by Mae Doyle
“Is that so?” My heart was pounding in my chest and I hoped that he couldn’t hear it, but part of my body experienced a thrill. Why else would he want me to be here with him if he wasn’t thinking about turning me into a queen?
And what girl doesn’t want to be a queen? I dropped my gaze from his molten eyes to his gorgeous mouth and nearly fainted when the tip of his tongue darted out to lick his lips.
“Because I’ve been waiting for my fated mate. I wasn’t sure when I was going to find out, but I knew that I wouldn’t be alone forever He put his cup down and leaned forward. I followed suit, leaning to meet him.
I knew that I shouldn’t kiss him, but there was just something so delicious about him. There wasn’t any way that I wanted to pass on this opportunity. “So, how do you know that I’m your fated mate?” Our lips were just an inch from each other, maybe a centimeter.
I could feel his breath on my skin when he breathed. The campfire scent that I associated with him wasn’t as strong and overwhelming any longer. Now I could smell the chai spices on his breath, and I wanted to dive into it.
“I could smell it on you.” He leaned forward a little, obviously thinking that my lips would be there for him to meet them, but I jerked back and sat up straight.
“Excuse me? You smelled me? You probably just smelled my deodorant.” I frowned at him, thinking hard. I had put on deodorant this morning, right? I was pretty sure, but I still dipped my head and tried to take a surreptitious sniff of my armpit.
Yep. Like lavender and lilacs. Definitely not what women smell like normally, but it was a hell of a lot better than it could have been after this long-ass day. When I got home, I’d be sure to leave a good review for my deodorant company.
If I got home.
The thought hit me like a punch in the gut and I almost missed what Aruer said next.
“It’s not your fake flowers that you rub on yourself.” He wrinkled his nose a little, expressing his distaste with my deodorant. “It’s you, Emily. I smelled you the first time I met you, but Wydar and I were a little preoccupied and I couldn’t worry about it just then.”
“You couldn’t worry about it?” I scoffed at him and crossed my arms. “Doesn’t sound like you were too concerned about your fated mate getting away or having someone else snatch me up. I’m quite the catch, you know.”
That wasn’t entirely true. All of the boys in my class had looked right past me, like they couldn’t see me. They talked to me if they had to, but they never paid attention to me in that way. it was…well, it was almost like someone had cast a spell on every guy in my class, but that was ridiculous, right?
No, it was totally something that my parents would do.
I groaned and smacked my forehead.
“I couldn’t worry about it,” Aruer continued, “because Wydar happened to have a crazy thought right then and I had to get you to myself so that I could tell you what you are to me. You and I are meant to rule this realm together, Emily. We are to be the strongest force in all the realms. All creatures, humans, and other gods will bow to us.”
“All other gods?” I raised an eyebrow at him. I couldn’t deny that he was hot as hell, but sometimes he said some things that didn’t quite make any sense, like saying that I was meant to help him rule his realm. “And what happened with Wydar? I got the distinct impression that he didn’t really like me when we met.”
I was always a natural people-pleaser, and the thought that anyone, even a god as grumpy as Wydar, could not like me, was frustrating. I mean, sure, he was on earth to see my sister get killed, but he was still kind of a jerk to me.
A gorgeous, silver-haired, silver-tongued, ripped jerk.
It really wasn’t fair.
Nobody on earth looked anything like these gods.
“Wydar,” Aruer began, but he didn’t get to finish his thought before we were interrupted. The sound of hooves clopping on the stone road made us both look up. I expected to see Goreon, but I didn’t recognize the centaur running up to us.
He had long red hair that flowed out behind him as he ran, and I watched in amazement at the way his muscles twisted and bunched as he moved. “God Aruer,” he gasped out, coming to a stop in front of us, “you need to know that you have an unsanctioned visitor.”
