Page 9 of Beneath Swan Lake (Deadly Endings #2)

“Maybe we should’ve waited,” Rapunzel says, braiding her hair as we walk. Shadow hopping for a while was fine, but traveling to Camelot means we’ll be spending a lot of time in the shadows as is to ensure we stay safe, and not wasting energy getting there is a big deal. Once Ray left with Odette, Dahlia all but urged us to leave and head to Camelot. She complained that she didn’t want more spirits coming around if we both planned to be away, but I know that seeing me too much when her son is gone just makes her miss Raymundo even more.

Dahlia’s never going to say it out loud, but Ray is her biggest fear. We went off on an adventure once upon a time and came back half-alive, half-dead, stuck in this in-between place where the four of us are Reapers.

Truthfully, I think Rapunzel would rather head out to find Lucius in Thornton Palace. It’s a pain getting past the gates to the old castle and village beyond, and for not being a King, Lucius carries a lot of weight on his shoulders. Rapunzel still believes in the tale the Mad Queen wove about a baby traded by Midas; she won’t rest until she has answers about the girl who was thrown to the thorns around the palace .

Lucius hasn’t answered me whenever I try to contact his seeing stone, but there’s little I can do about that. For all I know he’s lost in his regrets staring into the mirror again, looking out at the world. He won’t leave the castle anymore in his beastly stone form, so it’s not unusual to not hear from him. He’s like Ban in that way, who I also haven’t heard from recently. It’s been over a month now since Ban last spoke with me, and he sounded a bit mad talking about a needle he needed to find.

With everything going on I’ve fallen out of touch with those two, and they are hard enough to reach through the seeing stones as is. There’s no way to let them know I tried to reach them. I simply have to try again.

“I just don’t want to see Arthur,” Rapunzel goes on, babbling. It’s kind of endearing when it isn’t happening on repeat. The journey to Camelot is a little like going to visit Legs, except no one in Camelot will be happy to see us once we arrive. “His court probably wouldn’t recognize me, but-”

I smooth a hand down her back, and she momentarily stops talking. She’s going to work herself up if she keeps on like that. We still have the rest of the afternoon before we reach the border to Camelot, and we decided before leaving the tavern that going in was a nighttime job. “No one’s going to see us because we’ll stay in the shadows.”

She nods. “Right. Of course.”

Studying her as we go, I know her mind is elsewhere. There’s not been a lot of time to mourn, even if her parents were bad people. She deserves to miss them, but I think she feels too guilty to do that. A lot of guilt hangs over her head because of her parents these days.

“Do you know anyone in Camelot?” she continues, pacing through the trees. “Would anyone recognize you if we weren't in the shadows?”

I consider it. Camelot isn’t all that agreeable when it comes to Reapers. Midas chose to keep his dead citizens like a commodity, which destroyed any sense of human decency. Arthur is just paranoid, afraid to let anyone in who might be a spy. Too bad Death doesn’t believe in doors. “Hard to say. No one should, but with the chaos of Mystica right now who knows who’s hiding in the Kingdom.”

“I don’t think Arthur will be forgiving if he sees me,” she admits. “Not after Modred.”

Right, Modred. I’m really hoping his soul is gone, but I can’t count on that. Ray and I discussed it, but there was so much bitterness in him after his death it’s possible he will splinter and become a wraith. That’s an issue we really don’t need right now. Reaping a wraith takes significantly more power and strength than a soul, and it took the four of us forever to figure that out. “Modred is an anomaly. He sealed his own fate.”

Rapunzel huffs but doesn’t say anything. We’re getting close now, and unlike on the other end of Mystica when you cross into Ravens Wood, there’s really no difference among the trees. It’s the same forest that stretches into Camelot, and Sherwood doesn’t care about boundaries.

Briefly, I think of Lucius. This is the closest I’ve been to my friend's home in ages, but I’m not about to bother him. He doesn’t take kindly to guests, and introductions among everyone would lead to a headache I don’t need right now. Perhaps someday I’ll let Rapunzel meet the gargoyle of a prince that hides in his castle, tucked away behind the gates and prickly border of Thornton Palace.

