"No. But it is my lot and now, with you by my side, I shall be far more content with my status in life.”
"I'm glad.”
He smiled. "As soon as your ears lengthen properly, we shall learn your gifts. Have you ever experienced anything extra-sensory?"
"I don't think so. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
"These suppressors that your aunt fed you, interest me greatly. They must have been of great strength. It matters not. We shall soon discern the truth.”
"When do we return to Mearth?"
He shrugged. "I cannot lie, Heather, we should return with urgency. I know not how much time has passed and the state of the Dark Throne, whilst not to my liking, is my problem. And with your father also stating he has issues, it would be best if we returned as soon as we could.”
"Do you want to go today?" she asked, her finger swirling about his pec.
"Would you mind? Is there anything you must terminate on this planet, Heather? You can't return once you've come here.”
"I'm scared. But now we're mated, I'm relieved. This world doesn't feel right anymore, Fade. I don't understand it. How can it not? But I feel uncomfortable here. I doubt I'll feel comfortable over there, but you shall be with me. And no, there isn't anything that urgently needs to be wrapped up. I guess they'll just think I've gone missing and my things will go to the state.” She shrugged and then, as something obviously occurred to her, turned into him a little more. "Will I be able to take some things with me, Fade?"
"Of course. I would suggest only those items that are close to your heart though, Heather. We are not in need of furniture or the like.”
Her chuckles pealed through the room. "I didn't expect to take my bed with me, Fade.” She snorted. "I just want to take some small pieces of jewelry and a few ornaments that have sentimental value. That's all. You are such a cutie.”
He wrapped an arm about her and tightened his clasp on her, so that they embraced. "I will assume that is a good thing. I think it would be wise to go today. I must not touch you for at least another two Mearth days. You will feel the changes more than I, because of the suppressors. And you are grossly tempting. . . . I won't deny. I want to take you now and I must not.”
"I wouldn't complain,” she murmured and pressed her lips to his shoulder.
"You soon would. Another dose of my seed, so soon, would. . . . cause you more than pleasure.”
"What do you mean?"
"Your ears, they're bound to lengthen soon. That won't be pleasant, sweet. Bone and cartilage will have to be made and your body will began to change to that of an elf. Everything that was once repressed, will come to life. I don't want you to suffer unduly.”
His words obviously touched her, because she pressed a hand to his jaw and gently caressed it with her fingers. That she thought his care for her wellbeing to be so special annoyed him unduly. Not because he didn't appreciate his mate's touch, but because that one act spoke of her treatment at the hands of the fools who lived on this planet.
"I think. . . . I know it's too early for this, Fade, but I think I could come to love you.”
Her words knotted his gut. He could do no more than offer her the same words, for he shared the sentiment. "I will come to love you too, my mate. When we have time to explore what lies between us.”
She nodded. "I never thought to have this. . . . connection. Never mind love. I fear I'm going to be one spoilt lady.”
"You're to be Queen.” Fade snorted. "Of course, you'll be spoilt.”
A slow grin widened her mouth. "Oh, yeah. So I'll have an excuse.”
"I doubt you'll need one.” He sighed and began running a finger along the length of her arm. "There will be no Materth for us. It is a shame. Being so new to one another, we could undoubtedly benefit from it.”
"Materth? What's that?"
"After a couple wed, it is a brief space of time for them to celebrate their nuptials.”
"A honeymoon, ah. No, I guess things will be too hectic for us, won't they?"
"Yes. I have often lamented my role in the kingdoms. Never more so than now.”
"We'll have time together, eventually.”
He glared at nothing in particular and hummed agreement under his breath.
Fade was tired of having to answer to a kingdom that detested him. He was tired of being the savior of said kingdom, when his father ranted and raved like a lunatic and instigated petty wars between tribal factions.
Now his father was dead, that would cease to occur but he didn't doubt that grievances would soon be aired about the throwback claiming the kingdom and taking his rightful position as heir to the throne.
