The tunnel proved uneventful, though, and when we reached the first opening, I stifled a gasp. According to the princess, there were three chambers off the main passageway,but the first one was her favorite. In one glimpse, I understood why.
A cavern opened through the rock opening, every single wall glinting with assorted gemstones made of pure fire. Thanks to Princess Bavirra enjoying this pool often, faelights hung in the air like burning coals. Their illumination refracted the light off the stones, bathing the entire cavern in oranges, reds, and yellows.
“Have we reached your destination?” Vale asked when I’d been silent for too long.
At the bottom of the cavern, a pool large enough for six to bathe in welcomed us. A serene waterfall fed the crystalline bright blue pool, and in the water’s depths, those same gemstones glinted. I could not wait to jump in.
“Open your eyes.”
My husband did so, and my wonder reflected in his expression, the light within the rock gleaming in his beautiful eyes as he took in the cavern.
“How did you learn of this place?”
“Princess Bavirra told me about it! Isn’t itastounding? She claims there are private pools like this in many places beneath the mountain, but this one is her favorite.”
“She shared it with you because . . .”
“I think she’d like to be a true friend. Let’s get a closer look.”
I led the way down the steps, and Vale’s heavier footsteps followed. When I reached the bottom, I spun, looking up again, taking it all in. Isila was a world of enchantment, and though I’d grown up wearing a collar and tied to a tiny radius in Sangrael, I’d seen more of this world now. Muchof it was lovely, breathtaking, and defied imagination. Few places, though, had stolen my breath so thoroughly as this cavern.
I turned to the prince, the fae I’d fallen in love with, though I had yet to say as much. His dark eyes met mine and I couldn’t fathom why no one saw Lord Leyv Riis in him. Red hair aside, Vale’s eyes, his muscular frame and size—and most of all, his kindness, seemed to have been inherited from his father. Maybe from Queen Inga too, though my impressions of the queen were few and not all positive. In my eyes, the queen’s saving grace was that two of her children were some of the best people I’d ever known.
“So, you lured me here, wife. What will you do with me now?” Vale asked.
In answer, my fingers went to the tie of my cloak. I loosened the knot and allowed the cloak to drift from my shoulders, down, down, down. It pooled on the floor, revealing the silver dress that left little to the imagination. Already, my nipples puckered against the silk, aching for Vale to take them in his mouth.
“Fates, Neve, you nearly stopped my heart.” He took a step closer, his expression ravenous.
Before he touched me, though, my wings spread, and I took off. I flew until I was above the crystalline water and spun, a laugh spilling from my lips as Vale let out a long groan.
“Why do you tease me so?”
I faced him. “It does my heart good.”
He scoffed, which made me chuckle.
“I’ll ask the same of you, husband! Why haven’t you disrobed and joined me yet? The pool is inviting, is it not?”
“Not as inviting as the stretch of your legs.” Vale shucked off his cloak and then did one better, pulling down his britches. His long tunic remained covering his malehood. Soon enough, I’d rectify that.
The prince leapt into the air, dark wings beating as he joined me, suspended in midair above the water. Before I teased him more, Vale snatched me and pulled me close.
“Got you,” he growled, his hands pinning down my wings.
“Am I your prey?” I relished the thought despite my past of being prey to every vampire in sight. If I had to be someone’s quarry, I’d be his. And I’d enjoy it.
“Prey? No, you have done what the strongest of warriors could not. You’ve felled me so thoroughly I don’t think I’ll ever rise the same again.” He drank me in, and in his eyes I saw an entire universe. Our universe, one we would make together. “You’re my wife. My queen. And the love of my life.”
“Vale.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I love you too.”
“Thank the dead gods,” he murmured as his lips found mine.
In all the kisses I’d received and given, none have ever affected me like this. None were so simmering. So desirous and controlling. Not like, if he stopped, the entire world might shatter.
His hands, wrapped around me, drifted up and teasedalong the tops of my wings. The membrane tingled, lighting me up inside. I arched into Vale, wanting more of him.
Stars, I wanted all of him. I wanted it now.
