Page 65 of Oaths & Vengeance (Realm of Zadrya #1)

His lips quirked up. “Unfortunately, none of them are inside your uncle’s castle.

They can report your movements in certain locations, but that doesn’t help me with your favorite foods or habits out of their view.

Trust me when I say your cooperation this evening is vital, and you’ll understand once I explain. ”

I tucked that tidbit about the spies away. “Do you promise to ask me from now on?”

“Yes.” Darrow nodded. “I wasn’t overly fond of asking Cam about you, and I don’t believe he felt very comfortable about the topic of discussion, either.”

“I think I’m going to have nightmares about it,” I said, grimacing.

He scowled. “That is nothing compared to me having to go to him, knowing he’s had you numerous times while I haven’t been with you fully. It was all I could do not to stab him in the throat.”

“You started it by stipulating we wouldn’t have sex when we made our marriage bargain, but I still gave you a chance on your birthday,” I pointed out regretfully.

“Under the circumstances, that night shouldn’t count against me.” Darrow leaned closer and whispered in my ear. “But I hope you will reconsider after our little trip this evening.”

“You mean stay the night here?” I asked, shivering as his breath tickled my skin.

He pressed his lips to my neck, trailing kisses to my shoulder. “I’ll make it worth your while, Aella. I promise. You will not leave our bed in the morning without feeling fully sated.”

It was very hard to resist him, considering how much time had passed since I’d last been intimate with anyone.

Not to mention all the late nights I’d spent wondering what it would be like to sleep with my husband.

Why did he have to have the most intense looks I’d ever seen on a man?

Why did he have to have a seductive voice that could light up all my senses?

He was a tempting package, and I desperately wanted to see more. I needed to slap myself.

“We’ll see how the rest of this evening goes,” I whispered tauntingly. There was little chance I could resist him if I stayed the night here, but I wouldn’t make it easy.

“Very well.” Darrow pulled away with heat in his eyes. “I’ll consider that a challenge.”

I took a slow step back while keeping my gaze on his. “Then you better be prepared to work hard for it, and even then, I might deny you. ”

He gave me an arrogant smile. “Oh, dear wife. I promise you’ll be begging for more before the clock strikes midnight, and even then, I might keep playing with your body until you’re mindless with need and begging. I do enjoy watching my enemies plea for mercy.”

I felt myself growing wet between my thighs at his words. That was only six hours away, and now I’d be doing a mental countdown, anticipating whether he kept his vow.

“Dinner is ready,” Jax called from the end of the hallway.

I nearly jumped, having forgotten about everyone else. “Who cooked?”

“Bogdan. He’s an expert at quite a few dishes, but especially your favorite,” Darrow said, taking my hand to guide me toward the dining area.

His palm was warm and strong in mine. Even that small touch sent my senses into overdrive, and I had a feeling I would spend the whole evening trying to resist him. I was so distracted that it took me a moment to comprehend what he’d said.

“Wait, Bogden? Isn’t he supposed to be guarding Jolloure Island or something?” I asked. Not to mention, he was a full dark elf and not supposed to be in Zadrya.

Darrow guided me toward the dining room table. “It’s a tedious job, so he’s allowed breaks. The king has given permission for him to visit for a few days as a favor to me.”

“Another favor?” I asked as he pulled out my chair.

“Trust me when I say that I earn it.”

I took my seat, smoothing my skirts. “Will I ever find out what has endeared you to the king so fully?”

“Let’s see how tonight goes.” He sat at the head of the table in the chair closest to mine. “I think what I have to tell you will be more than enough to overwhelm you for now.”

That sounded ominous. “Fine. So, where are we going?”

He waited to reply until Bogdan finished ladling stew into our bowls. Freshly baked bread slices were already on everyone’s plates, which were traditionally served with the dish. I took a bite, unable to wait since it looked so good. The taste of the bread was divine.

“The Isle of Penoria,” he replied .

I shot him a confused look. Over the years, I’d visited the faeries’ island several times and knew it well. “That portal gate isn’t warded.”

