by Ann Bakshis
“And why not?” Aliza asks as loudly as she can without waking Ore.
“I don’t know how,” I reply, ashamed to admit it. “I’m not even sure if she wants me to now, given how I’ve treated her since she returned.”
“Then ask,” Ore chimes in.
Aliza moves from the bed. “I’ll let you two talk in private,” she says, then takes her leave.
“Do you hate me?” Ore asks after a few minutes of silence passes.
“What makes you think that?” I ask, sitting beside her, astonished by the question.
“You’ve barely talked to me since Argus and Verna brought me back to Latrest and you won’t even look at me,” she replies. “It’s no secret what Lycus has done, so I don’t blame you for reacting like you did. Just don’t shut me out completely… not yet, anyway.”
“Don’t say things like that,” I say, pulling her into my arms. “I’m sorry about how my temperament made you feel. It’s just that I’m so livid that I needed to take my anger out on someone, and unfortunately it was you. Ore, I love you more than anything and I always will.”
“Please don’t leave me,” she utters, and begins to shake.
I pull the covers over the two of us and hold her as tight as possible. “Never,” I reply.
Within a few minutes she’s asleep, her head on my chest. It’s at this moment I realize how lost Caster must be feeling without Elizabeth. I never want to suffer such pain, so I begin making plans to ensure that doesn’t happen.
The following morning at breakfast, I pull Henry aside and discuss my idea with him as I’m going to need his help to pull it off. He smiles with pride, then disappears down into the kitchen, which is one floor below, to begin making the arrangements. I employ Aliza’s help by sending her out to the dressmaker where Ore obtained her gown for the ball since the woman should still have her measurements on record. I tell Aliza what to look for, but she cuts me off, saying she has more experience in this than I do, so I hand the decision making over to her. Next is Caster. He’s the same size my father used to be, so it’s not difficult locating a suit that fits him. He’s glad I’m taking his words to heart and goes into town to purchase a few things per my request. Argus makes sure the guards are informed as to what’s about to transpire so they make sure we’re not disturbed, then he gets the cathedral ready. During this time, Ore has remained in her room as she’s still recovering, and I don’t think she’s ready to be around people as of yet, other than me, but that’s going to have to change in a matter of hours.
When Aliza returns, she takes the garment and her sewing kit and heads up to Ore’s room with the pretext that I thought she’d feel better having a new gown to replace the ruined one. Henry gets my father ready while Caster retrieves Ore’s medallion from her quiver, and I attach the one for Pelheim to its chain. He helps me dress in the same outfit I wore for my coronation, then slips his purchases from town into my coat pocket along with the necklace. When Argus arrives, we make our way to the cathedral then send Henry to retrieve Aliza and Ore.
I stand nervously at the altar with Argus beside me since Caster is standing by the entrance. The priest beside us smiles when I glance at him and reassures me it’ll all be fine. The creaking of the front doors being opened causes my heart to race. Ore is in the middle of a conversation with Aliza when she stops. Caster extends his arm and tears spring from her eyes immediately as does a smile across her face. Henry and Aliza walk behind them to act as witnesses to our union.
Caster passes Ore’s hand to me, then steps next to Argus. The love in her eyes makes my soul melt. The priest begins, and when the time comes, I remove the rings Caster placed into my pocket. I hand her the one for me, then we exchange them, slipping them onto each other’s fingers signifying our never-ending commitment to each other. She trembles with excitement and tears well up in her eyes. She kisses me hard and I surrender my soul to her. Next, I bestow the necklace upon her, showing the addition of the Pelheim medallion indicating she’s my queen for life. I put it around her neck, the priest says a few more words, and we’re married.
Everyone congratulates us and I notice Ore is beaming with happiness. She’s never looked more beautiful. We retreat to the castle for a small private dinner in the dining room. As the night slowly progresses, I take my new bride up to the room we’ll be sharing for the rest of our lives. She smiles as I lean in to kiss her and the intense heat I felt in the hunting lodge returns. Neither one of us can undress fast enough. When I have her naked on the bed, she moans with delight from my touch. I brush her hair from her face and am staring into her enchanting eyes when I notice something odd.
