Page 13 of Fated or Knot (UnseelieVerse: The Omega Masquerade #1)

13

LARK

A ll the rattling in the furniture settled to a dull hum. Gravity tilted me back in my seat, and once I looked out the window, I saw it was no wonder. We were climbing up and away from Ilysnor’s outskirts at dizzying speed.

I suppressed a whine and told myself not to be a brat and hide my face against Marius’s chest again. This was probably a completely normal aspect of a magirail ride. It was many times faster than taking a carriage, that was certain.

“Finally! I’ve been waiting for too long,” Tormund said, his hands coming together for a definitive clap. He removed a long, mostly flat box from a pocket secreted in his cloak, offering it to me over the table.

Oh, right, the gift. One of the gifts. They’d already given me a staggering number of things…but Tormund looked so excited for me to open this one too. His freckled hands rested on his knees, and he leaned forward, alpha fangs on display with his eager expression.

I opened the box and couldn’t hold in my gasp. A silver chain necklace was nestled inside, with a small pendant shaped like a bird with two outstretched wings. Its tiny eye was a little white gemstone. Whether or not they planned it, it would go perfectly with the earrings from Marius.

“Yes? You love?” Tormund asked.

“I do,” I promised him, picking it up with reverent fingers. It took me a couple tries to latch it around my neck. “Thank you, Tormund.”

“Let me guess,” Marius said in his low rumble. “A li’l bird for the li’l bird.”

“My big brother knows me so well,” Tormund said cheerfully. “You are welcome, Lark. Just wait until we get to Serian. I’m going to spoil you next.”

My gaze slipped from him for a moment, to my stepsister wearing a look I recognized instantly with a tickle of dread at the bottom of my stomach. She had an envious pout and eyes narrowed on my new necklace, her fingers clenched in the fabric of her skirts.

That was a dangerous expression. Any time she coveted something of mine, she would inevitably receive it. I’d given up on trying to keep anything of true value after acknowledging that my stepfamily wouldn’t change their ways. They took and took.

The princes, by giving, were only providing new things for Cymora and Laurel to take. I…couldn’t get attached to this gift or any of the other items packed away for me, whatever they might be.

Tormund seemed to miss my inner turmoil, distracted by his belly rumbling. He slapped its curve with a laugh. “Let’s go eat.”

“Great idea,” Laurel chirped.

“Stay right there, li’l bird. I’ll get us a table and come back for you,” he promised before heading out to do just that.

We waited past sundown for a table, as most of the train’s patrons had the same idea as us. The dining car was like a restaurant, with a short menu to order from, and we ended up at one of two curved booths with just enough room to fit all seven of us. I ended up wedged between Fal and Tormund in the middle of the booth. The dark elf was a buffer between Cymora and me.

The most she said in my direction was, “I hope you do everything you can to charm these noble males.”

Not an order, but close. I nodded and glanced down to acknowledge I’d heard her. I saw the end goal of her scheming from just that suggestion but not how she would maneuver for it yet. It soured my belly some, though I was starving. The leftovers from this morning felt like a meal enjoyed a much longer time ago.

Dinner was uneventful, with the conversation slowing over time. I must not have been the only one tiring as I filled my belly. Though the bunk bed setup seemed a little precarious, I looked forward to making as much of a nest in it as I could and resting after this.

Fal insisted on sharing a dessert first, and I pressed a little closer to his side as we considered the options. My nostrils flared, but I didn’t detect even a hint of his grass and sunshine scent. He must’ve taken a quick bath while we’d been waiting for our table. My inner omega keened at the loss.

It’s temporary, and necessary, I thought. I needed to bathe with scent-blocking soap before turning in for the night as well.

After we settled on a slice of berry pie with a side of chilled cream, half the group left, uninterested in dessert. Tormund and Laurel remained, waiting for their own sweets. Without my stepmother around, I relaxed, smiling more openly. I could do eight days this if this was an example of how it’d go. I could do eight days of anything, let alone sit around in a train as we sped along to our destination.

Of course, I thought this as Fal fed me spoonfuls of sweets and snuck his arm around my shoulders so I’d lean against him. I fed him back, taking simple pleasure at watching his lips curl around the spoon I offered him. He watched me with a kind of intensity too, something like desire on his elfin features. His clawed fingers toyed with a lock of my hair.

Soon, we weren’t eating, just gazing. A hint of mischief tugged at his lips. “A sliver for your thoughts?” he whispered.

My mind blanked of most coherent ideas, abandoning me before I could answer. I’d just been admiring his handsome features and noting how they differed from those of the forest elves I knew. But saying “You are a shade of blue and gray I’ve never seen before” would certainly ruin the moment, even if I also told him I liked it.

“Did Kauz draw your tattoos?” I asked. I drew a circle midair around my forehead and cheeks.

He mirrored the motion playfully, circling his ink, and nodded. “They’re temporary. My brothers will be the first to inform you that I’m fickle with such things. I had these done for Yule to make an appearance as the Prince of Winter before the annual feast. They’ll last another couple of months before they’ll need to be touched up. Do you like them?”

“They fit you,” I said.

