A wasted effort in cold like this. But I did not stop him.
Nor did I pull my hand away when we reached the gate.
For a fortress so imposing, the gate was anything but—wooden, with metal posts joining the crossbeams. I could see right through to the other side, where a crowded inner bailey was already filled with curious onlookers. But to do so, I had to look over the shoulder of the guard standing in the dead-center of the gate.
“One guard? Arrogant,” I said, flipping a dagger in my hand to stem the nervous energy.
I wasn’t afraid of the terrestrials. I was afraidforthem. If they were as obstinate as those north of the Spine had been, then many more would die. Unnecessarily.
Arran kept his eyes pinned to the singular figure before us.
“The Dolorous Guard,” he said. “You must kill the guard on duty in order to be admitted to the fortress.”
I caught the dagger in my palm. “Barbaric. I like it.”
“I’ve always wanted to try my hand against the Dolorous Guard,” Barkke said, cracking his jaw and swinging his mace.
“Any rules? Weapons, magic?” Lyrena asked. Her eyes already had that feral glint that meant blood, and she’d flicked her braid back over her shoulder.
Arran was not the type to roll his eyes. But he did sigh. “Terrestrials train their entire lives for the honor of joining theDolorous Guard. Hundreds of years. Some serve longer than a thousand.”
My smile matched Lyrena’s. “Even better.”
I felt the flash of desire shoot through Arran—oh, that wicked smile of mine really did do things to him—but he did not act on it. Instead, he stepped ahead of all three of us, battle axe ready.
“I’ve done this dozens of times over the last three centuries.”
“Bragging or reminding us you’re an old male?” I said, stepping to my place at his side. “I’ll do it.”
His beast rewarded me with a growl that had me pressing my thighs together. He coveted my wicked smiles. I reveled in the possessiveness of his beast. The male stared down at me, an argument forming in his onyx eyes.
I cut it off.
“This tattoo might symbolize something north of the Spine. But here? They won’t believe I’ve earned it.”
I’d been thinking about it constantly as we made our way south. The Terrestrial Kingdom of the Fae had accepted an elemental ruler for seven thousand years, but as a figurehead. The High King and Queen ruled from Baylaur; the terrestrial heir, be it queen or king depending on the generation, might occasionally travel back here to Cayltay every few hundred years. But I was asking for something different—demanding it. I would walk through that deceptively simple gate as Arran’s equal, bearing the mark of a terrestrial. A Talisman was sacred. The terrestrials of Eilean Gayl had not bestowed it upon me lightly. But I also knew that some here in Cayltay would see it as a rallying cry—and not to join our cause against the succubus.
Not that there should be any debate about joining. These were our troops to command.
Fucking politics.
I squeezed Arran’s hand harder where it was still hooked around mine. I wanted to reach for his face, to kiss him—fuck it. I deserved all the kisses I could get.
I molded my body against his, claiming his mouth for every onlooker to see. I was not just the Queen of the Elemental Fae. I was Arran Earthborn’s mate. This place had made him hard, these people had hurt him and his mother, Elayne. But now he belonged to me, and soon they would learn the full meaning of that.
By the time I lowered my feet to the ground, Arran was hard against me and I knew I’d won even before I said— “Let me show them.”
The ring of black fire around his pupils gave me his answer.
“Remember, you only need to kill the one.”
I flicked my other dagger into my palm. “What fun is that?”
27
ARRAN
The Dolorous Guard waited for Veyka, still and silent. Anyone who approached understood the cost of entry. If they did not, they’d learn quickly.
