“You’ve seen him?” The question falls from her lips before she gives the consequences a thought.
Tuti nods. “He’s seated with the others for your arrival. Tonight celebrates your return and acknowledges Hadeon’s efforts to make that happen.”
Ariana’s breath gushes from her lungs and her shoulders roll forward. “Good.”
Tuti laughs a magical laugh, high-pitched and ethereal. “Aaah, young love.”
Ariana is led to a grand room with a table in the center, long enough to fit the hundred or so guests comfortably. The seats are filled with an array of people. There are burly, muscled men with white hair and emerald eyes; petite, fae-like women and men with creamy soft skin and bright pink hair; statuesque, curvaceous women, with their full breasts on display; breathtakingly handsome dark-skinned, dark-eyed men; and men and women who pulse with thick plumes of lust. Surreal, like all the characters in her spell book have come to life in front of her.
Hadeon and his father are seated to her left, along with other Warriors. Ariana is placed at the head of the table next to Sora and Nyklus. She doesn’t quite feel as though her position of honor, nor the attention given by all the guests, is deserved. She is an ordinary girl from an ordinary city, not someone who should ever bear the name of queen, nor have pride of place at the head of a royal table.
Despite her dreams of this type of lifestyle when she was a young girl, so much has been thrown at her during her childhood to dissuade her from ever realizing such a dream. But here she is, in an exquisite palace, dressed in a gown made of gold-spun silk…a princess. The stuff of fairy tales.
Unfortunately, so too are the dangers—the Sun Queen and her dark, desperate predators. Within these pearly walls, it is difficult to remember that an entire world of magic and evil lurks outside.
Ariana lifts her gaze to Hadeon. He is watching her, his brown eyes soft and unassuming. All his emotion is hidden behind an impenetrable cloak of unattached amiability. Her heart sings for him, so in love with this Warrior she is. He holds her gaze and those few short seconds set her alight. How will she ever be able to love another? She couldn’t. Simply thinking about it feels as though glassy splinters are needling through her flesh.
Hadeon looks away and talks with his fellow Warriors as though she is nothing to him. She knew this is how it was going to be, their true emotions hidden, but she never conceived how painful it would feel. Her chest is tight, her heart weighing heavily. Tears prick her eyes and tighten the back of her throat. She lowers her head and blinks quickly. She can’t be behaving, reacting, like this—a lovesick fool—when their love can never be.
When she lifts her head, she rolls her shoulders back and plants a smile on her face. If Hadeon can be coolly detached, then so can she. Ariana reaches for her glass of spring wine and takes a long gulp.
I can at least look detached on the outside.
Courses and courses of delicious food are laid out before them on the table—ripe, colorful splashes on white platters, along with copious carafes of sweet wine. Despite her internal dissonance, she eats her fill, her taste buds dazzled by the flavors and textures. It coats her cells and fibers with renewed life and vigor, while the wine dances with her mind, spinning it around and flipping it over. Her mood lifts a little from the wine, but also from the pulsing vibe that emanates from those around the table—a thick throng of energy and spirit.
The room buzzes with the lively chatter of hope for the future. The music floating from the harps and singers’ voices is uplifting and melodic as it reaches her ears and thrums through her body. She looks at Hadeon who is laughing with his fellow Warriors and that empty place in her heart aches.
If she could have him, she would have everything she has ever wanted. But the harshest of lessons, one she learned very early, is you can’t always get what you want, no matter how much you pray, wish, hope, or reach for it.
The dinner continues deep into the night and Ariana drinks enough wine to fill her insides from her toes to her head. Her mind is reeling, her speech slurred, and an artificial joyousness has her floating above Fiore, just like when she was riding the bees.
What is in this stuff?
Ariana glances at Hadeon. Her heart stutters and she splatters back to Fiore. He’s laughing, loud and free, with a magnificent, bare-breasted woman who has taken the seat beside him. She’s sitting much too close, her shoulder against his, her hand on his arm, her head leaning toward his.
