by JL Madore
Tonight, the halls had been abandoned. Made sense. With the Eligible ball in full swing we hadn’t seen anyone milling around in the entire servant wing.
Ydorus’s heavy hand fell on my shoulder and pulled me into a doorway. He pointed down the hall. “There.”
Yep. Elani was being escorted by a Strati soldier down the far corridor. So, it was done. Rowan had pleased the Queen, and now Elani could spend the rest of the night with him.
I gestured to follow and we ghosted along behind them. As I thought about Rowan at the mercy of the Queen, the tightening in my lungs heightened to an unbearable level.
Rather than detonate and stab someone, I dropped my gaze to the floor, studiously tracing the intricate veining in the marble tile. Shiny. Clean. Better.
After a while the monochrome creaminess of the servant areas transformed to a full spectral wonder in the royal areas. Gone were the bare walls, replaced by murals and bronzes and antiquities. Gone were plain mirrors secured directly on ivory walls, instead I watched the reflection of a loyal Strati soldier and a Princess stride past a gold, gilded work of art. Those two people didn’t even look like us and it hit me with gut-wrenching clarity how much I looked like Freya all dolled up.
Scary thing this Eligibles business, little Princess clones infiltrating the voting ranks of the Nobles. Gods, the whole thing gave me the heebs. By inserting placeholders into the Noble Council and building an army of vile soldiers, how far could my mother get if she unleashed them on the Realm of the Fair?
The remembered scent of death-rot clinging to Vasso’s body struck me dumb. Had she joined forces with the Scourge? Would she condemn her men to be inducted into Abaddon’s soulless forces or just fight alongside the scum of the realms?
Gods, I needed to talk this out with Reign and my family. There was something about this that I was still missing.
Ydorus held up his hand and the two of us paused, peering around one final corner. The Strati soldier guided Elani down the corridor and stopped before an ornately carved orichalcum door. With rough hands, he pulled her before him, slid some kind of collar around her neck and then shoved her inside.
When the tail of his cape disappeared around the corner we held our position. Why wasn’t anyone guarding the door? It didn’t sit right, but what choice did we have.
Right. Okay, here goes everything.
After moving closer, my hand closed around the handle and froze. Just stalled out. No twisting action. Nothing. What if I looked at Rowan and freaked? What if he was sitting on the bed doing nothing and all I saw was him fondling my mother or getting ridden like a prize pony?
“Princess?” Ydorus whispered. “We have no cover here. We must move.”
I nodded and brushed my fingers over my coiffed hair and touched the gemmed design running down the side of my face. A quick straightening of my crushed-velvet bodice and I told myself to suck it up and get through that door.
Damn, my hands were shaking. I pushed my shoulders back. Dried my palms against my thighs. Stomped my boot on the marble tile. Okay, what the hell.
“Princess.”
I could do this. It wasn’t Rowan’s fault. Whatever happened here tonight wasn’t anything Rowan wanted. I swallowed hard.
Ydorus’ anxiety snapped in the air around us. With a growl, his powerful hand fell on mine and forced the issue. The door gave way and we stumbled, as one, into the suite.
“Princess,” Elani gasped. She sat cross-legged on a plush area rug in front of the fire. Lounging amongst a mountain of pillows her brother laid beside her. I kept my sights on Elani as Ydorus secured the door.
“Why are you here and not at the celebration?” she asked, launching to her feet. “Has something happened?”
“We’re getting you two out of here while everyone’s drunk and distracted.” I grabbed Rowan’s black bag from the table by the door and waved for them to get a move on. “Let’s go.”
“We cannot leave.” Elani turned to Rowan and waited. When he said nothing, she turned back to me. “The alarms on our collars are set for this room. The guards will know the moment we cross the threshold and track the collars.”
Annnd that’s why no one was watching the door.
“Then we’ll get them off you and leave them here. Now, let’s hurry.”
Elani’s copper curls danced as she shook her head. “The collars are heat sensitive. Without our body, the alarm will sound as well.”
