Page 14

Lonan

M y bold, but obviously wounded little mate pulls herself straight in her chair and answers before I can even respond.

“I am not a spy, as you heard Achlys verify. General .”

He looks at me, eyebrows raised as I rub the back of my neck, feeling a bit sheepish. I didn’t really have time to talk to Kai about it before breakfast or I would have given him a heads up.

“No,” Kai says, “I heard him say you weren’t attempting to disrupt the rebellion. Those are not the same thing.”

Ollie opens her mouth but I cut it off, “Enough.” I look at Kai. “Tell me of the progress. And you can speak freely.” I give him, and Lilac, a bit of a glare so they know I’m not fucking around.

He huffs, “The assassinations at Squall’s End will be completed by sundown tomorrow. I’m sending Caspian and Tazi to interview replacements.”

“I’ll ride in Cas’s feathers,” Tazi preemptively says before I fuss over the temperature.

Lilac pipes up, “Centerhedge is ready. We have wings on the ground there and Squall’s End.”

I nod. “Good.” I turn to Ollie, “Alder is planning an attack on Squall’s End. We keep standing contingents around Faery, the closest of which to Squall’s End is Centerhedge.”

She blinks. “Why would he do that? He gets most of his supplies, and fresh soliders, there.” Another blink of her unique eyes. “Where are the other contingents?”

“Favorsham, Homestead Village, Knife’s Edge,” I answer, “And we have spies in every town of any size.”

I watch her consider this.

“So you do not have allies in Guivre or Larkstead? Or Monkswick?”

I shake my head, pleased with my Queen’s mind for strategy. “Not yet.”

She tilts her head and something crosses her mind but she remains silent.

I turn back to Lilac. “Any word from Korben?”

“No, but he should be back soon, or else he’ll be stuck there until spring thaw.”

“Where?” Ollie asks.

Lilac gives her a wilting look but answers, “Guivre.”

“Anything else?” I ask my Circle.

When they remain silent, I say, “Go. Lilac, go home to Rosetta. Caspian, check in with Thistle Grove’s mayor again, see if there is aught she needs. Tazi, go chat with the Daven sisters. See if you can recruit them as messengers. We need the wings. Not Bay, of course, she just had her faeling.”

They all nod and stand. I make a minute gesture to Kai. He stops, still standing, and he seems torn on who he’d rather glare at: me or Oleander.

When the door shuts behind them, I turn to Kai and Ollie.

“Sit,” I say to Kai, going to get more booze. We’re gonna need it.

He snorts. “I’m not in a taking orders mood, Lonan.”

I chuckle as I pour, my back to them. “Suit yourself, but I think you’re gonna want to be sitting.” I turn and bring the three shots over, before heading back to grab the ciders.

“Bottoms up,” I say once I put a cider in front of each of us, grabbing my shot, “Hopefully in more way than one...”

Ollie’s eyes narrow but she grabs her shot and downs it with nary a blink. Kai and I take ours and I collapse onto the couch.

I drop my head into my hands. It’ll be fine. They’re both mine, right? I feel Kai sit on the far end of the couch. I don’t think Kai is ready to hear that Ollie is my mate as well, however. Leave that particular shocking revelation for later.

“Kai,” I reach over, placing my hand on his knee. He jerks, but settles. We don’t show affection in public usually. “Oleander is a Stonesthrow, this is true. The sister of the King.” I can sense Ollie tense at my sharing of this but she stays silent. “She will take the throne when we kill him.”

“And why would she remain loyal to us if we put her on the throne? She owes us nothing; she has no years of loyalty to recommend her to us.”

Another deep breath. “She will, Kai. Trust me. She hates Alder as well. She will not betray us.” A loaded pause, “Especially if I marry her.”

I wait, but he says nothing.

I turn to Ollie, “And... Kai is my lover of many years.”

She shakes her head minutely, but sits, listening. Ollie takes a breath, and Kai is concerningly silent, but my eyes do not stray from Ollie. “I am already in awe of you and I barely know the smallest part of you. I believe my admiration and devotion will only grow.”

She arches an eyebrow in an obviously skeptical way but remains silent.

I turn to Kai. “I love you, Kai. I always will. I will not give you up.”

I place a hand on Ollie’s knee and smile winningly. “I hope you do not mind my keeping another lover, too much, sweetheart.”

She purses her lips. “You told me you were a water Fae but not which variety, Lonan.”

It seems an odd change in topic but I answer, “I’m an ishka.”

Kai flinches. It is not a secret, but we do our damndest to keep my, and his, heavier powers under lock and key.

Oleander blinks in that unperturbed way of hers. She seems to be able to hide a lot of emotion when she wants to.

“So, we’re both essentials; we are compatible and can’t be having sex. I suppose it’s good for you to keep a lover to take care of your needs.”

Her voice is even, chilly, no hint of emotion.

I lean forward, “Excuse me?”

A small, sweet smile plays at her lips. “Our varieties are compatible. I absolutely cannot become pregnant before I take the throne or I will risk my legitimacy. More importantly, I cannot be pregnant, nor have an infant, in the middle of a war. Don’t you agree?”

“Well, yes...”

“So that means we cannot have sex.”

“But...” I start, “There are herbal means of managing that...”

She shakes her head firmly. “None are decisive. It’s not worth the risk.”

I feel a pang of hurt at that. “Oleander, I do not know...” I stop and shake my head, throwing a glance at Kai. His face is odd, unreadable. I turn back to Ollie. “I already burn for you, sweetheart.” My hand moves from her knee to her thigh.