It would have to be faced. He knew that. Regretted it, but knew it all the same and as he'd always done, would have to take the knocks on the chin.
Having Heather by his side would certainly ease matters.
She hadn't been poisoned by his father's hatred for him, they had the beginnings of a good relationship and a part of him dreaded such purity being soiled.
He'd lied, when he'd told her his talents were solely on the battlefield.
He did have some streaks of clairvoyance within him. Not enough to be worthy of mention, but he'd avoided speaking of it all the same.
Simply because that which he dreaded, would soon occur.
Tightening his arm, he nuzzled his face into her side and murmured, "Rest a while longer, sweetling. We'll begin our journey as soon as night falls. I can't deny, I'm curious to see how much time has passed during my short stay here.”
"It can't be long, can it? You've only been gone. . . . well, tonight, you'll have been here one and a half days.”
"I have a feeling there is no rhythm or rhyme to the time gaps. Let us hope little time has passed, dearling. Otherwise there will be political tensions to add to our welcome home.”
King's Chambers, Haden, Mearth
"You have but a week for your precious prince to return, Merrick. I hope you have ensured there are enough coins in the council coffers for an opulent coronation?"
Calder studied the prim visage of Merrick, a man who had graduated from pain in the arse to arch nemesis throughout the year he'd spent as Haden's lesser King. Merrick floated in front of him, his picture projected from a quartz rock and on to the ceiling above Calder's bed. As he spoke, one of the maids suckled his cock. Whether Merrick was aware of it or not, Calder neither knew nor cared.
"There is still time. I'm certain Fade will return.”
"I did not ask that question, Merrick. I've been a good King this year. I deserve a glorious coronation.”
"A good King? I doubt that. The people detest you. They curse you for what you are - a pretender hovering like a vulture about the throne.”
"They despise Fade all the more,” Calder bit out, his hand tightening in the maid's hair and pulling her free from his cock. She cried out in pain, but he ignored her.
"No. They dislike Fade's wings and they dislike how they were the cause of so much turmoil as his father sought a female to beget another male heir. But it is Fade's rightful place. I have heard them talk. Heard their words. They wish for Fade to return.”
"Well, the great unwashed have no say in the matter. If Fade cannot return to this realm, then there is no one else.”
"You would be surprised at what alternatives there are, Calder.”
Chapter Eight
The very dourness of Merrick's voice scratched Calder in all of the wrong places. He'd have jolted upright were it not for the location of the projector. He damned his earlier arrogance that if Merrick wished to see him, then the projector could be placed in situ.
"You bastard. You want the throne for yourself.”
"No. I would not wish to receive such a weighty bounty. Your predecessor has left Haden in a quagmire of insolvency. However, if Fade does not return, then my family has more right to the Dark Throne than some pompous upstart with no royal right, save the fact his whore of a mother swived a King.”
Calder b
arely reigned in his anger. "The people will not agree with it.”
"The people would prefer one of the lesser Barons to be King than you, a mere mage. And not even a very proficient one at that. You wormed your way into the castle keep thanks to your lineage. Fade's mother took pity on you and undoubtedly, you fed her some nonsense. My father always said he thought you had something to do with her death. . . . I shall leave you with that thought. As lesser King, you have no powers. The might you had as mage is no longer with you since you relinquished the position. It would be easy to dispose of you. . . . have a care, Calder. As this year comes to an end, there is a chance your existence does too.”
Sweat beaded on Calder's brow. Words did not frighten him, it was the very way in which the other man spoke. With a chilling lack of feeling. It seemed impossible that this plan could have gone so awry, when he'd believed fate and Mother Mearth to finally be on his side. The Dark Throne ought to be his, but Merrick was a spoil in the works, he'd never foreseen.
"You would not dare,” he spat.
