by Mae Doyle
And now there were three of them vying for me?
“These are really people who live in your realm?” I asked, looking closer at the snow globe. It was impossible to make out the features of any of the figures walking around, but it was easy to see that they were really moving like real people.
“Our realm,” Wydar corrected gently, but before he could say anything else, Suros interrupted.
“Do not think that he was the only one to bring you a gift, Emily,” he said, his booming voice cutting through the air. “I brought you something from our summer realm, where you will never have to worry about being cold all the time like you would in winter. Besides,” he added, letting his eyes roam over my body, “the last thing that we want to do is hide your beautiful self under layers of fur.”
“I’d give her an enchantment,” Wydar snapped, “so that she didn’t have to worry about being cold and could wear whatever she wanted, but go ahead, Summer God, show her what little trinket you brought for her to remember you by when she’s home with me.”
Suros ignored him, his churning eyes locked on me. “I think that you will like this, Emily. When I saw you today, I knew that I had to give you something that would show you just how welcome you are in our realm and remind you that you belong with me. There. In Summer.”
Part of me expected another snow globe, even though that was ridiculous, so I was surprised when Suros dropped a thin chain into my hand. It was warm to the touch and slipped through my fingers easily. At the end of the chain something hung down, and I grabbed it eagerly, lifting it up to see what it was.
It was a key. A tiny, perfect key, that almost reminded me of one that I had on a journal when I was younger. That key was damn near useless, as Sara had quickly learned how to get the lock on my journal open without it, but this key felt different.
For starters, it glowed, which was something that I didn’t think I’d ever seen before with a key. It was made of gold, I was sure of that, but as I looked closer at it, the gold color faded away and was replaced by a deep blue. That faded, too, and they was suddenly a dark purple.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said, completely unable to tear my eyes away from it long enough to look up at Suros. I’d never seen anything change colors like that before. It was like a mood ring from my childhood, but a hell of a lot cooler. “But what does it open? It’s so tiny.”
“It’s a key to his heart,” joked Aruer.
“Or his dick.” Wydar sounded completely serious, but I ignored him. Having men fight over me was something strange, but I was sure that I could get used to it eventually.
“It will grow when you’re closer to our realm,” Suros explained patiently. “This key will not only let you into the realm, but it will change so that you can open any door in it. You will never be locked out of any place, and you’ll never have to use your magic to open anything. You belong with me, Emily, and this key ensures that you and everyone else knows it.”
It was lovely, and as I looked down at it, I felt tears well up in my eyes. I’d never had gifts like this, but I couldn’t accept them.
“You are all wrong,” I told them, shaking my head. The snow globe and the key suddenly felt heavy in my hand and I reached out to give them back, but neither of the gods would take them. I noticed that Aruer was watching me closely, and I realized that he was probably trying to figure out where he stood.
They all wanted to know where they stood with me, but honestly, I didn’t know.
My parents were at risk of being attacked or killed by Etris. I was however far away from home in a realm having three gods fight over me. My sister had just been murdered. Etris wanted to kill me.
I was exhausted.
“I have something for you.” Aruer was holding a bandage to his face, and after he spoke, he lifted it down. I had no idea what kind of poultice or medication that Goreon had made him, but his cut already looked like it was healing.
“I can’t take it from you right now.” The look on Aruer’s face almost killed me to say that to him, but I needed my rest. “I’m sorry, but this? This is too much.” The chain almost slipped from my fingers as I turn and walked away from them, but I managed to grab it at the last second.
“We’ll be waiting on you,” Suros called out, but I ignored him.
“Just let us know, Emily, which realm you want to rule.” That was Wydar, but I ignored him too.
“Your bed is ready for you, my dear,” Aruer called. “Goreon will show you back up to the tower.” That one made me slow down and I glanced over my shoulder at him, giving him a soft smile. He waved his hand in the air and I felt my hair lift a little as the spell whooshed past me.
I didn’t know what the spell was, but at least he wasn’t trying to beg me to stay right now.
Like magic, Goreon appeared at my side. “To the tower?” He asked, and when I nodded, he gestured to the left, helping to guide me. “What do you need, Emily? Food? Chai?”
“Just rest,” I told him.
I needed to rest because I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do now.
Chapter 13
My room in the tower didn’t look anything like it had when I left it. Aruer had performed a spell before I came up here, and it was immediately obvious to me that he’d done something to my room.
Well, several somethings. To start, the heavy tapestries were no longer hanging on the walls. Just as Goreon had said, there was a huge fireplace set in one of the walls. At first, I was disappointed to find that it wasn’t putting off any heat, but I thought hard, flicked my wrist, and the flames roared higher, releasing wonderful warmth into my room.
Goreon raised his eyebrows at that but didn’t say anything. “Do you need anything, Emily? Or shall I leave you?”
“Thanks, Goreon, I’m good. I’ll see you later, okay?” I couldn’t wait to see what other things I could do or that I would find. The tapestries had also hidden mirrors and alcoves. I took my time walking around the room, peeking in each of them. Amazing art filled the alcoves, tiny sculptures and paintings, all depicting different autumn scenes.
