Page 64 of Taken By the Fae King

I bite my lower lip. I’m not sure why I’m embarrassed, especially after what happened between us last night, but I cannot help it. And now that it is light, I worry about how we’ll get back to the castle without our clothing.

He tightens his arm around me and squeezes my hand. “What is wrong?”

“How will we get back to the castle without someone seeing us?”

“We have the temple and the grounds to ourselves this morning. And there should be fresh robes waiting for us just outside. But first”—he gestures to the ribbon joining our hands—“I must remove this.”

Carefully, he loosens the ribbon, freeing us from the binding. I notice that he takes great care to keep the knot intact on the end. He holds it up to me. “It is bad luck for a couple if the knot comes undone. It would mean that their bond is not strong.”

I smile. “Then it is good that it remained.”

“I agree.” He grins.

He walks to the exit and returns with new robes. We slip them on and then he hoists me to his chest as if I weigh nothing. Before I can ask what he is doing, my heart slams in my throat as he spreads his wings wide and flies us back to the castle.

Embarrassment flushes through me as he walks us through the castle and back to his rooms. I glance over his shoulder and see Aren and another guard several paces behind us.

He takes me straight to the cleansing room and carefully lowers me into the warm water of the bathing pool.

It is pleasantly warm. When we are finished, he carries me out of the water and gently sets me on my feet. Before I can stop myself, my gaze travels over his body, following the rivulets of water as they trail down his skin.

Before I can stop myself, my eyes drift down to his stav. Rows of thick rings of tissue line his shaft, and I note the strange bulge of tissue at the base.

“My knot,” he explains, having followed my gaze.

“What is a knot?”

“Human males do not have these?” he frowns.

I shake my head. “At least… not from what I have heard.”

“A male’s knot expands during mating,” he explains. “Essentially locking him to his mate for a short period of time after release, enhancing the chances of conception.”

I look down, hoping he doesn’t notice the flush of my cheeks. “Will it hurt?”

“I have heard that many find it pleasurable. But it is possible to withdraw before it happens.” He cups my chin, tipping my face up to his. “If that is what you wish, I will do it… when the time comes,” he adds. “And I will also make sure that you have tarin tea.”

“Tarin tea?”

“It is an herb that prevents conception.”

“We don’t even know if it’s possible for me to conceive,” I tell him.

“Even so. I would give you the choice, Grayce.”

His words warm my heart. He truly is considerate of my wants and my needs. Unlike Prince Arnel who once sought my hand. I had not even given him permission to court me, and he was already informing me that I would need to bear him two heirs before our third year together.

“I do want children, if it is possible between us,” I tell him. “But… not just yet.”

He dips his chin.

“Perhaps next year,” I muse. “So that our child can hopefully grow up with Inara and Varys’s, and perhaps even Freyja and King Aurdyn’s.”

CHAPTER36

KYVEN

Ilove that she is already planning our future, but it is difficult for me to imagine any child of mine playing with King Aurdyn’s. The Dragon King is known for his short temper and the last few times we talked, before I helped his mate in Florin, were rather heatedly charged at best.

---