“Your eyes don’t look as green as they did before,” I comment as her fingers run up and down my spine. “There looks to be almost a hint of brown to them now.”
“It’s probably just the lighting,” she says. “Or you’re tired, but I hope not too tired.”
She rolls me onto my back and straddles me. We meld together as if we’ve never been apart and I want nothing more than to stay in this moment forever. I sit up with her wrapped around my waist and whisper in her ear how much I love her. She kisses me hard in return, then arches her back as I go to nuzzle her breasts. Our lovemaking goes on for what seems like hours before we finally tire and fall asleep.
When I wake the next morning, Ore is gone. I begin to panic and am about to get out of bed to go searching for her when I sense eyes on me, but I can’t tell from where since I’m the only one in the room. I retrieve a dagger I keep in the drawer of the nightstand beside the bed and hold it firmly in my grip as I take hold of the covers to toss them off me.
“Do you intend on using that?” a sensuous female voice asks.
I roll over and notice a young woman lying where Ore had been. Her long vibrant red hair barely covers her exposed breasts as she stretches out beside me, completely naked. She moistens her full red lips with her enticing tongue then reaches for the dagger and pricks her finger on the tip, causing a small drop of blood to form. She puts her finger in her mouth and sucks on it while reaching for me with her other hand. I want to move away from her, but I’m finding it difficult to do because I’m so transfixed by her beauty.
“Who are you?” I ask, finally regaining my senses and placing the weapon against her chest between her succulent breasts.
“Who do you want me to be?” she asks seductively. “I can be anyone you’ve ever dreamed of, my king.”
I begin to sweat with heightening anticipation, so I have to shake my head to clear it. “What did you do with Ore?” I ask.
“She’s currently being tended to by her soulmate,” the woman replies. “I have needs that require attending too, Evander. Please take care of them.”
She moves her body over mine, pushes me flat against the bed, and I’m too in shock to react. Her hand removes the dagger and drops it on the floor as she positions herself over my groin then guides me inside her. I feel repulsed by her touch and begin to fight her off, but she’s surprisingly powerful. She moans loudly as she moves my hands onto her breasts, and I start to lose myself in the warmth of her skin. I regain my control and recoil at her efforts, finally managing to free myself. She cackles as she kneels on the bed, begging like a dog while I get onto the floor to reclaim the dagger.
“Who the hell are you?” I ask as I hold the weapon firmly in my grasp and stand, but not at a great distance.
The woman leans her cheek against the cool steel blade before answering. “Your rightful queen,” she hisses, then stands.
I begin to retreat as she slowly approaches.
“I’m all yours until the end of time, Evander,” she says, licking her lips. “Or until you wake up.”
“What?” I ask, confused.
She’s quick on her feet and has me pinned against the wall before I have time to react. Her fingers wrap around my throat while her sharp nails begin to dig into my skin.
“This is only a dream, my dear boy, but I’m more than willing to make
it a reality if you’ll let me,” she whispers in my ear. “Please let me.”
Her mouth moves to mine, and she kisses me, but all I feel is coldness. The light in the room starts to fade as her grip around my throat tightens. I claw at her hands while she continues to shove her tongue down my throat causing me to choke on it and everything goes dark.
Nineteen
Lycus
I’m sitting behind the desk in the library, going over which kingdom I’ll attack after Pelheim while Welland has gone to bed since it’s quite late. Lomance is my first choice as they don’t have much in the way of defenses, from what my spy in their castle has been able to inform me. It shouldn’t be too difficult to seduce the queen, though I have no intention of fucking her. My body belongs to Ore as hers belongs to me—regardless of what Evander may think and feel now that she’s back with him. I smile as ideas of how to dispatch with him roll around in my head and how Ore and I will celebrate our accomplishment when I sense someone has joined me.
