Skirts & Swords (Female-Led Epic Fantasy Box Set for Charity)

by L. P. Dover

  My stomach is in knots while I slowly remove the breastplate from my chest and then the vambraces from my arms. I don’t want to give him the wrong impression by taking off all my clothes. He’s very understanding, so I’m sure he’ll understand if I don’t want this to go further at the moment. I give him a faint smile and I know my eyes are conveying to him that I’m not in the mood. He smiles and shakes his head while patting the bed again. I leave my leathers on and I climb onto the bed beside his naked body. I honestly don’t think sleep is going to come easily for me.

  Finn moves closer to me from behind and presses his warm body against my back. He wraps his arm around my waist, and he snuggles closer as I lay my arm over his. We entwine our fingers and I grip his tightly. Finn has always been a comfort to me, but I don’t think anything is going to calm and relax my rapidly beating heart. The terrible warnings from my soul are screaming at me saying that something terrible is going to happen tonight. All I know is that whatever it is, I’ll be ready.

  - Dark Sorcerer -

  I left the warrior’s body quickly as soon as I became discovered. I stick to the shadows as I make my way through the palace. I should have known that bitch Calista would sense me around, and what’s worse is that when Meliantha got near I could feel their power intensify. Their other sister was there, too, and I could see the light shining inside of her, meaning that the power of the Four is growing. Her power will be ready for the taking very soon, but it’s not her time yet. All I need to do now is keep the girls separated so their power can’t track me as well.

  By now Meliantha has probably figured out that it wasn’t the real Kalen that betrayed her before. She may have turned her heart into stone all these years, but with this revelation she’ll probably go running after the Prince like a bitch in heat. That works out just fine with my plan. It’ll make everything that much better when she’s forced to kill her one true love. Not only will I get her power, but it’ll ruin all chances of their union once he’s dead. The Land of the Fae will be closer to being mine.

  Poor Meliantha will be useless when I take everything away from her. I silently laugh to myself thinking back to all the times I fucked her and she didn’t even realize it was me. I might just have to find a way to get back between her legs somehow. She had a fiery temper in the bed, and I know I lost control on several occasions. Her fool of a lover had no clue I was using his body to have my way with the princess.

  I arrive at my destination and appear on the other side of the door in my true form. I notice the box I brought earlier is on the bedside table and my vixen is already dressed for the ball. She’s standing motionless by one of the windows with a blank expression on her face. Her eyes go wide as she sees my reflection in the window. She turns around abruptly.

  “Alasdair,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

  “Neither was I, but I came to inform you of the recent developments,” I add, agitated. She furrows her brows and waits for me to continue. “The Summer fae know I’m here and I’m sure they are going to spread the word. Meliantha most likely knows already that it wasn’t Kalen that broke her heart over five years ago.”

  Her eyes go wide and she puts her hand over her mouth.

  “What’s the plan now?” she asks. Her voice sounds muffled coming from behind her hand.

  “Act like nothing is wrong when Kalen finds you and warns you of my presence. Give him his gift as soon as you can. Now that they know I’m here they will expect me to go after Meliantha. Their focus will be on her, so they’ll never believe I would go after the prince.”

  She nods her head and agrees.

  “OK, I will give him the gift as soon as I see him. Is there anything else I need to do?”

  “Yes, I need you to give Kalen and Meliantha a little time together to speak before our plan goes down tonight. Do what you have to, but make sure they get together. As soon as Meliantha and the prince talk to one another, they’ll realize the past five years were wasted on false betrayals. He’ll most likely call off the engagement once he finds out and that will put Meliantha exactly where I need her.”

  Breena goes completely still and clenches her jaw until she’s red in the face. Her anger strikes me as odd. I’m beginning to wonder if she has developed feelings for the Winter Prince. How could she be so stupid to fall for the man she has been hell bent on destroying?

  “He’s never loved you, Breena,” I snap. “No matter what you say or do he’ll always love Meliantha. After tonight your prince will be dead, so get the hell over it. He’s used you all these years, and I would think you would want payback for that.”

  She lifts her chin defiantly and wails, “I do want payback, and the reason I’m mad is that I hate being second best. What does that Summer bitch have that I don’t?”

  A million things for starters, I think to myself. Her attitude is starting to seriously infuriate me. I can feel the heat of my anger rising to my face, and if I didn’t need her in one piece, I would put her in her place right now. Her petty little jealousies are not going to ruin my plans. I use my power to force her down on her knees.

  “First off, you worthless bitch, Meliantha has fifty times more power than you will ever have, and she’s also one of the Four which makes her valuable beyond belief. Second, you have no redeeming qualities other than being a filthy whore that will sleep with anyone and anything to get power, and third, she’s much better in bed than you.”

  She’s crying uncontrollably now and I bend down to grab her chin hard between my fingers. I jerk her face up to where she’s looking me straight in the eyes.

  “I’ve been patient with you all these years, and I didn’t wait this long for you to fuck it up over an adolescent jealousy.” I grip her chin tighter and she hisses in pain. “We are almost at our goal and if you screw this up, I’m going to make sure you join your precious prince in the Hereafter once all things are said and done. Are we clear?”

