AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sloga lowered the torch and held it until flames began to lick at the woven hem of the Carlin’s dress. Then, with a low whomp, the pyre ignited fully as he stepped back. The unseelie Folk let out an enormous cheer, several of them already running forward to throw things into the flames, while others raised their cups and began to dance around the burning effigy of their former queen.
“May she never have a moment of peace in the afterlife,” Idony muttered beside me.
“She has none, I assure you,” Ankou said as he and his cusith approached with Sloga. With a nod to me, he added, “Congratulations, Dunn.”
I nodded back, smiling when Ash pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before he stepped back as more people approached to congratulate me. Jora offered me a timid smile, while Sanya clapped me on the shoulder with a wide grin. The pair of them had arrived together for my coronation, and I’d seen Sanya many times over the last few months. Ash had made her his emissary, so when we were apart, she was the one who would deliver our letters to each other. She would always stay for at least one night so we could have dinner together and sneak in some sword training if I wasn’t too busy.
Surprisingly, she and Idony got on remarkably well. I was quite sure that Idony had instantly warmed to her when Sanya complimented the wine we were drinking with dinner, which had been made by her sister.
Fioda gave me a soft smile as she and Mol—in her human form—joined us. The latter almost jolted me forward as she gave me a hearty slap on the back, then pulled Gillie into a good-natured headlock and told him she was prepared to drink him under the table.
Belial said a few quiet words to me, as calm and unruffled as ever. Nua and Gillie’s friend Odran the kelpie—who I had grudgingly invited at Ash’s request—stepped forward to politely congratulate me. He looked uncomfortable in his deep green tunic and black trousers, his hair dry for once and falling in soft waves down his back, but he was already eyeing Jora with interest as she flushed and smoothed down her dress.
“Alright.” Idony clapped her hands together, then bent to pick up her hellhound. “You will all get a chance to speak with the king over dinner. It’s time to eat. Come on, up to the palace.”
I sought out Ash, threading my fingers through his so we could walk up the steps together. The Folk cheered again, and even though I was deeply uncomfortable with the attention, I couldn’t stop the smile spreading over my face. Those who were attending the private banquet followed us, talking amongst themselves as we ascended the steps.
When we reached the top, I paused and turned back to look down at the burning effigy and the unseelie Folk dancing around its base. Wood crackled and spat out sparks, smoke streaming up into the night sky, and the Carlin’s cold face stared back at me before the flames finally engulfed it.
The throne room had been turned into a banquet hall for the night, enough chairs brought in and a long table cutting down the centre of the room. My throne had been placed at the head of the table, with Ash on my right and Sloga, seated on a stack of large cushions, to my left.
The food was a mix of seelie and unseelie. Several roasted chickens with crispy, burnished skins sprinkled with salt. Roast venison still secured with twine, the meat pink and tender when people sliced off what they wanted. Platters of steaming shellfish still in their shells, loaves of freshly baked bread, dark green salads tossed in oil and vinegar, candied grasshoppers, mountains of berries, white-skinned apples and slices of oranges crusted with sugar. Seelie ale and unseelie wine were served, and after I gave an awkward toast, I gratefully sat back down and began to pile food onto Ash’s plate.
I was quiet at first as I began to eat, having been too nervous to have an appetite for most of the day. Ash noticed, chuckling as he squeezed my knee under the table. He was intimately familiar with just how much I could consume in one sitting, so he left me to it and chatted with Sloga and Belial.
Nua and Gillie were seated beside him, the latter already whispering in Nua’s ear, making him flush as he sipped his wine and gave the solitary fae a stern look. Odran was busy flirting with Jora, topping up her ale with a sultry smile while her face flamed bright pink and she gave him a shy smile back. Idony and Sanya were having a heated debate with Mol about something, while Fioda talked with Ankou as he fed his cusith and Idony’s hellhound scraps from his plate.
Faint sounds of the unseelie Folk celebrating the start of the Bitter Months outside were audible over the chatter and laughter in the room—cheers and lively music as they danced and drank. The great fireplace crackled with blue-white flames, chasing out the chill that was settling over unseelie land.
“Are we going to wake up in the cottage to a field of snow again?” Ash asked me in a quiet murmur, grinning over the rim of his cup as he took a sip of ale.
I grinned back, twining our fingers together on the tabletop. “I suppose you’ll have to wait and see.”
“As long as you keep me warm.” He raised a brow sternly. “That cottage gets freezing in the winter.”
“I’ll keep you warm, seelie,” I murmured with a sly grin, picking up my glass of wine and sitting back to relax now that I was done eating.
His eyes gleamed gold. Disentangling our hands, he reached under the table and squeezed my thigh, knowing exactly how high to reach to feel flesh and muscle instead of unyielding wood. My insides stirred, tightening with lust, and I watched him over the lip of my glass as he watched me back.
Then his gaze drifted up to the crown resting on my head, his lips curving into a secret smile. “I know you will. You have a promise to keep.”
My cock twitched as I realised what promise he was referring to—the one I’d made on the night of his coronation after feeling him inside me for the first time.
Shifting in my chair to discreetly adjust my hardening cock, I glanced around the table. Everyone had finished eating, a few still picking at their plates as they talked. Ash chuckled beside me, seeing the impatience in my face, but before I could rise from my seat and say goodnight, the doors to the throne room opened. Palace staff filed in holding trays of dessert.
Suppressing my groan, I waited until mine had been placed in front of me—small dishes of dark chocolate mousse topped with frozen raspberry drupelets, lavender crème brûlée and coffee ice cream drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with nuts—and the staff had moved on to serve the others. Then, under the table, I curled my hand around Ash’s and dragged it higher until it settled on my stiff length.
I heard his breath catch as his fingers automatically tightened, squeezing before he gave my cock a slow rub. I covered up my hiss of pleasure by clearing my throat, but slouched a touch lower in my seat so he could reach more easily. His hand made another slow pass, his palm creating heated friction that made my stomach clench.
When Nua turned in his seat to speak to him, smiling brightly, Ash whipped his hand away and back onto his own lap, a blush creeping up his bobbing throat as he swallowed and tried to pay attention.
I started shovelling my dessert into my mouth, getting it down quickly so we could leave and be alone together in the cottage. Ash managed only a few mouthfuls of his, fidgeting restlessly in his seat as he stole glances at me every few seconds. When I set down my spoon, he gave me a hopeful, expectant look.
Thankfully, my erection had subsided by the time I rose from my seat and cleared my throat. The conversation died out as everyone turned to look at me.
“I appreciate you all being here.” I managed a smile, but in my mind, Ash and I were already in the cottage. Alone. Naked. Perhaps in front of the fire, or I could bend him over the bed and pin his wrists together behind his back…
A meaningful cough from Ash made me blink, bringing me back to the present.