“Who?” Aruer rose from his seated position and reached across his body to pull a huge sword from the scabbard. I hadn’t even noticed it there, and I gasped at the sound it made when he freed it and held it at his side. The sword almost seemed to sing, the sharp edge caught the sun, and I found it almost impossible to tear my eyes from it.
“It is the goddess. She used glamour to sneak past some of our newer troops who were not aware that they needed to look out for her. They will be punished,” he added, obviously seeing the dark look on Aruer’s face.
“Where is she now?” Aruer reached for me and I took his hand without thinking, standing up next to him. He laced our fingers together and squeezed. There was a pulse of energy where we touched and, if I focused enough, I could feel and read his aura.
He was worried for me, but more than that, he was pissed. Etris had come to his realm to threaten him and me, and I knew immediately that he was not going to let it go unnoticed.
“She believes that you are in the castle walls,” the centaur answered. He glanced at me, his wide brown eyes obviously full of worry. “She brought some of her creatures with her.”
Aruer winced and squeezed my hand tighter. “You need to take Emily and remove her from here. I won’t let her be a part of this, not until I know for sure that I can bind her to me.”
Bind me to him? What the hell did that mean? I turned to Aruer to ask him, but he moved faster than me, letting go of my hand and looping his arm around my waist to pull me close to him. My body pressed up against his, and even though there were multiple layers of clothing between us, I could feel the heat pouring off of him.
It was probably the same heat pouring off of me. I was soaking for him, my panties dripping wet under my dress just from the way he looked at me and how it felt to have him touch my hand.
“My dear Emily, you must go and hide. I won’t let you be privy to what is going to happen with Etris. She brings an army and she means to take you, and there’s simply no way that I can allow that to happen. Her coming uninvited to my realm like this is a blatant expression of war, and we both know what she means to do to you.”
Yeah, she meant to slice my throat and laugh as my blood flooded the floor. I felt my face pale, and even though I was still horny as hell, that feeling too backseat to fear.
Yep. I was terrified. I’d seen how easily Etris had killed my sister and how badly she’d wanted to hurt me. Even though I didn’t quite trust Aruer yet, I couldn’t deny the fact that he was the only reason that I was still alive.
“I can’t hide.” Without thinking, I lean against him, drawing power and support from him. I knew that witches could drain people of their energy and power, but I didn’t think that I could actually do that to a god. His power filled me, though, making me feel like I was invincible.
“You must.” He pulled back a bit and, before I could stop him or realize what he was doing, he kissed me, his full lips pressing into mine. I moaned into his mouth and pressed my body tighter against his without even realizing what I was doing. He reached up and forked his hand through my hair, fisting it so that he had more control over me and our kiss.
Dammit, I kissed him back. I knew better than to kiss a god, especially one claiming to be my fated mate, but my entire body was screaming for me to do just that. I couldn’t help the fact that his hands on me felt amazing and that the kiss was the only thing to tame the ache between my legs.
Well, actually, it made it worse. Aruer pulled back from me and I leaned forward, not wanting to let him go. I didn’t want him to stop kissing me, but he sighed and then grabbed my hip, pushing me away from him.
“Listen, Emily. You don’t have to believe me, but you sure as hell can’t come
when I’m dealing with Etris. There’s no way that I’m going to let you put yourself in danger like that.”
He paused, like there was something else that he wanted to say, but before he could say another word, the temperature around us dropped.
It had been lovely out, like a comfortable fall afternoon, but a sharp wind blew around us, lifting my hair. I turned my head and sniffed.
Flowers. But not my deodorant.
“Fuck.” Aruer looked at the centaur. “You need to take her. Now.”
The centaur reached for me, but I raised a hand, electricity sparkling at my fingertips. “I’m not going with you,” I warned him. “I’m staying here, with Aruer. No offense.”
The centaur eyed my fingertips and the blue light crackling and flashing as I turned my hand in the air. I’d seen my parents do this a thousand times, but actually conjuring the magic and the energy myself was completely different.