  The tears run down her cheeks in rivulets and her body shakes uncontrollably. Her voice catches when she replies, “Yes, Master.”

  “Good.”

  I stand up and move away toward the door. I’m going to hang back during the ball and try to make some appearances. As long as the Four are not together, I’m sure I can have a little fun. I’ve worked too long for my plan to fail now.

  It took everything I had to walk away from Meliantha. The pull drawing me to her refused to budge, so I went against all instinct and moved my feet in the opposite direction. Thankfully, Ryder was with me, and it made things somewhat easier. I thought I was going to die with laughter when I saw Meliantha’s warrior fall flat on his ass. Ryder scolded me, like the older brother he is, when we made it inside my cabin. I flipped him off and said some distinctively aggressive words back to him.

  He left me to raid my kitchen cabinets in search of my famous mead. I can brew a mighty good mead and I make it potent as hell. Two tumblers will put a man on his hands and knees. I’ve been that way plenty of times and with the Solstice Ball being tonight, it might not be such a good idea to get drunk. I decide against going to the kitchen, so I can stay and watch Meliantha through the window. I notice there’s something strange going on, but I can’t tell what.

  I can see both Meliantha and Calista look stressed by their worried postures and the frowns upon their faces. If something is wrong with Meliantha, I have to know. I make my way to the door, but Ryder steps in my path.

  “What the hell, Ryder, get out of my way. Something is wrong out there and I need to find out what it is!” I roar.

  He shakes his head and puts his hands on my shoulders.

  His voice sounds distressed when he speaks, “She’s not your concern, Kalen. Have you forgotten that you’re engaged to be married?”

  I take a step back and hang my head. Why did I ever agree to marry Breena? I was so mad over the news of Meliantha and Finn that I did the most drastic thing possible. One of my downfalls is acting before I think and I think it just bit me in the
ass.

  I step away from Ryder because I don’t want him to see the shame in my eyes when I confess, “I don’t love Breena, brother. I never have and I never will. I fell in love with Meliantha the moment I saw her, and as soon as I saw her today, those feelings magnified ten-fold.”

  I hear Ryder chuckle behind me and he grabs my shoulder to turn me around.

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he asks, delighted.

  I look him in the eyes and say the only word that manages to escape my lips. “Yes.”

  Ryder slowly smiles and looks up at the wooden beams of the ceiling.

  He chuckles before looking back down at me and points out, “How you manage to get into the worst pile of shit every time a woman is involved I will never know. You cause more trouble than you’re worth, you know that?”

  I smile genuinely at him before tearing my gaze away to look out the window. It looks like everyone has gone inside the cottage since there’s no one in sight. I don’t know how I’m going to handle this evening with the engagement announcement. I don’t want to embarrass Breena with refusing her, but I know I don’t want to marry her. I need to find a way to talk to Meliantha and explain before anything happens tonight. Recalling what Ryder just said, I do believe I am a magnet for trouble.

  “I think trouble follows me, brother,” I claim whole-heartedly.

  Ryder slaps me on the shoulder and coaxes me toward the kitchen.

  “Come on, little brother, I think you need a drink. You have a busy night ahead of you with breaking a certain Winter fae’s heart. I would say you need to relax.”

  My heart aches with the thought of hurting Breena, but I know it’s for the best. I’m sure she will find someone that will love her completely. I nod my head in agreement at Ryder, but I honestly think that one drink needs to be ten. We’re in the kitchen, so I take a seat at the table and I pour myself a tumbler full of mead. While we’re retelling epic stories of our childhood adventures, Calista barges through the door with Ariella behind her holding Merrick. Ryder is up in a flash and hurrying his way to his queen. She’s holding a bundle in her hands which looks like a towel and her face is flushed with trepidation.

  “Calista, what’s wrong?” Ryder implores anxiously.

  She looks straight at me with anguish in her eyes before she begins, “It’s Meliantha.” My eyes go wide and I know my heart has stopped. What does she mean by that?

  She holds out the towel and continues, “Apparently the dark sorcerer has been deceiving her for the past five years. What I have in this towel is something Finn believed was a gift from Durin when actually it had been spelled with black magic.”

  Oh no! If what she’s saying is true, then that would mean...I take a deep breath before I finish the thought. That would mean the dark sorcerer has been taking over Finn’s body. I shake my head back and forth and I clasp my eyes shut. I don’t want to think about all the things that bastard has done to her and with her over the past five years.

  My hands shake with anger and Calista rushes over to me quickly and takes my cold hands into her warm ones. My eyes see nothing but red, and all I can think about is how I want to do every vile thing possible to make the dark sorcerer suffer.

  Calista squeezes my hands and shakes them.

  “Hey, Kalen! Snap out of it! She’s fine and every-one’s fine. She just found out the dark sorcerer has been taking over Finn’s body, and she’s miraculously handling it very well. There’s nothing anyone can do about it now.”

  “You don’t understand. That bastard has touched her and done who knows what to her, and you say everything is fine!” I scream. “She’s not fine!”

  She lets go of my hands and takes a step back.

