Page 30
T he sun is streaming into our bedroom, the afternoon air warm from the open windows. The natural lighting in this house warms my skin, calms my nerves. The rays of sun heat my back, giving me goosebumps. I perch myself on the edge of the desk, brushing my hair off my shoulder.
“I’m going.” I jut my chin out in defiance.
His laugh is dark, sensual, as he strolls to stand in front of me. “I could have guessed you had your mind made up. But tell me, love, where are you going?”
I hate to admit his reaction catches me off guard. It says more about me than it does Ridge that I had assumed he would react poorly. “I’m not going to change my mind.” My voice wavers, knowing I’m being stubborn toward a man who doesn’t require convincing.
Oh please, you adore being recalcitrant, Artemis chirps, shaking me from the wheels turning in my mind.
“Then tell me your plan so I can adapt to it.” He flashes a disarming smile as he slips a hand to the nape of my neck. He holds me captive there, forcing me to hold his stare.
“I’m going to the Woven Wall tonight. Ingrid enchanted a map, and we found that the king is deteriorating certain spots. We can’t see the exact movement within the map because they’re using a spell on themselves in order to remain hidden. Artemis and I are going to track them, then nullify the spell he’s using. We need to learn more about what the king’s plans are. Make a stand against him. ”
His eyes flare with golden flames at my words, still holding firm to my neck. “This is very dangerous and might not yield anything we can use.”
“It’s worth the potential information.”
Ridge angles his head. “And you plan to go alone?”
“Why should I risk others when I’m the one who can nullify?”
He arches an eyebrow. “Where you go, I go.”
My toes curl, and I tip my head back as he moves his hand to my jaw, brushing his thumb over my cheek.
“You, my dear, are quite brilliant.” His eyes stay pinned on mine. I lean into his sturdy touch, a dog begging his master for continued attention. “However, you are absolutely not going alone.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to have a broody warrior join me.” I find myself unable to fathom facing this without him by my side. I hadn’t wanted him to feel obligated to join my plan if he felt it was useless, but the idea of him joining squashes my worst fears.
His deep chuckle is a warm caress on my skin as he leans in to kiss my neck. “Did you really think I’d let you leave without me?”
I sink into him. Then I remember.
“I have something for you,” I tell him, eyes closed as he kisses my throat.
He doesn’t look up, doesn’t pause.
My teeth sink into my bottom lip as his hands run up my thighs, still lazily kissing along the column of my neck. My breathing hitches as his hands move to hold my hips.
“The key,” I say breathlessly, pulling it from my back pocket. “For the Unborn Vase. Rather, a replica of it.”
He pulls away sharply, giving me a bewildered look. He plucks it from my fingers, turning it over in his palm.
“How did you get this?”
I stare at the key in his rough hands. The swirls of the bow are identical to the markings along Ridge’s arm. “Treia admitted to having it, but she wouldn’t give it up. Emmy used her power to create a copy. ”
He looks at me for a long moment, then inspects the key once more. “So she still has the original version?” I give a quick nod. “Rathian is likely crossing into the Fae Realm looking for this.”
He sets the key on the desk beside me.
I tense at the thought of the Human King being in our realm, but Ridge captures my chin with his hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he murmurs.
I incline my head, already pulling at Ridge as he threads his hand into my hair, the other pulling me in at the waist.
“Wait.” I put a hand on his chest. Ridge stops immediately, leaning his forehead against mine.
“Are you trying to kill me?”
I ignore his objection, still holding my hand firm on his chest. “What happened in Tridon?”
His sharp jawline tenses as he pulls back, brushing hair from his forehead. Silken strands fall back anyhow.
“Wouldn’t you rather discuss this after I show you how much I missed you?” His eyes darken, dipping to my lips. “I have very detailed plans to show you precisely what I thought about while I was away.”
“What are you not telling me?” I demand, shooing him off.
When he sees I’m not relenting, he backs up a step. “Tridon requests the Lower Six meet prior to pledging forces,” he says, hard lines forming on his flawless skin as he considers.
Due to my recent studying in Ridge’s library, I know he’s referring to Xecelsion and the neighboring courts; Tridon, Xanten, Fradell, Covendale, and Aledon. The Lower Six make up the Fae Realm, save for the small islands termed the Upper Seven.
They also have the second largest formal army, behind the Ravels.
“Can you tell them no?” I ask, mostly out of curiosity. “Tell them we need the forces, and there is no time for a meeting? ”
Ridge breathes deeply as he rolls his head, stretching his neck. “Yes, I could. Even so, I refuse to be that kind of ruler. The lords and ladies will begin arriving in two days.”
