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I take two things from this. The first is that he didn’t go off and fuck some chambermaid the night after he came into my room, and the second is that he is far more experienced at these things than I am.

“You haven’t been with anyone else since I released you from the cage?” I check.

He shakes his head. “No. You are the only one I want.”

“But your magic. Don’t you need to…fuck?”

The word sounds coarse coming from my lips, and I cringe.

“It doesn’t need to be full sex, no. It’s the arousal I drink from. The person’s sexual energy.”

“Did you take from me?” I want to know.

“A little, but you’re different.”

“In what way?”

His dark eyes narrow, a line appearing between his eyebrows. “I’m not sure. I noticed the first time we met that you don’t have the same kind of aura as others. It’s asthough I can stay strong just from being with you. I don’t need to drink in the same way.”

I’m still curious. “What does it feel like when you do—for the other person, I mean?”

“It can leave the other person drained.”

“I don’t feel drained when I’m with you.”

He shrugs. “Like I said, you’re different. Being with you is different.”

I wonder if this has anything to do with what the Mage told me. Could it be that I have an element of Succubus in my blood, too? I want to tell Ruarok, but something tells me to keep my mouth shut. One thing I have on my side right now is that people believe I’m full-blooded Fae, and it should only be right to have a full-blooded Fae on the throne.

If people learn the truth, maybe they’ll decide Ruarok is a better choice to be king.

33

TAELYN

I makea promise to myself that whatever this is between Ruarok and me, it has to end. I need to be focused on Askos, and the rot, and not distracted by carnal pleasures with my stepbrother.

For the next twenty-four hours, I do exactly that. I send help to those most recently affected by the rot, offering food and shelter this time, instead of money, and I start to put in place the service for us to say goodbye to the king and queen. I do my best to avoid Ruarok, and, if we ever do end up in the same room, I make sure we are never alone.

I know this won’t be enough to prevent rumors from flying, but it’s the best I can do. That doesn’t stop me recalling all the details when I’m alone, however, pressing my thighs together as the memory causes little aftershocks of pleasure to ripple through me.

I’m in the office, speaking with the cleric about the service, when the ex-head of the King’s Guard comes to find me.

“I need to speak to you in private, Princess Taelyn,” Cirrus says.

I nod to the cleric. “You can leave us.”

We wait until the older man has left the room, and then Cirrus steps closer.

His expression is grave. “I hate to be the one to raise this with you, Princess Taelyn, but people are talking.”

I grit my teeth. “So? Let them talk.”

“They are concerned about some of the choices you are making.”

“What kind of choices?”

“The journey out into the wildlands that got guards killed, and the money that was given to the victims of the rot.”