"It is not a matter of daring, Calder. It is a matter of being annoyed enough to deal with you. Cease your foolish extravagances and hope that Fade will be a kinder task master than I am. Your expenditure at the castle alone is nigh on bankrupting the nation. You were a fool to spend the year glorying in your position and spending the meager riches the kingdom possesses. Had you cozied up to the people, had you encouraged them to your side, then I would have few alternatives. Instead, you played directly into my hands.
"You're a fool, Calder. Perhaps it's your mother's blood.”
With that, Merrick disappeared leaving Calder almost foaming at the mouth. Clenching his fists, he pounded them against the down feather bed. His fists merely sank into the soft cushioning and almost as though that were the source of his irritation, he reached for the knife that he kept under his pillow and in a fit of frustration sank the sharp blade into the down.
Feathers sprouted everywhere and the more he slashed and sliced, the more the maid shrieked out her fear.
He did not hear her cries. He felt only his rage and that overtook all of his senses.
Merrick dared to threaten him?
He had the audacity to call his mother a whore?
Calder screamed, his hollers of fury echoed around the luxurious chambers.
But his rage was impotent and that increased their volume all the more.
"What a weird smell.”
Heather's comment elicited a smile from Fade, but he was too busy staring at a sword that rested, in her humble opinion, rather sedately on the market stall. Considering its purpose, it did not nearly seem as terrifying as it ought to. Apparently, having a sword was a must for this journey they were about to undertake.
Twenty minutes ago, they'd crossed the threshold and while she'd been relieved that it hadn't been painful, it had been rather anti-climactic. Just like stepping over a regular door into another room.
She'd expected some gushes of wind, or some vertigo or even nausea at a minimum.
And yet, nada. Zilch.
Plus, all the dire warnings of her true elfen genes being triggered off by the move into this dimension hadn't come to fruition either.
The first thing Fade had done, was grab her hand and drag her up and down the market stalls in search of something. She'd soon realized he'd been after weapons, when they'd come to an almost screeching halt a few steps away from the odd pod that were the stalls on Mearth. They'd been here for the last twenty minutes and Heather was getting bored.
He'd brought her to another world, to her own world and expected her to just dawdle about and wait for him?
She'd reluctantly hovered there, but now, with this weird smell filling the air, she was dying to wander about. It reminded her of meat back on Earth, but this was filled with almost floral notes. Most peculiar and delicious.
Her tongue was literally watering as the smell penetrated her nostrils and permeated her senses. Even though she wasn't aware of it, Heather began to move towards the scent. Her mind lost its clarity, lost thoughts of how unjust it was for Fade to make her stand there, she simply walked. Head tilted upwards, nose piercing the sky as she followed the scent.
When an arm grabbed her, she knew it was Fade and that he was angry. "Where are you going?"
"Hmm?" she asked, her voice dazed.
"I told you to stay at my side.”
"Can't you smell that? It's beautiful. I have to have some.”
Apparently losing patience with her, Fade grabbed her shoulder and shook her slightly. It took the edge of the need to eat whatever smelled so beautifully, but she glared up at him.
"That hurt.” She grabbed her shoulder and began to rub it.
"It was supposed to,” he retorted and tugging at her free hand, began to move her away from the smell. She dug her heels into the ground and the soft mud-like substance that was their soil added to the drag. He spun around to glare at her. "You were being drugged.”
"I was, what?"
At her astonishment, he grinned. "The market is filled with food stalls. What is there to differentiate between one and another? The less scrupulous stall holders add magick to their food. Those of weaker sensibilities are immune to them and they purchase the enchanted food.”
"Weaker sensibilities? Listen here, Fade. There's nothing weak about me.”
