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May 24 - May 27, 2024
“This is nothing compared to the misery I would endure if it meant you would never know pain again, min asteren,”
“You might be oblivious to your true nature, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t creatures out there who see you for exactly what you are, girl,”
“Be careful what you ask for, Little Bird.” He stopped rowing, turning back to me slowly until only the glow of golden eyes came from beneath his hood as his stare met mine. “Some secrets are better left in the dark.”
“Why would the ferryman use the same phrases as my father?”
My birth was one mystery I was determined to solve the riddle of. Why was I protected? What was I that I had to be smuggled out of Faerie as an infant with Mab's daughter?
She wanted to know if I saw myself as the hero of my story, but I didn't. I only saw myself as the villain of hers.
“You can stop behaving as if she is the weakling and you are the savior.
I didn't care if Estrella was more powerful. I didn't care if she ruled over me, and I was the figurehead at her side. All I wanted was to stand beside her in all her glory. All I wanted was to love her for eternity.
“If you suffer, I suffer too. If you bleed, I bleed as well. If you die, then I will follow,” I murmured, dropping my forehead to hers.
“Sometimes, it is far easier to see the good in others than it is to see it in ourselves. Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is understand that while we are not perfect, the way we defend ourselves is not an indication of our character but purely of our will to live so that we might do the right thing when given the freedom to do so.”
The peace she offered transcended sex, giving me a few moments where it didn't feel like the fate of the world rested upon me and now my mate.
Those responsibilities included an heir, but this world was ugly and cruel. I didn't think I could ever bring a child into it, not while knowing the fate that child may face one day. The pain they would feel with the loss of those they loved. The pain I might feel if I ever lost them.
Love was our greatest weakness, and Mab had kept Caldris close intentionally.
“You have more allies within this court than you have allowed yourself to see. Blending in has become necessary to our survival, but I assure you, we are here. Waiting for a chance to rise up and overthrow the queen who imprisons us,”
I felt like a woman, but I needed to embrace the fact that femininity did not equal weakness. That it was only the standards men placed upon us that made us believe the two were mutually exclusive.
“Do me a favor, Princess. Don’t compliment me ever again. I prefer my head on my shoulders,” he said, his voice tinted with amusement as he looked above my head at his cousin.
This was the mate I’d waited centuries for. A queen of death and carnage.
“I want to complete my mate bond with Caldris. I want to be given access to the Cove, so that we can finally unite ourselves as one.”
A jolt of disbelief struck me in the chest, with the realization that the very dances I’d been tormented into memorizing by the Priestess had been taken from the Fae. We’d stolen the culture and heritage straight from the very things we claimed to hate.
“Every Tithe, the tree chooses one God to channel the magic of the ritual,” Caldris explained, that deep voice patient and understanding even as he ground his cock into my ass like he couldn’t help himself. “The tree chose me, and as my partner, you’re to be the conduit.”
Umm… what?🧐
“The tree feeds on sex to help it rise from the ashes after the Tithe. The others’ desire will feed into me because of the magic it’s given me for the night. Desire that I will use to fuck you until morning.
I could see him lay a hand upon each of my ass cheeks, lifting and spreading me so that he could see the wet flesh between my legs. I flushed, thinking of just how on display the position had put me to the couples behind us.
She’d been limp, pliant in the tree’s hold as it pinned her there suspended for me to fuck over and over again. The magic riding my body had rendered me unable to stop, seeking out my
own pleasure that never quite seemed to satisfy that deep hunger within me.
I’d hissed when the hot water scalded every tender part of my body, cursing that kinky fucking tree to Helheim and back.
“You’re as much a monster as me,” she mumbled, the words barely audible. “For him, I will be.”
The lie tumbled from her lips so easily, even I questioned if it was true. Until the realization settled over me, sending a shock through my chest at the confirmation of what Mab had already suspected. Estrella wasn’t Fae.
I rolled my neck from one side to the other, reveling in the feeling of freedom without that damn collar. I felt more animal than human—than Fae—as I waited to hear what my mate and handmaiden had conspired to do.
“I am your father, Estrella,” he said, his voice staying gentle as I swayed forward involuntarily. “You’ve been so brave, but I need you to fight for just a while longer.”
Tendrils spread through the water like ink, like tentacles. In the crystal-clear water of the Cove, I watched Estrella’s terror widen her eyes in shock as those tendrils wrapped around her ankle.
“Caelum!” Estrella called, her mouth filling with water as she was pulled under. And then my mate was gone.
To tartarus
