Page 30

Chapter Thirty

Asteria

Flying in between a dragon and a phoenix was bizarre. I never thought I’d find myself in such a position, but here I was. A dragon, flying beside other magical animals that I once only dreamed of catching a mere glimpse of.

For all the issues I’d faced due to the truth coming out, I had to admit there were even more benefits.

I just wished humans had a way to experience the lives they dreamed of, without having to realize they’re Fae to achieve it.

The thought of all the humans Cyrus currently had imprisoned sent shudders down my spine. I’d seen his brutality up close, and I didn’t doubt what Eryx said was true. I watched as he flew ahead and wondered if there was a way to get him into Dusk to get the lay of the land.

If these camps had been set up across Dusk… how many humans did he have in them? He still needed them, at least in his mind, to work as his slaves. I couldn’t imagine his lords being happy if they were taken away and made to… gasp—do their own work.

But Cyrus was king now, meaning dissent would be crushed quickly.

As we neared Biarma, I couldn’t help the unease I felt. The last time I was here, Cyrus captured me and brought me back to Dusk, taking me away from Calix and nearly succeeding in breaking me.

But the shining domed tops of the palace glowed in the light of day, and the jungle trees butting up right to the palace, though not overtaking it like Sunrise’s, swayed in the wind. It looked beautiful and innocuous. Not like the site of a battle that saw my world crashing down around me.

And this time, we were coming invited, as opposed to sneaking in.

As we flew lower, Fae and humans alike ducked out of the way, and a few screamed as they ran in the other direction. I was confused until Calix’s voice echoed in my mind. “ After what happened last time… I may have lit the place up on my way out.”

Something must be wrong with me, because that shouldn’t fill me with a light, beautiful feeling, knowing that Calix was so enraged by my capture.

Sunset working with Dusk during that conflict was another thing we’d need to discuss with them. King Tieran had let Cyrus in, let me be taken, and I knew that was something neither Calix nor I would forget easily—despite how much we needed them on our side in this war.

We landed before the palace, and I was surprised to see that what could only be the royal family had come to greet us.

A dark-skinned man stepped forward, and his closely cropped, short black hair was topped with a brushed copper crown. Teal jewels set within it created the illusion of wings spread across it. An incongruous sight with the day-old stubble on his face, not to mention his more casual clothing. He wore a high-necked, long lounge jacket in teal that was crafted with orange embroidery and jewels, paired with orange pants that could just be made out from under the length of his jacket.

And his bright blue eyes were already locked on me.

“Princess Asteria.” He smiled widely, and I was taken aback by how delighted he was to see me. The fact that he may know more about me and what role the gods had given me was a constant itch I couldn’t shake. I hated other people knowing things I didn’t, but even more so when it was about me.

“King Calix.” He nodded to my mate and then turned, surprised. “Prince Altan, we certainly weren’t expecting you.” He raised a brow, and Altan shot him a smirk.

“Well, in times like these, King Tieran,” Altan winked, “I find it important to stick to those walking the right path.”

Tieran raised a brow at him but watched him with a speculative look on his face.

“Father, perhaps we can discuss Prince Altan’s presence later. They’ve flown a good distance; I’m sure they’d appreciate a rest before we meet.” The youngest prince, Zakat, said. I remembered that he was actually the heir, not the eldest son, Vesper.

The two stood next to one another, but they looked like they’d rather be anywhere else. Zakat was all his father in looks, sharing his dark black skin tone, while Vesper was more of a mix of his parents. Queen Eveleen stood beside them, with olive skin and green almond eyes. She had a long, luxurious mass of dark hair that made me suddenly wish for more volume in my own.

Vesper’s curly hair was shorn close to his head, while Zakat had braids that fell to his shoulders. Their only similarity being the bright blue eyes they got from their father. Their sister, Princess Dysis, had her own braids in an updo, leaving some of them down to frame her face. She had delicate features, with hazel eyes and tawny brown skin. She seemed to take half her features from each parent, even more so than Vesper.

As King Tieran nodded to Prince Zakat and began to lead us in, Princess Dysis came up beside me. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Princess.”

The strangeness of being called Princess would never fade. “You as well, Princess Dysis.”

“Please, just call me Dy.” She smiled, and I looked her over. She seemed strangely genuine.

“Asteria, then.” I insisted, already sick of all the titles. She took my arm with hers, leading me forward, and leaned into me slightly.

“Father has been so excited since we learned of you,” she whispered, and my eyebrows flew upward.

