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Faenir crumpled over me, and I embraced him. I closed my eyes to help the sudden throbbing that filled my skull.We laid like that for a long moment, heavy breathing and strong beats of hearts, a chorus of one.
“Words cannot express…” Faenir began sleepily. “I have never felt anything as divine. In a world I had come to believe was full of terror and hate, for the first time I have seen pleasure.”
His heart cantered in his chest, echoing across mine as he laid atop me. I held onto him, fingers tracing stars and circles into the damp skin on his back. “You are more than I could have ever imagined.”
“You imagined me before this?” He raised his head, a smile creased across his handsome face.
I squinted at him in earnest. “As a monster.”
“Entertain me, Arlo, darling. Am I the monster that everyone titles me as such?”
I nipped at his lip, tugging him in so his lips were pressed dutifully against mine once again. “You are my monster. My destroyer. And I count down the moments until you have the energy to terrorise me again.”
Wrapped up in his arms I thought of nothing but his warmth. Not of Auriol, of Tithe, nor of the vial of blood that promised me stolen life. There was no past or future to cloud my mind with worry and anxiety.
There was only now, in his arms, and that felt like peace.
“Forgive me, my darling, if my eyes close.” Faenir rolled off me and onto his side. I looked down and exhaled at the sight of his large cock resting across the V-shaped muscles of his hip.
“Rest,” I told him, closing my eyes and smiling without effort. “We will need it.”
“Indeed,” Faenir replied, his hand gripping onto mine and holding it tightly. “We shall.”
21
The skies of Neveserin were filled with song. From the moment I had woken, encased in Faenir’s protective embrace, to now as we followed the parade through the city’s main road, my ears rang with it.The sound was similar to tinkling bells, as though they had been strung and draped from building to building. Except there were no bells. Elves sang in harmony, crafting sounds I could not have imagined possible without witnessing it first-hand. It was both beautiful, andhaunting.
My steps were muffled over the fresh layering of scarlet petals that fell around us.Magic, it had to be. For there were no trees to cause such a mess. A light breeze danced among the crowds, whipping hair from shoulders and causing dresses and cloaks to flutter like flags in the wind. The petals drifted among the airstreams as though pulled by a ribbon of unseen power, one clearly conjured by Princess Frila who led the procession, sitting upon a carriage of pure, polished wood.
I knew little of magic and frankly did not care to find out, but I had seen enough to know that Myrinn commanded water, her brother Haldor controlled fire, and Frila claimed the air as though she owned it.
That left the fourth sibling, Gildir.He had not presented himself at the ball days prior. And since knowing of my arrival in the city, he showed a lack of interest. Gildir had ignored me with such ease that he made it seem like I had not stood between Myrinn and Faenir as we prepared for the procession. Now he walked beside his twin’s carriage like a silent guard. His element must have been earth from his stubbornness alone.
“It will be over soon,” Myrinn said as though reading my mind. She offered me a warm smile and I took it. She held a bouquet of white lilies that dramatically spilled a waterfall of orange-dusted ivory petals. The stems glowed with gold powder that matched what was spread across her eyelids and dusted over the apples of her cheeks. The gold complimented the dress she wore. It was crafted from layers of azure and aqua blues and seemed to float like a body of water with each step she took.
“Even that will not be quick enough,” Faenir grumbled from my side. Each time he spoke I could not help but smile. It was pathetic. I was dependent and cursed by what had happened between us the night prior. Even now, dressed in the creased outfit that had been left discarded on the bedroom floor where he’d devoured me, I still felt his touch lingering. On me.In me.
Myrinn had not outwardly told me that she knew what had occurred. However, the knowing glance she had given me as she greeted us in the main hall of her home was enough to reveal that she knew. Then the blush of crimson across my cheeks confirmed it.
“What is the rush, cousin? Do you have somewhere else to be with morepressingmatters to attend?”
Faenir shot Myrinn a terrifying glare. She only giggled in response.
“Be on guard,” Faenir said, turning his attention back to the crowd ahead but for no other reason than hiding his embarrassment from view. “The day is far from over.”
I stiffened at his comment. No matter how beautiful the day had been thus far, he still believed my life to be at risk while being out in public. In truth he likely wished to lock me away to keep me safe, and the thought of that was not terrible, but hiding away was not an option.
“I will tell you again, and a thousand times after that… I will be fine.”
Faenir’s jaw clenched, the muscles feathering lightly in his cheeks. “The knife you have hidden in your trousers suggests you are, in fact, as concerned as I am.”
I had not realised he had seen me slip it from the silver tray provided at breakfast. My mind went to the vial of vampire blood hidden neatly away in the inner breast pocket of the jacket. Had he seen me move it from the pouch at my belt to the pocket?Having the belt ruining the outfit Myrinn had commissioned for me would have surely drawn unwanted attention.
I resisted the urge to reach for the small lump in the material above my heart. “I am not concerned, simply prepared. If anything happens, I am ready to greet it this time.”
“Believe me, darling, no one will get close enough for you to be able to pull it free. You have my word.”
Myrinn leaned in and whispered with a voice full of glee. “Perhaps, when you are finished with the knife, you would be so kind as to return it.”
