Page 48 of Fated or Knot (UnseelieVerse: The Omega Masquerade #1)

48

LARK

I spent the next two days exploring Once Else with Kauz and Tormund, interspersed by wing painting sessions. The latter male stayed and became a part of my date time with Kauz, since we weren’t sure whether or not my heat would arrive ahead of schedule. The cramps were back, and I wore heat pads to do something about the sheer amount of slick I produced even without any stimulation.

Both my mates agreed that it was time to stop having sex for now, as the heat suppressant tattoo was unraveling on its own. Only a couple decorative loops were left. I had days before it overcame me, or one good knotting, which I craved despite my best intentions.

The wing painting sessions were the biggest source of sexual frustration I had. I laid in different positions while Tormund held my neck just tight enough to trigger my omega instincts into submitting. It was the only way to get my wings still for the extended period of time necessary for Kauz to work his magic to make the drying ink set permanently. But my body reacted to the hold by making me extra wet.

My gentle giant smelled it no matter what and tented his pants, but ignored his need and gritted his teeth while I made the occasional whimper and whine to be touched intimately. He purred to soothe me and fed me dinner and dessert one morsel at a time. For the most part, he kept my head cushioned comfortably against his belly or thigh.

Kauz had started this process by mixing his essence into a large bottle of ink. By the time he was finished with it, it glowed white with starry sparkles like he’d trapped starlight inside the glass. “I’m going to teach you how to do this, someday,” he’d said while I’d admired the liquid, tipping it back and forth inside the bottle. “So you can paint my wings with your magic, too.”

I’d stilled, flushing with embarrassment. “I can barely hold a pencil properly.” There was no way I’d put a sloppy attempt at art on the upper half of his wings for the whole kingdom to see.

He’d kissed me, though not as deeply as I craved, and promised to teach me. But he wanted to wear my art and magic however it turned out, marked as my mate just like he marked me. I melted and vowed to do my best to learn. Since he was a beta, he couldn’t just bite my omega mark when it manifested to leave his scent on me for life.

And though I had small fangs to bite his beta mark—which was just below his shoulder blade, hidden from easy view—it wouldn’t be the same. Especially because his magic made the ink smell like Always, and I caught hints of it lingering on me after it soaked into my wings and colored my dust in shades of indigo, lavender, and silver. I wanted him to smell Always trailing behind him, too.

The ink was so potent, it soaked through the thin skin of my wings to show through to the other side, ruining our original notion that I would have a different pattern on them front and back. He adapted the artwork and was due to finish by the end of the second day of working on it.

He urged Tormund to talk about the one thing that effectively knocked me out of my needy mood: how Pack Ellisar had gotten off a train while he and Fal were standing at the station, waiting for them.

“Go over it again. Spare no detail,” Kauz said.

I was on my front, my chin resting on Tormund’s thigh. He was still holding my neck, so I was perfectly still as Kauz, who straddled my knees, could paint the edges of my lower set of wings.

The giant breathed a sigh, but nodded. “Rennyn gave word to Fal late that Pack Ellisar was on the way to Neslune. We were talking about the fish, which made me remember that we hadn’t sent off the fishling yet. So we gathered her up and went to the station.”

“Mmhmm.”

“While we were waiting, the fishling asked if we’d killed the fish yet.” He scratched behind his horn, brows furrowing. “She seemed… disappointed when we said not yet. Then she started stumbling over her sentences.”

“Stumbling how?” This wasn’t the first time Kauz had tried to narrow in on this part of Tormund’s story.

The giant shook his head slowly. “I can’t really remember. I was worried about her for a minute there, though.”

“That reminds me of when we first met you, Lark,” the winged fae remarked. He paused to focus, the wet brush painting a delicate curlicue in a ticklish spot. I bit my lip, trying not to giggle. “You would stop short mid-sentence if it was something you couldn’t say. Or if the conversation led to something you were forced to forget, you’d completely blank.”

I nodded, grimacing. It did sound awfully similar, but I wasn’t all that suspicious. My stepmother loved her daughter and hated me. She wouldn’t manipulate her into the same kind of vow that’d leave Laurel tongue tied. My stepsister was probably fine.

“It was more like stopping short. She tried to tell us something. And then, the next thing I know, a dreamlander was standing in front of us and apologizing for losing Pack Ellisar.”