She smiles at that, putting her hand over mine. “I did not say we needed to remain chaste, Lonan.”

My cock jumps at the mere suggestion of Ollie’s lips around it. I glance to Kai, who is stone-faced, and back to my little Queen. “Here?” I grin. “Now?”

“Mmm,” she responds and I stand, pulling her to me. Her face tilts up and I kiss her. She tastes sweet with a hint of some overripe fruit. She parts her lips at the same moment that her body sways into mine. I gently wrap my arms around her and she lets out a tiny breath into my mouth. I slowly pull my mouth away, only to kiss along her jawline, up into her white hair, and down, requiring me to bend. I groan and grab her around the waist, turning and sitting on the couch. Her legs spread over me, perfectly responsive, and her hands rise to cup my face. I can feel the heat of her sex against me through our clothes and I moan.

I hear Kai shift and my gaze snaps to him, “Don’t leave, flame, please.”

He sits back, crossing his arms. Ollie’s hands turn my face back to her. Jealous creature , I think smugly.

We kiss again, my hands on her hips. As I kiss downward and my teeth nip at her neck, her hips rock against my hard cock. I groan into her flesh.

The heat and the motion of her is almost enough to undo me. I grip her hips tightly. Her hand slides to mine, and she tugs it upward, over her soft dress, to her nipple.

I smirk, “Did you want something, sweetheart?”

“Yes, please, Lonan,” she whimpers, pressing her chest into me.

I pinch and worry her nipple, one following the other, over her dress. She squirms delightfully on my lap before kissing me again. I’m absolutely overjoyed and overwhelmed at this show of affection and need from her. I kiss and tease and pinch and play as much as I can in this position. Eventually her sounds of need are too much and I grip her hips.

“More, sweetheart?”

“Oh, gods, yes please, Lonan, please,” she gasps, her head tossed back.

I stand holding her, and her legs instinctively wrap around me. I grab her ass, kneading, to her little adorable noises of desire, as I turn us, kneeling. I gently place my mate on the couch and pull my body back from hers, though I don’t know how I manage.

I drop my hands to her feet, meeting her eyes for approval.

She grins but it quickly drops, her eyes taking in the room and for a moment I’m afraid she’s indecisive about Kai but she settles on the windows.

“Will you... draw the curtains?” She whispers.

Kai stands without a word and quickly pulls them, the heavy velvet dropping across the entire wall.

“Thank you,” she murmurs, giving him an earnest look.

I grip her calves tighter and she turns back to me. Her hips shift and she raises an eyebrow. I beam at her and toss her skirts up in the dim light. I slide my hands up her legs slowly. I can see in the low light, the marks from the magical bonds upon her. Is that what the shyness was about? Surely not?

I let my hands move slowly above her knees, curling and touching her luscious thighs before I press them further apart with my palms. She moans and leans back upon the couch. I slip one hand up, grasping her panties and tug them downward. She drops her knees in and they fall to the floor. I raise her one foot, kiss it before setting it down, and do the same to the other. I toss the panties over my shoulder.

Ollie looks at me, a smile teasing her lips. I dip my head, kissing her thigh. She moans, and I feel her hips shift forwards. I smirk, kissing, licking, nipping my way slowly to her center.

She smells fucking incredible. I want to taste her, to pull her open so I can dip my tongue inside her, but instead, I skate over the adorably-white hair at her core, to her other thigh. The sound of frustration she lets out makes me grin as I work my way down to her other knee. Once there, I glance up at her. Her head is tossed back, her long waves mussed, lips pinked and face flush. She looks down at me and her hips shift back and forth.

“Please, Lonan...”

“Of course, my Queen,” I whisper. And I dive to her center. I press my tongue towards her clit and her legs spread even as she whimpers. I bring a hand up to run up her soaked slit. I speak without looking up, “Good girl, so fucking wet for me.”

Her hips rock again and I smirk. I use my fingers to circle her hard clit, then drop them back down, pressing two inside her.

She gasps, hips rocking up into my hand.

“Oh fuck yes, sweetheart,” I purr. I dive back to her core, my lips wrapping around her clit as I curl my fingers inside her. I feel her hands land on the back of my head, burying into my hair. As I suck and worry at her, her hips rock up as she fucks herself against me. Oh, fuck, sweetheart, what a good fucking girl, I think.

I feel her wet, hot cunt clamp down upon my fingers like a vice and I wish I could tell her how fucking perfect she is but I don’t dare change anything and my mouth is rather full at the moment.

Her breath stops for a heartbeat. She cries out, loudly, beautiful, the first orgasm I’ve given my spirit mate, as she cums in my mouth. I work her through it, not stopping or slowing until I feel her tug at my hair roughly. I smirk as I pull back. My sweetheart is sensitive after an orgasm, I’ll remember that.

She smiles down at me languidly. “Oh, gods, Lonan, that was lovely.” She slowly stands, shaking out her skirts, and tugs at my hand. I stand and wrap my arms around her, smiling. She kisses me as she rotates us so I’m in front of the couch. I pull at my belt, then drop my trousers as I sit.

Oleander smiles at me sweetly as she drops to her knees. My cock is hard and aching as I wrap a hand around it. I’m dying to be in her mouth.

She twists, hand on the floor, as if searching for something.

“Ah ha!” She chirps, and I see her lift her panties from the ground. She smoothly stands and turns.

“That really was delightful, Lonan. Thank you.” She smiles, “You two have fun,” she purrs, looking between Kai and me, where I sit holding my dick.

And she turns and silently takes the stairs out of my rooms. As the door soundly shuts behind her, Kai starts to laugh.