I saw the inspiration. The Prince of Winter was a character in a common Yuletide play, a male of bitter frost who had to be convinced to let a child into his palace and out of the cold. The glowing sapphire ink looked like swirls of cold air and falling snowflakes, framing his striking cat eyes that were nearly the same hue.

Stars, in such a short time, his Unseelie features had gone from alarming to striking . Even without his alluring scent, I felt drawn to him.

“I should’ve had him make them silver. They’d stand out more. Alas,” he said. “I have a different motif in mind for my next set.”

“Oh?” I asked curiously.

He offered me another spoonful of dessert. “Feathers.” This was accompanied with a wink.

“Shouldn’t the li’l bird have those?” Tormund suggested, and I nearly startled. I’d forgotten that he and Laurel were still sitting with us.

“Nay. I was thinking she should have a guiding star.” Fal flicked one of the hanging earrings between the chains strung along his long ears. It, like the others, was an eight-pointed star with tiny, sharp points.

“That’s his symbol,” Tormund whispered to me behind his hand.

Fal rolled his eyes. “Thank you. I wasn’t just about to tell her that.”

Ignoring the edge of sarcasm in his voice, Tormund said cheerfully, “You are welcome. Mine is a knot of promise, li’l bird. You should get one of those too.”

“What are the other two prince’s symbols?” Laurel put in.

“I suppose you will simply have to ask them,” Fal answered. It sounded like a chill response, and Laurel stiffened at it.

She finished her dessert and left in a huff. I sighed with relief when she was gone, even though she was in a bratty mood and I would see it again when we were stuck in our room together.

“I have a question for you, Lark,” Fal said, withholding the spoon and dripping cream back onto the plate.

“Okay.”

“Do you think my brothers and I are cursed?” He tilted his head toward Tormund, who laughed when he heard the question.

“Um…” I supposed we needed to talk about this sooner rather than later. “Well, you’re Unseelie. So, yes?” It came out as a question as Fal’s expression creased with amusement.

“That’s a common misconception for fae who’ve never met an Unseelie,” the dark elf said.

“Made up when our countries were at war,” Tormund put in. “Easier to hate the other side, thinking they’re all born evil.”

“I don’t think you’re evil,” I said. I had at first, but the more I spent time with these males, the more I’d assumed they were an exception to the stories about Unseelie.

They spent a few minutes explaining the origins of their bestial traits, the so-called curse born of generations of mixed breeding with the more animal-like fae that lived in Serian, like satyrs, naga, and grimalkin. It made a lot more sense to me that it was natural rather than a lineage curse once they were done.

Fal finished the meal by scraping our plate and offered me the last of the pie and melting cream before we all walked back to our car. I turned down Tormund’s offer to carry me, dragging along at my own pace. I wanted more of the fresh air between the train cars. It rushed by at a rapid clip, but the ends of the cars were designed to keep it contained, so travel up and down the train was safe. If it weren’t dark out, we could stand at one of the railings and watch the world pass by far below us.

By the time we bid Fal good night, we found Marius stretched out on one of the couches, reading a book. His expression hardened to one of mild displeasure as he looked at us over the edge of the page he was on.

He read for leisure? That was a surprise to me. Not that I knew enough about the kelpie to jump to such a conclusion about how he passed his time.

Marius sat up, and we gathered to discuss an evening schedule since we’d all need to go to bed when we decided to turn off the overhead essence lamp. To my relief, we agreed to turn in for the evening after going to the baths. There were two cars behind ours, one for hygiene, with bathrooms and laundry, and the last one for storage.

I discovered the bag packed for me had toiletries, a fluffy towel, and several changes of clothes. I took my bath and scrubbed away any hint of my scent, then helped bathe Laurel and brushed her hair, falling back into my servant role like it’d never stopped.

After we were ready for bed, I started the process of preparing my cot with only a small sigh as I eyed the ladder up and down from my bunk. It’d be much easier, with my lame foot, to sleep on the ground bunk, but the alphas would be really cramped in the little corner of space I had between the ceiling and the too-thin mattress.

I shimmed onto the mattress and leaned over the edge to look at my bags a couple yards below.

“What do you need?” Marius offered, glancing up from where he was seated on his cot.

He gave me each item, first the fleece blanket with its bold swirls of color and the oversized, fuzzy pillow from the omega store. I arranged the blanket under me as best as I could and then peeked down at him again. “And in the other bag… You can just hand it up to me,” I suggested.

He held it by its underside and lifted it to a height where I could rustle around in it. One of his blue brows rose when he noticed me slipping out the three items that still bore the unique scents of their original owners, but he didn’t comment. Once I was settled, he snuffed out the essence lamp for the evening with a tug on its hanging cord.

I settled on my side and snuggled in under my new blanket, putting my arms around the fuzzy pillow and trapping the mask, kerchief, and piece of red cloth up against me. Their scents had faded some, but they wove together into a suggestion of an outdoor day. Sunshine, grass, smoky toasted mallows…all by a lakeside with waterlilies and wild mint in bloom.

It smelled perfect.

“What’s that sound?” Laurel whispered in the dark.

“The best one,” Tormund answered quietly.

