We didn’t let go of one another, arms tightening against the other as the intensity rose. I fucked her in shorter, but much more forceful thrusts, grinding into her as she met me with rolling undulations of her hips. Her breasts pressed against my chest as our tongues battled for dominance.
She was clenching down around me so hard that I worried I wouldn’t last much longer despite my usual stamina. So I slipped a finger down to her clit and rubbed it until I felt her orgasm begin. The feeling of her walls caressing me as her arousal leaked down around my cock was enough to have me cumming, spilling inside her as she collapsed against me.
I pet her hair as we both panted, trying to catch our breath. Her finger twirled a piece of my hair as she ran her other hand down my back. I loved these moments, in the aftermath, where we both had the chance to just be still and relaxed with one another.
We hadn’t had any time to justbesince Asteria accepted me as her mate. The circumstances meant that we were runningoutof time, in fact. We had to take whatever moments we could, wherever we could get them.
I had confidence we would both make it through whatever came with Cyrus, but I couldn’t help the fear that accompanied it. That the world would fall to chaos, and we would be left to fade away. There was the chance she would be taken from me.
I would fight to the end to ensure she stayed alive. And I would also ensure that whatever fate befell us, it would be together. I couldn’t live in a world without her light, leaving me to be consumed by darkness.
So we would live together, or we would die together. There was no other option.
I would do whatever it took to make it so welived. Even if I had to burn the world completely to keep her breathing.
* * *
Walking to dinner,I held Asteria’s shaking hand in mine.
“I didn’t expect to be this nervous,” Asteria admitted, wiping her other hand over her flowy skirt. She looked gorgeous, and I had to admit that Sunrise knew what it was doing fashion-wise.
While I loved Asteria in her Night Kingdom attire most, the light, breezy fabrics of Sunrise gave me tantalizing glimpses of her legs and breasts. They’d even provided one in purple with gold accents for her. I was wearing the men’s version, with loose linen pants and a sleeveless top folded that dipped into a low V at my chest, exposing the iridescent dragon scales across it. It was all in black, thankfully, with only purple and silver accents lining it.
“You’ll be fine, my réalta,” I reassured her. “You’ve stood toe-to-toe with much scarier Fae than King Gravadain, I assure you.”
She stood straighter, shaking her head, “You’re right. I swear, becoming Fae has messed with my mind.”
“Hey.” I stopped her, putting a hand on her cheek. “You’re dealing with a lot, with very little time. You will adjust, but your emotions are still going to be a bit all over the place for a while. We’ll keep working on your control. You’ve done great in your training of them as far as your magic goes, so we just need to work on extending that further.”
We’d gone out several times to train, including while we stayed at the fortress on the Etheralta Mountains. Seeing her starlight exploding over the star opal mountains was an amazing sight to see, but even more so was seeing her grasping more control over her power.
“Thank you.” She smiled softly, nodding. She pressed a hand over mine and kissed my palm.
I laced our fingers together and brought them to my mouth, kissing her fingers before we continued on. A slave was at the door, and Asteria stiffened as they bowed silently and opened the door.
I was used to seeing them in this situation, but she hadn’t had much opportunity for it since being freed. It was always an incongruous sight after spending so much time in Night. Asteria kept her eyes glued to the slave as we entered, before her gaze was eventually pulled to those around the table as they stood to welcome us.
“Ah, King Calix, Princess Asteria, thank you both for joining us.” Idalia smiled and waved at the pair of seats directly across from her.
King Gravadain was sitting at the head of the table, and his son and heir, Dagur, sat at the other end. Idalia was next to Gravadain, and their youngest son, Altan, sat next to her. The princesses Sunneva and Isleen took the remaining two spots next to Dagur.
Gravadain had conceded to having just his family present after I requested no other members of court be present. I wanted his attention, not deflection and court politics. At least as much as was possible. This was bigger than such petty maneuvering, and I hoped he had the sense to see it.
“Thank you, King Gravadain, Queen Idalia, for having us. We appreciate your invitation.” I directed my thanks mostly at Gravadain. The man was stern, and he and his wife often clashed with their opposing personalities. He had dark black skin that Altan seemed to have inherited, while the rest of their children were a lighter shade of brown, like their mother. The king of Sunrise wore his hair in braided locks that fell to his shoulders, emphasizing his prominent cheekbones and strong jaw.
“Please, sit, King Calix. It’s been many years, and I’m eager to hear an explanation for the chaos you’ve been causing.” Gravadain intoned, his expression screaming ‘unimpressed.’
Altan rolled his eyes, making eye contact for a moment as he shook his head. He mouthed ‘sorry’ to Asteria while his father was looking elsewhere. I appreciated that he took the time for it, considering his father’s clear disrespect in not even greeting her. However, I liked less how Asteria smiled back at him softly.
Much less.
He was undeniably good looking. Like a softer version of his father, his face a bit slimmer and sculpted more like his mother’s. His braided hair was pulled together in a tie that fell down his back, with shorter pieces up front that had escaped his braids flying loose.
“I’m not the one bringing chaos to our realm, King Gravadain,” I told him firmly, raising a brow. “Cyrus has lost his mind. He threatens us all with actions, courting chaos daily.”
Dagur snorted from down the other end of the table. He looked more like his mother, with golden brown skin, dark black hair that cascaded around his face in waves that fell to his shoulders, and a dark mustache with matching thick eyebrows. His gold eyes had a piercing gaze that instantly had my fire rising before I forced it back down. My instincts were never wrong, however.
“You claim Cyrus courts chaos? While you attack the kingdoms at random, killing us all left and right?” Dagur pressed, leaning on the table with those golden eyes staring me down. At least until they switched to my mate, making me grip the knife on the table a bit too hard. “While you claim a mate that threatens our very way of life?”
