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Then he go ahead an’ make me gag real hard-like when he say, “Thank you for fighting beside me in the cottage, Flumph.” Shadow Dick go all quiet then, makin’ me real awkward, an’ I don’t know whats to say so I just say somethin’ real random.

“How ‘bout them fuckin’ spirits possessin’ the soldiers?”

He snort an’ I knows he know what I doin’. I thinks it funny how we talks ‘bout them creatures like we ain’t similar to them. Heck, for all the Shadow King know, he might be from this place! Not much known ‘bout The Veil. Then he tell me what he reads in the library ‘bout him’s kind, lookin’ all sad. Guss he ain’t from here. Some witch did somethin’ to some rocks an’ he was born or some shit... I don’t know, I gave up listenin’ after a while. ‘Specially when we get to the Echoin’ Spire.

That thing is huge!! Bigger than even Masky—an’ that sayin’ somethin’, ‘cause he real big. I don’t likes the ones in the robes, though. They fuckin’ scary.

CHAPTER THREE

CAMBION

Oronrel

I stand in my study. The balance is in shambles and Variant has all but taken over what’s left of the three realms. My hands tremble slightly as I grip the tankard of mead delivered to my door by one of the faerie servants in my employ. They will all leave soon enough if Variant has his way, for we’re on the brink of war and destruction. I drain the mead from my cup and slam it onto the surface of my desk. It has been many years since I’ve partaken in such activities. My body was once a temple.

A sharp knock sounds on the door. “Enter,” I shout, thinking it’s one of the servants. But it’s not. Instead of a fae creature, something else entirely steps into my study. Her pale locks and even paler skin practically glow in the faint light cast by the fire. My eyes devour her as the subtle curves barely concealed beneath the confines of her clothes beg to be appreciated fully.

“Who are you?”

“Eilish, My King.” The slight rasp to her voice makes my prick thicken in my trousers. That’s a voice that should be screaming my name to the rafters. “And I come here to make a request.”

I wish for her to keep talking, for the words that drip from her succulent lips make me think lecherous thoughts. I’m drunk, but not from the liquor. In fact, it takes quite a lot for me to feel inebriated by common drink.

“What would your request be?” I saunter over to her, drinking in the sound of her labored breaths. She’s nervous. Good. She should be. My hands itch to squeeze her ample ass and caress the tantalizing curves of her hips and breasts. Fuck. That’s a body crafted for sinful pleasure. I continue to advance, placing my body between hers and the door. “Speak up, Eilish. It’s not wise to keep a king waiting... unless you toy with danger in hopes of being punished for it.”

“N-no. Not that,” she insists. “My mother and sister are in danger and that’s why I’ve come.”

“You believe I can help?”

She nods. “I know you can help. You are the king.”

“And what do I get in return?”

She nods again, as if she expected this line of conversation. “For their protection, I would do anything.”

“Anything?”

“Whatever you ask of me, my liege.”

“Whatever I ask?”

“I’m sure you understand my meaning, My King.” Eilish’s fingers dart to the tie that keeps her robe closed. She pulls the string and allows it to slip from her shoulders. Finely crafted leathers and delicate lace cling to her glorious proportions, a perfect contradiction that makes me throb with need as her words echo in my mind.

I flick open the clasp between her breasts and they spill from the fabric as if they’re eager to feel my hands and mouth. “You would give me your body to save them?”

“I would, My King.”

“And who do they need saving from?” I ask, still thinking clearly enough to know the stakes of this arrangement and the weight they carry even after she leaves me this evening.

“An Unseelie lord’s son. He calls himself Prince Yanhir, though he holds no such title. My sister has been hurt by him many times because he thinks he’s entitled to whatever he lays his eyes upon. She resisted and paid a horrible price. So I killed him in retaliation, and now his father seeks to do us harm... as well as… another.”

Her revelation doesn’t surprise me entirely. “And who is this other threat?”

“Unknown, My King,” she admits bashfully.

“You don’t know?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve never seen it, but it’s something very dark.”