The sight splits Ariana down the center. She sits up, rigid, heart thundering, and watches through narrowed eyes. She may be promised to another, an unknown, but until that time, Hadeon is hers. The lady leans closer and whispers with her cherry-red lips into Hadeon’s ear. He rolls his head back and laughs again.
Ariana shakes her head. It’s as though she no longer exists. Has all their time together, all his words, his proclamation that he claimed her, all been a big farce? Were his feelings ever real?
Tears swell. She starts to stand, but a hand is placed on her shoulder. She looks up to see a dark-eyed, dark-skinned, man. “Would you care to dance?” he asks, a broad smile on his face.
Ariana’s focus moves back to Hadeon who is still otherwise entertained. If that’s how it is going to be… She looks back up at the handsome man’s face and nods. “I’d love to.”
He takes her hand and helps her from her seat. “My name is Ranaulf. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Harmony.”
“You too, Ranaulf. But please call me Ariana. It’s what I’m used to. I hope you’re a good dancer because I’m afraid I wouldn’t know the steps to any dances here.”
He laughs and winks. “Don’t you worry, I’ll lead the way.”
He takes her onto the dance floor. They are the only two, so the entire dining hall is watching them. Ariana’s stomach squirms. Perhaps this isn’t such a great idea—public humiliation is really not her thing. But Ranaulf links his fingers with hers, directs her free hand to his waist, and does as he said he would—leads her effortlessly around the floor as though they have danced together a hundred times.
With the wine, melodious music, and whirling, she soon forgets about Hadeon and throws herself into the moment. Her body tingles, blood rushes, endorphins expand and climb to higher heights, and she is giggling.
The room of people laugh, clap, and cheer as Ranaulf swings her around the room, her dress swirling around her ankles, hair swaying across her back and shoulders. Then other couples join them until the floor is filled with dancing bodies and a broiling jumble of merriment. Ariana loses count of how many men she dances with—ten, twenty—each one as skilled as the last.
A tall, lean, muscled man cuts in on her current dance. His eyes are arctic blue, his hair coal black, and his skin an eggshell white. He smiles as he takes Ariana’s hand and waist. He’s breathtaking, and that pulse rolling off of him and reaching her deep inside her core makes her legs weak. He must be a Charmer.
My God. Will I ever get used to this?
As they dance, his lust pulse swirls around them, co-mingling with her own. Intoxicating. He bends to whisper in her ear, “You feel incredible. I could make love to you where we stand.”
She leans back a few inches and looks at him. Did he seriously just say that?
The corners of his lips curl and two deep dimples are etched into his cheeks. He leans in again, his lips brushing against her ear this time. “Would you like that?”
Ariana rushes a breath as his words slide in between her thighs. Her body is screaming yes, but her mind and heart say otherwise.
Hadeon.
A scuffle, a tug at her wrist, deep harsh words exchanged, and Hadeon is standing before her, chest rising and falling, his eyes menacing, darker than the midnight ocean.
Ariana swallows.
Hadeon takes her in his arms, leaving a cool distance between them, and leads her around the dance floor. He doesn’t talk, just glares. Guilt tugs at her insides, until she thinks of the bare-chested beauty snuggling agai
nst him earlier at dinner.
“So you want to acknowledge my presence now?” she asks, words clipped.
“As long as I’m not intruding, Ariana. Or would you like to finish up with Sonnig first?”
She tries to pull her hand away to slap his face, but he grips her tighter. “How dare you,” she hisses. “So it’s perfectly okay for you to laugh and flirt and get all feely with Miss Bare Breasts, but God forbid I dance with someone.”
His voice is low and harsh. “That wasn’t just dancing, Princess. He was so hard I thought he was going to split his pants trying to get to you. Your lust pulses were dripping on everyone in the room. You are mine—do you understand? Not Sonnig’s, not anyone else’s.” His voice cracks, and he looks away.