“We’re not going to Tinkarous,” Faina said, seated at the opposite end of the table. “Our destination is in a remote area on the eastern side of the island that the faeries don’t want outsiders visiting.”

I only had two rune sequences to the island—one to the city and another along a popular stretch of coastline on the southwest end. Neither were warded. They must have discovered a third that the royal library tome didn’t list. How many more was I missing?

Bogdan finished serving everyone and took a seat to my right.

He gave me a short nod before digging into his meal.

Despite his being a full dark elf, it didn’t bother me to be close to him.

He had such a quiet and reserved nature that he didn’t send any alarm bells ringing like many others of his kind.

Even with Darrow only being half, he troubled me more.

I was just getting used to it and maybe even learning to enjoy the curl of fear he stirred in me.

I took a spoonful of the stew, blew a few times to cool it, and took a taste. The flavors rolled over my tongue, tantalizing and spicy. “Oh, wow. This is so good.”

Bogdan gave me a small smile. “Thank you.”

“What is so important that we must go to this remote part of Penoria?” I asked, turning my attention to Darrow.

He wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin. “A world-traveling gate.”

“Isn’t there already one in Jolloure?”

“Yes.” He took a sip of wine. “But that one only leads to locations at our end of the galaxy. This one was designed for more distant travel.”

As someone who adored discovering new places, that caught my attention. “Like where?”

“A planet called Earth, where we believe the Naforya Fountain is located,” he replied.

I nearly choked on my stew and had to swallow carefully, followed by a sip of my wine. He’d actually named the location, which no one should have known. “How can you be certain? ”

“We recently found what your mother sought all those years ago in the Oarwar desert,” he said, giving me a sympathetic look.

My chest tightened. Mom had lost her life trying to get that information, and Darrow somehow succeeded. “How did you do it?”

“It took years for my abilities to grow strong enough that I could kill even the largest creatures in the desert who got in my way,” he replied, shrugging.

Right. Since he was telekinetic, even giant worms would struggle against his powers.

I hadn’t considered such a possibility, but clearly, he’d been planning the trip for some time.

As I reviewed everything he’d said, I realized why he’d wanted me all along.

I’d just given myself to him, having no idea he needed me even more than I needed him.

“That’s the real reason you took the deal to save my cousin,” I surmised, the ramifications filling my head. I looked at Faina. “Neither of you had any intention of killing me, did you?”

She leaned back in her chair, pasting on that same self-assured smile her brother often gave me. “It was fun watching you squirm, and don’t act like you didn’t enjoy pinning us to the wall.”

“Fine.” She had a point. “Maybe I did, but it doesn’t excuse manipulating me.”

Jax looked up from his half-finished stew. “Maybe they manipulated you a little, but it wasn’t like they could come out and say you were useful to retrieve the fountain. Darrow had to see if we could trust you with the information first, though I don’t know why he does now.”

Among Darrow’s friends, he was the only one I didn’t like at all.

It never took him long to get me upset. “Easy for you to say when you’re not the one who is constantly forced to use your powers, including by people who are supposed to care about you and make you do things that go against what you believe is right. ”

I clenched my hands in my lap.

“If you tried to resist at all, then you wouldn’t help your uncle attack our cities and kill our people,” he said, glaring at me. “My father is dead because you opened a portal where you shouldn’t. ”

My gaze widened, and now I finally understood why he’d always been hostile. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“What difference does it make to you? He was a simple blacksmith, but that didn’t matter to your uncle’s army when they ran him through.” Jax paused, working his jaw as deep pain filled his brown eyes. “It didn’t stop them from raping my mother, either.”

My chest tightened. “That’s terrible.”

“Yeah, it is, but you’ll keep opening the portals for him anyway, won’t you?” he said accusingly.

Of course, he couldn’t know the price I paid every time I resisted, but guilt ate at me to hear his story.

Should I have fought harder, no matter the consequences?

I pushed my bowl away, no longer hungry, and ducked my head so no one could see the expression on my face.

The pain from the many times I’d fought my uncle when I disagreed with him came flooding into my mind.

Could I have taken more punishment for the sake of saving civilians?

