Love Potion: A Valentine's Day Charity Anthology

by Graceley Knox

  “And the new one? He said jump and you did so? Impressive, you’re a fucking lap dog, do you say woof too? I’ve always wanted a dog.”

  “Careful, I enjoy fighting but I prefer fucking, and you’re about to be my wife to enjoy for a year. You choose what happens between us. I can be your fucking fairytale or I can be your fucking nightmare. That choice is yours, princess.”

  Chapter 5

  Lilith watched as the Neanderthal continually paced outside the ornamented doors of the Night Court. This was the monster she was to marry and spend an entire year of her life with? He was a giant! She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but it hadn’t been him. He was incredibly tall, forcing her neck to careen to look up and glare at him. His skin was bronzed, kissed by the Gods as if he spent endless days bathing in the sun without worry. The gentle scent of wood and outdoors clung to him, tickling her nose as he passed by her, endlessly pacing. His hair was red, a mixture of auburn and other shades that only enhanced his male beauty.

  Of all the beasts she’d expected, it hadn’t ever occurred to her that he would be pleasant to look upon. She liked him less for that fact. He hadn’t spoken much, but the other male with him had filled the awkward silence with flirting endlessly with the women who served the court. His tri-colored eyes seem to hesitate as they landed on her, quickly moving away as if he didn’t care to look longer than was polite.

  “You have not started repairs in the Court of Shadows, why?” the darker haired Fae asked. Sinjinn, wasn’t that what he’d told Lara his name was?

  “We do not have the power of glamouring it back to its former glory after your kind destroyed it,” she answered sharply, her tone a mixture of anger and hate.

  “No, you wouldn’t, but with Asrian with you, it would be easy enough to remake it as you wish it to be. Our kind does have some useful abilities, princess.”

  She stared at him, wondering if he actually meant it or if he was only saying what he thought she wanted to hear. It would be just like them, to offer empty promises. She had prayed to the Goddess, begging her or anyone listening to right the wrongs of the past, to bring back the power and beauty of the Palace of Shadows so she could see it. She had never gotten to see what it had looked like before it had been destroyed, and had only the word of others to imagine it through.

  “If I agree to this, maybe,” she said softly, her hand skimming against the daggers hidden in the folds of the gown she wore. She’d taken her time preparing to travel here, forcing the men to wait among the rubble as she’d slowly readied herself. The dress she wore was ice blue, with a deep V-line that exposed more curves than she’d intended it to. It had tulle ruffles that flowed delicately to the floor, covering the thin heels she’d selected for this occasion. Her hair had been piled into a work of magic, with curls escaping it to frame her heart-shaped face. Platinum bands covered her biceps, as a crown of black jewels sat atop her head. Beneath she wore nothing, no sexy garment, no enhancement to push up her breasts as the other ladies of court wore.

  “You don’t want this, do you?” Sinjinn asked pointedly, not bothering with proper court etiquette.

  “Would it matter if I said I didn’t?” she asked, her eyes not missing the slight flinch or tick in his jaw as he quickly hid his reaction.

  “No, it would change nothing that is happening. Unfortunately, your father isn’t able to pay the tithe demanded of him or this court. He was given a year past what was asked, and still has been unable to pay the tithe.”

  She stared into his tri-colored eyes, watching as the green seafoam ate away at the outer chocolate brown ring. His hair was pulled back, sleek and not a single strand out of place as he slowly took her dress in. “The tithe is unjustly requested. No one can pay what is needed as the world doesn’t offer what it once did. Crops are failing as more and more portals appear from the human realm into this one. What goods we do have are used to barter to keep the people of the land from starving. How can you expect to ask it of us, when you and your kind are the bane of the infection that grows in this world,” she paused, as if she realized too late who she was arguing her point with. “And even if this buys us time, it will never be enough for you or your kind. You take from us, the lesser Fae, to feed the High Fae and their needs. We are nothing to you, nor will we ever be.”