That complicated things, but I was still determined to remove the two of them from the line of fire. If I could go into tomorrow without worrying about anyone getting hurt, I might actually be able to work a little magic.
“Okay, so does anyone check on you?”
Elani shook her head and out of the corner of my eye I saw Rowan striding toward me. I couldn’t look at him yet. He knew me well enough to read my face and if he knew I’d seen that sex tape he’d be mortified.
“Whatever you’re thinking. Stop,” he said, easing closer. When I expected him to hug me, he paused. “What’s up, Trouble?”
“Nothing.” I stared straight at the line of buttons plummeting down the center of his broad chest. Thank the gods he had clothes on. Bare skin would have been too much. Too close to the images flashing behind my eyes. “I, uh . . . need to have a look at those collars.”
Ignoring the twenty-questions routine that followed from both of them, I examined Elani’s slave collar. Between what had been said and my experience with devices like this, I knew the security protocol was arranged in stages. First was the metal lock which we had no key for, then the body heat sensor, then the proximity alarm set to keep them in this room, then the tracking system if they were stupid enough to run and likely a pain inducer to drop them if they did.
I admired the forethought, but fuck.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m confident I can get the locks open. Orichalcum and I seem to have a unique understanding.” I could feel its energy, almost as if it was speaking to me. “So, let’s assume I get them unlocked, Ydorus and I will put on the collars and wait till morning. Meanwhile you two will meet Estes at the launch and—”
“Like hell,” Rowan growled. “I’m not leaving you here for the guards to find in the morning. They’ll kill you for setting us loose.”
“They can’t kill me. There’s a palace full of Nobles and guests waiting to watch the twins marry Lir-Douche of the Ninth House.”
“You think that matters? The Queen can kill you without ever laying a hand on you. She’ll reach into your head as you’re standing at the altar. You’ll have an aneurism and no one will know it was her. But you’ll still be dead.”
I stepped around him to gain some distance. I didn’t think the Queen would kill me. She still had hopes I would join her in her war plans. “I’ll figure it out, but I need you two safe.”
“Elani yes.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me around so I had no choice but to look at him. “But I’m staying. You’ll need my help.”
“What help?” I snapped, staring at the painting just over his shoulder. “I’m a warrior, you’re a civilian. You need to get her out—”
He moved his face into my line of vision and scowled. “I may be only a lowly civilian, but I’ am a man. I’m not leaving you to fight my battle.”
“Yes. You. Are.” I closed my eyes and scrubbed my face. With what was going on in my skull I wondered if anyone’s head had ever actually exploded. If so, I couldn’t be far off from a total detonation.
“Lexi, look at me. What’s wrong?”
I kicked up my chin, but couldn’t bring myself to follow the order. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. You haven’t looked at me once since you stumbled through the door. What is going on with you?”
“Nothing, I . . . uh.” The room swept by in a blur as I was flung over Rowan’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “What the—”
He stomped the two of us into the bathroom and ass-planted me on the counter. After ensuring I was s
teady he retreated to the door and locked it. “If you need to make me suffer, fine, but don’t do it by ordering me away, because I won’t go. I’m sorry, okay. I’m so fucking sorry.”
The shame in his voice that had me meeting his gaze. The agony of it bit me in the chest and stole my breath. “Why would I want you to suffer?”
“For allowing them to use me to bait the trap for you. For letting them round you up and not lifting a finger to protect you. I was a coward. Nothing like your warrior family. And I’m sure . . . nothing like Tham.”
Nothing like Tham? “Don’t be stupid. I told you to watch out for Elani first. I can take care of myself.”
Rowan rubbed his chest. “The Queen told me they had Coal and Terran too. I don’t even want to imagine how much you hate me right now—”
“Yeah, well, the Queen’s a liar. And I don’t hate you.” Staring up at him, I felt a warm rush tingle under my skin. It spread from my chest, skittered down my arms and legs, heated my bare shoulders and back. How could I have feared looking at his ruggedly handsome face? Rowan wasn’t to blame here. I was the one acting bat-shit.
