world was on fire! Blue and silver flames danced and flickered around them, licking at her naked flesh.
“Jalen!” Her heart hammered in her throat and she grabbed his arms, digging her fingernails into his skin.
Shhh, relax, fledgling. His voice calmed her mind, even as the elixir seeped into her blood and throughout every fragment of her being.
She caught her breath as he lifted her up and then settled her on the bed of fire. The flames were warm, yet cool, enveloping them as Jalen slid between her thighs, his cock pressed to her folds. Naught existed but the two of them in the silvery blue inferno.
Bracing himself with one arm on the ground, he stared into her eyes. Her enrli pulsed in time with the dancing flames, and he stroked her hair from her brow. She wrapped her legs around his buttocks drawing him closer, needing him to fill her in every way.
I cannot wait any longer. Ranelle slid her fingers into the hair at his neck, tangling them in the long strands and yanking him closer to her.
Jalen’s eyes were serious as he plunged his cock into her core. Arching up to meet him, she almost screamed from the pleasure rippling through her body. As he thrust, a vision filled her mind, and at once she knew that Jalen shared the vision with her.
’Tis the gift of sight, he murmured in her mind. Hold tight to me. We will see our future, or what our futures might be—and some things may be frightening.
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