“I thought I told you to stay in your room,” I chide my intruder as I continue to study the map.
“I’ve been stuck up there too long. I needed some entertainment.”
“What did you do?” I ask, raising my eyes to meet hers.
“Nothing that you’re not about to do shortly.”
“I told you to leave him alone for the time being. We can’t risk them finding out about you.”
“Who are you so afraid of discovering my existence?” she asks, sitting in the chair across from me, setting her long legs on the edge of the desk. At the moment, I’m just grateful she came down dressed. It wouldn’t surprise me if she wasn’t a she’s done it before and no matter how much it makes me uncomfortable she simply laughs at my complaints.
“Caster,” I reply.
“I’d never expose myself to him,” she says, laughing. “That asshole isn’t worth my time.”
“No, but if you torment Evander again, he might divulge what he’s seeing to Caster and then you’d be found out,” I retort. “We can’t afford to have that happen until it’s time.”
“I wouldn’t say I tormented the boy, but rather showed him what having a real woman feels like. And I must say he enjoyed it tremendously.”
“Oh, yes, that’s much better,” I say sarcastically, glaring at her.
“Don’t give me that look. You’re about to do the same to Honora.”
“It’s different for me because she’s my wife, unlike Evander who’s just a toy to you.”
“When are you going to remember that I’m a sexual being that has needs?” she asks, sounding wounded. “I haven’t been able to fulfill my desires in quite a while, since you won’t let me leave this damn castle.”
“You know why you can’t,” I say, growing angrier by the second. “Too many villagers would recognize you, and how would I explain your presence to them?”
“You’re creative,” she says as she moves to sit on the desk, then drags her fingers down my cheek as I gaze up into her deep brown eyes. Her face hasn’t changed in all these years, but that’s because a woman like her never ages. She still looks like a ravishing twenty-year-old, including the firm body and plump lips. “You’d think of something.”
“Don’t ruin this for us, or you’ll be stuck here until you can find another sap to marry you and bear you a child,” I say, pushing her hand away.
My mother looks hurt by my words, so she sinks back into her chair. “That’s what I have you for, Lycus,” she scolds. “If it just hadn’t taken you so long to get this plan of yours moving, I’d be free from these confines and have my pick of lovers.”
“I needed everything to be in the right place, which included Honora. If I’d done it sooner, we would’ve been too young, and it would’ve fallen apart rapidly. Now, there isn’t a chance that this won’t succeed.”
“I still can’t believe you actually fell for that harlot and willingly married her,” she hisses. “You’re just like your father in that regard. You both have the same taste in women.”
“And it doesn’t bother you that she’s my sister?”
“Half-sister, and no I don’t care about that. I just want to return home and if you have to fuck her to your heart’s content to ensure that happens, then do it.”
“That’s my intention,” I say, smiling. “Now, go back to your room before one of the guards catches you. I can’t explain a supposedly dead woman wandering the halls.”
She kisses me full on the lips, then retreats through the open door behind one of the bookcases that’ll take her back up to the tower she’s been living in for the past seventeen years, closing the door behind her. Kerron and Gregor were foolish in thinking a woman like her could be killed by a simple cut of the throat. It takes a lot more than that to kill our kind, though I’m only partially one because of my human father, but still I won’t befall easily. And neither will Ore when she discovers her true ancestral roots.
It’s one of the things that makes us perfect for each other.
I finish up then head to my room where I strip down to nothing and lie on top of the covers since I need to be naked in order for this to work. This will be my first time pulling Ore into a dream walk with me. I’ve done this with a few of the whores in the village, but that was simply practice. It’s also another reason I needed to bed her when I did—so I could make the connection between us. Marrying her was just an added bonus that I couldn’t let slip through my fingers.