A troubled silence hung over all of us for several moments.

“Cymora didn’t order Laurel around like she did to me,” I said finally. “And she loves her mother. I can’t imagine her being disappointed that she’s still alive.”

“I’m more concerned about the gap in time between talking to Laurel and receiving the spy’s apology. You said Fal has the same memory loss?” Kauz put in.

“Aye. He also said he had the sense he was wrong about something, but can’t remember what.”

“And what happened to Laurel?”

“She got on the train to Thelis.”

“You’re sure ? You saw her walk onto the train?”

Tormund bit his lower lip. “Well, nay. I can’t remember her doing it, but I know she did.”

I wanted to turn around and exchange a glance with Kauz, wondering if he was thinking what I was.

“She’s still in the city,” I said.

“I’m going to visit her mind tonight,” Kauz said at about the same time.

“What?” Now it was Tormund and I speaking at once.

“This is the dreamlands. I can access her dreams, no matter where she is. For some peace of mind, why not see if I can find her memory of that day?” he reasoned. “Something obviously does not add up here. If it doesn’t reveal anything, I’ll see about infiltrating one of Pack Ellisar’s dreams instead. I’ve seen enough of them from your memories, Lark, that I could find them.”

“I could visit Ellisar or one of his brothers while you’re with Laurel,” I ventured. Not that that would be anything other than a complete nightmare.

“Absolutely not!”

If Tormund wasn’t holding my neck, I would’ve sprang right off the bed in shock and fear from the absolute thunder in Kauz’s response, followed by his soft beta growl. Tormund echoed it in a deeper, more menacing tone.

“Promise me you won’t endanger yourself that way, sweetheart,” the dream warden sighed, gentling his voice. “You are still a beginner in the arts of magic. Just the thought of you getting stranded in one of their heads for a whole night…” His wings shivered.

I tensed, my breathing coming up short. That would be the kind of terror that’d stick with me for years, if not longer. “I just want to help,” I murmured.

“And we want to take care of this problem for you, li’l bird.” Tormund stroked my neck gently with his thumb. “If Fal got his way, you wouldn’t even know they were here.”

I released a heavy sigh. “I don’t need you all keeping me in the dark, even if the truth scares me.”

“It’s not that at all. We know you’re a grown female, it’s just…” He shrugged.

“Fixing things for you is practically our calling,” Kauz added in. “And making your enemies disappear is an act of love from an Unseelie.”

I felt my negativity flow out of me like water from between my fingers. All of my mates had proven themselves enthusiastic about all of these things. It was their “clumsy love,” as Fal put it, and I reminded myself that they had saved me when I couldn’t save myself. Perhaps it was inevitable that they would do it again.

“Maybe someday I’ll make your enemies disappear,” I said.

“That’s the spirit.” Kauz patted my ass, and probably regretted it, as I released a full-blown moan. His wings shivered again, and Tormund echoed the sound with longing. I clenched my eyes closed and wished I didn’t have to have a heat, because it was nothing but trouble.

“Anyway,” I mumbled. “I know whose dream I’m visiting tonight.” Just the thought of the clumsy love talk brought me back to a moment in the shower with Fal. It’d been too long since I’d seen his unfairly attractive face. And body.

No, bad Lark. Dream sex wasn’t helping my pre-heat addled body anymore. It just made me crave the real thing that much more. Besides, there was no guarantee Fal would remember a dream we shared. Forgetting was probably common for non-dream wardens.

That just meant I would get to show him my newly decorated wings twice. I only saw so much in the bathroom mirror or by twisting my body around, but I was thrilled. My wings sparkled with silver patterns through their amethyst color. An outline of stars and mist on each wing, to represent Kauz and match him as my mate. But what we’d settled on for me were curlicues and comet trails, which originated from the base of each wing to spread in looping flourishes.

The smell of Always rose from my wings as I fluttered in delight, actually lifting my feet a few inches off the ground in a cloud of pixie dust. I launched myself at Kauz, who caught me and grinned as I peppered his face with kisses. “I love it. Thank you, thank you!”

“Well, I love you.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “And now everyone can see that you’re mine.”

He definitely won the prize for the gentlest claim amongst my mates. I nuzzled his neck and whispered back, “Yours.”