He stepped closer to her and brushed a finger down her cheek. "You are susceptible at the moment. I had hoped that walking through the portal would trigger the growth of your ears and your elfen senses. It is to our advantage that they haven't. It gave me time to purchase adequate weaponry and time to find shelter. But it would have been useful. I had not foreseen how this would weaken you. We shall have to be careful. Magick is everywhere on Mearth. Not all of it positive and with the best of intentions. The sooner your body rejects the suppressors your aunt fed you, the better.” He bent down and pressed a kiss to her brow. "Now, come. We must away. And fear not, my sweetling, I think not that you are weak. You are far too feisty for that.”
Even knowing that she'd been handled, Heather willingly complied. When the 'handler' was a master, what else could she do but go with him?
Hell, she'd already followed him to the ends of the Earth.
What was a bit of gentling between mates?
Her feathers less rumpled, because being with Fade was a natural mood enhancer -something she had swiftly learned- she concentrated on keeping up to his pace. Which was damned fast and meant she was practically speed walking. But she maintained the speed without complaint.
After they'd awoken that afternoon, they'd showered. Separately. And even that distance between them, with her in the shower and him downstairs in the kitchen drinking some of the coffee the machine had automatically brewed, something within her had ached.
She'd forced herself to enjoy her shower, because who knew what the facilities were like on Mearth but also out of sheer self-defense. The idea of needing to be within an inch of him at all times, didn't set well with her.
Her unease had calmed, when she'd left the shower and found him in the bedroom, obviously waiting for her. There were lines of strain about his face that told their own tale and when she walked into the room, he sighed with relief.
That he shared this compulsion to be close was quite soothing.
As long as she wasn't alone with this depth of feeling for a practical stranger, she could cope.
They'd left the market behind and not even Heather's desire to see more of Mearth made the bland landscape before her interesting. Seeing one triangular hill made the rest rather boring and the Mearthen version of grass scratched at her ankles. She'd worn high-tops, but the grass managed to get in and score her flesh.
Rather than ask a question that made her feel about five years old - the unforgettable, are we there yet?- she instead asked, "Fade? When you go to battle, will I be able to come with you?"
Ever since they'd departed the market with its weird produce and enchanted fo
ods, he'd been quiet. His eyes focused on the horizon, switching between that to view the land and the sky. God knows what he'd been searching for, but it was almost as though he had an internal compass. She could sense that he knew exactly where they were heading.
"I would prefer that you remain within a stronghold, but I doubt that will be possible. I've heard of mate bonds, know of the way in which they function, but there is no rhythm or rhyme to them either. I would like to say that within time, distance between us will not cause us unease. But I doubt it. It felt as though half my soul had disappeared this afternoon. And there were but a few hundred feet separating us.” He shook his head. "On the battlefield, I would not be able to concentrate not knowing where you were or what you were doing. I dislike the idea of you being in the general's tent, for it places you in danger, but no more danger than what it would do to our souls to be so separated.”
"I'm not weak, Fade. Genuinely. I've taught self-defense. I can care for myself.”
"I do not doubt that, sweetling. But elfen warriors are far stronger than those on Earth. They have extra senses and magick. Plus, battle armor. How are you supposed to maim a man with your foot if they are encased in metal?" When she grimaced, he nodded. "But there is little use in worrying about it. We shall simply have to stay close.”
Neither of them stated that that would be a hardship. Because it wouldn't. The little time they'd spent together as a mated couple already spoke for itself. Heather had always been independent. Had always liked her own space and time for herself. But with Fade, it was different and she knew he shared the sentiment. It was like being with herself, but better. She was with someone who completed her in ways she hadn't known she lacked.
The idea of being with an ex, twenty four hours a day, would have sent her crazy.
With Fade, it was as natural as breathing.
"Do you have to fight? I thought Kings ordered their men about from the safety of their palace?"
Fade grinned. "Many do, sweetling. But not Warrior Kings. The clue is quite definitely in the title.”
Rolling her eyes, she grunted. "Okay, you have to endanger your ass, but make sure it always come back safe and sound.” She sucked in a breath, not ready to admit the depth of her emotion. Because even the idea of him being nicked by a knife sent terror washing through her.
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