by Leder, Nissa
“Stay out of my head, child.”
Rudeness toward another ruler from an advisor wasn’t proper etiquette. Lesser things had caused wars. Clearly, Kaelem had pushed a button. That didn’t surprise him. The strength of Laik’s mental wall, and the fact that he sensed Kaelem’s attempt to break through it, did.
“My apologies. Like your queen, I’m trying to protect my people.”
“Scarlett isn’t your subject anymore.”
“She never was. She’s always belonged to herself. Just like she’s always been fae. But somehow, her nature was hidden. I’m curious how.”
“Perhaps some secrets are best left as they are,” Laik said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think it’s time to mingle.”
Kaelem watched the advisor walk away, now more sure than ever that Laik was hiding something. Something he desperately wanted to keep buried.
Chapter Nine
“Those tattoos are interesting. So detailed,” the Seelie Queen said as she held a glass of wine in her hand.
“Yes, quite elaborate,” Scarlett replied, self-conscious that the change in her was so visible.
Aria had taken Ashleigh back to her room to settle in for the night. Knowing that Raith had been able to evanesce in undetected worried Scarlett. She had no doubt he’d kidnap Ashleigh to get to Scarlett. Aria had assured Scarlett that she could keep Ashleigh safe, but what if something happened and she wasn’t there to protect her sister?
“Your people will sense if your thoughts are elsewhere,” Genevieve said.
“I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”
“Understandable. I remember my first months as queen. As an only child, my father prepared me to take over our kingdom. By ten years old, I attended all the meetings with him. We were at war with the Unseelie Court then. I was a young girl forced to hear talks of war and death. Perhaps if my mother had been alive, she would have refused, but she’d been murdered by the Unseelie King the year before.”
Scarlett listened intently to the story Genevieve told, curious as to why she decided to share it with her.
Genevieve continued, “We won the war; if coming out the victor of such blood and death can really be called winning. Things calmed down, though hostility between the two courts remained. My father lived many more years, leaving me a princess with the power and prestige of royalty without the responsibility of actually leading. When he eventually died, I still wasn’t ready to rule. The Unseelie King at the time knew it and attacked. I learned quickly that showing any weakness didn’t reflect kindly on a queen. I’ve never made that mistake again.”
“I wasn’t raised to be queen. I wasn’t even raised to be fae.”
“What were you raised to do?”
Scarlett remembered the nights she’d spent calming her mother down from an episode and the times in between her fits when things seemed normal, but Scarlett kept aware for even the slightest change in her mother’s mood. “To care for those I love.”
“And that’s what you must do if you want to keep your people safe. You must care enough to control yourself. Feeling terrified on the inside? Keep it to yourself. Queens aren’t allowed to be frightened. We can show annoyance but not anger. Lust but not love. The more we care, the easier it is to break us.”
“What kind of life is that?”
“The life of a queen.”
“I don’t want to be a queen.”
“Yet, you are.”
Scarlett wasn’t sure how to respond. She might hate every part of what the Seelie Queen was saying, but that didn’t make it any less true. She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to be thankful for the advice or intimidated by her words.
“Your doe-eyed expression has clearly won over the Unseelie King, but others will not be so easy to persuade. We all want the same thing: to be as powerful as we can be and to keep our people safe. Whenever one desire outweighs the other, bad things happen. Love has lost more wars than anything.”
“Got it,” Scarlett snapped. Who did Genevieve think she was to give such bold, unsolicited advice? “I appreciate your wisdom. I’ll take it into consideration.”
The Seelie Queen smirked. “I see what they see in you. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” She excused herself to find her advisor and return to the Seelie Court.
Who were they? And was it supposed to be a compliment or a diss?
Scarlett should have been less hostile as she thanked her for the advice, but she wasn’t sure if her intent was to help her or freak her out.
Instead of deciphering whatever intention Genevieve had, Scarlett found Kaelem sitting alone at a booth, drinking.
