Safe and comfortable are two things I’ve always aimed for in my life but were never freely given. Sitting with these two males, though, I feel it.
“We need to help those people,” Rivern says out of nowhere, my head swivelling around to meet his compassion. His face is pensive as I watch his swirling lines dance over his skin, his fingers tapping on my thigh. “Bring them to Terra.”
“The fae would allow humans in Terra?” The surprise in my voice is unmistakable, and a sheepish expression replaces Rivern’s thoughtful one.
“I’m the prince, and I have some sway over the council elders. If we explain that these people were cast out, it is within the Goddess’s will to offer sanctuary.” Seeing my confused face, he continues. “I don’t know what your stories state, but we fae are generally a kind and merciful people.”
“Maybe we could get the people out first and then come back for the king and Castor?”
I mull my words over.I would love to see the king go up in flames along with his son, but to what end? Will we have to fight Gideon and Fenrir? What about the villagers who bow at his feet? Would the fae helpin reclaiming Haven?Just because Rivern is willing to take in villagers without a home doesn’t mean he’s willing to fight with me.
What am I even fighting for?I wish you would answer me.
“Little Dove.” Rivern jiggles my leg.
“Sorry,” I say, my eyes finding the shifter who watches me with interest from his chair, stroking his beard. “What do you think, Gideon?”
He sits up in his chair, leaning his elbows on the table. “I think any plan you have of killing the king and Castor right now is foolish, but getting the people to follow you to Terra is doable.”
“But what about any future plans I have to kill the king?”
He growls, “I don’t want to know about it.”
“Okay.” We give each other one last long look. It’s like he’s trying to tell me something, but I can’t piece together all the parts.
“You will need to leave before sunrise, though. The king has requested you be brought before him after he eats his morning meal. That’s my only instruction, so you better be long gone before he asks for your head on a platter.”
I gulp, and Rivern stands beside me, his chair tumbling backwards. “Your king is not killing my bonded.”
“If that is the case, I suggest you both be on your way.”
twenty
Dove
Without haste, Rivern hasme heading back towards the tunnels and away from the king’s manor.
We left my beast sitting in his warm cave, drinking tea.
The further we move away from the dyre wolf, the more the chill of the air seeps through my body. Rivern has a strong grasp of my hand as he leads me through the darkness. Apparently, fae have superior eyesight, which explains the lack of lighting options currently on our trek through the underground space. All I can seeis pitch-black.
“If memory serves me right, up here should be a door.” He crouches down, fiddling around with his free hand. “Here.” A groan comes from the wall as Rivern pushes us towards it.
Soon, we find ourselves falling into another dark and musty-smelling area.
Rivern wastes no time pushing me behind him and scanning the space around us. A soft light comes from a staircase towards the back of the room, just now coming further into focus.
The solid fae prince in front of me gives the all-clear, and I push at him. “You can’t keep pushing me behind you at every unknown.”
The bond hums at my words.
“Tell that to my chest. Plus, you don’t exactly scream ‘warrior princess’,” Rivern counters, turning to face me.
A healthy, golden gleam emanates from his swirling lines in the soft glow of the staircase light as his eyes burrow themselves into every curve of my petite frame.
Tremors rake my body, and little pangs of desire move down through my belly. “Well, if the bond has anything to do with it, the princess thing seems quite imminent.”
One very agitated fae prince advances towards me. It’s hard to keep my eyes away from him as I notice the way his breeches mould to his legs, muscles bunching in all the right places. The green tunic sits just around his hips, giving me a solid view of the sizable bulge below.