“Why?” I whispered back, and she giggled, shaking her head.

“He’d never forgive me if I spoiled it.” I sighed at her response, resigning myself to waiting.

“Princess Asteria.” Prince Zakat came up beside me, and I could feel Calix’s discomfort from where he walked beside King Tieran. “What are you doing hanging around with these fools?” He smirked, head tilting toward Altan, who huffed.

“Fool? Have you seen yourself recently?” Altan gave him a look up and down before scoffing, but his eyes definitely lingered a bit on the prince’s exposed chest, his loose shirt hanging open down the middle to expose dark, shining skin. Had I not had Calix, I may not have been able to help lingering myself.

“Oh, don’t be jealous, Altan.” Zakat cooed at him. “I’m sure we can find a way to make people take you seriously.”

“Ha!” Altan barked. “That’s rich coming from you.”

Zakat turned to him completely, stepping closer so he was eye to eye with Altan. The two stared at one another intensely, and I raised a brow as the tension between them rose. I wasn’t sure if they were about to kill each other or kiss.

I was personally voting on the latter. Because hey, I might have the sexiest man in Celesterra all to myself, but a girl could always appreciate hot men together.

“Keep flirting, Zakat,” Vesper murmured as he walked past. “I’m sure that will go down well with your suitors.”

Zakat groaned, his head swinging toward his brother. “Don’t remind me.”

He shuddered, turning back to face me and whispering in horror, “Father wants me to find a bride to continue the royal line. Can you imagine? Sleeping with a woman?”

He shuddered again, and I instantly felt for him. I couldn’t imagine being required to marry, let alone to a person I didn’t prefer. The thought of being forced to have a child was equally reprehensible to me.

Children were something I never really considered. As a slave, I didn’t want to continue the cycle, despite the way the women of my village complimented my “birthing hips” and tried to convince me to settle down once I was placed in my new kingdom.

But things were different now.

Calix and I actually loved each other, for one. He was also very close to his family, and I imagined he’d want a family of his own one day. A little babe who was a piece of both of us. And we would need an heir.

But I was only twenty-one, and we had centuries for all of that. I needed time to adjust to this life, to learn to live and love and rule.

Babies were centuries off, at an absolute minimum .

“This is why I should have been heir.” Vesper stopped walking forward and stood stiffly, shoulders moving up and down as he breathed heavily. He turned suddenly to face Zakat, and I felt uncomfortable being stuck in the middle of the family drama of Fae I had just met.

“You brush off all of your responsibilities,” he seethed, as Zakat tilted his head at him, a taunting smile on his lips. “You never take your role seriously. You’ll destroy this kingdom should you become king.”

“Ow.” Zakat pouted. “My feelings .”

Vesper snarled, turning in a huff and walking away. Zakat chuckled, putting an arm around Dysis’s shoulders.

“You shouldn’t provoke him.” She tutted, rolling her eyes to me. “The two of them are like children, I swear.”

“Aw, come on, Dy!” Zakat protested loudly, “You know he’s constantly up my ass. He’s bitter, and he takes it out on me.”

“That may be true, but you know it’s hard for him too.” She sighed sadly. “Most firstborn males are chosen as heir, and he thinks something is wrong with him that he wasn’t chosen.”

“Sometimes, I really wish he was,” Zakat admitted quietly, but Altan shook his head.

“No, you don’t. Trust me,” he said, his eyes darting down to the floor, and missing the way Zakat appraised him, a certain light shining in his eyes.

“Do you all mind if I steal my mate back now?” Calix was already leaning against the door as we arrived, his arms crossed, and brow raised.

An instant smile appeared on my face, and I briefly wondered when I became the kind of person who couldn’t help smiling.

Calix’s arm came around me as he looked down. “Having fun?”

“Oh, we’re going to have lots of fun!” Dy interjected, giggling.

“Don’t mind my sister; she’s overexcitable.” Zakat snorted. “We’ll get out of your hair for now. Come on, Dy, you can talk to Asteria later.”

“But Zak!” She whined slightly, and my eyes widened in surprise. She seemed to actually want to befriend me. I just couldn’t figure out why.

But Zakat dragged his sister down the hall, and Altan, shaking his head as his eyes tracked the heir of Sunset, opened the door across the hall and disappeared inside.

Calix pulled me into our room, and I didn’t even get a chance to look around before he had me up against the door. Instant arousal shot through me. Something about him taking control, using his strength to hold me up, had me getting wet immediately.

