My name rolling off her tongue as the orgasm hits is like a pretty song, and I seal my lips over her pussy and fuck her faster with my tongue. She tastes divine, just like I expected her to, and I have to shift to press one hand to her stomach as she keeps grinding against me.
The point for tonight is torelax.
When she slowly begins to calm down, and I’ve sucked and licked up every bit of come that I can, I move away. Neve moans as I tug her legs from around my shoulders, setting them over the edge of the bed before standing.
Half-lidded eyes stare back at me, the glow from the candle almost gone. Over here, we may as well be tucked into my shadows for all the light there is.
Without a word, I scoop her up and set her the right way across the sheets, so when she passes out, she can do so comfortably. Her brows scrunch together, and hands tighten and form little fists before I take a step back.
Her breathing has somewhat evened out, but that guarded look is back. When I grab a blanket to toss over her, she pulls it in close to her chest, like she needs the extra layer of protection.
“Now what?” she breathes.
I lean in a little closer, letting my breath skate over her face as she did to me. “Now, Your Majesty, you sleep.”
I let the shadows drag me away before I do something ignorant, like kiss the Queen. She props herself on one elbow when I disappear, looking around the room.
Turning to her table, I use my ice to put out the dying candle. It drapes us in darkness, and I almost slip out of the shadows again to see if she’ll spot me.
For a moment, I think she’s going to kick off the blanket and worry some more. Or maybe she’s ready to come find me so we can get into another badly timed fight. Instead, she stays where she is for a minute, staring in my direction without getting up to confirm that I’m still here. I don’t believe she can sense me from across the room.
Then, slowly, she drops onto the sheets. I keep my distance, watching to see if she gives up on relaxation and returns to her work.
A few minutes later, her soft snores fill the room. I wait several minutes to see if she will jump-scare herself awake like usual, but she remains asleep. When I’m certain she won’t be waking up anytime soon, I move through the shadows and take my leave for the night.
Licking my lips as I step across the roof, I finally drag out my seeing stone. The damn thing started glowing before I disturbed Neve, and it’s still glowing on and off periodically. “This better be quick.”
“Hello to you, too,” Ray says, staring at me from the other side of the stone. He looks absolutely exhausted, killing my good mood after getting a taste of Neve. It’s been a few days since I last spoke to anyone at the tavern. “Short it is, then. Tomorrow, Zarev and Odette are planning to go and explore the beanstalk.”
Chapter 13 Ban
In my mind, Neve does a good job presenting to the citizens of the Frostlands. Sure, she only addresses those who live within the capital city, but she still makes an effort. I cannot remember the last time I watched Ronnie address anyone.
But behind the wall, where she stands on a podium to project her voice, her fingers fidget. She shifts subtly from foot to foot, and occasionally her brows scrunch over a particularly difficult question.
Where have you been? How will you transfer duties from the Snow Queen to yourself? How do we know you can be trusted after vanishing for a century? You could be an impostor.
Since Neve is still very much in the dark about her curse, it’s hard to answer most of the questions. She does a decent attempt at deflecting and even corrects one noble about addressing Ronnie as the Dowager Queen. From where I sit on the edge of the wall, I can see Ronnie’s smile harden.
Just before Neve finishes speaking, her mother quietly disappears. They chose to deliver this speech from a part of the palace overlooking the layered streets of the Frostlands. Although it’s a bit of a maze from the center of the city to the outskirts, the palace is elevated above the rest of the buildings around it. Some of the nobility have tall two or three-story dwellings, but the palace is structured at the top of a hill and is already above almost all the rooftops from the ground floor. Inthis spot, Neve and all the guardsmen standing here can see to the gates far beyond, though it’s too long a distance to make out anything clearly. People would have to come closer to hear her speak, and from what I can tell, many of the civilians did.
Glancing around, I don’t see a threat. The dowager shouldn’t be allowed to leave, just like anyone else invited to stand with the Queen, before her speech is over. Ronnie quietly backs up before ducking and disappearing through a side door, her two followers hurrying after her. I keep my distance behind Nyra, staying in the shadows, and pursue them.
It’s interesting how few people in her inner circle seem pleased that the real queen is back, and it’s obvious that Ronnie is controlling things from the background. Of that I’m certain, so why did she bow out before Neve had finished? I thought she would watch like a hawk until the assembly was over.
The three of them are moving a little slower today, the Icebound matching Ronnie’s slower pace. She appears stiff, and my mind drifts to the first night I met her. Back then, she was so rigid, I was surprised she could move at all. Andor did most of the work until Neve appeared.
The Icebound walk with their heads bowed, their movements almost mirroring their queen. When I spoke to Ray yesterday, I didn't even think to tell him about this. It would be an overload of information with everything else going on. Even thinking about it creates a phantom ache in my shadowy chest.
“Tom’s dying, Ban. Rapunzel keeps pushing magic into him, but the burns get worse not better. The fire that took down the tavern, it was unnatural. That flame is still festering beneath my brother’s skin, and it’s slowly killing him.”
That’s why he won’t go up the beanstalk; Thomas isn’t dead yet.
“Will you come say goodbye? He’s in a delirium, he asked about you and Lucius.”
I should go see Ray’s brother off. When I met Tom, he was barely ten, and now, he’s going to pass on. I imagine Dahlia is in shambles.
But how can I leave now, with Neve’s uneasy rise to the throne, too many secrets left unsaid, and a mysterious guest who’s meant to attend the ball tomorrow?
