Five Kinds of Love (The True and the Crown Book 5)

by May Dawson

  “Sure, let’s ask him to teach us a Vasilik spell since we’re all friends now,” Airren says. His voice is heavy with sarcasm, and then he adds, “Where do we meet?”

  “Really?”

  “If Tera and Rian trust him…” Airren gestures as if the rest of his sentence is obvious, but it really isn’t. The rest of us stare at him. “Then I’ll go with my sword in my hand but I will go.”

  “Thank you,” I tell him.

  Maybe I can trust myself when it comes to Devlin. It turns out I have pretty good taste in men.

  Where? I ask him.

  I’ll let you know right before we meet. I know your men.

  Rian frowns as if he realizes we’re talking but he can’t hear us now.

  They’ll come with me, Devlin. You can trust me.

  If they come with you, I’ll never be able to convince my unwelcome entourage that I’m meeting up with you because of an unhealthy mutual obsession.

  Oh, is that what you told them is between us?

  Not in so many words. His voice has changed, softened, even though there’s a dark, sarcastic edge in it. Isn’t it?

  I’m not sure about any of those words. Unhealthy. Mutual. Obsession.

  I am, he says with his usual smug confidence. I know you want me as much as I want you, Tera.

  How do you know that?

  His voice is full of mischief. I’m in your head.

  How much can you see? My alarm is real. You’re full of it. I’d be able to poke around in your brain too then.

  Maybe I’ll teach you how, he says. Maybe I’ll let you poke around in here. If you aren’t scared.

  I’m pretty fearless. I’ve had experience—

  “Lord, do I hate having to watch her smile when he’s flirting with her in her head,” Rian says.

  My lips suddenly press together, and my eyes jerk to the prince, with his tousled brown curls and his gray eyes. I’ve been so accustomed to my men being willing to share me with each other, I’ve forgotten that not everyone might feel the same way. Even though Rian and Devlin are close…

  “I’m not jealous,” he says quickly. “It’s just even worse than listening to half of a phone conversation. It’s a tenth of a conversation.”

  “Sure.” Airren slings a hand over his shoulder. “That’s always what I say when I’m not jealous. I hate seeing you smile.”

  “It’s not like that.” Rian pushes Airren away, the two of them playful as brothers.

  You really want me to come without backup? I ask Rian skeptically. What if you kidnap me? Heod me for ransom for the shield?

  What if I’m just trying to separate you all so there will be fewer guarding the shield?

  Oh wow, that really makes me feel trusting.

  There’s a wicked smile in his voice when he answers me. You know I just want to get you alone.

  I know.

  You want to get me alone too, don’t you?

  Are you really flirting with me in the middle of what you just described as an apocalypse?

  To be fair, it’s not the middle of the apocalypse. It’s the start of one.

  Maybe we can stop it.

  That’s what I’m betting on. I’m betting on us.

  I’m sure we can save the world.

  But will we all be together at the end?

  Chapter 24

  Devlin

  “I don’t understand your obsession with Tera Donovan,” my mother says.

  I frown into the mirror that reflects her face, not mine. “Didn’t you tell me to seduce her?”

  “Which you’ve done a terrible job at, son of mine.”

  The less she knows about the genuine sparks of affection between Tera and me, the better. I’d rather look like a fool.

  “I’m not her type.” I shrug. “She likes big brutish men with hearts brimming with loyalty to the Crown…”

  She snorts. “Not boys brimming with cruelty, loyal to no one but themselves?”

  “I’m wounded, Mother. I’m here dirtside for you.”

  “And you lost the Shield.”

  “It was a bloodbath,” I tell her. “I’m lucky to still be alive.”

  They’re all dead: the three bodyguards, the sorcerer that was with me was there on the beach when Mycroft, Cax and Airren were struck down. They would have reported back to my mother that Tera’s men were alive, and she would know that I betrayed her.

  Of course, she’s already dispatched two more magicians and half-a-dozen of her spies to replace them. She’s so very maternal.

