AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Only time could answer that question, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to rush the answer yet.
Chapter 14
Elix
Returning home from Ironhelm was something of a dream. It didn’t feel real, on one hand, but on the other, it felt exactly like it was where I needed to be. I made vehement promises to Queen Zephyrine to stay in touch and came back to Goldhaven feeling as though I’d made a new friend… and a real lover.
Jace spent every moment with me, the two of us exploring parts of the grounds together that I had forgotten about. Ten years was a long time to be away, and I constantly found myself squealing with glee as he led me through secret passages that I had not known about or simply forsaken over the years.
“My father built this one,” he informed me, opening a hidden bookcase in his study one afternoon and ushering me through. To my utter awe, it led to a staircase, heading down into an unknown depth. I glanced at him nervously.
“Don’t worry,” he chuckled. “If it was good enough for my father’s mistresses, it’s not going to hurt you.”
My eyes shadowed at his flippant statement, but I permitted him to guide me down the narrow steps and through the flickering bunker until we were suddenly in a secluded bedroom that housed a round, undressed bed under a mirrored canopy.
“W-what is this?” I sputtered nervously, eying the sconces on the wall. All the candles had dripped down to their wick, and there was little more to look at in the medieval-style chamber. It gave me the creeps.
“It’s where my father brought his conquests,” Jace repeated. “I guess so my mother wouldn’t hear their enthusiastic lovemaking.”
I balked more at his flat tone than the admission that the previous king had been an adulterer.
“Don’t look so shocked,” Jace chucked, flopping unceremoniously onto the bed. “My mother knew about it. That’s why she killed him.”
I gasped aloud, my eyes popping. “He was— He had an accident, didn’t he?”
“Yes… a very planned accident,” the king replied with a shrug, but as I neared him, I saw the shadows in his eyes, and I realized that he wasn’t being glib. My hands reached out to cup his face, pulling his gaze upward to me.
“I don’t really blame her for killing him,” he muttered, but I could see he was lying. “He made a fool out of her every day of her life, openly hitting on females and fucking them under her roof.”
“Oh, Jace… I’m sorry.”
His hands cupped my ass, and he chuckled. “It’s not your fault,” he replied. “I think karma ultimately killed her, anyway. She couldn’t take the guilt…”
He paused and gnawed on the insides of his cheeks as I held my breath.
“Did you know she killed herself?” he rasped. “Did Saint ever tell you?”
My mouth parted in shock, my voice lost as I shook my head.
A mirthless smirk touched his lips, and he drew me closer. “He’s a good fae, your brother. He knows how to keep a secret.”
I swallowed, unsure of what to say.
“I guess that’s why I was always drawn to him, even though we were born into very different places in life.”
I shook my head, pulling his face into my breasts to stroke his hair. “I never understood your relationship with him, but I was so much younger.”
Jace chuckled. “Saint always knows what to say and do. He gets that from your mother. Glynda always had a cup of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich ready when I was at my wits’ end. She just knew, intuitively.”
He pulled his head back and peered at me. “It’s really no surprise that you and I would end up together. I always felt connected to your family somehow.”
Were we together? I mean, yes, we were having sex, but did that really mean we weretogether? Arealcouple?
Not voicing my thoughts, I continued to stroke his hair, and he held me tighter, my knees buckling until I was sitting on his lap.
Our eyes locked, and he brushed a strand of hair out of my face, kissing the bridge of my nose. “I’m glad that you decided to come here, Elix,” he rasped quietly as my chest tightened.
“Me too,” I murmured, kissing him back.
