Page 35 of Fae Tithe (The Cursed Courts #1)
The teenager’s eyes widened, his eyebrows flying up into his fringe. “I will. Come down at dinner time and ask at the bar for table four.”
Lance’s eyes fluttered open, dragging him from sleep as he heard the door shut quietly behind Helena as she entered the room. She had not noticed he was awake as she tiptoed across the room in front of his chair.
Where has she been? The High Prince reached out and snagged her wrist.
Helena whipped her hand up to her mouth, stifling her gasp of surprise.
Lance’s eyes widened. El… tides-damn, did we wake her?
Together they looked at Eleanor, who rolled in the bed before resettling into a curled-up position. Helena dropped her hand and let out a breath, turning back to Lance. He raised a puzzled eyebrow at her.
Lance ran his calloused thumb on the underside of her wrist. For the love of the sea, I’m so happy she doesn’t mind me touching her again. He regretfully released it so he could sign. “I’m glad you managed to get cleaned up and changed. But have you slept? Where did you go?”
“I haven’t,” Helena admitted, her gestures sheepish. “I went to see Simon.”
“Why?” Lance asked, watching her hands closely as she answered.
“I sent for Declan. He has a plan. He wants to target and kill all of the Seelie Court. I am going to offer to help him and kill the King,” she signed, her chin stuck out.
Lance blinked in shock, unsure he had read her hands correctly. “What?” he signed, his fingers flicking through the air.
“I am going to help him kill the King,” Helena repeated the movements, staring at him boldly.
A line of disbelief appeared between the High Prince’s eyebrows.
“You don’t have to do that. He knows you’re under the protection of my court.
The King let us go because he wanted to keep the treaty.
If he came for El, I would break it and wreck every merchant ship that crosses my waters. You’re safe.”
Helena exhaled loudly though her nose. “I think he only let us go because we caught him by surprise, and that other Seelie Lord said they needed to talk about it. Once you’re back in the sea, he’ll come for her…”
Her hands moved quickly as she repeated everything Eleanor had told her while he slept. How the Seelie King stalked Eleanor’s mind and tugged on the invisible lines he had sewn into her with his magic.
Lance rubbed the side of his temple, a dull ache throbbing there.
I should have known… but how could I have known?
Seelieland and Nautilus are so separate besides the treaty…
I haven’t seen the Seelie Court since my coronation, and even then, they were mocking, arrogant.
What is this? Some kind of game? What is Rian thinking?
That we’ve taken his toy and he wants it back?
The High Prince raised his hands, ready to ask more questions.
Eleanor whimpered in her sleep. Helena dropped her hands, and Lance snapped his gaze to her.
I love her so tides-damn much. I won’t let him take her again. He blinked in surprise when Helena waved her hand in front of his face, drawing his attention back to her.
“And I know,” Helena continued, “the look he gave her in the Seelie Court. I know it so well. I see it in my nightmares. Rian looked at El like he owns her, that she is his and nothing else. Peter looked at me like that, every day.” Her hands trembled.
“He looked at me like that and hurt me, Lance, in every way you could hurt a person. That’s what will happen to El if I let the King live. And I won’t have it.”
Lance slipped from his seat and dropped to his knees in front of her.
“If Peter were still alive,” he signed, “I would kill him.” He reached to cup Helena’s soft cheek with his hand and ran his thumb gently under her chin.
The High Prince lowered his voice to a near-silent whisper.
“I will help you. I love you. I love El. I will do anything to keep you two safe.”
“Thank you,” Helena whispered, placing her hand over his as it caressed her cheek.
Lance’s heart thundered at her touch. “Can I kiss you? Please?”
Her eyes darted to Eleanor sleeping in the bed before returning to meet his face. “Yes, but not in here,” she breathed.
The Merman’s heart thundered in anticipation. He stepped over to the bedroom door, opened it, and glanced each way down the corridor. Lance tugged Helena out with him.
Go slow, no need to rush, you have time. The High Prince leant down and pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, cupping her face again.
Helena opened her mouth against his and teased his pointed teeth with her tongue, gripping his shirt front with her fingers.
Encouraged by her enthusiasm, the High Prince stepped towards Helena, pressing her against the wall.
Lance slipped his hand into her hair, massaging her scalp, feeling every deliciously curved part of her flush against his body.
He eagerly widened the kiss and crushed Helena to him, one hand in her hair and another kneading her thigh, hitching her knee to his hip.
Their tongues danced, lashing against each other in desperate need.
Eventually, they broke for air, both of their chests heaving.
Lance pressed his forehead to Helena’s, desire burning in his eyes, excitement coiling in his belly. The craving the Merman felt for her flooded his veins. He ran his tongue over his teeth. He could not wait to taste her again.
Lance gave her a tender smile. “I missed that,” he whispered.
“Me too,” Helena admitted, giving him his favourite eye-crinkling smile, making his heart melt. “I am still angry at you though, don’t forget that.”
Lance stifled a chuckle. “I know, and I will make it up to you.”