It’s past moonfall when she finally comes to bed, falling asleep the second her head hits the pillow. I make a promise to myself that she’ll be mine when she awakens.
So when I wake upalonethe following moonrise, I shove open the door to her dance room to find her mid-stretch at the barre with her sisters. They’re all dressed in the tutus and pointe shoes I bought for Dahlia, in various shades of pink and red, while a musician plays soft music at the piano.
“I’m practising, dear husband,” she says without looking at me.
“I can see that,” I grumble. “Once you are finished we’re going to spend the night together. I’ve arranged for a carriage to take us to the night market again?—”
“Much too busy, I’m afraid.” She arches her back, stretching her arm over her head. “Another time, perhaps.”
I scowl at her. My cock throbs every time I think of how I had her pinned against the table at the feast, and her bratty attitude now isn’t helping. Neither is that slip of a dance gown barely covering her tits.
But I won’t take her in front of her sisters. I’m not that cruel. Then again… “If you intend to practise all night, I will have the servants set up a stage for you three at the party tomorrow. You can show my court what you’re working on.”
Eden shoots Dahlia a look. “A stage?” she whispers. “Dahlia, we can’t go up on a stage. Tell him we can’t dance for strangers. That was one of Father’s rules?—”
“Do what you must,” Dahlia calls out to me. Bending her knees, she keeps her gaze forward as she lowers herself. “I want costumes, though. White swan tutus. We’ll do theDance of the Swans Pas de TroisfromSwan Lake.”
“Dahlia, that’s a difficult dance,” Blossom argues. “And we are not performing?—”
“Done.” I adjust my cuffs. “If you change your mind, our carriage awaits us.” I smirk at her sisters’ furious expressions. “I’ll give you one hour to decide.” They don’t wait for me to leave before launching arguments at Dahlia.
As I close the door, I hold back a chuckle.I give you twenty minutes, little monster.She may feel perfectly happy about pissing me off, but she won’t bring her sisters into this. She’ll be in my carriage ready for me to claim her pain-loving cunt by midmoon.
Midmoon comes and goes while her dance room door stays shut,Swan Lakemusic streaming from the piano. It’s once again pastsunrise when she finally slips into my bed. Sleep claims her within seconds, her hands clasped around her swollen feet.
With the tightness in my groin, it’s difficult, but somehow I find it in me to let her rest. She’ll need it for the party tomorrow anyway. This time apart has made me rethink my strategy. If showering her with gifts and treating her like a queen is not good enough for my darling wife, then I shall have to give in to her darker fantasies.
And spending hours alone has given me more than enough time to get creative.
“Is the stage prepared?” I ask Kennix. The party started ten minutes ago, the guests already filling the garden space I had decorated for tonight.
Kennix nods. “Your wife and her sisters are changing into their costumes. We’ve prepared a small orchestra. The performance will begin once the guests are all here.”
“Good.” My gaze falls over the crowd. They’re mostly demons from my court and a few faeries from manor houses beyond the forest.
Girabalt laughs with Claren by a buffet table, having delivered my wife’s costumes this morning. Lanterns light up their regal clothes along with the chocolate-themed feast I had prepared.
Everyone is here to celebrate my wife’s safe return from Elheart’s palace. Even Tamryn paints away at an easel that I set up for her near the back of the garden, in case the party is too much for her.
“Sire…” Kennix’s voice lowers. “Regarding your sister?—”
“I do not wish to discuss Maeve right now,” I brush him off. “We’re still waiting for more information from Tamryn.”
According to Claren, every time he asks her where her mother is, she runs away to paint in her bedchamber. We canonly hope that Maeve is in hiding somewhere, waiting for the right time to return.
“Tamryn will let us know how to proceed once she is ready,” I explain. “Perhaps she doesn’t trust us enough yet to let us know where her mother has gone.”
Kennix frowns. “There are still rumours circulating that you are prioritising Dahlia over your sister. Throwing a party as extravagant as this while Maeve is still missing will only worsen what people are thinking.”
I huff out a laugh. “Can a man not love his wife whilst also loving his sister?” I glance at him, but he’s not matching my grin. My smile falls. “Dahlia brought home Tamryn, Kennix. Is that not enough for you?”
“I worry it is not enough for your court,” he snarls.
I shake my head. My court seem perfectly happy enjoying the party. Yes, Maeve was loved, still is, but it’s been years since she decided to leave. And in the months after she left, my spies all reported that she was content with Elheart.
While that may have changed now, my sister is not a lost child. She is strong. In many ways, stronger than me.
“Maeve will come home when she is ready,” I tell him. “In the meantime, our soldiers will not return to scout the wall. There is no point anyway. If Maeve has left the palace, then Elheart’s clearly patched up whatever hole she created by now. Tamryn was able to pass through the front gate due to her human heritage. There is no easy way in for us.”