“How long have you been king?” I’d been curious, and the history books were older than Ridge’s reign.
“Seventy-seven years.”
I do the mental math. “You came into your power very young, didn’t you?” The sunlight hits his eyes as he watches me, softening his features as the afternoon sun becomes deeper orange. “What is your power, exactly?”
“My power manifests itself through dematerializing, but I can manipulate the universe. I can mirror whatever power I wish to,” he explains, shrugging a shoulder as if it’s nothing. “And as you know, I also have the ability to speak with anyone, so long as I’ve spoken with them before. That power doesn’t allow for them to speak back to me; that is unique to tethering.
“My father, my grandfather, were both fair rulers, more involved than I ever have been. Neither one of them was ever extremely powerful, but enough so to be kings.” Ridge’s eyes turn stony, distant. “From a very young age, my parents, namely my mother, knew I was going to be different.
“The current King Rathian Zan is the third. His grandfather enacted the Wall when I was still young, after a meeting with my family in Xecelsion.” Ridge rips his eyes from mine. I can see hurt lining them at the memory. “I was maybe ten. Orion and I made a mess in the woods practicing our powers. King Rathian Zan the First saw that, and was terrified of it.” I grip Ridge’s hand, tracing lines in his palm. “He went back to Torrent, convincing the most talented spell-masters from Wastelands to help him. He forced them to create something before sunrise to keep the Fae separated from the human side of the continent.”
“What happened to any Fae who were on that side of the continent? Humans on this side?”
Ridge closes his eyes for a moment, opening them and holding my gaze. “He killed any Fae who remained on that side of the Wall. He allowed the spell-masters to remain in the Wastelands, because they served a purpose to him. The humans on this side scrambled to get back to their own realm.”
“His entire family is made up of cowards,” I whisper, squeezing Ridge’s hand.
He smirks at me. “ I’m the coward. I should have done something about this a long time ago. I was too preoccupied with keeping the peace so that I could maintain my privacy.” He looks off behind me, toward the vast, rolling sea beyond. “This has gone on too long. Rathian is creating fucking monsters with our own sacred Vase.”
“This is not your fault.” I straighten from leaning on the desk, gently taking Ridge’s face in my hands. I angle him to look at me, so he can see how much I mean the words. “We can still win this.”
He puts his hands over mine, turning to kiss my palm. I take my finger and trace the scar toward his ear, at his hairline.
“What happened here?” I breathe, still tracing the scar with a finger as his hands fall away. His hair tickles my finger as I study his tanned face.
“King Rathian Zan the Second hired a hitman to assassinate me when I first became king. I killed him, but not before he got to my parents.” His words are sharp; the promise of swift death dances in his voice, despite the time that has passed. “My only regret is I did not make his death slower, more painful.” His eyes scan my face, as if searching to see if I’m now afraid of him.
I’m not.
I hold his gaze, letting him see my unwavering affection, letting my power flicker in my gaze. Nothing he could say would dampen what I feel.
“This is who I am, Aledrya. Revengeful. Deplorable. The other courts coming here, this war, it’s all going to reveal that to you. You will have to decide if that is something you can live with.” His throat bobs, and my heart stumbles at the sight of it. His voice shifts deeper, strained. “I don’t know that you will like what you see when it comes time to make challenging decisions.”
I’m undeterred by the image he’s painted. “You made me promise, you get me on my worst days. I get your worst days, too. You know more than anyone the darkness that lives in me. Yet you didn’t walk away from me.” My hands drop, trailing to his chest, pausing over his heart. “Showing me a new part of you isn’t going to change how I feel. I told you I’m yours. No broken promises.”
“I knew about that dark side long before you did, love.” Ridge’s hard features diminish, capturing the hand laying over his heart with his own.
“Prick,” I say with a slight laugh.
Moving his hand to sink into my hair, Ridge angles my face up. His lips are tantalizingly close, making me immediately heady from his touch. I crave him, my entire being sings in his presence.
“I should have made you mine the moment you leaped onto Artemis’s back and followed me into battle.” His lips pulled into a coy smile. “I thought to myself, ‘look at this snarky, brazen woman following me into the Beneath.’ When I sought you out after the battle, you immediately asked if I was all right.”
I sink my hands into his hair, claiming his mouth with mine. There is nothing soft or tender about this kiss.
It’s frenzied. Thrilling.
I allow him to blindly lead me; pushing me until the back of my legs hit the bed. Letting myself fall, our mouths are separated just long enough to tug off our clothing.