It was addictive. Gone was the throbbing between my legs. It was replaced by a heady feeling as electricity coursed through my body. My cells were all vibrating, and I could feel all of the energy stored up in my body coming to a head.
“You are infuriating.” Aruer grabbed my wrist and yanked me to him, extinguishing my sparks as he did. “Keep your mouth shut and try not to piss her off any more than she already is. Remember that she’s here for blood. Your blood.”
“I’m aware.” There’s more that I wanted to say to Aruer, but I didn’t get the chance. Over his shoulder I saw a druid walking towards us and my stomach sank. Druids. Elves. Fairies. They all lived in Etris’ realm and served her.
Maybe I should have run.
“I can protect you,” Aruer whispered, drawing my attention back to his face, “but you have to promise me that you won’t do anything stupid.”
“I promise,” I lied.
Etris killed my sister and was the one reason that I wasn’t home with my parents. Aruer may not have thought that I could handle myself, but he hadn’t felt the energy and power coursing through me. There wasn’t any way that I was going to just sit back and let this bitch walk all over me.
Chapter 10
“Oh, Aruer, you brought me my little sacrifice.” Etris was surrounded by her creatures. Fairies with sparkling wings of blue and pink fluttered near her head. Although they looked cute and friendly, I knew from stories that my parents had told that they actually had razor-sharp teeth and were willing to attack anyone who insulted them.
And elves? Fuck them. Fast, almost too fast, with uncanny aim with their bow and arrows. They melted into the forest when hunting and took it personally if you did anything to harm the earth. I wasn’t sure if I was more worried about them or the druids, especially after seeing how easily the druids commanded and controlled all of the plants in the church this morning.
Hell, they didn’t just control the things. They grew them, causing vines to drop down from the ceiling and twist up from the ground from. There was some heavy magic here, considering all of her creatures, and I suddenly realized that I was really out of my element.
“You can’t have her, Etris. You had your sacrifice, and it’s your own damn fault that you snapped her neck and didn’t spill her blood.” Aruer didn’t move, but I felt his aura change. It extended out to me, lapping gently at me.
He was trying to make sure that I wasn’t upset.
“Oh, I’m going to take her.” Etris’ voice was bright and clear. She wasn’t filled with rage like she had been in the church, but this was even more terrifying. This meant that she was able to think clearly and had a plan in mind.
“You and your fairies?” Aruer scoffed and leaned back his head to whistle. The sound was sharp and cut through the crisp air. I looked around nervously, but nothing happened at first.
And then everything happened all at once. More centaurs appeared at our sides, seemingly coming out of nowhere. I didn’t know that they were around, but they must have been watching us. They all had smooth coats and broad chests, and wore weapons at their sides.
Smaller creatures were behind them. I recognized them as hobbits. They were supposed to be plucky little things, even though they weren’t terribly strong, and I was a little surprised that Aruer would call on them for battle.
Then I noticed that Aruer hadn’t gotten rid of his sword. He held it lightly, like he wasn’t sure that he wanted to use it, but there were magic ties binding it to his wrist. He didn’t even have to hold onto it to keep it near him. It wasn’t going to fall free from his grasp.
Along with the centaurs, a few figures with long dark cloaks walked towards us. They all had their hoods up, making it impossible to see their faces, but I felt the energy that they brought with them.
I’d always heard that one of the gods had witches living in his realm, but I never knew which one it was. Now I did. Aruer’s witches were supposed to be the most powerful living. They drew power not only from him, but also from his realm, giving them mastery over all of their elements.
The air practically crackled with energy as Etris and Aruer faced off.
“Just come here, child, and let me end you. It’s the only way for this to go.” She was ignoring Aruer and looking right at me, but she didn’t scare me. Not anymore.
“Not a chance, bitch,” I shot back. My magic was puny compared to the witches around me, but their presence only gave me hope that I could survive this. “You can just take your fairies, your druids, and your elves, and go back to hell. That’s your realm, right?”