He could smell it, too, and his growl echoed in my ears as his mouth crashed into mine. After a minute of fighting him to gain control, a useless venture to be sure, he pulled back. His eyes were wild, with green and blue darting around his purple orbs chaotically.

“I can’t stand watching these men fawn all over you,” he snarled, and took hold of the travel dress I was wearing, ripping it straight down the middle.

I gasped, my hips bucking upwards, trying to find any kind of friction. Calix’s knees hit the floor, and his mouth immediately found my cunt, practically swallowing it whole. I grabbed his hair as I screamed out, the feel of his tongue tracing over and between me, my body couldn’t seem to stop undulating as I chased the sensation.

He sucked my clit into his mouth, lightly nipping it before laving it with his tongue. I lost my mind to the pleasure as he single-mindedly went at my cunt like a man possessed.

It didn’t take long until my walls were clenching uncontrollably, but I tried to hold off my climax, not wanting it to end.

A slap against my clit shook me, a ragged moan leaving my mouth. “You don’t keep your orgasms from me, do you understand?”

I nodded frantically as I met Calix’s eyes, and I kept eye contact as he smirked, mouth wet with my arousal.

“Good girl,” he growled against my skin, and the vibration went straight to my clit. “Now, cum for me.”

His hands held me open so his tongue could thrust inside me, and his shadows circled my clit for him, leaving him fully focused on forcing my orgasm from me. He succeeded, as I couldn’t possibly hold it off any longer. I came screaming, slumping down on the door as Calix swallowed every drop of me.

When he finally pulled away, I attacked, pushing him back on the floor and ripping his pants from him. His breathless laugh was full of pleasure, and I could feel how much he loved my rabid desperation.

He was already hard as stone, and I grasped that long, thick cock I loved so much, pumping my hand down the shaft. My mouth enclosed his head, earning a deep groan from Calix. I swirled my tongue around it before licking up and down the shaft, trailing my fingers up the other side.

I teased him for a minute before I finally lowered my head, taking more of his length down my throat. He thrust his hips up into my mouth, swearing loudly. His hand grasped my hair, moving it up and to the side so he could watch me without the dark curtain of my hair interfering.

“Fuck.” He groaned loudly at the sight. “That's it, grá. Such a good girl.”

I trailed my fingernails down his thighs and back up as I sucked his cock, before bringing them up to his balls and trailing across them. He groaned, his head falling back as I gripped them lightly. I stuffed as much of his cock down my throat as I could take, but it wasn’t enough to encompass him fully. Instead, I let my starlight out to play around the base of his shaft, since my hands were otherwise occupied.

Having this extra-sensory way to help tackle this monster felt a bit like cheating, but honestly, it was a kind of cheating I could get behind.

I could feel his struggle for control, but I was determined to finally get to taste him. My head bobbed up and down quickly, and that was when I felt his shadows descend on my body. Some followed the line of my curves, while others began tweaking my nipples. I moaned around his cock as the pleasure ran through me, the vibration making Calix moan in turn.

I could feel his cock starting to twitch in my mouth, so I ran my tongue under his head, humming as I did so. I was rewarded with a loud roar and the feel of him spilling down my throat. I swallowed every bit of it, despite some difficulties in doing so. I had to keep swallowing quickly to take the volume, and as I popped off his cock, I licked my lips to get the few drops I missed.

Calix was watching me wide-eyed, panting on the floor. I giggled, making him grab me around the waist and pulling me to him as he rolled us over. He hovered over me, his fingers coming up to move my hair out of my face.

“You’re fucking incredible ,” he said, still looking a bit dreamy-eyed.

I smirked, reaching a hand up to his cheek, running my thumb over the sharp cheekbone. “I know.”

He laughed, his head dipping down and leaving us enclosed in a curtain of silvery-white hair.

“You are completely unreal,” I admitted, softly. “Just months ago, I could never have even dreamed of someone like you.”

“My réalta.” His forehead touched mine for a moment, before he lifted to meet my eyes. “You’ve dreamed of me all your life. You just didn’t know I was there. Sometimes, all it takes is opening your eyes to change your whole life.”

“Is that so?” I tilted my head to the side, my small smile growing.

He nodded very seriously. “Absolutely. If you knew how many times I called out for you, tried to beat down that barrier to reach you… but all it took was for you to step into the light and let the darkness swallow you whole.”

“If I’d known, I would have embraced the darkness much sooner,” I told him, my voice teasing, but with an undertone that was heavy with desire.

“Good thing it’s never too late,” he whispered back, before taking my lips in his.