  “I don’t think you understand the why of it, or who really brought this blight upon us. We didn’t ask for war, nor did we condone what our father did to this world. Life isn’t black and white, and we who live in the grey part of it have to choose which path we take. My father, that murderous bastard treated his own children worse than any other people, even the ones he sought to destroy.” Sinnjinn’s eyes glowed as his fingers ignited, as if the memory was too much, or too dark to endure.

  “Murderous bastard,” Cailean muttered as a visible tremor rushed through him. He pushed his hands through his thick, platinum hair as turquoise eyes slowly slid from Asrian to Sinjinn, then settled on Lilith with a languidness that spoke volumes. “Wish we could bring him back just to watch him die again and again.”

  “He was your father,” she uttered coldly.

  “He was our king, our torturer, and the monster who dictated what we were allowed to do, and what happened if we didn’t follow his orders. A father protects his children; ours tormented and used us as his personal assassins. Those who didn’t follow his rules died. End of fucking discussion,” Asrian growled, his eyes green and glowing as something cold and ancient shone from within them.

  The doors swung open, revealing guards who waited on either side of the entrance to lead the small party to the king and his throne. Lilith straightened her shoulders and her resolve as she moved to stand beside the giant she was about to marry. She would follow through with this marriage of horror to save this court, one who held no love for her.

  That wasn’t true; a few did actually like her because of whom and what her mother had done. It was a legendary move she wished to the Goddess hadn’t been required, but that and nothing else she did would change the hands of time. And here she was, the daughter of the martyr making another sacrifice to the Horde for this court.

  Once they paused in front of her father, she bowed at the waist before lifting, glancing sideways as the giant stared down her father. She turned, taking in what he must see. Her father was young for being king; even at three centuries in age, he was one of the newest royalties in the lesser courts, save her. She was the youngest queen in history, becoming the Queen of Shadows when still unable to make words work from her dainty lips. But then the entire court had been wiped out minus Lara and herself, and Lara’s father had been a human.

  “I see you found your bride,” her father noted, his ice blue eyes slowly holding Lilith’s in silent rebuke.

  “She was where the steward said she would be. She welcomed us splendidly,” he said, and Lilith had to force her eyes from rounding in shock.

  It was widely known that the High Fae couldn’t lie and yet hadn’t he just done so? No, he’d played with words, making her father believe she’d been subservient to his arrival, instead of the truth which was that she’d tried to murder them all. Albeit failing miserably which was probably for the best all things considered.

  “Did she? I find that hard to believe as my Lilith is quite skilled with weapons and doesn’t take kindly to strangers stumbling into her ruins.”

  “I stand by what I said, unless you are challenging it as truth?” Asrian growled, his chest reverberating with the threat.

  She turned, taking in the way he held himself, prepared to defend his person should the need arise, yet to an untrained eye, he looked relaxed. He stood straight, confident before a king known for twisting creatures apart with his bare hands; however there was not a single ounce of fear showing from any of the Horde who had entered this court.

  “I would never question your word. I only meant that she tends to need a firm hand. She is wild and untamed, which I am sure you’ll discover for yourself soon enough.”r />
  “She’s beautiful, and more than I expected. I don’t intend to remain here longer than is necessary, so if we could proceed with the ceremony?”

  “Yes, of course. I have had a dinner prepared as well,” the king stated.

  “After visiting your lands, don’t you think it would be wiser to invite the people starving outside the gates to your city inside to eat the meal, rather than the ones who look as if they could miss a meal or ten? We will stay for the dinner, and those starving outside shall be invited in.” Asrian watched the king, his eyes burning with anger as the kings face mottled, and turned red.

  “That is unheard of! It’s outrageous to even consider letting peasants inside to eat with royalty.” The king waved his hand as if the conversation was finished.

  “I insist,” Asrian continued, placing his hand on his sword that had remained on his hip.

  “In these lands, I am king.”

