The Rise of the Dark Lord

by Ashley, Kristen

  And very pretty.

  “Yeah, her.”

  “We will show you to your quarters and then we will make this request for you, attractive human female.”

  “I’m Mathilda.”

  “I know. You are also an attractive human female.”

  I couldn’t help it.

  I dipped my chin, looked under my lashes at him and smiled.

  He smiled back.

  I felt my breasts swell.

  Ash pulled me closer to his body.

  Hmm.

  “We’re ready to be shown our quarters now,” Ash stated.

  Both elves looked to him, nodded and then they turned and faced the wall.

  Really, their wings were amazing.

  It was then I noticed that we were in a small room in a cave that was lit by no apparent light source and the dark walls that closely surrounded us had a kind of glitter to them. Prunella wasn’t with us (she was only there for added power and to make this visit official).

  And that was it.

  We were standing there and then…

  It happened.

  The glitter turned to streaks and the room was no longer a room.

  It was a tunnel and we were moving through it but doing so without seeming to actually move.

  “This…is…so…cool,” I breathed.

  Citrine Hottie turned to look over his broad shoulder at me.

  “We have much in the Realm that will delight you, beautiful human female.”

  “I already know you’re right,” I agreed.

  He smiled at me…huge.

  I smiled back.

  Aidan got closer and muttered to Ash, “I take it you didn’t warn her of the seductive powers of elves.”

  “I didn’t think I had to,” Ash grunted.

  Aidan chuckled again.

  Citrine Hottie started to stare at my chest.

  Ash reached around me, grabbed my forearm and lifted it up in front of me, around about the area of my breasticles.

  “She’s bonded,” he growled, showing Citrine Hottie my diamond bracelet.

  Citrine Hottie looked disgruntled and turned forward.

  Ash left his hand where it was even as he curled my arm around my belly and his mouth came to my ear.

  “Focus. BecBec,” he ordered.

  “Right,” I mumbled.

  And we speeded to the Realm.

  So, I flipped through my last Book o’ Shadows and saw that I was remiss in explaining some things and just plain old didn’t know other things.

  I’ll rectify that now.

  Faeries and elves are the same thing.

  The way they can be the same thing is that, on earth, not in it, as in, in the Realm, they’re faeries.

  Think Tinkerbell.

  The instant they hit the Realm, they come into their true form.

  The form of the elf.

  This being what met us just inside the Faerie Mound.

  They could, of course, take their true forms on earth, but only if they wanted to be put in Elf Gaol as that was also a Forbidden.

  Mostly because this was known to cause havoc amongst the humans because, well…they were just that gorgeous.

  But also, “coitus,” with whoever they wanted to engage in it, was not Forbidden, but impregnating a human female was, or getting impregnated by a human male was, as there were severe strictures on race mixing.

  This was not about superiority/inferiority or anything icky and bigoted like that.

  It was because it was very rare (to almost nonexistent) a human female would survive giving birth to a hybrid human/elf. Further, the child (in the unlikely event it survived) would be deformed and have a significantly limited, but most important, seriously painful lifespan.

  Ditto with a female elf having a human male’s baby. Although she survived childbirth, it was uncommon for the child to do it, and if it did, it tended to be sickly or diseased and did not survive very long.

  In other words, heartbreak all around that was best avoided.

  So it was unlawful.

  Furthering all this, elves were immortal, humans weren’t (the reason why progeny was impossible to achieve), so there’d been some rather dramatic episodes à la the movie Highlander, because loving an immortal wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

  Witches lived long.

  Vampires lived long.

  There was magic that would extend a human lifespan.

  But immortal was just plain immortal.

  And when you lived, like, a million years, finding the love of your life who lived, at best, two, maybe three hundred of them seriously blew.

  I had not been let in the know about how coitus could happen with elves and humans (they were allowed to take their normal shapes? magical condoms?) to ward against pregnancy because, when I quizzed Ash on all this, he only said, “There is utterly no reason you need to know.”

  Ahem.

  I would find in short order I didn’t have to worry about my wardrobe.

  The Elfin King and Queen had provided one for me.

  They provided Ash one too.

  He just refused to wear it.

  I could see this as it was a variety of different shades of pearlescent loincloths.

  I still was disappointed.

  General observations about the Realm:

  It was impossible to describe the Realm.

  Once our cave-tunnel stopped, we were on a ledge that had what seemed like hundreds of glittery-stone steps hanging in midair that led down into an impossibly deep, humongous glittery-stone cavern out of which homes and entire buildings were carved, unusual, insanely colorful, ridiculously beautiful and amazingly bountiful flora sprouted, and ridiculously beautiful elves flew about, and essentially it was a feast for the eyes.

  I had no idea why an elf would go to the human world and zing around when this was their home.

  At first sight of it, I honestly wondered if I’d ever want to leave.

  Unexpected boon caused by the Realm (or more likely, hottie elves who wanted to have coitus with me):

  We were not granted access to BecBec after being shown our quarters (which were essentially one huge room with a huge (round!) bed covered in a snowy iridescent coverlet (think sleeping under a sheet of liquid snow crystals that was actually solid), big, circular windows with glorious views of the Realm, a bevy of funky furniture (all made of circles or curves, there weren’t a lot of corners in the Realm, even on the buildings) and a luxurious attached bathroom that seemed the entirety of it was carved out of one, gigantic opal).

