She shoos her server away with a flick of her finger, but the mers at her feet stay, stroking the blue fins that continue to ripple around her ankles.
“The Silver Sands princess, Moyrie, has agreed to broker a breeding deal with you and her people.” Now, finally thinking about it, I don’t know if she has such authority among her people. She made the original deal with us in the Silver Sands, so maybe princesses in her kingdom have more say than the princes and princesses of other territories.
On hearing her name, Moyrie comes before the queen and bows slightly—just enough to show a modicum of acknowledgement of Calypso’s status as queen.
The queen squints, eyeing me down. “What of those males?” She points at them accusingly.
“They are bound to me and cannot breed with anyone else.”
“Unfortunate,” she muses, eyeing each of us individually. I don’t waver when she looks into my eyes, knowing that’s where her magic lies.
She stands before walking down the dais steps. “In truth, I’m impressed. You’ve somehow managed to get past my cerulean, many-legged beast, and you also have this big, hairy one enamoured with you.” She pouts, stroking her collarbone. “I was so fond of him when I found him. Now I see his full size, it is quite concerning.”
Holding in a laugh, I move my head up and down in agreement.It is also a concern of mine.I’ll keep that a secret.
The queen moves before Moyrie.
Moyrie’s reflective scales glitter blue. The sight of them is truly a feast for the eyes … Moyrie, with her slitted orbs and hairless body, and Calypso, with her varying shades of blue, long pink hair and fluttering fins.
Calypso puts a finger underneath Moyrie’s chin, lifting it high, whispering, “So you are a princess?”
Their eyes are locked. I wonder if the mer is bewitching my new friend. If anyone can look after themselves, it’s Moyrie. Plus, I’m not sure the spell works on females.
Dropping her hand, the queen quirks her head to my side. “Tell your princess she has a deal. I do so like the way their scales shimmer in the water light. And their males are much more agreeable, with a proven history.” She bites the last words as if Gideon and Rivern now offend her.
Goddess,my head is spinning.
“In good faith, I will attend your little sing-along for Orion. However, by the next heat, I want willing males here, ready toseed us.”
She strides towards the dais, listing her demands. Before sitting down, she turns to sweep my body with her gaze—a long, drawn-out swoop from my head to my toes.
“And I’m bored. We haven’t had visitors in centuries. I want a show.”
I just knew we couldn’t get away with all our demands that easily. Of course, something had to give.What possible show could she want?
“I…” I try to respond, she continues.
“You say they belong to you. I want you to prove it. I saw how the golden one with those lines on his skin had no trouble claiming your lips before.” I don’t know whether I should curse Rivern and his wayward hands or praise him. “And I see how that hairy wolf of yours hovers over you. The princess may wait on me while I have my dinner. You three, I want a grand performance. Something that will wet my thighs until the Silver Sands males arrive.”
I’m pacing in a much smaller cave assigned to us by one of the queen’s people. It contains a small pond to the right of the oval-shaped room with a trickling waterfall down one side of the cave wall. A four-seater table and chairs made of stone sit to one side, and a clamshell bed. Mostly, it’s sparse, reminding me of my old bedroom back in Haven, inthe damp underground. This room has much finer bedding arrangements, compared to my cold stone floor piled with old rags.
Making my way over to the charming bed, I slump down, bouncing up and down before steadying myself. Velvet downy sheets ripple deliciously through my fingertips. Unable to help the fall of my body, I starfish backwards, closing my eyes.
“Can I rest now?” I mumble at no one in particular.
Finally, after turns of travel and sitting in a cage for what seemed like a whole rotation—but I now know it was only one suns and moon cycle—I want to rest my aching body. The chill isn’t pervasive in my bones anymore now that Gideon has lent me his heat. The tiredness, though, is a flood to my senses—one I can’t keep away.
I don’t bother opening my eyes again. The bed dips next to me, my body rolling into the summer forest scent that is Rivern.
“You can rest,” he whispers softly against my ear, tucking me in close, his arms enveloping me.
One thing I have realised since being with this fae male is that home is not a place, it’s a person—or maybepeople, in my case. I have no problem snuggling close to his firm, smooth chest and falling into a deep sleep.
thirty-four
Gideon
Mybonescrunchtogetherin a way that is no longer painful. It’s like coming out of a deep sleep, especially this time. I transition back to my human form, only to find myself standing in a room surrounded by my travelling companions.