“How was your visit with the Seelie Queen?” Kaelem asked.
“Informational, I suppose.”
A bartender walked by and Scarlett ordered a drink for herself and a refill for Kaelem. She didn’t want to talk about her role as queen. She didn’t want to even think about the Fates. And she didn’t want to remember Raith’s hands on her or his knife at her throat.
Instead, she drank until none of those things crossed her mind. After a few cocktails, she guided Kaelem back to the dance floor.
Most of the other court guests had already left. The chandelier had been dimmed and the music had shifted into songs with deeper base beats. The fancy ball that started the night gave way to a more rave-like party.
After every couple of dances, Scarlett signaled the bartender to bring her another drink. Getting drunk likely topped the list of things a queen shouldn’t do, but Scarlett didn’t care.
As Kaelem spun her around, her body tingled. With each drink, the world seemed lighter, her worries further away. The dance floor cleared more with every song until only a few other couples remained.
Scarlett let her hands explore Kaelem’s body. He looked delicious enough to eat. She reached up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips into his.
As she leaned to the right, she lost her balance and stumbled.
Kaelem caught her. “I think it’s time to get you to bed.”
Scarlett giggled. “My feet feel so far away.”
With one hand, Kaelem lifted Scarlett’s feet from the ground. The other caught her back as he held her in his arms. “Hang on, darling.”
Scarlett felt the familiar tickle as the ballroom disappeared and the bedroom she’d stayed at during her time at the Unseelie Court appeared.
The open windows highlighted the sparkling city below. The candles on the dresser, nightstand, and mantle lit.
Kaelem set Scarlett carefully onto the bed and kissed her forehead.
As he pulled away from her, Scarlett grabbed his arm and brought him closer. She pushed her lips into his as her fingers ran through the back of his hair.
Her tongue twisted with his, sending a thrill through her. The alcohol had dulled her worry, but her lips against his erased it completely.
Her heart raced as her breathing grew heavy. She let his full ganacanagh gift hit her as she melted into him.
Kaelem stepped backward, pulling himself from her grasp. “You’ve had a long day. Sleep tight, darling.”
* * *
Kaelem evanesced to his room before his will vanished.
He wanted Scarlett. The lust radiating from her tasted like strawberries and crème—a dessert to be devoured. The last time things had heated up between them, she’d been the one to stop things.
It was his turn.
He was the grand master of their game. That’s why he enjoyed it so much. If he gave in too early, it would dull the reward. No, he wanted her too badly to let anything get in the way of the perfect moment. As easy as it would have been to let his desire rule him, he’d resisted. But it wasn’t without repercussions.
Leaving her wanting him left him…frustrated.
After a very cold shower, he fell asleep, wishing a little he hadn’t been so stubborn to play the game tonight.
* * *
Darkness was all Kaelem saw when his brain clicked on.
“Still asleep?” Scarlett’s asked.
Kaelem rolled over and covered his head with a blanket. He’d been having a rather good dream he wanted to return to.
The blankets were yanked off of him, leaving his naked body cold.
He opened his eyes to Scarlett, still in her red dress from the night before, standing next to the bed, staring.
“Last time you came in here and found me naked, you ran away.” Kaelem sat up. “This time, you’re the one to expose me in all my glory?”
“Things are different now.” She held out her arm. His pants flew from across the room into her hand. She tossed them to him. “I know your tricks.”
“And I know yours.” He slipped them on. “You’re welcome to stay here at the Unseelie Court until we figure out our plan.”
“I need to get back to my people.”
Kaelem wanted to tell her about his conversation with Laik. He still didn’t know what the Seelie advisor knew about Scarlett’s mom, but she deserved to know he was hiding something.
Scarlett glanced out the window. “I’m still trying to process it all. It’s a lot to take in.”
What point was there to worry Scarlett about Laik if Kaelem didn’t have anything concrete to tell her? She had enough to worry about.