  “Your turns of luck and misfortune are stunning,” she says. “Truly, you live on a roulette wheel. How are you getting my shield for me?”

  “I have a plan,” I tell her. “I think—”

  She waves her hand to cut me off. “Does this plan require anything from me?”

  “Not at the moment, no.”

  “Then I don’t care. Don’t come home without the shield.” She smiles icily. “Or do, and see what happens.”

  The mirror ripples. She’s already rising impatiently before the ripples dissolve into nothing but the shiny, reflective surface.

  What do I do? Do I run, making myself into yet another Vasilik refugee? I could join Tera, and I know she’ll take me with her, but then I’ll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. There’ll be a Vasilik spy with a knife behind every corner.

  Or I go home and I fight for my country.

  It seems like an easy choice except home is completely terrifying right now.

  But at least tonight, before I go, I get to see Tera Donovan one more time.

  Maybe one last time.

  Chapter 25

  Tera

  I know my men are behind me somewhere, lost in the shadows, as I head deeper into the small art museum. But so are Devlin’s magicians.

  It’s quite the location that Devlin has chosen for our meeting spot. The lights are off, except for the lights that hang over the pieces, and my footsteps sound eerie as they echo through the halls. His magician easily brought down the security, and so I’m safe as can be to wander the museum.

  Safe. Sure. My heart beats a little faster as I wander through the dark museum, looking for him. Devlin is many things: dangerous, sexy, charming, commanding, brilliant and brave.

  But he isn’t safe. Not a bit.

  “Hello, Tera Kate.” That name—one of Airren’s names for me—on his lips sounds mocking.

  I whirl to find him leaning on one of the pillars behind me, his arms crossed over his chest and that damned inscrutable smirk written across his face. He wears jeans and a black t-shirt, simple clothes that I’ve never seen the prince wear before; that fitted t-shirt draws my eye to the width of his shoulders and the lean taper of his waist. His tall, narrow frame is slender but athletic. A swordsman’s body, my father would’ve said, once upon a time.

  “If we’re supposed to be on the same side, I don’t think we should be sneaking up on one another,” I shoot back to cover my suddenly rapid-beating heart.

  My heart rate isn’t fluttering from the surprise of finding him behind me; I expected that. Those silver eyes and that lazy smile just send my body into a strange fever.

  “Are we on the same side?” He runs his hand through his thick, dark curls as he straightens, then saunters closer to me.

  “If we aren’t, then there’s no reason for us to be here right now,” I shoot back.

  He closes the last of the distance between us until he looms over me, our bodies a whisper apart but not quite touching. “I can think of at least two, actually.”

  “And what are those?”

  “I need to show you what’s going on back at home.” He chews his lower lip, and real distress tightens the muscles in his face. He’s let that cold Devlin mask slip, for me. “You and your boys will need a plan before you return to Avalon.”

  “What’s going on in Avalon? Or in Minsk?” I’m not even sure where our ‘apocalypse’ is playing out.

  “The rips are worse i
n both places,” he says simply. “I went through the portals back home and slipped into Avalon as well.”

  “You went into Avalon?” In the midst of a war?

  He shrugs. “It’s good to be the Fox.”

  “You’re reckless.” If Devlin gets caught in Avalon, he’ll be killed, or ransomed, or ransomed and then killed anyway.

  “And you’re beautiful.” He says the words with the exact same intonation as my accusation, and I cock my head to one side, trying to figure out how to read him, as always.

  “Let me show you what I saw,” he commands.

  As he raises his hands, I take a quick step back. “I don’t like anyone to go into my mind, Devlin. Your voice in my ear is bad enough.”

  “Oh?” He’s cold, haughty, as he looks down at me with those ever-changing silver-gray eyes, and I realize I’ve mis-stepped. He thinks I don’t trust him.

  Maybe I shouldn’t, but I do.

  “My father controlled me. I can’t stand to have anyone else interfere with my mind. It doesn’t matter who it is, even if I trust them, it just makes me…” I wet my lips, uncomfortable with admitting my weakness so frankly, but I go on anyway. “It makes me panic.”

