“I should have been the man to tear apart that monster,” Arach snarled. “You will not stop me from seeking vengeance again, wife. Blood and bones are mine to claim as leader of the Wild Hunt.”
“I already said I'd clue you in,” I snapped. “Don't press your luck, Dragon. You're starting to piss me off!”
Arach started laughing as he continued to piston into me, and I smiled against the smooth bark of the orange tree. Perhaps I'd bring him out there again in the Spring when the orange blossoms perfumed the air. That would be magnificent.
My dragon pulled out and turned me around to shove my back against the trunk while he lifted both of my legs around his waist. Then he kissed me sweetly as he slowed his thrusting to a deep grind. When he eased out of our kiss, it was only far enough to lay his forehead against mine.
“You always know just how to soothe me,” Arach whispered. “And just how to make things perfect between us again.”
“Is that what we are? Perfect?” I whispered back.
“Doesn't this feel perfect to you?”
“So perfect that I never want it to stop.”
“Well, you did say you were going to rock my world tonight,” he reminded me.
“Perhaps we should get back to our guests and finish the feast first.”
“I need a few minutes more, A Thaisce.” Arach punctuated his words with a deep thrust that he kept inside me. “I want to feel you clenching around me as you come. And the kitchen staff need to hear you scream for me again.”
“What?” I glanced over my shoulder, through the shadows of the orchard and toward the kitchen door.
A group of fairies stood in the open doorway staring into the garden with concerned expressions. We were too far away for them to see us, but voices carry in the night, and they had definitely heard us. If nothing else, the crashing of the pear tree would have alarmed them.
Arach chuckled. “I think I drew their attention with my roaring. We really should let them know everything is all right.”
“You mean, we really should let them know that their king is an amazing lover.” I smirked at him.
“Your words, not mine,” he said before he dipped his head and silenced the rest of my protests.
Silenced until I screamed for him, that is.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The next day, the other royals of Faerie arrived, including the High King and Queen and their son, High Prince Lugh. The Prince was dating Isleen and immediately gravitated toward her after greeting us. The rest of the royals were shown to their rooms to freshen up before the activities began.
First came the hunt, and it wasn't at all what I'd expected. Instead of an animal, we rode through the Forgetful Forest in pursuit of a golden apple. The Fey considered apples to be sacred fruit, and Arach had fashioned one from solid gold and then enchanted it. He hung his masterpiece in an apple tree in the Forgetful Forest and challenged our guests to bring it down with their arrows. The task would have been easy for anyone competent with a bow, except for the apple's enchantment. Once it was spotted, it remained for only a few moments before it would disappear to take up residence in another tree. The goal was to shoot it from its branch before it made a run for it.
I had more fun than I've had in ages. Outside of the bedroom, at least. Thirty minutes into the hunt, laughter rang through the Forgetful as our guests entertained each other with their magical and physical antics. They climbed trees and crept through the undergrowth like predators, trying to sneak up on the golden apple. The hunt became about more than treasure, it was the win they were after; the pride of being the smartest, quickest faeries in the forest.
The prize was finally brought down by the Earth Queen and her deadly aim. Her husband kissed her soundly for her triumph, and she proudly held the golden apple above head as she galloped back to the castle with the rest of our company cheering.
We provided other activities for the children as well. They had their own apple hunt, but it was a bit easier than ours and didn't involve weapons. We held it in the Weeping Woods inside the borders of our kingdom instead of in the more dangerous Forgetful Forest. Not that any of those kids were defenseless; they came equipped with their own weapons. The Hidden-Ones kids alone could have probably have defended themselves and the others as well as a full-grown Sidhe.
Later that afternoon, the adults gathered under a massive pavilion behind Castle Aithinne, in the Fire Kingdom, and watched the children play as we lounged about and enjoyed refreshments. That's when Arach announced the second game. Thankfully, it wasn't as strenuous as the first. What it was, was brilliant. It forced people to socialize. Not that faeries were antisocial, but there had been some strain between the kingdoms that was still in the process of being repaired. His game would help form some good memories between us.
“There is still another treasure to be found!” Arach stood to announce.
Every head swiveled to stare at him eagerly.
“Someone here is carrying a ruby the size of an egg,” he went on.
“A Pilger's egg or a Joster's egg?” the High King asked, and everyone laughed.
A Pilger is a small, faerie bird, and a Joster is a large one. It was akin to asking if the ruby was the size of a robin's egg or an ostrich's.
“A pilger, you greedy king,” Arach said good-naturedly. “But that's not all. Our pixies will create a setting for the ruby to the specifications of the winner. Whether you wish a pendant or a dagger, they will make it for you.”