“What do you know about Camelot?” she asks, filling the silence of our walk. I half expected to see more soldiers up this way near the border, but I haven’t seen any troops or guards outside the walls of the kingdom.

Licking my lips, I consider what to tell her. There’s far too much history to get into right now; I decide to just give her the key points “Arthur runs the kingdom with the aid of the Knights of the Round Table. Supposedly there’s conflicts between them, though that’s mostly rumors. He’s not as liberal with doling out death as the Mad Queen, but he can be a tyrant when he wants to be. He leaves a lot of the bloodiest choices to the head of the Knights, Lancelot. There’s a lot of drama among the families and court members in Camelot.”

Rapunzel shoots me a knowing look. “That seems to be a general theme.”

“You’re catching on,” I tell her with a laugh. “There’s also Morgan le Fay, Arthur’s half sister. She’s supposed to be a witch, which would make her dangerous like the Blue Wizard that Ray mentioned.”

“I didn’t realize there were so many magic wielders,” she admits honestly, fingering the timepiece at her neck. We still don’t know what to do with it, and the hands no longer move so it seems almost silly to carry around.

“Magic comes from all types of sources,” I tell her. “So it stands to reason that a lot of different individuals would find their way into power. I don’t know anything about Morgan’s story, just that she exists. I’ve heard she handles the libraries and records in Camelot as well, so she’s likely an excellent source of knowledge.”

“If she’s on your side,” Rapunzel points out.

“Correct. And unless we find someone who knows Morgan, there’s no reason to think she might like us. It would be helpful to talk to her. She must know about all the unusual creatures in Camelot.”

“Stranger than the things I’ve seen so far?”

I laugh. “Rapunzel, every land is different. Remember the Griffin spines in your arms? They have monsters like that and more. I’ve heard of great beasts like Phoenixs too, and Ray’s siblings all believe there has to be at least one dragon.”

She gives me a bemused look but falls silent, and I know she’s stewing over the information I just gave her. Camelot might be an age-old ally to her deceased father, but she truly knew next to nothing about the kingdom. There’s so much more I should tell her about Camelot, but if I overload her she might not be able to retain what I need her to.

Besides, Camelot has a vast library from what I’ve heard. Maybe we can shadow hop in and steal a book or two for research purposes, of course. This plan obviously hinges on if we can get past Morgan le Fay. I haven’t heard of the sorceress traveling around all that often, and I think she lives within the library most days.

Rapunzel stops our progress a few minutes later, spinning unexpectedly to press a hand to my chest. Her ocean blue eyes hold my gaze for a moment before shifting downward, running her palm over my chest then lower to the waistband of my trousers. “Be careful this time.”

“This time?”

She frowns. “My father struck you with gold and it ruined your magical abilities. I know you’re doing better now, but don’t take a strike for me again. I can handle myself.”

“Those hands are made for healing, not hating,” I say, wrapping my arms around her waist. She fits snuggly against me, lifting her other arm to drape over my shoulder.

“Modred would beg to differ.”

A low growl forms in my throat, and I lean in until my words brush against her lips as I speak. “Don’t say his name with your hand inches from my cock.”

She purses her lips, and I can feel the pressure when they pop with how close we are. “You’re not going to force me to walk into danger without a proper orgasm, are you, Zarev?”

Groaning, I slam my lips against hers. She has such a dirty mouth, and it’s not at all what I expected from a princess locked away in her tower. She knows just what she wants and just how to ask for it. And until we’re back from Camelot, this might be the last time we can freely sleep together without worrying about something striking us in the middle of things .

Rapunzel throws her other arm around my neck, jumping up a moment later to wrap her legs around me. I hook one arm around to hold her up, using the other to grab my scythe, toss it into the shadows, and grip her tight to push her against the nearest tree. My blade will be safe in the shadows and out of my way.

Her moans echo through the trees around us as I kiss down her jaw, trailing my tongue over the exposed skin of her chest and up and down her neck. I let some of the shadows free, locking her wrists together behind my neck with one while the other moves to tease her nipples.

