Page 46 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)

In fact, the dark elves only had one who could do it, and he was quite old.

Only if the King of Karganoth needed his services for himself or someone on a critical mission did he bestir that channeler.

My mother would not reveal such critical intelligence, though.

She had an alternative means of travel that was simpler .

“It was more challenging than any others I’ve encountered in recent years,” Aella admitted, glancing over at me. “But it gets easier each time.”

My mother lifted a brow. “So your powers are still growing?”

“I’m only thirty-three, so yes.”

Zareen’s eyes twinkled. “What a lovely age. Not so young that you lack experience, but not so old you must rush to have children.”

“Oh, well, Darrow doesn’t want…” I gripped her arm before she could finish that sentence.

“She means such matters will come later,” I said, shooting her a warning glance because I didn’t want my mother to know all the details of our relationship. She’d only meddle. “But for now, we have other priorities.”

Aella’s jaw stiffened. Of course, I’d said when we first made our bargain that there would be no sex or children, but at the time, I hadn’t thought I could stomach sleeping with anyone from Therress—no matter how beautiful.

It had been better to shut down those notions.

Since then, I had been rethinking many things and how she fit into my long-term plans.

My mother frowned at us. “Well, if you want that option to remain, I suggest you keep your marriage and the scope of her abilities a secret as long as possible. It will be dangerous once word gets out.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, though I had my suspicions and already worked to keep Aella’s abilities from becoming common knowledge.

Zareen’s face darkened. “Vaslav has been sighted a few times recently. I believe they’ve sent him here with a purpose that won’t bode well for us or Zadrya.”

“Did he come to you?” I asked, tensing.

She hesitated. “Yes, and he asked about you.”

“Wait.” Aella glanced between us. “Who is Vaslav?”

“He is a dangerous Unseelie prince from Faelaria.” He was also my oldest half-brother, but she didn’t need to know that yet.

It got into complicated matters that I didn’t have the time to explain.

Not to mention, it would dredge up painful memories for my mother.

Vas was her firstborn, but she’d conceived him under difficult circumstances.

My wife glanced between us. “So Bogdan wasn’t joking when he said they sometimes come here? ”

“He rarely jokes.”

My mother snorted. “Sadly, but he has his reasons.”

“Wait.” Aella’s brows drew together. “A few months ago, Tadeus told me he overheard my uncle mentioning someone named Vaslav. I only remember because the name isn’t common here, but my cousin seemed to think Lord Morgunn met with him.”

I stilled and glanced at Zareen, whose face paled. “This confirms what we thought. Therress is working with the Unseelie as well as the dark elves.”

“But…” Aella shook her head. “Why would he do that? It’s a betrayal to everyone in Paxia if he’s helping them, too.”

My mother put a hand on my wife’s shoulder. “We don’t even know what the Unseelie want with our world since they’re doing an excellent job of hiding their plans. It's best not to jump to conclusions until we can ascertain why Lord Morgunn met with one of them.”

“Do not try to find out more,” I said, giving her a warning look. “It is a dangerous game you’re ill-equipped to play.”

She crossed her arms. “Only because everyone keeps me in the dark about it all.”

“Be grateful for that.” Zareen dropped her hand. “It is likely what has helped keep you out of harm’s way for this long.”

“Just because I can’t feel the spider crawling up my back doesn’t mean it can’t bite me,” she replied stonily.

Aella had a point, but I couldn’t let her statement stand. “Avoiding a spider web is often a wiser course of action than walking through it if you have a choice.”

“Only if you know where the web is located to evade it.”

I sighed, begrudgingly approving of Aella’s cleverness.

“I appreciate you offering the information about your uncle when you certainly could have kept it to yourself. If you should learn something else pertinent without drawing attention or putting yourself in danger, I would appreciate you sharing it.”

“Now, you’re making more sense,” she said, finally satisfied.

My mother gave us a rueful look. “The two of you have a long road ahead of you, I see. ”

She wasn’t wrong, though she had no idea by how much.

Aside from my intense need, I’d also seduced Aella tonight so that our scents would be mingled.

Otherwise, my mother would have known we weren’t as intimate as a husband and wife should be after several months of marriage—even if we did live apart at the moment.

“Why haven’t I heard about the Unseelie being here before if they’re coming and going so much?” Aella asked.

Her question was valid. We didn’t have them visiting Paxia for nearly two millennia after they forced us from our home world, but within the last century, they found a way. They’d been surreptitiously meddling in our affairs ever since.

“We don’t discuss it openly because it would only arouse fear if the general population found out,” I replied.

“Why is Vaslav specifically concerning?” Aella asked.

My mother glanced at me, and I nodded, letting her take the lead.

“We can’t be certain of his motivations, but his presence here means he’s likely on a mission for the newly crowned Unseelie king—his father.

Darrow and Vaslav have had a few confrontations over the years that became quite violent.

I would not put it past him to use you to get to him. ”

While my elder brother and I had different powers, we were equally strong and destructive. We’d battled twice and nearly killed each other in the process. I’d sincerely hoped two years ago was the last I’d see of him, but I should have known better.

Unlike other Unseelie, he had enough of our mother’s blood to prevent him from standing out too much while in this world if he used some light glamour.

In hindsight, it was likely the reason they’d wanted my mother to give birth to him.

The magic and climate of this world weren’t compatible with most Unseelie, which was why our people chose it as a new home nearly two thousand years ago. Even for us, it took time to adapt.

Now, there was a grave problem on Faelaria, according to the nameless god, and they needed us for something if they wished to resolve it. Despite deploying considerable resources, I hadn’t determined what they sought.

The only thing I knew for certain was they would covet Aella’s abilities if they found out about them—nearly anyone in power would.

It was likely why her uncle was trying to hide her away, marrying her within his borders.