  We were to dine with the King and Queen.

  It was late earth time but…

  Seriously?

  Awesome!

  I had just donned one of my gifts from the Big Kahunas (think sorta ballerina tutu, in ivory, strapless, gathered vertically from bodice to three-layered short skirt, with a thin, silken cord binding the midriff and platinum sandals that crisscross laced up to my thighs).

  Obviously, I’d left on the bracelet.

  (Didn’t want to give any of the males any ideas.)

  I was coming out of the bathroom to see Ash wearing what he wore there, sans his peacoat seeing as it wasn’t deathly cold with a double hit of moisture which made it ghastly cold like it was outside the Mound in February in England. It was quite warm and pleasant.

  He was wearing a pair of attractive, dark wash jeans, a black cashmere sweater and boots (it was no loincloth, but I wasn’t complaining, he wore clothes well).

  And I was worried for BecBec, I was nervous about giving testimony.

  But I was excited as all hell about meeting the King and Queen of the Elves, seeing their palace and, of course, more elves.

  “We should go,” I said to Ash.

  “Come here,” Ash, standing at the foot of the bed, said to me.

  I stopped at the (round) door.

  “We need to go.”

  “Come here, Mathilda.”

  This was my guy and it wasn’t like I didn’
t know him.

  So I blew out a breath and went there.

  I barely got there before I was on my back on the bed and my little elfin panties were being scraped down my legs.

  “Uh…” I said to the sparkly ceiling.

  Ash’s face appeared above mine.

  “We’re about to understand each other better, darling,” he purred.

  Someone was staking his claim.

  Yippee!

  His face disappeared from my vision, but it went somewhere else, and I was never going to experience firsthand the true depths of the seductive powers of elves.

  But I didn’t need to.

  My knight in cashmere and denim gave phenomenal head.

  And by the time he was done with me, I understood that completely.

  I walked between Aidan and Ash into the massive palace dining room (Aidan was dressed like Ash, except his jeans weren’t as dark a wash and his sweater was blue).

  Aidan was not in a good mood and I had a feeling this was because I couldn’t quite hide the fact that I was a girl who just got me some, and got it good.

  I wanted to touch his hand or say something to make it better, but I didn’t want to hurt him more, and I didn’t think there was anything I could say to make it better.

  And anyway, two mega-gorgeous female elves were leading our way to a podium (leading the way, I should share, by flying in front of us, I mean, how cool was that?).

  There were elves off to the sides, quite a number of them, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the two beings sitting their thrones.

  The Queen of the Elves (Ash had shared her name, Queen Maithieliel—pronounced May-thee-elle-ee-elle) had a mane of white-blond hair, eyes that shone of pearl (that might seem weird, but she worked it) and a St. Tropez tan.

  The King of the Elves (King Cystiennien—pronounced Siss-tee-en-ee-en) was the only being I’d seen in all the Realm who had dark hair, as in black as ebony (and it gleamed) and his eyes shone oddly, but attractively, of the bluish-green muddled with red of a bloodstone.

  Their thrones were carved of stark white marble (as was the entire room, it was nearly as blinding as the Mound opening) and the table before them was created by a dazzlingly stunning mosaic of the same.

  “The Mathilda and her Protectors,” the king boomed magnanimously as he stood. “An honor indeed!”

  The Queen sat serenely.

  Our elfin escorts flew off to the sides and hovered in the air.

  I dropped into a deep curtsy, because I’d likely never meet Liz, so I wasn’t going to let this brush with royalty go to waste.

  “And she bows to the elves!” the king shouted jubilantly.

  I rose and looked between them. “It’s our honor to be invited to your beautiful Realm.”

  “It is under grave and terrible circumstances you stand before us,” the queen rained on my parade.

  I focused on her.

  “My dear,” the king murmured, resuming his seat.

  “Do you know the last time the Lament was sung?” she asked me.

  “Well…”

  I drew that out because I wasn’t sure my answer of “a super long time ago” was what she wanted to hear.

  “You stand before me, the blush of climax still on your cheeks, given to you by the mouth of a man whose feet should not stride earth or Realm or any land.”

  Now, hang on a second.

  First, I might not be a prude, but I wasn’t big on someone announcing to all and sundry that my boyfriend had just gone down on me, and second, Aidan didn’t need to know how I got me some, and third, Ash could stride anywhere he wanted as was his destiny.

  Both Ash and Aidan closed in on my sides.

  “Do you have, like, cameras in our quarters or something?” I asked.

  “He does not have the stain of climax on his cheeks,” she explained.

  Good Goddess and all things stony and thorny.

  “Your Majesty—” I started.

  “We eat!” the king announced.

  And boom!

  I jumped as behind us, three gilt chairs with alabaster velvet cushions appeared and another mosaic marble table popped up in front of us.

  Before we even rested our asses on velvet, gold chalices formed on the table with gold chargers and snowy linens topped with gilded silverware sprung up on the table in front of each of our seats.