But there was one big thing in the room that I totally missed at first. As soon as my eyes fell on it, I gasped. Aruer had given me a tree.
It wasn’t just any tree. Its highest branches brushed the ceiling and it spread out over my bed, creating a canopy of different fall colors. The leaves were all orange, red, yellow, and brown, all turning and changing colors like a fall tree in fast forward.
The leaves were practically dripping from the loaded branches, almost shimmering with magic as they twisted and turned in the breeze from the open windows. It was gorgeous, but then it did something that made me realize just how special this tree really was.
As I watched, bright leaves fell softly to the floor around the bed. They were replaced on the tree with more leaves, the cycle continuing as leaves changed colors and fell. It was living art, and it was mine. The spent leaves carpeted the ground and the bed for a moment before disappearing. My exhaustion forgotten, I went and stood under the tree, enjoying how the leaves fluttered around me.
They crunched under my feet, which was one of my favorite things about fall.
“Do you like it?” Aruer’s voice shocked me and I spun around to face him. He was peeking in the door, his gorgeous face lit up and expectant as he waited on my answer. “I thought that you would enjoy it. Trees with their autumn leaves are the only things in my realm that are half as beautiful as you are.”
“I love it,” I told him, and I meant it. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s just…it’s perfect.”
He inclined his head slightly. “It’s my gift to you, Emily. You belong here as a ruler of this realm and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that you finally understand that. You are my fated mate, and that means that I’m going to do anything and everything to not only keep you happy and safe, but make sure that you love it here. Our people deserve a good ruler. I am their god, and they will love you.”
My mouth fell open and I didn’t know what to say. Aruer was just so confident that I would be his and that I would live with him in his realm that it didn’t seem to occur to him that I would choose to leave for the Winter or Summer realms.
“I’ll leave you to rest.” He turned away, his hand on the door to pull it shut behind him, but I spoke out, stopping him in his tracks.
“Thank you, Aruer. I do love it. And I appreciate how kind you’re being to me.” I appreciated how it felt to kiss him, and I wanted to do that again, but I needed to rest, and if I confessed that to him, then I knew that I wouldn’t be getting any sleep.
He must have seen the hesitation on my face, because he paused a moment longer before answering me. “Anything you need, Emily, and I will make it happen. I want you to be happy and safe, and while I know that you want to go home to your parents, I can’t guarantee your safety if you’re not with me. Etris is determined to have you for her own, and I need you to trust me.”
This morning all I knew about gods and the goddess was that they wanted to kill my sister as a part of the blood pact that my ancestors made with them and, quite honestly, I hated them for that. I hated that they were willing to kill my sister for their own sick pleasures.
But that had all changed. I dropped my gaze from Aruer’s face down his body and bit my lower lip. It would have been so easy to invite him in, but I knew that doing that was a terrible idea.
“How should I find you when I’m done sleeping?” Exhaustion threatened to hit me full force if I didn’t go lay down right away, and I didn’t want to be rude, but I had to get some rest.
“Just think about me. You can send your aura out and I’ll be feeling for it, Emily. You forget that you’re my fated mate, which means that I’m always going to be able to feel and hear you. Anything you need, I’ll know. When you call me, I’m here.”
I nodded, but inside, I felt my stomach twist. That sounded great, but if what he was saying was true, then there were three fated mates who were going to be listening out for me.
Three gods who wanted me to choose them.
Aruer shut the door without another word and I collapsed on the bed. Changing out of my dress would have made me a lot more comfortable, but I was so exhausted that there wasn’t anything really that would keep me awake for much longer.
***
By the time I woke back up my eyes were still so tired that they felt glued shut. How long had I been asleep? Hours? Days? It was definitely possibly the next day. I’d lost all track of time and had no idea when it really was. My sister was killed this morning? Yesterday? The day before? Time in the realms moved differently than it did at home, and I was feeling lost.
Groaning, I sat up and rubbed my eyes. The room had gotten hotter than I meant it to, and I waved my hand at the fire, making it instantly cooler in the room.
Okay. I may not have known how to do a lot of things, but at least I could handle keeping the room a comfortable temperature without a lot of problems. My dress was sticking to me when I moved, and I felt hot and sweaty. A shower and a change of clothes were exactly what I needed to make me feel like a human again, but I wasn’t sure where to get those.
Aruer had told me that I could reach out for him when I needed him, so I pictured him in my mind. I’d only had my full witch powers for a few hours, so I wasn’t sure that I was doing it correctly, but a loud pop behind me startled me, and when I turned around, Aruer was standing there.
He grinned at me, his smile splitting his gorgeous face. “You called, Emily? What can I do for you?”
I don’t know why, but I blushed. “I could use a shower. Or a bath, I guess, and something clean to wear. Is that okay? Can I do that?”
He nodded. “You’re to be one of the rulers of this realm, my dear. You can do whatever you want. Come with me and I’ll show you where you need to go.”
I hesitated at first, not really sure if I smelled or what, but Aruer didn’t seem to mind the fact that I was a little sweaty. He extended his arm for me and I slipped my hand through it, grinning as he pulled me close to him.