He's back, leaning over me, holding himself up as he kisses me. I can hardly stand it, the need for him, the feeling in my heart threatening to crack my entire chest in two. He rips his mouth from mine to kiss down the column of my throat, dragging his tongue up before planting kisses all the way back down.
“Please,” I beg. My hands roam over his muscled back, feeling every scar and indent. I move my hand to his broad, marked chest, and he sits back on his knees, waiting.
I let my legs fall open, laying my arms above my head, letting him see how ready I am for him. He blows out a deep exhale as he surveys my body. I melt into the bed from the way his eyes drink me in. Reaching forward, my hand strokes him, rubbing against the head with my thumb.
His eyes turn dark and greedy, as he slides off the edge of the bed and pulls me by my hips with him. I prop up on my elbows, watching his head dip between my legs. He wastes no time greedily tasting me; my hips buck in response. I let my head loll back with a moan, unable to comprehend how good it feels to have his touch on me.
He sticks his finger in me at the same time that he swirls his tongue on me, and I collapse fully onto the bed. My hands find his hair, my hips still rocking. He grips my waist, his tongue matching every thrust I throw at him.
He reaches up, twisting my nipple. I cry out his name—this time instead of a request, I’m begging .
I grab for his shoulders, nails digging in. “I need you inside of me. Now.”
“Thank gods,” he says breathlessly, hauling up to crash into my mouth.
I grab him, pulling him to me. When he slams in, my moans could have shattered our windows. I will never be used to this intimacy, this depth of him inside of my soul.
Everything about this mends a hidden portion of me I didn’t realize needed repairing. I’ve been gluing back the pieces all these years. Building myself back.
I’d thought Ridge fixed me.
But in reality, he handed me the tools needed to mend myself.
Something about this joining is exhilarating, even more than before. There is a fullness in my chest, as if something is expanding it, pumping it with air. I grind against him, sweat coating our skin as he slams into me, kissing my jaw.
His hand finds my breast again, fingers twisting my nipple. I arch my head back, exposing more of my throat to him. He growls, claiming it and sucking on my neck like I’m his favorite treat.
“Tell me, do you know what you’ve done to me? All I do is think about you. How strong you are. How your lip quivers when I bring you pleasure.” He slams into me for emphasis.
I whimper in response, clawing at his back.
He flips us until I’m straddling him. Something about this position feels so empowering, the way he looks at me like I’m the most treasured thing in existence. He grips my hips still, moving me up and down on him .
“Gods, Ridge,” I bleat, not bothering to be quiet. Him being absolutely feral like this is all I want right now.
Sitting up, he brings our chests together as I move on him. Bringing a hand up around my back, he hooks it over my shoulder. “I plan to spend every damned day of my life like this with you.” His voice is gravelly. I lean forward, biting his shoulder to muffle the noises leaving my throat. “You are so perfect, Aledrya. And mine .”
His words send my eyes rolling back into my head as he slams into me with utter abandon. With every thrust, I can feel a thread being added to our tie, the tether itself growing thicker, stronger. Something blooms in my chest at the feeling, sending me into bliss once again.
Ridge goes with me; something about this feels so final and different. I collapse against his chest, his heart thundering with the same erratic beat mine is.
Straightening so I can study him, Ridge twirls a strand of hair in his fingers. Rough fingers trace my jawline as I admire him. His dark markings across his expansive chest, his eyes still aglow with emotion from our joining.
“When you look at me like that, it’s impossible to not have an ego.” He groans, grabbing the base of my skull and pulling me back in to kiss him.
He pulls away, eyes roving over my face. “I may have said that you are mine, but really, you own me . You could tell me to leave this throne and life behind, and I’d do it.” His calloused hands run over my upper back as he speaks. “I’d give my own life for you, Aledrya. If there is ever a day you don’t have me by your side, it’s only because I would forfeit my own life for yours.”
As I capture his mouth with mine again, he spins us so he’s over me. This time when we join, it’s soft and tender, my hands unable to stop touching him.
By the time we separate, night has fallen. Darkness may be encasing the outside world, but our tether continues to burn with a fervor. My connection to Ridge feels like coming home after hours stomping through snow, greeted by a deliciously hot meal and flames lapping in the hearth .
Our tether pulsates in time with his thumping heart. Mine thrumming happily along with it.
My soul is tangled to his, twisted in knots that I never plan to undo. There won’t be a life for me after Ridge. Where he goes, I go.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30 (Reading here)
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37