  “You are king because we allow it. Your people are starving, and yet the ones in this room are grotesquely overfed. Either invite them in to feast or send the meal out to them. A king who doesn’t protect or care for his people shouldn’t expect to remain king for very much longer. You have impressed my brother, the King of the Horde, but not me. You sit in here, bathed in gold and fine jewels while people starve right outside your gates. Your own staff is underfed, proving you are the wrong choice for king. Decide, and I will decide which tale I bring back to the king who supported your claim for this throne before he was the actual king. You may have forgotten how you rose to power, but we have not.”

  “Have the feast placed outside the gates, feed the people the dinner I had prepared for my daughter and her new husband,” he grumbled as he stared at Asrian, who hadn’t flinched under his dark stare. “You will be leaving directly after the ceremony?”

  “I will; the only reason we have even come is for you to see her handed off to the Horde. The next tithe will be paid, or a new king will be crowned.”

  “You don’t have that power!”

  “We have the Goddess of Faery on our side, do you?” Sinjinn chuckled as Lilith’s eyes swung to his.

  Holy shit!

  Chapter 6

  The ride back to the Court of Shadows was long and filled with silence. Lilith had pilfered bread and meat, along with cheese for supper. It wasn’t that she hadn’t respected what Asrian had done for her people, but she’d actually been starving for the meal which would have been a welcome distraction. Instead, she was now snacking nervously as he watched her.

  A fire had been lit by Lara, who had prepared the one bedroom that they’d been sharing. Lara would now be sleeping under the stars while she and Asrian shared the sister’s bedroom which had once belonged to their mother.

  “Are you warm enough?” he asked, his back still to her as he stroked the fire to a beautiful mixture of red and orange flames.

  “Yes,” she answered as she shivered, trembling against what she knew was coming. Something she had no idea how to deal with, or even how it occurred since she’d skipped over that day with her handmaiden, and hadn’t gone back since. “I don’t…I’m not sure how this next part works,” she continued hesitantly.

  “Fucking?” he chuckled.

  “You don’t have to be so crude,” she hissed as she stood and moved to the furthest wall away from him. She rubbed her bare arms, wishing she’d worn the long-sleeved dress of her mother’s instead of the shorter-sleeved one she’d chosen.

  “You’re not that young,” he pointed out crossly. When she continued to peer up at him, he swore beneath his breath. “I’m going to break his fucking nose for this.”

  “Whose nose?” she asked when he just continued to stare at her.

  “Ryder’s, he knows I’m not interested in uncharted territories.”

  “He is your king and the king of the entire Horde. You would be so careless with your life?”

  “You think us monsters, but he isn’t like that. He’s…kind, and yet deadly enough to hold his title because of what he holds inside of him. Here, drink this,” he said as he poured wine into a glass and extended it to her.

  She accepted it, sipping at it generously as she stared at the bed that sat in the middle of the room. It had silver sheets with the petals of the night blooms spread out over it. Lara knew the flowers would calm Lilith, or should have. Considering she was about to do the last thing she wanted to with this giant, nothing short of valerian roots dipped in the Fairy Pools themselves would calm her pounding heart and nerves.

  She tipped the glass up and then held it out for more, watching the red liquid as it flowed into the glass. Why was she so damn nervous? She just had to survive this deed once and be done with it and him, right? Her kind was notoriously fertile, but his kind wasn’t…she stared at him from beneath her lashes as he removed his shirt, revealing nicks and gashes that at one time had been horrid wounds.

  “Ouch,” she uttered without thinking. How many of those wounds had her people given him? Plenty, she hoped.

  “My father’s talented with a blade, or he was,” he explained, and she felt her face scrunching up at his answer.

  “Surely you got that from fighting people who couldn’t defend themselves,” she hissed, and then realized how stupid her own words sounded as they left her lips.

  “I did what I did to survive him,” he returned sharply. “Your people fought hard, but not nearly as hard as we had to in order to survive being his children. Remove the dress, Lilith. Lay down with me,” he growled.

