We weren’t mates, and that meant I would never have a little girl with Fallon’s hazel eyes or a boy with her shrewd intelligence. After spending hours watching her braid hair for the girls of Oceanmere and the way they flocked to her, that truth was heavy in my chest. “We will not have children for you to bear or raise, Sunfire. It will be just you and me, forever.”
“And the entire court that’s depending on us,” she said, her words feeling heavy as I smiled.
“I think you will find that the Summer Court is generally home to some of the most spontaneous of the Fae. We’re an impulsive group, and our people would not judge us if we take off for destinations unknown every so often. I promise I will take you to explore Alfheimr if that is what you want. It is never going to be my goal to lock you away like a queen in a tower,” I said, reassuring her once again of my intentions for our relationship. I couldn’t fault her for the distrust given how she’d lived for so long.
I barely understood anything about what had come to pass in Nothrek in the time since the Veil had been erected, but what I did know was that it had left a lasting mark on Fallon. Given that she’d been hidden away from the worst of it, I couldn’t imagine what the other women who came to Alfheimr would be battling with their mates.
Having love that was predestined was a blessing in some ways and a curse in others.
Estrella’s blatant defiance made more sense now that I understood. She had spent lifetimes in subservience. She refused to spend another, and the understanding I’d gleaned from Fallon’s assertions about Nothrek endeared her to me a little more. I didn’t like what her recklessness could bring to those around her, including Fallon, but I couldn’t fault her for it either.
“You would be smarter to lock me away, and we both know it,” Fallon said, scoffing with disbelief. “I don’t know the first thing about what it takes to be Fae! I don’t even know how to use my magic or what is the norm for any situation I might encounter. I’m going to make a fool of myself, because I’ve got no clue what is expected of me as Queen,” she added, and I filed away the admission she’d given. The slip of words that acknowledged the magic that she carried within her but kept tucked away. Even though I’d suspected it, it was still a shock to my system.
Curiosity burned within me, making me want nothing more than to ask—to demand to know what magic she possessed.
It could be nearly anything.
Instead, I squeezed her hands, leaning forward to kiss her gently enough to silence her protests. Her magic would be there come morning, but the spiral of her thoughts needed handling in that moment. “I was never meant to be King either. We will learn and adapt, and we will do it together. Who cares what’s expected of us? We’ll do it our way.”
“Our way?” she asked, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to her that we could simply forge our own path. There was little in the way of traditions when it came to ruling that were passed down from one ruler to another, because there had only been two nobles of the Summer Court since its creation.
And Rheaghan had not had a Queen at his side in all his time as King.
“You can be as involved as you want. There are no rules, Fallon,” I said, even though I had every intention of encouraging her to sit at my side in all ways. I touched my mouth to hers once more before backing away slightly, not wanting the energy between us to shift into something sexual all over again.
She nodded slowly, her breath a slow sigh as she considered her options. “No rules,” she said, and I had the distinct feeling that there had never been a time when she wasn’t controlled in all aspects of her life.
That she’d lived with more rules than she knew how to count.
I resolved to remove them all from our lives, so that she was beholden to none but herself.
NINETEENFALLON
I woke the next morning clad in a man’s tunic, my memories from the night before not as hazy as I would have liked under the circumstances. The way I’d all but thrown myself at Etan made me wince, even as his deep, even breaths ruffled my hair where he’d cuddled into me as we slept.
“I wish we could stay here for a few days,” he said, confirming that he’d awoken before I did, and stayed to avoid disturbing me.
I pulled away and sat, tugging my knees into my chest and feeling vulnerable after last night. I didn’t feel hungover in the sense that I would have expected, given how much wine I’d drunk the night before, but my head felt groggy as Etan brushed my hair out of my face and moved to sit beside me.
“You want to go frolic in the ocean some more?” I teased, smiling through my discomfort. The compromise we’d reached the night before left me feeling raw, because while I’d had physical intimacy, I’dnever had the emotional intimacy that came with a relationship. The latter left me more exposed and laid bare than sex ever had.
“Fuck the ocean,” Etan said with a grin. “I meant I want to stay in this room with you so we can have time to ourselves. I think it would benefit both of us to lay the foundations of our relationship before we tackle all the other stuff that’s waiting for us at home. If only we had the time to spare.”
His smile was gentle, as if he understood just how deeply the promise of the duty that waited for us would affect me. “What exactly will it entail?” I asked, curling my legs even tighter to my chest.
Etan adjusted his position, moving farther onto the bed and pulling me into his lap. He wore nothing but a pair of shorts, leaving his broad chest naked for me to take in the curve of his shoulders and the grooved muscles that covered his torso. Even though we were both barely clothed, the position wasn’t intended to be sexual as his hands came down on my waist and squeezed reassuringly. I hated to admit that I appreciated the closeness of his body, that his skin beneath my hands did something to soothe me.
“We will prepare for the wedding and coronation separately. You with the women of the court and me with the men. They’ll prepare you according to our customs and we’ll be married at sunset. We will celebrate all night and then we will consummate our marriage in the tides before the court as the sun rises over the horizon. I trust the audience will not bother you,” he said with a little smirk. My cheeks flushed even though his words were true, because I wasverycomfortable with being watched.
Enjoyed it, even.
“They’ll each offer a sliver of their immortality to us through touch as we make love. The men making the offering to you and the women to me,” he said, and my brow snapped down.
“They’ll touch you?” The venom in the words shocked even me, because I’d never come close to feeling possessive over a man, not even once.
Fuck.
Etan grinned. “Not like that. It’s a brush of a hand over your shoulder or arm or something mostly innocent enough outside of the context of the situation. It’s a touch that even mates can tolerate.”