Kaelem used his magic to light the fireplace across the room. The glowing firelight cast a shadow on Scarlett’s face, her eyes cast downward.
He could feel the tension inside of her. Fear mixed with guilt.
“You’re doing a good job so far. You just need time.” He stood.
“Am I, though? Suddenly, I have this power with no idea how to use. The Fates want it. And I don’t know why, but I know they’ll do anything to take it from me. It means anyone I get close to is in danger. I have an entire kingdom counting on me and I can’t even protect myself. What would I have done if you and Aria didn’t show up?” Scarlett shrugged her shoulders. “Why didn’t I at least attempt to use my magic last night?”
“How long did you live as a mortal?” Kaelem took Scarlett’s hand and squeezed it.
“Eighteen years.”
“And how long have you known you are fae?”
“A few months.”
“You’re adjusting as well as you can. It’s going to take time.”
Scarlett leaned into Kaelem and rested her head on his shoulder. “What if I mess things up? What if people die because of me?”
Kaelem inhaled her doubt. “They will. As a ruler, it’s part of your job. If it comes to war, your decisions will end in death. But you can save your people, too.”
“I hope so.” She sighed. “Thank you for helping me to my room.”
“Of course.” Kaelem stood. “I am a gentleman.”
Scarlett’s leaned back. Her eyebrow lifted. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“No?” Kaelem ran his fingers down Scarlett’s cheek. Her soft skin flushed.
Her eyes locked with his. His lower region twitched. He’d had his revenge last night, leaving Scarlett when she wanted him.
They were even.
He could distance himself again and let the game continue.
Or he could give in and let his ganacanagh nature take full hold.
Chapter Ten
Scarlett leaned her face into Kaelem’s palm.
His skin burned hot into hers.
Dressed in only the pants she’d thrown to him, his abs drew her attention. Her fingers traced his stomach, lower and lower. She went slow, focusing on his face as she teased him. His cocky smirk faded as his mouth parted.
Scarlett bit her lip.
She hated the weakness she felt inside when she thought of her new position as queen. She wanted to escape from the anxiety that flowed inside her. Her time at the Seelie Court with Kaelem had taught her how powerful a distraction lust could be.
Kaelem’s ganacanagh gift seeped through her shields. Without it, he was attractive. With it, he was irresistible.
Her fingers lingered as she teased him more. She’d enjoyed their game of cat and mouse. Most of the time, she was the mouse, but as her fingers traced his lower abdomen, she was all feline.
Even when she was human, he’d seen something in her. She should have been nothing more than a tiny ant in the swarm to him, but he’d showed up before the Battle of Heirs to give her the pill.
Without it, she’d be dead.
Kaelem’s hands glided down the curves of her hips, sliding around to her backside. His hunger for her pulsed through the air.
She wanted to breathe him in. To lick every inch of him like the sweetest lollipop. Her heartbeat thudded in her chest as desire swam through her, heightening all of her senses.
When her mouth found his neck, he moaned. His fingers twisted into her hair and gently tugged. She didn’t want to go too fast. No, she needed to take her time.
Her lips pulled back, and she replaced them softly with her teeth. She nibbled up his neck to his earlobe and tugged.
Kaelem’s free hand snuck underneath her dress. His fingers slipped into the waistband of her panties. She sighed as he took his time, his delicious revenge.
“Two can play the teasing game, darling,” Kaelem purred.
Scarlett didn’t respond with words. Instead, her mouth slowly kissed from his neck to his chest, down to his abs, and back up until her mouth found his.
Their tongues twisted like vines as Kaelem’s hands slid underneath her dress and moved up to her chest. His touch warmed her.
The lust between them filled the room like heat from the fire. Her head pulled back as her mouth spread into a grin.
He lifted her and tossed her onto the bed. Desire blazed in his irises as he moved toward her.
