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Candlelight flickered and flared across the room with a soft whomp, charmed to ignite when the sun set fully. Before getting into bed, I brushed my teeth and washed my face, then picked up a book from the stack I’d brought in from the library. I’d already read the ones Lonan, Nua and Gillie had got me for my birthday, making careful notes in my new notebook of the ingredients I wanted to find for potioncraft.
I hadn’t had a chance to use my new drachmsmith chamber yet—kingly duties took up a lot of time, especially as I was still learning everything. But the ache to make potions had sharpened in my gut. It felt like something I needed to do. A dormant, barely used muscle I needed to flex and strengthen.
I settled in bed with a sigh, propped up against the headboard with pillows behind me. I stared down at the book in my lap. A History of Seelie: Volume 1. There were dozens and dozens of volumes in the library, all thick and unwieldy, but I was forcing myself to read them. I was barely a quarter of the way into the first one, and the subject matter was painfully dull in places. Within minutes, I could feel my eyelids growing heavy.
The room was dark when I jerked awake, the candles extinguished. I knew I’d fallen asleep reading, but the book had been closed and set on the bedside table, and I was tucked fully under the covers, my pillows plump beneath my head.
Lonan had been back, then, but he wasn’t in bed beside me. My fae eyes let me see in the dark, and they jerked to the open bathroom door when Lonan stepped out, his hair damp from a bath.
He was naked, and despite our angry words earlier, my belly tightened with want as I watched him approach the bed. I took in the long lines of his body, his pale skin. He moved effortlessly on his branch leg now, like it had always been a part of him, his gait still slinking and graceful.
He stopped beside the bed. Our eyes locked in the dark, his expression calmer than it had been earlier, but still tense.
“Will you reconsider?” he asked, his voice husky and soft.
I didn’t want to argue with him again, but I wasn’t backing down on this. I just wanted him to be safe, and I had a way to keep him safe now, to keep him away from his awful mother and siblings. I wasn’t going to squander that luxury by letting him go on a pointless journey.
“No.”
Lonan’s jaw tensed. He drew back the covers and placed a knee on the mattress to get into bed, but rather than lie beside me, he straddled me in a rush of movement and pinned my shoulders down.
His eyes flashed with frustration, dark hair hanging around his face in a curtain as he loomed over me. “I’m asking you to reconsider, Ash. Let me go with you.”
I licked my lips. “No. I’m sorry, Lonan,” I added quickly when anger sparked in his gaze. “It’s not that I don’t think you can take care of yourself. I just want to keep you safe, and I have a way to do that now. I’m asking you to see where I’m coming from. Wouldn’t you do the same?”
He bared his teeth, and they flashed sharp and white in something close to a snarl. Releasing my shoulders, he sat up, his pale body rising over me in the dark.
“You may be a king, but I have been fae my whole life. Far longer than you, Ash.”
My temper flared. Glaring up at him, I snapped, “It’s not a competition.”
“But if it was, I’d win.” He leaned down until we were almost nose to nose. “You may be stronger than everyone now, but you’re still unpractised. Green. You don’t even fully grasp the power you possess.”
“What the fuck?” Hurt tightened my throat. “What’s that got to do with anything? Why are you being a dick?”
He sat up in a rush, chest heaving as he stared down at me. He licked his lips. “I’ll strike you a bargain.”
“What?” I tried to sit up, but he pushed me back down. To my irritation, my cock jerked at the rough treatment, and I knew he felt it against him.
“I don’t want to make bargains with you, Lonan,” I snapped, breathing faster as I glared up at him.
“If I can overpower you, you let me come with you.” He splayed his hand over my chest, and I knew he could feel my pounding heart.
“No,” I said bluntly. I gripped his hips to tug him off me, but my fingers curled and refused to let go.
Lonan’s jaw clenched again, fingers digging harder into my chest. He visibly forced himself to relax, shooting me a small smirk.
“You’re a fae king now. Stronger than everyone. Surely you’re not scared of losing.”
“I’m not scared of anything, because we’re not doing this.”
“You wanted a fair fight after the game of favours.” His voice was sly. “This is your chance to get it. If I win, I come with you.”
My cock jerked again, filling rapidly at the thought of tussling with Lonan, seeing which of us could truly dominate the other. We’d wrestled playfully before, our actions more foreplay than anything else, knowing it was all in jest as a prelude to fucking.
But that wasn’t what Lonan was suggesting, and I wasn’t going to think with my cock and potentially put him in danger, no matter how tempting it was.
“Lonan, we’re not doing this.” I tightened my grip on his hips, intending once more to heave him off me, and once more failing.