  “That’s not all, Kalen. I need to ask you a question and I want you to be honest with me.” She hesitates before asking, “When you visited Meliantha all those years ago, did you ever see her before that time you spoke of?”

  Why would she ask that? Of course I didn’t see her before then.

  I shake my head and reply, “No, I haven’t spoken to her since the wedding.”

  “I didn’t think so,” she points out.

  “What are you saying, Calista? Why did you ask me that?” I ask curiously. Although, I have a sinking feeling in my stomach that I’m not going to like what she has to say.

  “Meliantha had a visitor just a few short days before you came and she thought that visitor was you.”

  “WHAT?” I roar.

  Before I can yell every obscenity in my mind, Calista cuts me off.

  “It was the dark sorcerer, Kalen. He pretended to be you and he said some terrible things to her that broke her heart. She’s hated you ever since.”

  So that’s why she has hated me all these years. If I would have pursued her more instead of cowering back to the Winter Court, I could have solved this problem years ago. How could she think I would break her heart like that? I head for the door because the need to speak with her has me bursting at the seams. My heart belongs with hers and she has to know how sorry I am, and...that I love her. Calista screaming my name stops me from my pursuit, and I turn around impatiently to see what she wants.

  “What, Calista? I need to speak to Meliantha and tell her the truth.”

  “I know, Kalen, but she’s with Finn right now getting some rest before the ball. She already knows that it wasn’t you, and I told her she should talk to you, but right now is not the right time. So many things have happened and she needs a break from it all. You’ll be able to talk to her tonight.” She hesitates before speaking again, “One other thing, she doesn’t know you’re engaged. I’m afraid that when she finds out it’s going to break her heart even more, but she did tell me about the connection she felt with you earlier.”

  I admit whole-heartedly, “I felt it, too. It’s the strongest feeling I have ever felt, and separating from her felt like I was defying all bounds of nature. I know she’s the one, Calista.”

  “Have you ever touched her or seen a vision like Ryder and I had?” she asks.

  I shake my head no and say, “No, I have not touched her yet. I tried earlier today, but she backed away from me like I had the plague.”

  Calista gives me a faint smile and shakes her head.

  “I’m sure it won’t be like that tonight. Try to talk to her if you can and tell her how you feel. Finn’s not going to be too happy, but there’s nothing he can do about it now.”

  Thinking of Finn infuriates me to all levels of rage. He’s enjoyed my Meliantha for five years now while I’ve been miserable here in the Winter Court. Not anymore. Tonight I will make her mine and break a few hearts in the process.

  “What are we going to do with that?” I ask Calista while pointing at the towel. The spelled cuff is in there, and it’s too dangerous to keep it lying around.

  “I don’t know yet. I think I should take it to Durin when he gets here and ask him how to destroy it. We can’t let anyone get near it or put it on. We also need to inform our families about this as well and have everyone warned. The dark sorcerer is here and it looks like he’s after Meliantha this time. We need to do everything possible to keep her safe,” she commands.

  I nod my head in agreement while Ryder cuts in and advises, “Well in that case, we need to head to the palace and speak to my parents. I know they will still have the ball tonight, but we need to be on guard. There’s no telling how many traitors we have in our midst.” He looks around the room at us all and settles his protective gaze on Merrick.

  Fear and concern splay across his face, but he quickly shakes it off and says, “Alright everyone, let’s go to the palace and call a meeting.”

  We leave the cabin and I can’t stop myself from staring at the cottage beside me. Meliantha is in there alone with her warrior, and I pray that she waits for me to explain everything before jumping back in bed with him. I ache to talk to her, but I know the urgency of our situation. We need to warn the Court about the dark sorcerer, and the evil t
hat has been taking place.

  The meeting lasted about an hour, and now I’m back in my cabin getting ready for the Solstice Ball that will be taking place in a matter of minutes. I run my fingers through my hair and then down to slip the last button of my black dress shirt in place before layering on my tuxedo jacket. I know it’s a bold move, but I take the purple rose lying on the table, and I pin it to the lapel of my jacket. It’s the same color as Meliantha’s eyes. I haven’t seen her leave the cottage yet, but I did just get back from the meeting. Breena had stopped me on the way to meet my parents saying she had a gift for me, but I was in a hurry and told her I would have to accept it later. She looked hesitant and angry when I walked away, but there were more important matters that needed to be dealt with.

  The meeting consisted of my parents, King Madoc and Queen Mab, the Summer King and Queen, Durin of the dwarves, and Aelfric of the Elvish Kingdom. Once everyone was situated, Calista, Ryder, and I took the floor and explained the recent events. Gasps of hysteria and outrage filled the room. My parents were livid while King Oberon and Queen Tatiana were overtaken with fear. We explained to Durin that it was said he was the one who made the golden cuff for Finn, and that it was delivered with Meliantha’s arrows.

  Durin was angered by our information and informed us that he made no such gift, and the only way to destroy it is by the magical fires of the elves. It’s strange how items made by the dwarves can only be destroyed by the elves. We were also informed that the messenger he sent to deliver Meliantha’s arrows had recently gone missing. I think we can all assume his messenger had gone traitor. Finn’s golden band was secured and will be taken to the Elvish Kingdom by Aelfric to be destroyed.