“It's my honor to heal you, Princess,” Mellie stammered. “And I was awake. We always have a night staff on duty. Your Guard and the Royal Puka have arrived safely as well. They're eating in the great hall.”
“It seems like they're always eating,” I went to sit before the fire, and let Mellie work on me.
The whole time she worked, Raza stood to the side, staring at me. His arms were crossed, making his muscles bulge even bigger, and his wings were outstretched. He should have looked intimidating, except for that lascivious grin on his face.
“All better,” Mellie gave my arm a pat. “Will you be joining us downstairs, Your Highness?”
“Not tonight, Mellie,” I gave Raza a meaningful glance. “Please let the others know that I'll see them in the morning. And ask Conri if he can look after Cat for the night.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Mellie smiled knowingly and left.
“Now,” Raza's grin widened, “about this ravishment.”
“Eek, it's a dragon!” I shrieked, threw my hands up in the air, and ran for the bathroom.
Raza stood there, confused, for just a second before he caught on.
“You cannot escape me, my pretty!”
Raza lunged after me, his wings helping to carry him across the room in one leap. He landed just behind me, and when he snatched me up, my shriek was real. His claws tore my clothes away, and I pretended to struggle. It was actually more fun than I'd imagined it to be, especially when Raza breathed fire and burned his pants away.
“I'm going to eat you alive,” he growled in my ear.
“Oh no!” I moaned. “Where ever shall you begin?”
I'm sure you can guess where he began... and where he ended.
Chapter Forty-Five
It was a very full dining hall that we dined in the next night, but the crowd put me at ease. All those fairies were there to help defend Unseelie, and I was both humbled and inspired by them. Sure, my awful grandmother had only allowed those seelie who volunteered to come, but the fact that they wanted to be there made their assistance even more valuable. They were fighting because they believed in the cause, and because they chose to. I'd rather have ten soldiers who wanted to be there over a hundred who were forced to fight.
And then there were the sea fairies. Daiyu had renewed her efforts on seducing Killian, and it was both annoying and amusing to watch. I just hoped she wouldn't take out her eventual and inevitable frustration on him. Because then I'd have to kill her, and that would probably be bad for inter-kingdom relations.
Dylan, his men, and the troops my father sent had all arrived that morning. Dylan sat at the high table with us, surveying the assemblage with satisfaction, and a little, just a little mind you, happiness.
“How long has it been since you visited Fairy?” I asked my uncle.
“Fairy or Unseelie?” Dylan countered.
“Either,” I shrugged. “Both.”
“I visited Twilight a few months before you were brought to Fairy,” Dylan said. “But Unseelie... it's been nearly a century. And I haven't been in Craos-Teine since I was a little boy.”
“Then you and Raza are around the same age,” I said in surprise.
“Are we?” Dylan considered Raza. “Close perhaps, but I remember you being nearly grown when I was still a child.”
“Yes, I think I'm a few years older than you,” Raza smiled. “I remember you. You were cute.”
“Cute?” Dylan blinked, as if the concept of him being cute was beyond him. He had dispensed with his glamour as soon as he stepped foot in Fairy, so his completely blue eyes made the expression even stranger. “If you say so.”
Raza chuckled, “Your mother would chase you around the halls, picking you up every few feet, because you were enamored with the floor.”
“I believe that was when I was quite young,” Dylan cleared his throat. “Perhaps three.”
“I think you were closer to six,” Raza said.
“So how does it feel to be back?” I asked my uncle before he got into a fight with my fiancé over his fascination with the floor.