  His lips part. “It must have been difficult for you to allow me to take control, then.”

  “Right before you had me murder my men? Yes, I think I’ll be working through that one for a while.”

  “I didn’t know, Tera. I’m sorry.”

  A genuine apology from Devlin startles me. I gaze up at him.

  “I was doing the best I could in that moment.” There’s regret etched across his handsome features. “To get us all out of there alive. If I could’ve imagined a way that wasn’t quite so—dreadful—I would have.”

  I shake my head. “I understand. You’re fast on your feet, Devlin.”

  “Not quite fast enough to keep up with you, apparently.” His eyes soften affectionately.

  “I think we’re a pretty even match.” Everything in me wants to close the small distance between us and press myself against his chest. But we have work to do. “I want to see what you have to show me.”

  “I have another spell I can use,” he tells me. “It shows you my memories, almost like a movie. But it does tend to give the viewer a bit of nausea. Our minds are quite the unsteady cameras.”

  “I’ll manage,” I tell him. “Teach me the spell.”

  To my surprise, he doesn’t hesitate. Magic is so different in Avalon and Vasilik. I want to learn all of his magic that I can. He teaches me a long, elaborate incantation and a series of casts, and then when I have it memorized, he steps back and raises his hands in front of him, completing his own cast.

  The last step is to pull the knife from his belt and slice it across his palm.

  When he flicks his hand, scattering droplets of blood in the air, they rise into a series of images.

  He shows me Avalon, but there are Ravengers everywhere. They stalk through the towns, chasing down men, women and children indiscriminately. The Marines, the Kings’ men, they’re all fighting, but there are so many.

  It’s not just Ravengers everywhere. There are bodies everywhere.

  I gasp. “It’s as bad as the Savage Night.”

  Once, my father purposefully allowed the Ravengers through in order to try to topple our corrupt government, and he almost succeeded.

  “There are rifts opening up everywhere. Too many, too quickly, to defeat,” Devlin says. “My mother, Queen Emety, claims it’s Avalon’s work. And the king of Avalon claims, of course, that it is her sorcerers at work.”

  “Could—could the shield of Everlach do this?” I ask. My stomach roils from the violence I’ve just seen.

  “That’s the whole point of it, isn’t it? Controlling the rips. That’s why you’ve got to go back, and use the shield to stop it—” He breaks off, as if he’s just seen my face. “Tera. You have it here, don’t you?”

  I shake my head. “I thought we could trust Alia.”

  “You gave Alia the shield,” Devlin says flatly. He crouches suddenly, as if he’s light-headed. “It’s not even in this realm anymore. You sent it back to Avalon to cause all kinds of death and destruction.”

  “We thought she’d keep it safe, that she would begin to reverse the damage,” I say.

  “If she’s not in it with the king, then he must have gotten his hands on it somehow,” he mutters. He rises, swiping his hand through his hair. His moment of sickness has passed. His face now is alive with grim determination.

  “Are you alright?” I ask.

  “No,” he says, but goes on without pause. “We have to get the shield back. The king clearly cannot be trusted.”

  “We have to go back to Merlin’s house,” I say. “He’s got more of the weapons that control the rips. He’ll help us.”

  “What?” Devlin demands. “Wait, Merlin?”

  “We’ll have to ask him nicely,” I say. “He’s Airren’s great-great-great-great-you-get-the-picture godfather, so he has a soft spot for us.”

  “Great.” He is still pale even though his face is the usual mask.

  Sickening guilt stabs my stomach. I was so sure of Alia. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help repeating, “Are you alright?”

  “No, Tera. I’m not great.” But he straightens his shoulders, as if he’s putting away his tension as he slips his hand into his pocket. He exhales slowly, then his gaze meets mine. His deep gray eyes are inscrutable.

  “You could talk to me about it,” I say.