* * *

We spent the afternoon losing ourselves in pleasure, learning every part of one another’s bodies we hadn’t yet explored and then some. But responsibility reared its head eventually, and we were forced to get up and dressed to meet the Daanan’s.

The rooms we were given looked like what I remember of King Tieran’s. At least the glimpse I got when we dropped off the information about Cyrus. The arched windows were covered with wooden slats carved with decorative shapes that let the light shine through them and create patterns on the walls, while the ceiling was covered in a mosaic of colorful tiles. The bed was circular, though they’d given us purple and teal sheets, as opposed to the orange and teal Tieran had. A personal touch, I assumed, based on our royal colors.

The living area was filled with seating set low to the ground that was clearly made for lounging. The sofa, chaise, pillows, and cushions were primarily orange and white in color. A dining area was nearby, made of rich wood that I was sure was made from trees local to the area. The table overlooked the balcony and gave us a wonderful view of the small lagoon in the middle of the palace’s courtyard.

It wasn’t nearly as spacious as the one under Panchaia’s palace, but it was about the size of Calix’s pool.

Upon leaving our rooms, we found Altan and Zakat both leaning against the wall opposite our door, pointedly not looking at one another with their arms crossed against their chests. I rolled my eyes at them both.

“Finally ready to go?” Zakat smirked at me, and Calix snuck an arm around my waist as his smirk widened. I realized then that I’d forgotten to let Calix know that Zakat preferred men. Though, I did enjoy the possessive jealousy that was radiating from him. Maybe I could wait a bit.

We picked Eryx up along the way; since he wasn’t royalty himself, he was given a room a few doors down that was reserved for the guests of visiting royals. Which was ridiculous. Who has guest rooms for guests’ guests?

Zakat led us all down to a study, where Tieran, Eveleen, and their children awaited us. Tieran stood before a heavy wooden door, with a large, rusted metal key in his hand.

“First off, I would like to begin by apologizing to you both.” Tieran greeted us, looking between Calix and me. My brow rose in surprise, and I could feel Calix’s suspicion and disbelief like it was my own. “Had I known what was actually going on, I wouldn’t have ever let Cyrus in.”

“What you mean is that you had no problem letting him come retrieve his wayward slave, right?” I countered, grinding my teeth as that familiar rage rose inside.

Tieran cocked his head slightly before nodding once. “Yes, I suppose that is the truth of it. I’m sure, given the circumstances, you’re very much against the way of life we’ve always known.”

“You’re damn right.” I spat in agreement. “It’s barbaric, how you treat humans. Calix was the only Fae who seemed to see that. He was the only one doing anything to help them. Neither one of us will allow it to continue.”

Eveleen looked nervously between us. “Can I ask how you plan to accomplish such a thing? That seems like a massive undertaking. And if you’re already fighting Cyrus…”

“This is bigger than that,” Tieran said before I could respond. “Let me first show you what we have here, and then we can discuss plans moving forward.”

Our joint suspicion rose within the mate bond, and Calix and I looked quickly at one another. None of this made sense, nor was it in any way what we expected. Eryx looked over to us both, nodding, and Calix sighed, looking to me once more and awaiting my permission.

Tieran was watching us closely, and I shifted toward him slightly, nodding, “Show us.”

He smiled brightly, turning to unlock the door. “Follow me.”

We followed one after another down a tight spiral staircase, leading deep underground if the musty smell was anything to go by. The route eventually brought us to an old dirt tunnel, and we began to make our way down it. Torches lit up the walls as we neared, the magic activating with our presence.

I reached for Calix’s hand, entwining our fingers and holding on tightly. The lack of windows or any natural light reminded me too much of the claustrophobic slave corridors in Dusk’s palace. I hated being enclosed, and something about being this far underground was even more unnerving.

“I apologize for the trek, but my ancestors wanted to ensure no one would ever find this place,” Tieran explained, pausing briefly in a heavy silence. “It was too important to the fate of our world.”

Shivers ran down my spine, and I looked nervously at Calix and Eryx. Knowing they were both here with me was a comfort. I had no idea what Tieran was on about, but a feeling in my gut told me I knew exactly what it was.

Arawn’s words to me as I lay dying in Dusk rang in my ears, “ When the sun sets, and starlight gathers, you must walk among the dead. Earn your way through to Tír na nóg, and learn the fate that awaits.”

When sun sets , that couldn’t be a coincidence.

Fuck, why did the gods always have to deliver messages via riddle?