Realization hit me in the head like a flail to the temple. It spun my world off its axis and then righted itself again. Gods help us both, I was in love with him.
“Lexi?”
How had that happened? I was a champion at keeping my emotions out of my affairs. Men were satisfaction, comfort, strength, but I was self-sufficient. I didn’t need the love of a man. I was a freakin island. Damn him. Rowan had inched his way into my life and into my heart when I was alone and I had fallen for it. Gods, now I was a goner.
“Trouble? You okay?” His voice grew more forceful and I saw when he flipped into doctor mode and began examining me from across the bathroom.
“Marry me,” I choked. “Tonight. Before anyone can stop us. I’ll take Elani’s collar and stay with you. Ydorus and Estes can get her out of the palace and deep into the Earth ring where Terran has Coal hidden. You and I will stand together against my mother, Zale and her army. Let the chips fall as they may.”
As Rowan strode toward me that heat beneath my skin ignited in my veins. His massive upper body shifted, his muscles flexing side to side as he stalked ever closer. He didn’t blink. His gaze burned, fixed on me like the fire in him was about to consume us both. “I’d prefer if we weren’t the chips, if we can help it, but it’s not a bad plan.”
It was the way he said “plan” that seared through my heart.
“No,” I said, my voice breaking as I caught my breath. “I’m not suggesting you marry me to save my skin or to screw my mother. Rowan, I’m in love with you. We don’t have to act on it and I don’t know if you feel the same way, but, if we’re heading into this together that’s what I want. So . . . yeah . . . that’s all I got.”
Rowan opened his mouth to speak. Nothing came out. Pressing my thighs open he stepped against the counter. He was not gentle as he scooped my ass cheeks and pulled me against his straining fly. I moaned as his head dropped and he scorched a kiss down my neck.
“So, is that a yes?”
“Hell yes. Fuck yes. A million times yes.” He brushed his lips along my jaw and ran his fingers across my bare back. “If Elani’s safe, I’m yours ‘til death do us part.”
Annnd that would likely be in ten hours when the guards returned.
Right. What did we have to lose?
With his jaw cupped in my palms I focused on his face. “Are you sure? You have to be positive this is what you want. If not, I’ll find another way—”
A completely lucid, almost spiritual resolve cut across his chiseled features. “I’m sure. I want you as my own. Whether we die tonight, tomorrow or grow old and grey, I’m sure.”
The kiss that followed was better than any handshake to seal a deal. With his arms tight around my back he pulled me to the edge of the countertop. My ankles linked behind his thighs as his erection pressed against my belly. I swallowed hard as a wild rush of damp lust hit me.
I gasped. “Let’s get Elani to safety and get this honeymoon started.”
His smile grew dark and erotic. “Great idea.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Removing Elani’s collar was easier than I expected. The orichalcum vibrated to life under my touch and obeyed my will, much as the water had in the shower and again in the canal. Linking the mechanism closed around my neck, I marveled at the warmth of the metal against my skin. Rowan looked like he might faint. I was jazzed.
Maybe Balor knew what he was doing with Sera. Casting aside the fact that I felt like a Franken-Faery, the combined strength of the four elements was a boon. The passion and fight of Fire made me strong and with the added command of Water and now Earth, who knew what I could do? Nothing had shown up from Air yet, but I had no doubt it would. The question was—how would it help me in the future?
After Ydorus called Estes and arranged to meet him at one of the remote launch sites off the staff wing, Rowan and Elani said their goodbyes. He didn’t want her to know about us planning our impromptu ‘I do’s’, because she would panic about the obvious consequences and he’d never convince her to get onto the launch. So, we said nothing.
While the two of them said their goodbyes, I scanned the room for the peepshow camera. From the angle of the video Zale had shown me and the fact that it caught the whole room—aha, not even a challenge.
The finial of the curtain rod on the far wall was exactly where Julian would put it too. I adjusted the curtain to cover the lens and continued to search for cameras and bugs.
