Page 45 of The Fallen Fae King

Will he take this as a good enough wedding gift?

Should I have made it bloodier for him? Ripped off her head to present to him?

Daire drops to sit cross-legged next to me, pressing the back of his knuckles against Freya’s cheek tenderly. “I’m here too, love. Sorry it took me so long. I was…”

I glance at his wrists, noticing the burns on them but also, the absence of the dragon bracelets.

Now the moth’s story makes sense.

I frown. “You tried out the Bone of the Gods. Reckless.”

Daire shrugs. “I’m alive, aren’t I?”

I narrow my eyes. “You also attacked when Horus was still holding Freya. Impulsive.”

“Can we save the degradation kink for the wedding night?” Daire looks away. “Sorry, I can’t see well. I had to take a guess. I woke up after all the agony and…my Spark was gone. My pinion feather should have drawn me to her through a portal if her life was in danger. But it was like I couldn’t feel her through the bond. I was terrified that she had…”

I know what he’d thought.

“It was Hor’s compulsion. Our Queen and likely your magic didn’t know that she was in extreme danger. How did you find us? You shouldn’t have taken such a risk.”

“Aye, you’re welcome.” Daire licks up Freya’s neck, and I can’t help the possessive resentment that I’m not licking up her blood. “I did just save your arse, or did I imagine that you were about to kill yourself for her?”

“Of course I was. She’s my Queen.”

Daire’s expression gentles. “Then of course I’d be the idiot to fly here and save you. You didn’t leave me to be bitten and claimed on the Hunt, did you? We belong together. And if it meant that I wandered around an enemy court where I’m hated and people now know my identity, then call me reckless and impulsive anytime you want, Bat. It’s daytime, most of the Bloods are asleep. But Hor is…was…a gossip who needed to feel important. He boasted while drunk to half the Shadow Humans about this plan. Luckily, Shadow Humans are helpful when you treat them like equals rather than toys. They showed me the way down here.”

My shoulders relax. “My dear, Freya and you look beautiful in your wedding outfits.”

“Well, you look a mess. You have blood running all the way to your chest. Want me to lick it up too?”

I give him a steady stare. “Should I trust your fangs that close to my neck?”

“Aren’t I about to trust your fangs to be in mine?” Daire leans closer, intense and serious. Suddenly, I feel for the first time like I am one king speaking to another. “On the sacred ash, is the past more important than the future? Are the screams of our ancestors more valuable than the birthing wails of unborn descendants? I was a fucking kid when I fought your ma. I was protecting the survivors of a genocide, clinging on against a tyrannical empire.”

“You want me to forget the past?”

“I don’t. We wear the scars of our past every day, aye? But I want you to concentrate on building the future of our kingdoms.” Daire glances at Freya, before looking back at me again. “Unite with us against Maximinus and the Draca Empire. They’re the oppressors.”

My brow furrows. “I have a blood and horn oath not to betray Relius.”

“Who’s asking you to? The bloody idiot is on our side, even if he doesn’t understand it just like he doesn’t understand his own emotions. Aurelius isn’t the same as his empire.”

Daire is looking at me with hopeful earnestness.

I wish that I could agree and become the type of rebel friend that Daire longs for and found in his Shadow Human, Barnabas, before he was murdered.

Now that I have survived, however, I must close the Void.

I must sacrifice myself after the ceremony.

Perhaps, it is not a bad thing to allow my mates to enjoy today as I am without telling the truth of what will come after.

Is it a cruel lie or the kindest one that I will ever tell?

“I forgive you,” I say, softly. “I will unite with you both in any way you wish.”

Daire’s expression — pure sunshine — makes the deception worth it.