  “Sit, sit,” the king bid.

  We sat, sat, and sat.

  A bacchanalia in the form of food and wine suddenly covered the table.

  I mean, I hadn’t even reached for anything and half a dozen of the most scrumptious, juicy, thickly coated chocolate-covered strawberries I’d ever seen rolled off the edge of the table along with a tumble of what appeared to be de-shelled lobster tails.

  I was a girl who liked her food, so I was all up for this kind of orgy.

  But sadly, Maithieliel wasn’t done with me.

  “It was without our permission that the Fae charged to your side at the Battle of The Tor,” she announced, drifting an elegant Barbie hand toward Cystiennien as an explanation of “our.” “The fate of those bound to earth holds no interest to us. In future, we will not continue to be involved.”

  “Mai,” the king bit.

  I looked at her as it occurred to me that I had a war to win, Aidan was being forced to sit with Ash and me, I’d left my Spellbounds in good hands, but they weren’t my hands, and it was coming clear nothing Ash, Aidan or I said was going to alleviate BecBec’s plight.

  Suddenly, the Realm didn’t seem all it was cracked up to be.

  “As three of those bound to the earth—” I started.

  “Mathilda,” Ash said low.

  “—with respect, I’m sensing you care very little, and I understand that, in this glorious, opulent Realm—”

  “Matty,” Aidan growled.

  “—but these two men at my sides mean something to me. One has recently had his heart broken, by me, a happenstance I could not avoid. One shared something incredibly intimate, for the first time ever, with me, and you announced it to everyone in this room. They may have figured it out, but it was special, and you made an ugly point of it that wasn’t nice. Now, if our being here is not going to help BecBec, I ask only an audience with her so I can share my profound gratitude that she gave me a gift as precious as the one she gave me. And my profound sorrow that she’ll have to pay dearly for this selfless act. And then we three have things to do.”

  Maithieliel glared at me.

  I took it.

  She kept glaring at me.

  I kept taking it.

  “BecBec?” she spat.

  “Bellabeccabec,” I said.

  She said not a word

  Then abruptly, she zoomed up in the air and flew out an open window.

  Cystiennien sighed.

  “She had a human lover,” he said. “She was smitten but forbidden to sing the Lament when he was at his end.”

  Apparently, open marriage was practiced amongst the elves.

  I could see that.

  A million years with one dude might get a bit trying.

  Not to mention, being married to Maithieliel didn’t seem like it was all rainbows and moonbeams.

  “That sucks, but I’m assuming he was not destined consort to a witch who would save the world?”

  Cystiennien’s lips twitched before he said, “You assume correctly.”

  “Well then,” I said smartly.

  He smiled.

  Then he gestured with a big hand. “Eat, eat.”

  I reached for a lobster tail even though I’d sworn off lobster (repeatedly) like I’d sworn off bacon and pork chops (repeatedly) because their road to my belly wasn’t a fun one.

  But, you know, willpower wasn’t my strong suit.

  I was commandeering a ramekin of drawn butter when I felt Ash’s lips at my ear.

  “I’m your consort?”

  I turned to look into his dancing eyes. “Quiet, or you’ll never have the stain of clima
x on your cheeks.”

  “An effective threat,” he muttered, sitting back in his chair, his lips curved, his eyes still dancing.

  Fucking Ash.

  I turned to Aidan. “I’m sorry. This is—”

  “Matty?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll live.”

  I studied him closely, found he spoke truth, and smiled.

  14 February

  Today is the day for BecBec and I am fah-ree-king out.

  Wait, Ash is waking up.

  Okay, um…

  Whoa.

  Ash was now in the shower.

  I was in our liquid snow bed with the blush of climax on my cheeks.

  Ash had the stain of the same on his.

  I knew this and I couldn’t see him because I also had a delicate fall of diamond earrings in my ears seeing as it was Valentine’s Day, I was a “Wilding Woman” and that was his present.

  Ash had a band of gold made of Celtic knots on his left ring finger that I’d found between us coming to a semi-understanding a few days ago and us very, very recently coming to a firmer understanding seeing as I shared that it was a promise ring, but mostly he was just too hot to be walking around without my mark on him somewhere.

  Ash liked this understanding a lot and intended to communicate how much with his mouth, though not using it to form words.

  I liked his intention, but had my own, so in the midst of him giving me his, I introduced myself to a part of Ash that had been withheld from me for far too long.

  In short order, I found it was as impressive (if not more) as the rest of him.

  I went about getting intimately acquainted with it and my favorite number used to be three.

  Now it’s totally 69.

  Nice.

  Happy Valentine’s Day to me!

  Much later:

  Things are dire.

  Way more dire than I thought they would be.

  The first day of the trial was over.

  BecBec looked like hell.

  She wasn’t glowing with health and vitality.

  She wasn’t shimmering and glittery.

  Her hair that was light-brown in my world, but had a butterscotch sheen here, seemed lank, her wings of pink and yellow and coral seemed dull.

  And she hadn’t been blasted with shimmer dust like everyone else in the room (save Ash, Aidan and me).