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The dark, predatory part of me pulled at its fetters, wishing to be free and held unaccountable for the acts of depravity it would commit without the steady hand of restraint holding it by the collar. Mine. She was mine. And sometimes, the urge to throw her over a table and fuck her raw in front of everyone so that they would know that was too much to fucking bear. My cock stirred in my pants just thinking about it.
“Face the mirror,” I commanded. Saeris huffed, disappointed, I thought, but she did as I had instructed. We stood together there, reflected in the glass: two pale creatures, both raven-haired, one with eyes of blue, the other green.
My shadows spilled over her shoulder and up the column of her neck, caressing her, and Saeris’s breath stuttered, her skin forming goose bumps in reaction to my magic. I knew exactly what I was doing when I bent down and held her eye contact in the mirror, whispering softly into her ear. “A lesser male would sink his teeth into you right here and now and fuck you until you screamed.”
“A lesser female would beg you to,” she answered. Oh, my Little Osha. She knew how to walk a dangerous line. “It wouldn’t be wise to provoke me to action, Osha. Not with you looking like this. I do love to mar a pretty thing.” “Is that so?”
“A queen should never enter into a political setting feeling stressed, Osha,” I purred. “I’m helping, I promise.”
This female, who shone brighter than the suns of her home and mine combined, was my mate, and every single member of this court would be reminded of that fact.
“I was reminded recently that I was a wolf,” he said, smiling softly. “And wolves do not cower in dusty libraries, afraid of their own shadows. I swear myself to you, Saeris Fane. I will carry out your bidding so long as there is breath left in me. And when I pass from this place and move on to the next, I will carry your banners there and storm the gates of heaven in your name if you wish it.”
“They’re lucky I’m not tearing you out of this dress and bending you over that fucking throne right now, Saeris,” he growled.
You’re allowed to stop baring your teeth at the world and take a breath. Because I’ve got you.”
For Lorreth’s family, it was a sin worse than murder to use magic—inherited, small, or otherwise.
She’d always looked good in her fighting leathers, but now they belonged on her. My chest tightened with unspeakable pride when I saw her black tresses now hung in war braids beneath her hood. Fae war braids. She had become a part of this world—a part of me—and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“I shouldn’t tell you this, since you seem blissfully unaware of the power you hold over me, but… I will give you whatever you want, Saeris Fane. Always. No matter what it costs me.”
“I’m yours to command, Queen Saeris,” I whispered into her hair.
I declare all oaths you have sworn null and void. Rise, Khydan Graystar Finvarra, in honor of the name you were given at birth! Rise up and fight
“We believe that animals are too pure for this life. They are all ascended beings who live in the after. Everything is perfect there. No pain or misfortune or heartbreak. But sometimes, they peer beyond the veil between this life and the next, and they see us here in the depths of our suffering, and they choose someone. One soul they want to help over any other. They come to us as… dear friends”—he cleared his throat—“when we need them most. You needed Onyx when you first got here, Saeris. He saw that perhaps, and he came.
Stargazers, also known as kingfishers, can be found in abundance from the Gilarian Mountains all the way down to the coastal cities of Marinth, Bodish, and Inishtar. Many individuals among the Fae, selkies, elemental sprites, and satyr populations consider the stargazer a symbol of hope.
KHYDAN GRAYSTAR FINVARRA I FUCKING HATE dragons.