She whimpers. “Zarev.”

“Free my cock, Golden Girl, and I might just give it to you.”

Her fingers fumble when I release her wrists to find my waistband, the shadows tightening to tease her nipples then to prod at her ass. It’s not like I didn’t just fuck her last night, but away from the tavern I can make her scream all I please.

I have half a mind to make her scream to the shadows, where no one will hear her cries but me.

I roll her nipple with my magic, using a free hand to pinch the other. Her eyes flutter as she pulls at the leggings, finally freeing my cock from its confines. I use my other hand to hike her up dress, feeling beneath the material to find her bare and soaking for me.

Moaning, I give her another hard kiss. “Good girl. Ready and willing for me.”

Her head slams back into the tree when I thrust in with one hard push, and I shove two fingers into her mouth and hook her lip so she can’t keep quiet. Her eyes bulge, and I wink at her as I wiggle her to the hilt, letting her feel all of me as she tries to steady her breaths.

“You can scream all you want out here,” I encourage her. Rocking my hips, I manage to pull out part way despite her weight bearing down on me, before shoving in deep again. Her throat bobs, trying to bite back her moans and I click my tongue. That won’t do.

Using the shadows, I wrap one wisp around her neck until her eyes bulge, smirking when the shadows tighten and start to choke her. Her hips bounce quickly into mine in response, and the next moment she lets out a breathy moan.

I twist the shadows, wrapping her head in them, and she goes soundless as her body suddenly jerks, bouncing out of control as she tries to ride me and scream for me, Partially concealed yet partially exposed as I fuck her.

I might be able to see all of her, but not everyone can. A lurker might get a terrifying view if they don’t know what’s going on.

“There you go,” I growl, quickening my pace. I pull the shadows back, and she’s panting and twitching like I knew she would be. I haven’t stepped into the shadows yet myself, so she is the only one being silenced. She drags her nails down my skin until I’m positive she’ll draw blood as she tries to tease me right back.

Using one hand, I reach out while she’s trying to catch her breath. I give her pussy a hard slap and she screams once more, her cries getting swallowed up by the darkness itself as I send her under again.

And it’s really fucking hot watching her struggle against my magic as I fuck her. She’s spasming around me, and it won’t be long now until we finish together,

“Give it to me,” I growl, and she digs her nails in as a response. I want to flip her around and fuck her from behind, but we don’t have the time for that unless I disappear into the shadows too, and I’d rather ensure we’re in a safer place before that happens.

Rapunzel moans in response to my words, and her body clamps down on mine like a vise. When her eyes blink open to study me through the shadows, I wrap a wisp around her throat and tighten the hold once more.

She comes undone with another silent scream, and I tumble over the edge after her. My hips slam against hers, holding her in limbo between the grip on her neck and my hands at her hips. Several moments pass before I release her and vanish the shadows, letting her slump into me as the magic disperses.

I know she’s strong but, in the hazy moments as she comes down from the high, I absolutely love being her support. She’s panting as hard as I am, and together we sink down to rest against the earth.

She gives me a gentle smile. “Well, that was new.”

My lips pull up in a smirk. I haven’t thought to submerge half of her in the shadows before, but it was an obvious choice. Her cries are truly only for me when she’s lost to the darkness like that.

We sit for a few minutes with my fingers trailing up and down her spine, and I hand off the water once my breath returns before I start cleaning her up. The cloth will be an issue for another time, but Rapunzel’s smile is grateful when she lets me cleanse her skin.

“We should make our way into Camelot now,” I say, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips as I help her stand up. “We don’t want to risk being caught out here.”

Rapunzel nods in agreement, the heat of the moment fading as we go back to the severity of our location. Camelot isn’t a friendly place, and we don’t need to be making anyone curious. Her hand slides back into mine just as someone clears their throat, and my other hand immediately goes for the scythe. I can’t believe I got so distracted I failed to notice someone approaching

I spin, putting myself between them just as the figure speaks. “Well, aren’t the two of you cozy?”