Jax continued, “Do you even lose sleep for what…”

“Jax, that’s enough,” Darrow interrupted in a firm voice.

“But…”

A chair scraped across the floor. “I said that’s enough! Aella didn’t attack your family, nor is she afforded many choices about anything. If you can’t accept my wife, then get out.”

He’d spoken in a loud voice that startled me. The fury in his tone revealed an intense depth of anger that I was surprised he felt on my behalf. Only one other time had he sounded that way, and it was on Jolloure Island months ago.

Silence reigned in the room for a full minute until I finally heard Jax’s reply, “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said those things. I’m sorry, Aella.”

I drew on the strength I used when my uncle said horrible things to me at the dinner table.

No one had practiced that art more than I, and deep breaths helped.

Darrow had defended me, and everyone else at the table appeared embarrassed by Jax’s behavior.

To be fair, he had a right to his anger.

I wouldn’t ruin a chance to inspect a ring that might allow us to retrieve the Naforya Fountain.

Our planet was getting weaker daily without it, and one argument wasn’t worth forsaking that critical fact.

I was old enough and mature enough to know where to focus my priorities.

“It’s fine.” I lifted my head and gave him a weak smile. “You aren’t wrong to be upset, and I understand that.”

He dipped his chin. “Thank you for acknowledging it.”

The tension in the room eased.

Darrow reached under the table and took my hand, unclenching my fist. “I will make it clear to him that it’s not an appropriate subject to bring up again.”

“Please let it go,” I said, giving him a pleading look.

His expression said it wasn’t the end of the conversation, but he’d let the subject drop for now. I breathed a sigh of relief when he drew his hand away and settled back into his chair.

“Jax is often an ass,” Bogdan said, glancing at me with amusement in his dark gray eyes. “I find keeping a piece of rotten fruit on hand to throw at him makes him less likely to say foolish things.”

“Like a perrun ?” I asked, referring to a dark-red piece of fruit that grew to about the size of a fist. It was sweet and juicy when picked at the perfect time, but turned very mushy once it became overripe.

He let out a deep laugh. “That is my preferred choice. I apologize for being unprepared for it during this visit, but I won’t be remiss next time.”

Jax rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “This is why I usually avoid your visits. Last time, I was picking pieces of perrun out of my hair all day because you squashed it on my head while we were on the road, and I had no way to wash it out. I still haven’t forgiven you for that.”

“I’m sure I’ll have trouble sleeping tonight now that I know,” Bogdan said wryly.

Faina studied her nails before looking at Jax. “You need to remember that our side has killed Aella’s family members, too, so maybe we should remember both lands have lost a lot. If you can’t back off, I’ll simply put you to sleep until it’s time to leave.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” He narrowed his eyes. “You already know what I’ll do in return. ”

“Oh yes, use your invisibility to sneak up and scare me repeatedly.” She snorted. “I’ll just keep a circle of fire around me so you can’t get close.”

I’d wondered what her other magic talent might be, and now I knew. Flame-wielding was one of the most common gifts among high fae, with about one in ten having it. Of course, the level of ability to use it varied with each person. I had a feeling she was very strong.

Loden sighed where he sat directly across from me, having not spoken once throughout dinner.

“Do you see what I must deal with regularly? Now you know what you’ll face when you fully join our circle.

I wouldn’t blame you if you ran for the Sobaryan Mountains, but I do hope you’ll stay and help me keep them in line. ”

I couldn’t imagine how I’d ever be allowed to leave my uncle’s home, even once the truth of my marriage came out. He’d want to keep my power for himself or kill me so no one else could have it. That was a chilling thought.

“Please eat, Aella,” Darrow said, nudging my bowl back toward me. “It will be a long night, and you’ll need your strength.”

“Oh, yes, a lot of walking involved,” Faina added as she took another bite of her bread.

The twinkle in my husband’s eyes implied something more than that. I averted my gaze from him before he made me blush with his obvious thoughts. At least my emotions were calm again, and the knot in my stomach had loosened. I resumed eating my meal, grateful my appetite had returned.