Even though layers of clothing, I could feel his muscular body twisting as we walked together. He smelled amazing, as usual, and I leaned my head on his shoulder as we walked.
“Did you and the other gods get things worked out?”
Aruer chuckled. “Over you? Not a chance, dear, but they know that since they’re all in my realm that they need to play nicely. They’ve moved in, apparently, wanting to make sure that you have the chance to get to know everyone before you make your choice. But I’m sure that you’ll make the right one.”
“And that would be?”
“Me, of course. You’re meant to be the ruler of the Autumn realm with me, and don’t let anyone try to tell you differently.” Aruer sounded so convinced of this, like it was a fact that I just needed to accept, that I could feel myself believing him.
I’d never felt this way for a man before. Never felt the physical draw of wanting to be near one, never felt like my body was going to explode if I didn’t have them touch me.
The crazy thing was that I was feeling that way for three different men. My heart ached at the thought of having to choose just one of them and leaving two of them behind even as flames licked up my inner core and I felt myself growing wet. I wished that I could call my mom and talk to her about what was going on, but I could only imagine just how that conversation would go.
Hey, mom, you know the three gods that were there when Sara was killed? Yeah? Well, I think that I’m in love with them. All of them. Well, maybe not love, I’m not sure, but I know that I want them. Like that. Yeah. What do you think?
I shook my head, grateful that Aruer couldn’t read my mind. If he knew what I was thinking about him, Suros, and Wydar, then he probably wouldn’t take it very well. Besides, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy who was going to be a good sharer.
And, right then, I wasn’t really sure that I was going to be able to choose which god I wanted to live with. Scratch that. They didn’t want me to just live with them. They wanted me to be with them, and there wasn’t any way that I could choose between the three of them, no matter what they said or thought about us being fated mates.
Seriously, though. There wasn’t any way that I was actually a fated mate with three different guys, right? It was easily the most ridiculous thing that I’d ever thought. Things must have just worked differently in the realms than they did back at home.
Aruer stopped walking and I snapped out of my thoughts. I hadn’t paid attention as we made our way down the staircase and through this corridor. Just like in other parts of the castle, there were giant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling giving off plenty of light. Huge plush rugs made of autumn leaves were on the floor, silencing our footsteps.
“The bathroom. You may take as much time as you need, Emily, and I imagine that you’ll find everything to your satisfaction. I had some clothes made for you, but if they’re not to your liking then we can change them, of course.”
“Thanks, Aruer. I’m sure that everything will be fine. I just have to get out of this.” Absentmindedly, I reached down and plucked at my dress. It was filthy and grimy, a far cry from the beautiful gold dress that I’d put on before the ceremony.
“Then I’ll leave you to it. Just reach out for me if you need me, or if you want to take some time to yourself, feel free to wander around. Everyone here knows who you are, and nobody is going to touch you, okay?”
I smiled at him and Aruer leaned forward, kissing me on the cheek. There was a hot, burning energy that transferred between the two of us and I gasped, reaching up my fingers to press them against the spot. His eyes were melting, molten and hot, and he locked them on me.
Shivering under his gaze, I reached up for him and lightly rested my fingers on his cheek. Every time I touched Aruer, I felt like I was going to explode. He made me feel a rush of heat, like my skin was too tight for my body, like I wouldn’t ever be able to
be comfortable again, and I loved it.
I realized with a start that I could get addicted to it. It was like having a full-body sunburn, but instead of it hurting, it simply made you want to stretch and break out of your skin. I knew that if I gave Aruer the chance he could get rid of the throbbing between my legs, but I also knew what my mom would say.
You gave your virginity up to a god?!
Yeah, maybe just the shower then. A cold one. Anything to break the spell of what I felt for Aruer and how he made my body feel.
“I’ll be out in a bit,” I told him. “Please don’t feel like you have to wait around.” Before he could answer, I slipped into the bathroom, shutting the huge wooden door behind me. For good measure, I locked it, even though I wasn’t afraid of him coming into the space and doing something.
I was more afraid that I would call him in.
Leaning against the door, I tried to calm my heart by taking some deep breaths. It was racing and pounding in my chest, and I had trouble getting it to slow.
As I did, I looked around.
Holy shit. This wasn’t like any bathroom I’d been in before. First of all, the large windows across from me stretched from floor to ceiling, giving me an incredible view of the gardens. We’d come down from the tower, but I was still high enough up that I could look down at everyone living in the realm without worrying about them looking up and seeing me naked.
There was a huge tub off to the left, and it looked like it had been carved out of a solid piece of stone. I ran my hand along the edge of it before turning on the taps. Hot bubbling water immediately poured out. Above the tap were plenty of other little spigots, each a different color.
I hovered my hand over them for a moment before turning the one that was a light purple. A thin stream of purple liquid came pouring out of the spigot and into the water. As soon as it touched the water in the tub, it foamed up, creating huge bubbles and changing the color of the water. I sniffed. Lavender. It smelled amazing, and after I let that spigot run for a moment, I turned it off.