  “You and your people slaughtered mine, and now I am to be your prize.”

  “And what a beautiful prize you are, princess. One fit for a king.”

  She blushed, feeling the heat as it flooded her cheeks and then he stepped closer, and she darted backwards, slamming her back against the stone wall she’d rebuilt with her bare hands. He chuckled as he slowly made his way to where she was backed against it, caging her in with his hands barring her escape. His mouth lowered, drifting towards hers as he tasted her mouth slowly.

  “You’re trembling; do I scare or excite you, Lilith?” he questioned before he sucked her full, plump lip between his teeth and held it gingerly before releasing it. A soft moan exploded from her lips as a foreign sensation sent sparks sailing through her, igniting something white-hot in her belly.

  “I don’t like you, or what you are,” she replied absently as she lifted her mouth for more, needing to know what that sensation had been. “I will do this for them, the starving people who already suffer because of the world and because I cannot change that. I can stop your kind from invading and doing to that court what was done to this one.”

  “Noble, but stupid,” he chuckled heatedly. The scent of wine mingling with masculinity had her head swimming in emotions she wasn’t sure how to process. She’d expected to hate him, and yet he was smooth, so fucking smooth, and said all the right things at the same moment she wanted to hurl an argument at him. “Your father was so quick to throw you at us, the Queen of Shadows, and Princess of the Night Court. Born and bred of pureblooded parents, a Queen of the Courts. Yet I get here, and I found you,” he murmured as he kissed her cheek softly. “Some fucking maiden who stares at me like I’m a fucking monster and hates my guts,” he said amusedly. “And she’s the most beautiful thing I think I’ve ever laid my bastard eyes upon. You don’t deserve to suffer this, so do me a fucking favor; you can fill the wine, and when we’ve finished drinking it, we will sleep.”

  “What?” she uttered softly, questioningly.

  “What I mean is this: You don’t want this, and I have no intention of forcing it on you. I’m a bastard, but I’m not that much of one.”

  “No, no, you will finish this, and when you report back to your king, it will be with the truth, word player. I will not chance losing my court. Not again, so you will do what is expected, and now!” Panic threatened to consume her at the idea of him turning her down, what it could mean for her people.

  “Gods, woman, whic
h is it? You don’t want me, yet you demand I fuck you, and yet you loathe me, you hate everything I fucking stand for. You want this? Down the wine, strip your delicate little ass naked, and we’ll play this game. I’ll give you a fucking monster.”

  She swallowed hard at the anger that burned in his eyes, the glow that lit them from within. Power ignited in the room and slithered over her flesh as he watched her lift the shaking glass to her mouth, downing the wine in a single gulp. She pushed the cup out in front of her, watching as he filled it once more, and she did it again and again until her nerves no longer had her trembling with fear or her own idiocy.

  He’d offered her a way out, but what if he was like the others and decided to admit they hadn’t completed their vows? She couldn’t chance it, not with who he had ties to. Not with so much riding on her doing this to save her people.

  She lit the candles in the room, using her power to burn them and extinguish the other light that would allow him to see the blush spreading through her system. Next, she slowly reached behind her with trembling fingers as she began to undress, but his hands rested over hers, stalling her clumsy attempt to strip.

  His hands were steady as he pushed hers away, using his fingers to trail over her naked shoulder before his heated mouth skimmed it, following the same dangerous path. Her skin pebbled as he kissed his way to the crease of her neck, slowly working his way to her ear before he nipped the lobe, pulling on it as a deep rumble escaped his lips.

  Asrian’s fingers worked the zipper of the dress, carefully removing it before letting it pool at her feet. He lifted his mouth, turning her to face him as his hands slid down her sides, stopping at her hips. He lowered his mouth to hers, claiming it in a jarring kiss that sent a shockwave pulsing through her entire body. She groaned, pushing her tongue into the depths of his mouth as she reached up, hooking her hands around his neck.