It was coming from me, purring deeply in the comfort of my temporary nest while I slipped into sleep.

My sleep started with blissful darkness before becoming a full-blown dream. I was back in the omega store, but this time, no one stopped me from dragging all the blankets and pillows I wanted to make an epic nest on the mattress I’d nearly taken a nap on.

Though when I looked at how empty the huge nest was, I released a long, lonely whine. I lay down on it alone and sank into the comfort I’d arranged. As always, there was no one there to hold me, making the whole process a waste of time. My eyes watered as I watched the ceiling, waiting for time to pass.

“You’re not alone anymore,” a male murmured.

I blinked, and he was there, standing a few feet away from the nest with his hands folded before him. “Kauz?” I asked.

“Last I checked,” he responded.

I breathed out in relief and beckoned him for him to join me. He took the invitation and lay down next to me, his wings spilling out to either side of him.

The comfort around me seemed fuzzy, and not because of its softness. But when I rested a hand on his wing’s edge, he was solid. “You can still see me,” he said.

“We’re dreaming?” As I asked, a bit of the realism in the moment faded. I was dreaming and knew it.

He looked at me as if I’d hung some of the stars personally. It was the kind of expression I’d seen between mates and lovers, but it was the first time it’d been aimed at me. He shifted, pulling the wing between us behind him so he could rest on his side. “Come here.” He held his arms out invitingly.

In a jump of some kind of dream logic, one moment I was scooting toward him, and the next, I was in his arms, pressed against him. His chest was firm, lean muscle under what felt like a soft sleeping shirt.

“Lark,” he said, nearly reverent. I was slow to realize his affection, my response a delayed catch in my breath. It wasn’t just how he looked at me. It was in his voice, his touch, and maybe even the pleasant haze over my dream. I could sink into him and just be. I wished it were possible.

“Kauz,” I murmured back. What’d changed? I hadn’t done anything to warrant such tenderness. Was he just more open in dreams?

“You are the first fae who’s seen me when I walk in their dreams and remembered it the next day, besides other dream wardens like me. Do you know what that means?” he asked.

I didn’t know what it meant, but my curiosity piqued. “Is that your race? Dream warden?”

“Aye. I’m a dreamlander. My people are from a piece of land in Serian where the space between sleep and waking leaks into the real world,” he explained. “Dreamlanders weren’t originally Unseelie, but the magic of Ever, Always, and Never warped our magic. Plus, crossbreeding many generations ago with our Unseelie neighbors gave us designations and fae blood.

“Only those close to the royal family know that my line can walk in and effect dreams. Ordinary dreamlanders cannot be both essence spinners and dream wardens.”

“But you’re not ordinary,” I said.

A teasing smile crossed his face. “Oh, you think so? I’m flattered.”

Even in a dream, I wasn’t able to stop the heat of a blush. “Yes, actually.” He was an approachable face amongst his brothers, and I felt a draw to him that had nothing to do with how he smelled. Even though… I leaned forward to nuzzle against his neck, trying to pick out any scent. My nostrils flared when I found it, the same teasing note that’d been coming in and out of my nose in a more concentrated form.

He smelled amazing, but not like anything I could put a word to. Like a feeling, or a concept, but not something tangible like with his alpha brothers.

“I don’t think you’re ordinary either, sweetheart.” Once I was done investigating his mysterious smell, he nuzzled me back and inhaled just like an alpha would.

I closed my eyes with a sigh. “Oh, I really am, though,” I murmured.

“Don’t hide from me,” he said gently, catching my chin between his thumb and forefinger. We were lying so close, face to face now, tucked together. Nothing else mattered in this dream but him, the solid anchor keeping me steady. “All the males in my line have had to accept the scent-matched omega their brothers select. Sometimes, chosen princesses aren’t the dream warden’s mate too. It’s part of the burden of being the pack’s beta.”

He stroked my cheek, cupping my face as his expression softened, searching mine with a whole galaxy of stars glimmering in his gaze. “But here, in my domain, you smell like Always and the promise of eternity. The stars have blessed us. No matter what happens in the waking world, know that I am yours and would follow you anywhere. We are fated to be.”

He kissed me. That was really the only way to keep me from pestering him with dozens of questions, and I melted into him like his next exhale was the breath I needed. We tangled further, wings and arms and the heat of him growing hard between us.

He tasted like he smelled. Like Always, whatever he meant by that. It was dreams and potential and something more nebulous still, like the sparkling stardust that made up his magic. I wondered if I would’ve tasted this if he kissed me in reality, or if it was only for the time beyond our waking hours.

Warmth lingered on my tongue as I woke abruptly, clutching my fleece blanket. I cracked my eyes open to the light of early morning warming the room and made a mewl of denial at being awake.

“I am yours.” What a gentle male. Any ordinary alpha would turn it around and say “you are mine.” Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I’d woken when I did, else I might’ve told him the truth: that I wanted to be his, too.

So much for not getting too attached. It was time to acknowledge it; I was ready for the fight to come. I would scheme against my stepmother and try to become the best potential princess in the week I had before I met the Queen of Serian. Only then could I keep these princes and let myself be their omega.