Ariana opens her mouth to spray him with her rebuttal, but then he peers at her and she can see the want and the pain in his expression and her heart wrenches. “I don’t want to be with anyone but you,” she whispers.
“Why then?”
“I can’t help what he did any more than I can control how I responded. I don’t understand what’s happening here with me, or with how I feel. This is all so new, and I’ve not been given any guidance on how to deal with it. But you have. And seeing you with that woman earlier almost broke my heart.”
“Who is this woman you’re talking about?”
“The bare-breasted one sitting beside you at dinner who you found so hilarious.”
Hadeon smiles and then laughs. “Were you jealous?”
Ariana narrows her eyes and snarls. “Stop smirking. Of course I was jealous.”
Hadeon laughs again. “She’s my sister.”
Ariana’s mouth parts. “I…didn’t realize.”
His chest rises and falls on a deep breath. He shakes his head and groans. “This is ridiculous. I can’t be behaving like this because another man danced with you.”
“I prefer this to you ignoring me.”
“It’s the only way I know how to deal with it all. I couldn’t have even imagined how difficult this would be. But watching you dance with those men. Watching you dance with Sonnig, his paws on you… He’s lucky I didn’t rip his fucking throat out.”
Ariana lowers her gaze, guilt prodding her guts again. “I’m sorry. It did get out of hand with Sonnig. You don’t deserve that. Not at all.”
He sighs. “You’re a young flower. That’s what young women do. They taste the treats before they are betrothed. And that’s your right. That’s absolutely your right as much as it was mine before I claimed you. It’s selfish of me to deny you this time in your life, especially after what you had to endure on Earth. Yes, you’re mine, but I’m certainly not yours.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t want anyone else. I’m in love with you. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
“It counts for nothing. You can think you’re in love with as many men as you want and none of that will matter once you meet your husband. I’ve seen it. There are no exceptions.”
“Can’t I stop it before it happens? I’ll be queen. Can’t I make some new law?”
“It’s like making a law to stop people from getting older. You have no control over nature.” He sighs. “I should’ve never let it come to this. No man should claim a woman who isn’t of age. Let alone a Warrior, who is supposed to be stronger than that. But damn it if you don’t make me as weak as a fragile bird when it comes to loving you. I was so lost in having you all to myself, in the passion between us. In the end, it felt like I didn’t even have a choice in the matter—as though nothing else in the world would be more important than making you mine. And look at us now. I’m sorry. Truly I am.”
He releases her from his arms and strides away, leaving her standing alone among myriad of twirling couples. She wants to run after him, but it would look too obvious. It would give them away if they haven’t done so already.
Ariana squeezes her eyes shut and tugs a trembling hand through her hair. When she looks again, Hadeon’s father is standing before her. The way his gaze invades her mind and the sheer size of him unsettles her.
“May I?” he asks in a deep, gruff voice.
She nods, yet everything is telling her to trust the fear she has for this man and back away. He takes her hand, her waist, as she does his, and they begin to move. For a rigid, fierce man, he can dance beautifully.
“I never learned your name,” she says.
“Gideon.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“My loyalty lies with Fiore and seeing the Sun Queen destroyed.”
His abrupt change of direction unnerves her. “I understand.”
His eyebrows arch high as his glare penetrates even deeper. “Do you?”
“I think so,” she answers weakly.
“Do you know that the Sun Queen murdered my wife, Hadeon’s mother?”
Ariana’s guts roils. She shakes her head. “I didn’t know that.”
“If a protection spell wasn’t on these lands and this palace—which, as of yet, the Sun Queen hasn’t been able to penetrate—do you think we’d be able to dance and drink and cavort like this?”
She shakes her head. “I didn’t know about the spell. I mean, I wondered how the palace remained untouched, but I—”
“It’s only a matter of time before she’s strong enough to break through. And when she does, we’ll have the toughest battle in Fioren history on our doorstep. I’ve already lost the person I love more than all else, I will not lose another member of my family. You, Princess, need to stop conducting your petty love games and start thinking about your duty to this land.”
