Page 53 of Faeling (Monstrous World #4)

Grumbling, Vallek pulled back just enough to whisper, “Ignore them and they might go away.”

His hopes were immediately quashed when the sound of the door opening greeted them. It didn’t sound as though anyone entered, merely poked their head inside.

“Are you both decent?” came Eydis’s voice.

“If it’s not food, then no!”

“It’s your loving older sister, whom you respect and adore very much!”

Vallek snorted. “I haven’t such a sister.”

After the swish of robes, the door closed behind an apparently determined Eydis. “Either you come out with clothes on or I come in and we all suffer the consequences.”

Ravenna giggled while Vallek rolled his eyes.

“It has been three days,” she reminded him gently.

“Who is king of this mountain?” he grumbled.

With a few more kisses in apology, they finally rose from their bed. Hastily cleaned and clothed, they joined Eydis in the den.

“Good to see you both,” she teased, a fond smile adorning her lips. “I bring congratulations from the family and most of the court.”

“Which could’ve been a note under the door.”

Ravenna elbowed her grumpy azai .

Eydis merely rolled her eyes. “Breakfast is coming soon, so spare me the worst of your growling until you’ve eaten.”

“If you didn’t bring breakfast, what did you come with?”

“News, of course.” With a flourish of her robes, she took her usual seat, announcing that this wouldn’t be a quick visit.

Vallek sighed mightily, slumping into his own customary place and pulling Ravenna down with him onto his lap.

She easily found a comfortable position as he laced his fingers together at her hip.

It was effortless, the way they came together, folding their bodies to align. It actually made Eydis smile.

“While I respect the desire to sequester away until the bond is finished with you, I need you both to show your faces.”

“The people understand what new mates do,” Vallek said.

“Yes, but you aren’t just anyone. While there’s generally been good feelings toward your announcement, there are still whispers abounding throughout the city.”

“What do they say?” asked Ravenna, although she could guess.

“They wonder if this is a true mating or a stunt of some sort. They speculate who this mysterious half-fae woman is, where she came from. And my favorite, whether she’s enchanted the king.” Eydis snorted. “That’s a favorite in the pubs, too. The speculation is quite breathtaking.”

“And so we should…do what? To prove it to them,” Ravenna said.

The orcess smiled, although it was one of her more unnerving smiles, the one that made Ravenna think she already had many plots and schemes in her mind.

“You will charm them. You will go out and be visible and let the people see you. Hold hands, kiss, whatever feels right.”

“This is how she won Hilde, you know,” Vallek told Ravenna gravely, “with all the romance.”

“I’ve got more romance in my little finger than you in your whole body,” Eydis said breezily. “I just save it for when it counts.”

Ravenna shared a look with her mate, biting her lips to hold in her giggle.

“They just need you to be present,” Eydis insisted. “The enemy of curiosity is banality—make the reality of your mating commonplace. Begin your normal duties again, and the people will quickly settle.”

It was a simple enough plan, even if it did incite those riotous butterflies in Ravenna’s stomach again. Normal duties were still an uncharted realm for her.

“Very well,” Vallek sighed. “We will greet the court today, feast in the basilica, and hold open grievances tomorrow. I will hold a council meeting with the ministers the day after, which Ravenna will attend. See that a chair is placed for her.”

“Consider it done.”

“In exchange—” Vallek grinned evilly at his sister “—I want you to begin planning the wedding. I want it to be a lavish affair, Eydis. Something to remember. Every chieftain and paladin is required to attend.”

His sister looked less than pleased. “That will take time, breddah . I’ll of course begin planning, but it may be wiser to look to—”

“No, we start now. Ravenna will be queen, with a crown and throne. She will have the authority to issue edicts. But until we are officially wed, there will be lingering doubts.”

Eydis threw up her hands. “Fine! I’ll make a list of required guests. In the meantime—” she pointed toward the archway that led down to the baths “—clean yourselves up. Everyone already knows what you’ve been doing.”

That was how Vallek found himself walking with his mate out onto the citadel’s ramparts, waving for the gathered crowd.

He didn’t know how Eydis had rallied so many to see them on such short notice, but thousands of happy, cheering orc-kin gathered in the streets below, waving burgundy banners and throwing vinya petals.

It filled his heart with pride to see his people, out in vast numbers to cry their support. He took just as much pleasure in presenting his beautiful faeling to them. The crowd’s cheers grew louder as she stepped from the protection of his side, letting the late-morning light hit her.

Ravenna dazzled, gleaming and sparkling from head to toe.

Today’s concoction by Hilde was a plum-colored gown, with more flow and drape than the last, embroidered with vinya blooms. It emphasized the lilac hue of her skin, once again covered in that cream that gave her the iridescence of an opal just pulled from the ground.

When she raised her hand to wave, the gathered orc-kin gasped and sighed, no doubt in awe of her beauty. A smile touched her lips to feel the tide of well-wishes surging past the curtain wall. The nerves from a few moments before, when he’d whispered reassurances, eased from her tense shoulders.

A purr building in his chest, Vallek stepped up beside his queen, taking her by the waist to tuck into his side and raising his other arm to wave. The cheers redoubled, the air scented with sweet blooms and happiness.

“They love you,” Ravenna said.

“They do, and I’m grateful for it. They will come to love you, too.”

She didn’t agree, but she also didn’t deny it, either.

She would see. Just give her a little time, and Vallek knew she would win over the people of Balmirra—and then every orc throughout the kingdom.

He couldn’t wait to show her off to other courts, too; the stratified, patriarchal Pyrrossi would be apoplectic.