She laughed, throwing her head back. “You’re a sassy little witch, aren’t you? What, did Aruer feed you some bullshit to make you want to stay with him? Everyone knows that fated mates are a load of crap that gods tell humans to get them to spread their pretty little legs.”
She cocked her head to one side while she waited to see what I would say to her. I wanted to turn and look at Aruer, wanted more than anything to ask him if she was serious, but I couldn’t let her know that she got to me.
Did I think that fated mates were ridiculous? Hell, yeah.
But did I think that there was possibly something there when Aruer and I kissed? Well, my sex between my legs certainly did.
“Leave.” I decided to channel my anger towards her. Aruer and I would have to talk before there was any more kissing, but in order to do that, I had to survive Etris. “You’re not welcome, and you really bring down the value of the real estate around here, you know that?”
She growled, baring her perfect white teeth at me. That didn’t scare me, but the fluttering around her head as the fairies she’d brought with her bared theirs definitely got my attention.
It’s not like I could see their teeth from this far away, but I didn’t need to. I’d heard stories and seen pictures and knew that their mouths, though impossibly tiny, were absolutely packed with razor-sharp teeth that were pointed like needles.
Evil little things, and it was really no wonder that they would choose to align themselves with Etris.
“Stop. Let me handle her.” Aruer reached out for my arm, but I shook off his hand.
“No, she killed Sara.” Before I realized what I was doing, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, focusing all of my energy into my hands. I felt the air around me start to crackle and my hair lifted up from around my shoulders. The energy in my hands formed into a ball, much like it had before when I’d made light in the dark stairs, but this wasn’t glowing bright to show me the way.
It was bright blue, and pulsed, and felt hot and overwhelmingly heavy in my hands, even though I wasn’t actually touching it. I looked up at Etris, who was watching me with her head cocked lightly to the side, then stepped forward, throwing the ball of blue energy at her at the same time.
It hurtled straight towards her, and at first, I really thought that I was going to be able to hit her with it. If I could just hit her in the chest or stun her then I’d be able to attack.
I could kill the goddess who murdered my sister.
Yeah, what the hell
was I thinking? Etris merely waved a hand in the air, like she was bored, and my blue orb dissipated immediately, the energy breaking apart and floating uselessly up to the sky.
“That’s what you think can take me down?” She mocked me, wrinkling her nose at me. “You do realize, Emily, that all of your power comes from us, right? Why in the world do you think that you could defeat me?”
She lunged forward suddenly and I gasped as something jerked tight around my neck, yanking me up into the air. My toes were far above the ground new, and I struggled against the invisible force slowly choking me. I couldn’t see it, and I certainly couldn’t grab it to pull it away from my neck. It was just there, and as she stared, it squeezed tighter.
“That’s enough!” Aruer shouted, and a flash of light spun out from his open hand, hitting Etris and knocking her back a few feet. The choking sensation immediately stopped and I gasped as I dropped to the ground.
Hands were on me instantly, helping me to my feet, and three centaurs guarded me with their bodies to move me away from the fray.
“We have to get you out of here,” one of them said, his forehead creased with concern. “Aruer won’t want you anywhere near the rest of this battle, Emily.”
“You can’t take me!” I struggled against them, but they were impossibly strong and kept herding me away from my god.
My god.
Where the hell did that thought come from? It almost made me laugh that I would suddenly decide that I had any claim on him, but there wasn’t time for it. I had barely caught my breath and was being forced away from Aruer and Etris at a run.
Other centaurs pushed past us, not turning to guide us away from the battle, but raising their arms over their heads and shouting as they ran to it.
We reached the edge of the gardens where Aruer and I had been sitting. “Just let me look!” I screamed, twisting around so that I could look past the centaurs.
I couldn’t see Etris or Aruer. They were surrounded by too many of their creatures, but I could see the bright flashes of magic that whirred and whizzed through the sky as they clashed. Huge booms of thunder broke out over the battle, and I hid my face at one particularly bright blast of light.