  “There’s not much to talk about,” he says. “I’m dead if I go home with no shield. I’m thinking my odds are about fifty-fifty if I manage to limp home with one of Merlin’s relics, but given the devastation already wrought, I think maybe you’re right. Maybe my kingdom shouldn’t have one.”

  “Don’t go home,” I say.

  “Why?” His gaze studies mine. There are faint silver flecks close to his iris, glittering and bright. “What are you going to do? Induct me into your little band?”

  “Why not?”

  He shakes his head. “I love my country, Tera. I can’t just be one of your men, off on adventures.”

  “Is that what you call it? It doesn’t feel that fun on this side.”

  “Oh?” He takes a step toward me, slowly closing the distance. His every movement is languid and graceful, like a cat. “I think you had fun putting on a mask and playing hero, just as I’ve had.”

  Always with his little lies, trying to be the bad guy. “You weren’t playing hero.”

  “If I don’t save my people from my mother, then yes, I was. That’s all it was.”

  His hands sweep up as if he’s going to cup my hips, but he still holds himself back; I can feel the warmth of his body so near mine, and I can almost feel his touch, as if he’s a ghost hovering just there in front of me. It makes my heart beat fast in fear, as if this is some kind of premonition, as if I’m going to lose him.

  Suddenly I feel as if I could try to touch him, and my hand might pass right through. I bob onto my tiptoes and catch his jaw in my hands. He ducks his head to mine, the faintest wry smile touching his lips, as relief spikes through my chest.

  I’ve had too many ghosts in my life.

  He tilts his head down as if he’s about to kiss me, but I want him to hear me first. I shake my head faintly, my palms pressed against his smooth-shaven cheek beneath that chiseled cheekbone and the hard line of his jaw.

  “You keep saying your country needs you, and I admire that,” I tell him. “But what about me?”

  “What about you?”

  There’s that smug smirk across his lips that I love to hate. This time, I lean in and kiss him until it goes away. His lips soften under mine, just the way he always does.

  When I pull away, I say, “If you must know, you ass, I might need you myself.”

  He presses his lips against my forehead in a tender kiss as his fingers twine through my hair. When he’s this close to me, it feels like every nerve,
every inch of skin, is more alive than ever, waiting to see what he’ll do next.

  His lips caress my ear. “Doubtful.”

  There’s something wistful about him right now, no matter how flirtatious he is, that reminds me of Arrin’s melancholy.

  Then his mouth skims my ear until he nibbles my lobe, which makes me press against him as desire sparks between my thighs. His arm slips around my waist, and he bites. Hard enough to make me yelp, but not to draw blood.

  “You’re a fiend,” I tell him, pushing him away, or trying to. Devlin is far more muscular than he appears, and my hand on his chest does little to move him away from me.

  But he kisses my neck, tender little conciliatory kisses, and I don’t want to push him away anymore.

  “You like it,” he reminds me.

  “Are you trying to say goodbye to me?” I murmur.

  “I’m trying not to,” he says. “But I don’t know what’s going to happen when I go home, Tera Kate.”

  This time, my name doesn’t sound mocking at all.

  “Please don’t go back there,” I murmur. “Come with us. There are other ways to fight for your people.”

  “I wish things were different,” he says, which isn’t an answer at all to my plea. “If I’m not there for them now in the darkest times, then I’ll never deserve to lead them when light breaks.”

  “And do you think that light is coming?” I ask, because he always seems so cynical.

  “Since I met you, I’ve been sure of it,” he tells me.

  This time, when he kisses me, I let myself get lost in his touch, even if this might be a kiss goodbye.

  The two of us trade sweet, desperate kisses. I tug at the collar of his t-shirt, drawing him down to me, and his collar rips. He raises an eyebrow at me.

  “How long do we have before your magicians get worried and storm in here?”

  “Long enough for you to destroy all my clothes, if that’s your will, Lady Fox,” he teases. His hands skim under my shirt, trailing over my bare skin, and my thighs tighten in response. “But I’m not like your nice men. I’ll repay you in turn.”