He meant to name Ravenna as lady commander of Balmirra once she had a few more administrative duties to cut her fangs on, such as attending council meetings with him and overseeing negotiations with the eastern tribesmen. He’d no doubt that once she found her footing, she would fly.

“My good people,” Vallek boomed across the city, “it is my greatest pleasure to introduce to you, your queen. Ravenna Broch!”

Wild clapping followed his declaration, and more flowers were flung into the air. Hundreds of kin stomped their feet in celebration, a deafening clamor that shook the mountain.

Vallek kept his speech short and similar to what he’d told the court. They cheered and clapped at the right moments, but everyone was far more interested to see what the new queen would say.

When Vallek applied gentle pressure to the small of her back, alerting her it was time, Ravenna peeked up at him. He nodded, offering his silent support.

Gathering a big breath in her chest, Ravenna said, “Thank you for your warm reception. I vow to be a queen worthy of you—and your noble king.”

It was just enough, the crowd falling into fits of applause. They whooped and shouted their approval when Vallek bent to gently kiss her. Ravenna cupped his face in her little hand, playing her part perfectly.

“Just a little more,” he whispered against her lips before deepening his kiss.

His affection went on a little long, perhaps, but he was hardly past a rut and his mate was temptation personified.

He’d had her naked and beneath him, thrusting inside her warm body just that morning, but something about standing there with her, hidden beneath their finery, thousands of eyes upon them had him lusting all the more for her.

He released her finally with more than a little reluctance, although he kept her hand as they began walking along the wall again. It took them the better part of an hour to make it round the outer circumference of the citadel’s wall, stopping every few paces to wave and thank the people.

By the time they finally took the winding stairwell within the eastern tower back down into the inner courtyard, the noonday sun hung high over the city.

They emerged from the gatehouse to yet more applause, this time from a smaller crowd of the city’s preeminent denizens—orcs that represented the city elders, the various mining outfits, all the craft guilds, merchant unions, representatives from the hospitals, scholariums, and orphanages, and many more.

Ravenna met each with an open, charming manner. She stood beside him, receiving each orc’s well-wishes and taking pains to ask names and roles. She expressed interest in everything, promising to visit this trade hall and that hospital.

Watching her, seeing how the city’s denizens went away from their meeting her with nods and smiles, only grew his pride. Enough that it soothed his otherwise jealous beast, which hadn’t stopped pacing agitatedly inside him when he saw just how many others looked upon her.

He knew this would be the reality of their mating—if she was to be his queen and stand beside him, it meant sharing her. Perhaps it would get easier in time; although, he thought he could be forgiven for the niggle of jealousy he harbored, what with their bond still solidifying.

Yes, after this, the thing to do would be to get her straight back in bed.

That tempting thought saw him through that long afternoon.

He and Ravenna did as Eydis wanted, standing prettily for others to admire, accepting their well-wishes, and listening to their suggestions and concerns.

It was one of the more grueling activities a chieftain or king could do, not unlike running a political gauntlet, but with his lovely mate beside him, it wasn’t so bad.

It was when the crowd of denizens had begun to thin that Vallek started trying to catch Eydis’s eye. Ravenna carried herself bravely, but she was flagging. It was time for a late luncheon and to get her out of the afternoon sun.

He’d just begun to lead her through the pockets of kin, all carrying complimentary goblets of wine or mead, when Mattias wove his way through the crowd to intercept them.

Bowing, he said quietly, “My king, my queen, there is something that needs your attention.”

Vallek exchanged looks with Ravenna. His serious captain wouldn’t draw them away from such an important function for nothing, and so they followed him from the throngs into a quieter corner of the courtyard. It was at least shadier here, the coolness a welcome relief.

Waiting for them were a handful of warriors, dusty and sweaty from the road.

Vallek recognized the style of gorget hanging round their necks, identifying them as soldiers who patrolled the borders.

It was a fairly new practice, each contingent leaving a fortnight after the other so that aid was never far behind if needed.

When a contingent returned, they rested for a fortnight before heading out again.

These warriors looked fresh from the road, their faces lined in grime and concern. The three of them, all with the rank of captain, bowed to him and Ravenna.

“My king,” said one, “and queen,” he added quickly, “we found these on a group of Pyrrossi soldiers on the southern border.”

Dread gripped Vallek’s innards in a cold fist, and before another warrior tipped a burlap sack upside down, he knew what would spill forth.

A half-dozen sets of manacles clattered to the cobblestones.

Ravenna’s nails dug into his forearm, and he heard her sharp inhale.

With everything that had happened since, the manacles that Fulk Stone-Skin had handed over had escaped Vallek’s attention. He’d known investigations would need to be carried out, but with even more of these strange manacles staring up at him now, that became a priority.

Just as the ones in the Stone-Skin camp had, these manacles gleamed dully in the late-afternoon light. At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about them. Still, the longer he looked, an eerie sense of menace emanated from the metal—yet, he had the strange desire to touch them.

Before he could stop her, Ravenna knelt to do just that. She touched the chain of one with her fingertips, and her body immediately shuddered and her eyes went blank.

Vallek lifted her back up by the elbow, drawing her protectively into his side. He watched with worry as she remained dazed. A vision.

The warriors shifted from foot to foot nervously, glancing between him and Ravenna.

It was long moments before she came back to him, longer than he’d ever witnessed her visions taking. He ran his hand up and down her back, soothing himself as much as her.

Ravenna’s look was troubled when she finally came back to him, creases underscoring her eyes.

“They’re definitely spelled,” she confirmed.

Fuck .