My mother has been doing this type of transitioning a lot longer than I have, so she doesn’t need to worry about such trivial things as physically connecting with her specimen before messing with their mind. Which is how she was able to seduce Evander like she did. I wish Moyra waited until Ore was back here in the safety of Longemere Castle before she acted so carelessly. Her little move could cause us trouble if the truth about me is ever revealed to Ore before I’m ready for her to know. She may not look at me the same, and since I’m not close to her to explain everything she might turn on me, and I can’t allow that to happen.
I close my eyes and travel mentally until my mind finds hers. She’s asleep beside Evander, her naked body pressed against his. Fury fills me immediately as this is a clear display of contempt and dishonor by her towards our marriage, and me. I took it easy on her throat when she was first succumbing, but now she’ll definitely feel my wrath when I confront her about this. However, I can’t do that now since it’ll waste too much of my limited powers. If I was as powerful as Moyra, I’d kill Evander now and torment Ore until she begged for death, which I wouldn’t permit to happen. But I’m not, which is another reason why I need to get that damn gate open. Perhaps I’ll make her suffer just a little bit of distress now, to at least put her on her guard.
I clear her mind then join her in the bedchamber with Evander no longer around. She’ll think she’s awake the whole time, which is one of the benefits of being able to seduce someone in this manner. They can’t tell reality from fiction. I lie beside her in bed, wrapping my arms around her. She nuzzles close to me, probably believing I’m Evander. Her smell is intoxicating, and I’m immediately aroused. I want nothing more than to have her right now, but I have to play this little scenario out before I can fulfill my evening.
I start first by caressing her bare back with the tips of my fingers. She shivers in delight and lets out a delicate sigh. Her breath tickles me, and I instantly want more, but I need to control myself if this little ploy of mine is to work, though it’s proving difficult.
I gently roll her onto her back and notice the Geron medallion dangling from a silver chain around her neck, a Pelheim medallion nestled with it. At least she was able to complete that part of our plan, and rather quickly, which both surprises and bothers me. Her breathing quickens as our lips touch. She wraps her arms around me and pulls me closer as the intensity between us increases.
She doesn’t even open her eyes as she lets me in. Her back arches with our slow rhythmic motions and I feel myself reach
ing my peak before I intend to. I just need her so badly that I succumb to her flesh. I begin to nuzzle her chest, which makes her groan. I find myself nipping her, then biting her. She flinches and tries to push me away. I grab her hands and hold them above her head as the sensations between us ignites and I begin to lose all sense of self.
“Evan, you’re hurting me,” she cries.
“I need you, Honora,” I whisper in her ear as the bed begins to rock.
Her eyes fly open at the sound of my voice. The terror in them causes me to erupt with joy. Sweat soaks our bodies as I continue to hold onto her hands and linger inside her for as long as possible.
“How… where’s Evan?” she asks, trembling.
“He’s around somewhere,” I say as I go to nuzzle her neck. “But right now, it’s just us. Come back to me, Love. I burn for you.”
“Lycus, how are you doing this?” she asks as my grip on her arms tightens. “I know you’re not really here, so tell me what you did.”
“Why, sister?” I ask as my lips brush hers and our eyes lock. “Are you afraid I saw you with Evander naked beside you? That I’ve discovered your betrayal to our vows even though I told you not to sleep with him? Are you weaker than I thought? Do I need to remind you what happens to those who betray me?”
“No,” she moans as I pursue my efforts with her. She arches her back as her legs tighten around me, holding me in place. “Come get me before I fail again. I need you, brother… desperately.”
“In time, my wife,” I reply, then sigh heavily as our time together reaches its climax. The satisfied look on her face assures me she won’t stray again. “I’ll be along in a few days, so be good until then.”
I end her dream and mentally return to my bedchamber, where the blanket I’m lying on is drenched. I knew that was going to happen, which is why I chose to stay on top of the covers. I don’t bother cleaning myself off since I want to revel our moment together, so I get under the sheets and fall immediately to sleep.