He could keep using her while giving her to someone likely to restrict her movements and keep her out of broader social circles.

It was a guess, anyway. I still couldn’t be sure based on my current information.

I worked my jaw. “Vaslav is one more reason to keep our marriage a secret for now and avoid him learning about Aella’s abilities.

She may be strong enough to infiltrate their world, which the Unseelie would not appreciate.

No one in Paxia has been born near her power level in many centuries, perhaps millennia. ”

“We can’t know I’m that strong.” Aella shook her head. “Accessing the portals here is one thing, but I can’t imagine channeling to different worlds.”

“Breaching the ring here was a test put in place long ago,” my mother said, eyeing my wife shrewdly.

“Only the most powerful with your ability can do it. All strong channelers can travel to nearby realms, but a rare few can even go to distant planets across the galaxy. The question is, how far can your gift take you?”

Aella’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

She truly had no idea what she’d stepped into by marrying me.

I’d already ascertained her uncle kept her ignorant of the darker side of our politics and affairs.

Her world would get much uglier soon, but I’d ease her into it as much as I could.

It was why she hadn’t met my mother sooner.

I had put it off as long as possible, but we were running out of time for so many things.

I brushed a loose lock of blonde hair from her face and gently touched her arm.

“We will have to figure it out eventually. For now, try to avoid any male elves with silver hair. He could be wearing glamour since his is such an unusual shade among our kind, so be wary of that as well. Look deeper with anyone who approaches you that you don’t know. ”

“What have you gotten me into?” Aella asked, though I noted she didn’t pull away from my touch. Good. I wanted her to get very used to it.

My mother laughed—a thread of irony laced into her tone. “You poor girl. What a luxury to make it thirty-three years without seeing the true level of darkness and corruption in this world, especially with your talent and power. I cannot abide your uncle, but I must credit him for that much.”

Zareen had a point. One of her gifts was the ability to see into a person's heart, discerning their level of innocence or corruption. She’d wanted Aella here to ensure my instincts about my wife were accurate, and I'd been right based on how my mother was behaving right now. She was being more open than expected.

For whatever reason, Lord Morgunn hadn’t wanted his niece to know how corrupt matters truly were within the realm.

He likely felt it kept her more amenable.

Her innocence was so refreshing that I almost felt guilty about altering her worldview, but I needed to prepare her to some degree because she might be the only one capable of saving the whole of Paxia.

Aella stiffened and pulled away from me to face my mother. “You know nothing about me or what I’ve experienced.”

“Pain and loss?” Zareen lifted a brow. “They are not the same as what you’ll soon learn about our world and how much your life has been influenced by it.”

Aella crossed her arms. “Why don’t you tell me, then?”

“Soon.” I pulled her to my side, not wanting to overwhelm her tonight. “You’ll learn everything you need to know when the time is right, but we must return home before it gets any later.”

My mother sighed. “Yes, but hopefully, we will have the opportunity to speak again before long.” She pulled a folded paper from a hidden pocket in her gown, handing it to me. “Take care, son. I’ll send word when it is time to meet again.”

I didn’t have to look at the parchment to know it would give me vital intelligence to further my quest. It would also affect Aella, but I still didn’t want to involve her until absolutely necessary.

She might not be corrupt like her uncle, but I didn’t feel I could trust her with sensitive information yet.

It would only take one slip of the tongue to ruin everything.

“You take care as well, Mother,” I said, giving her a nod.

Taking hold of Aella’s hand, I guided us back the way we came.

She was quiet for most of the walk through the woods.

Whenever I sensed something threatening nearby, I pushed at it with my powers to scare it away before she saw it.

We didn’t have time to deal with the dangerous creatures of this island when it would be nearly dawn before she returned home.

Aella opened the portal to Veronna in seconds, though it helped that I’d permanently removed the wards against her on the ring near my great-aunt’s home to ease the power draw.

Still, we’d only been on Jolloure for an hour and a half.

She should have struggled harder, but instead, she continued to become faster.

That was a good sign for my long-term plans.

After we stepped out of the ring on the other side, I guided Aella to the nearby copse of trees. “You’ve learned a few secrets tonight that I need you to keep.”

“Who would I tell without incriminating myself?” she asked, irritation in her gaze.

I backed her into a large tree, placing my hands on her hips. “True, but you could ruin everything if you told the wrong person.”

She stiffened, and anger flashed in her eyes. “I won’t tell anyone, but do we need to be this close?”

“Does it bother you after what we've already done?” I leaned closer to her. “It is only a kiss.”

Her breath caught. “What if I don’t want it?”

I brushed my lips along her jaw and then down her neck as she trembled. “Lie to yourself, but don’t lie to me. I’m not asking for your body right now, only your mouth, which you’ve freely given in more ways than one tonight.”

In fact, I would lie in bed tonight reliving the memory of her mouth on my cock. She’d been utterly entrancing. While I’d been with many women, none had brought me such a devastatingly complete release. I wondered what it would feel like to be inside her.

“Darrow, I don’t…”

I cut off her words with my lips. Her body relaxed in my hold, and she wrapped her arms around me. My only goal for now was to get her used to my touch. Each time we met, I’d work on her more, endearing her to me. It was the only way I could be certain of her cooperation and loyalty in the future .

Was it right to do such a thing to my wife when I couldn’t love her in return?

Likely not, but our world's fate relied on Aella’s willing assistance and her discretion.

I wouldn’t feel guilty for manipulating her when the alternative would be so much worse for us all, and it wasn’t as if I wouldn’t ensure her safety and well-being along the way.

She mattered to me more than her abilities alone.

As I caressed her body, testing her resolve little by little, I was encouraged when she moaned at my touch. She could deny her attraction, but tonight proved I’d own her entirely before long.