Before, Scarlett might have stopped things just because she could. She enjoyed her game of hard-to-get. Now, nothing could convince her to leave.
In a fast motion, Kaelem pulled Scarlett’s dress over her head. Just as quickly, she removed his pants.
Scarlett had never felt such passion. It filled her and tingled every nerve in her body. It was a high like no other.
Kaelem’s lips explored her, tormenting her in the best way. He started at her mouth and worked his way down, lingering in her most sensitive areas.
Surely, she would explode.
He grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, her legs wrapping around him. When their eyes met, she saw the lust in his stare, but she saw something else before his mouth crushed into hers again.
Her fingers twisted through his hair as his tongue slid across her lower lip.
Time seemed to slow as her hunger for him grew.
This was one part of being fae that put mortal life to shame.
* * *
Kaelem sat up as he watched Scarlett rise, naked, from the bed, pick up her dress from the ground, and slip it over her head. Her new tattoos spreading from her fingers to her shoulders and around to the top of her back had made her even sexier and given him a pattern to trace as he’d teased her.
She said nothing, but before she left the room, she glanced at him and grinned.
Until next time, darling, he said mind-to-mind as the door shut behind her.
He fell back onto the bed and let his body sink into his top-of-the-line memory foam mattress topper covered with 800 thread count, Egyptian cotton sheets, which, now that he thought about it, might need to be washed.
Memories of last night danced in his mind. Scarlett’s long hair falling down as her yearning vibrated through the air. Her mouth on his. Her tongue on other parts. It had been everything he’d anticipated and more.
As much as he wanted to relive the thoughts of their bodies moving as one, he had other time-sensitive issues that needed his attention.
After he selected a new suit and was dressed, he grabbed a small glass bottle and a velvet package from a small chest in his closet and made his way to the elevator. Two floors down, he stopped and exited into the hallway. A few rooms over, he knocked on a door.
Cade, now wearing a Summer Court suit, answered. “Hello, Kaelem
.”
“May we chat?” Once inside, Kaelem shut the door, opened the jar, and sprinkled some of the purple powder on the floor at the doorjamb. “This will help keep our conversation private. Where is your spunky companion?”
“In her room next door, I imagine.”
Cade had requested separate rooms for him and his date, which, after sensing his emotions last night, Kaelem guessed he might have regretted.
“Sensing the lust between you two last night, I expected to find her in your bed.”
“Not everyone beds every woman they’re close to like you.”
“I don’t bed every woman.” Scarlett’s face flashed in Kaelem’s mind. He fought a smile. He wasn’t in the mood to kiss and tell. There were more pressing issues. “As interested in my love life as I’m sure you must be, I’m here to talk about you.”
“Me?”
“Yes, I gather from the Winter Queen’s absence from the ball last night that she has no interest in aligning against the Fates. In fact, knowing how cold she is,” Kaelem resisted a chuckle, “odds are, she’s already allied her court with The Fates’ cause.”
“And what does that have to do with the Summer Court?”
“I know about your excursion at the Seelie ball. I expect such viciousness from Nevina, but your involvement surprised me.”
“I…didn’t come up with the plan,” Cade said.
“But you participated in it nonetheless. No judgment here. I’ve done plenty of cruel things for my court. I’m not here to lecture you.”
“Why are you here?”
“Because by going along with Nevina’s plan, you’ve gained her trust. I want all the allies I can get. Maybe we’re overreacting and the Fates want everyone to be friends and sing around a campfire like teenage mortals, but, more likely, things are going to change in the fae world. If war comes, having a friend on the inside might prove more powerful than a public ally.”
“You want me to pretend to be Nevina’s ally?”
Kaelem wasn’t sure Cade had the balls it took for such deception. But a spy on the inside would give his side the upper hand and, if done correctly, could save both their courts. “She’s already chosen you as trustworthy. It isn’t as if anyone would expect you to aid the Unseelie Court.”