Petty love games? Her veins fire with anger. “Who the hell are you to tell me my emotions are petty?”
“I’m the man who has kept these people alive, while you’ve been hidden away, sheltered from it all,” he barks, his words piercing her like a dog bite.
Sheltered?
Exasperation writhes within. She certainly hasn’t lived a sheltered life. No fucking way. “By the sounds of it, the spell is doing that. And spells are not performed by men.”
Gideon’s eyes harden, and a deep rumble sounds in his chest. The lights and chandeliers above tinkle and sway.
“I love Hadeon,” she says firmly. “I know for some reason that’s impossible for you to believe, but I do. He’s the only reason I’m here. My loyalty is with him. I would kill for him. I would die for him, and he would do the same for me. When I’m betrothed, I know with all my body and all my spirit, despite what I’m being told, that my feelings won’t change. There’s a reason he claimed me—”
Gideon gasps. “He did no such thing,” he booms, so loudly people around them turn their heads before backing away.
The trembling in her hands increases and her legs shake. Has she shared too much?
Too late now. “He did because we’re meant to be together.”
Gideon takes her wrist and drags her off the dance floor, out through large doors and into the quiet hallway. She can barely keep up with his long strides as he leads her down the hall and up a staircase. His furious breathing and her clack of shoes across the shiny, white floor is all that can be heard. Her stomach is twisting, her throat tight with fear.
“Where are you taking me?” she asks.
“You, Hadeon, and I need to have a long overdue conversation.”
They turn right at the top of the stairs to find Hadeon striding toward them, a fierce determination lining his features. He stills when he sees them. She meets his gaze, frowns, and mouths I’m sorry.
His expression doesn’t change.
“To the library now,” says Gideon, gruff and unforgiving.
Silence is maintained until they are in the vast library, the tall walls lined with shelves brimming with books. Gideon finally releases her from his stronghold and Ariana runs to Hadeon. Hadeon takes her in his arms and holds her tight against him.
She looks up into his face and frowns. “I’m sorry. I said too much.”
Hadeon kisses her
forehead and smooths his hands down her hair. “It’s not your burden to hide, Ariana.”
“No, it’s not,” says Gideon. “You claimed the future Queen of Fiore?”
Hadeon nods.
“What were you thinking?” Gideon’s question is more like a hiss than solid words.
“I was thinking that I will never love another woman like I love her!”
“But she will be married off, son. I don’t understand why you would do such a thing. What if the others find out? You’ll be labeled a fool. All your hard work gaining your position will be wasted.”
Hadeon shakes his head. “Let them label me. There are more important things at stake here than how others perceive me. I did what I thought in my heart was the right thing to do.”
Gideon’s shoulders roll forward on a long exhale. “Oh, son. What a sacrifice you’ve made. I know the heartache you’ll feel not being with the woman you love.” He looks at Ariana. “You do know, in a matter of weeks, you’ll be married and Hadeon will be but a whisper of a memory to you.”
Ariana shakes her head. “He might be the chosen match for me.”
Gideon laughs. “Princess, a Warrior hasn’t worn a crown for millennia.”
“But it’s not impossible.”
“No, not impossible, but highly improbable.” He looks at Hadeon with pity in his eyes. “You do know that, don’t you, son?”
Hadeon growls. “Of course I know that.”
“I think for the sake of this land, and for your sake, Hadeon, and for you as well, Ariana, that Hadeon should go away until after the wedding.”
“No,” Ariana says, shaking her head effusively.
Hadeon tenses. “I don’t think that’s the best option.”
“There is no option. It’s an order! We have an army stationed at Connel West. There’s a rumor the Sun Queen will be sending forces to break this stronghold within the week. You can head the campaign. You’re a Warrior, son. This is your station.”
Hadeon nods. “I understand my duties.”
“Good. You’ll leave at sunrise.”
Hadeon pulls Ariana closer as a sob bellows from her throat. “I best get prepared then.”
The Book of Spells and Such Page 19
