Page 63 of The Forbidden Fae King

He reaches out a hand toward me and I turn my back on him, stalking toward the lift.

“How did I end up the arsehole in this situation?” he mutters behind my back.

I hold his jeweled blade into the air. “I’m keeping this.”

Aldrin continues to grumble as he follows me, but doesn’t protest. Magic hums through the dagger. This relic would be enough if I decide to get Caitlin and go straight back home, but I won’t let this stupid, beautiful man make me miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of exploring this realm. Of living.

Gods, is it too much to ask to take a lover who knows what he is doing? One who would care about feminine pleasure as much as the fae are famed to? I don’t want to live a life where all I know is the dissatisfaction of Finan’s fumbling hands.

Chapter 17

Aldrin

That woman will be my undoing. I cannot think straight when Keira is around. Those large eyes drink me in whenever I am near, like she can’t drag them away before she has examined every inch of me. Like she is dying of thirst and only I can quench it.

When I smile at her, those red lips become parted and her breath turns shallow, as a slight rosy glow creeps across her skin. The way she constantly looks back over her shoulder at me drives me insane, swaying those beautiful, rounded hips as she walks and flicking that long red-gold hair.

I grind my teeth in frustration as my blood runs hot.

Keira always seems to find herself somewhat exposed around me, hiding naked within the caves of the lagoon but still drawing my attention to her. Clothes torn by Cú Sídhe and showing tantalizing amounts of her flesh. The entire neckline of her dress unlaced halfway to her navel and extracting my jeweled blade while practically shoving those generous breasts into my face, then pulling me down onto her.

And I was stupid enough to think she was trying to manipulate me, rather than being as attracted to me as I am to her.

“Aldrin! Are you even listening to me?” Klara snaps.

I run a hand through my hair. “Sorry. I got distracted.”

“That much of a shock to you that a human woman bested you?” she asks.

“You have no idea,” I mutter. Keira bested me in more ways than one.

“I’ve spent the entire evening hunting out these mushrooms and painstakingly isolating their aerosol spores - at your request - and you’re too distracted to listen to me?” She tosses her head with agitation, throwing violet braids.

I motion for her to go on.

“I was saying.” Klara rolls her eyes to Drake and Silvan. “You can knock out Cyprien’s guards with a whiff of this potion. His sentries will remain unconscious for at least an hour. Do not—I repeat—do not breathe in any yourself.”

I nod. I have learnt to trust her advice. There is a reason she was once the Spring Court’s Minister of Special Battle Tactics. She gave up that title and position for me.

The night deepens as we drill the plan into each of my fighters, then we march.

We trudge up a long, winding path with minimal tree cover that follows a wide river, with slabs of ice floating on its surface. A thin mist curls up from the body of water.

Blue and green lights bob above the surface and others swim in fast arcs beneath, the sprites of air and water playing with each other. Its vibrancy tells me the Lake Maiden still thrives in these parts.

I rub my hands together to chase away the chill.

My party wears thick coats of white fur taken from the watchtower’s stores. They are musty, but warm, and will keep us hidden. I examine my fighters, noting the grim determination etched into each face. Even Keira wears the same expression, without a hint of fear. Brave girl.

It takes a little over an hour to reach the Frozen River Fortress. It sits at the apex of a dam, and its domed spires colonize both sides of the many-tiered waterfalls that cascade into the river. A great wallencircles both halves of the fortress, and they are connected by multiple arching bridges.

A sharply ascending path cut into jagged stone leads to the nearly impenetrable fortress. A surprise attack would be impossible if it were fully manned, but I know it is empty except for Cyprien’s small force.

We split into two predetermined groups as we reach the base of the fortress. One to focus on knocking out the guards and binding them, and the other to penetrate Cyprien’s chambers and secure him.

I slink through the shadows and approach the wall beneath the cover of evergreen trees that should never have been allowed to grow this close to it. Silvan, Klara, Drake and Keira follow close behind, not making a sound. A sentry passes over the wall above our heads, stopping at its midpoint to scan the field, before continuing.

Klara opens a jam jar of the mushroom spores, holding it away from us, and wielding careful tendrils of air to blow them up to the top of that wall. The flow diffracts the moonlight ever so slightly.

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