If I were the Queen I wouldn’t want my personal business hardwired to some security room somewhere with guys drooling over my sex tapes. That seemed a little much. Still, I had to be sure no one had eyes on us or this plan was busted.
Moving to the bar by the window I opened the cabinet doors. Bingo. Nothing seemed to be active so I was fairly sure nobody was monitoring the room.
At the click of the lock, I turned. Rowan stood staring at the back of that closed door.
“Here, Doc, drink this.” I handed him a snifter of an expensive-smelling liquor and he sucked it back like it was water. It must have been the booze burning its way down into his gut that brought him back into focus because he choked and pounded on his chest, sputtering rosy cheeked for a while.
“Again?”
When he nodded, I tipped the decanter and handed him round two. This time, he swirled the contents against his palm and moved to the fire. Leaning one hand on the mantle he sipped at his glass, watching the orange-gold of the flames flicker and snap. His worry for Elani made my chest ache—family—there was no bond like it.
It gave you the greatest strength and comfort when all was well, but hollowed your guts and left you raw when it wasn’t.
I downed my drink and blinked fast. My siblings and I might be struggling, but Reign had raised us. He worked every day for the past two decades to build our family’s unshakeable foundation, one shitstorm at a time. Our family was stronger than mistakes made and words spoken in anger. It was stronger than new loves taking hold and stepping on toes. It was stronger than . . . everything.
How had I forgotten that?
My mind filled with the images of the fight at the Gatehouse. They were trying to make me see that they were worried. I didn’t listen. They had come at me hard, but that was our way. I knew that, still I ran and hid. Like a Princess.
“Do you think she’ll be all right?”
I blinked and met Rowan’s worried gaze. “Yes. I do. Ydorus will get her safely to Estes, find your godfather at the dramas and be back here before we know it.” I laid my face against the broad span of his shoulders and wrapped my arms around his waist. His front was sizzling hot from the heat cast from the hearth. “Don’t worry. S’all good.”
Rowan snorted, his body bouncing with amusement. “Yeah, it’s a Faery tale come true.”
I’d give him that one. The weight of what we were facing washed over me. One minute I was fi
ne and the next, it felt like I might be crushed. “I wish my dad was here. Reign would cut through all this dictator bullshit before the Queen and the Strati even had time to crap their pants.”
“That’s quite an image. Tough man, is he?”
“You could say that.”
Rowan set his glass on the mantle and turned in my arms. “And what will this tough man have to say about me marrying his daughter without his permission?”
I tried to smile, but fell short. When Rowan’s face began wavering behind a wall of tears, I knew I was in trouble. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.” I swiped fast at my cheeks. “Reign was supposed to be there . . . give me away.”
Crying in earnest, Rowan laid me on the mound of pillows on the floor. He smelled like home and while the fire warmed my butt, his strong hand rubbed circles on my back.
None of this was happening like it was supposed to. I’d dreamed of finding my birth parents since I was eight. I’d planned how it would go, what they’d be like, but never, in all the variations of that daydream did my father get beheaded by my bitch Queen of a mother.
“I’m not usually such a . . . girl.”
“Don’t apologize. Members of the Noble houses rarely get to prove their substance. You’re doing me a favor by letting me comfort you.” Rowan offered me a handkerchief. “Why the tears?”
“I wanted a mother,” I sobbed, wiping my face. “Jade and Bruin used to tell Julian and me stories about their mothers and I wanted one.”
Rowan kissed the gems by my temple and whispered close to my ear. “And no matter how old you are, there’s a part of you that will always need your parents.”
I snuggled closer and laid my head on his arm for a pillow. “Rowan? If we survive . . . can we have a real wedding with our family?”
He laced his fingers with mine and pressed our joined hands against his chest. “I swear to you, if we survive this, I’ll marry you here, and in your realm, and in the Modern Realm, and with as many guests and flowers and bottles of champagne you can organize. Your father can give you away or your brothers or your friends. Whatever you want. Anything you want.”
