Page 59 of Bound to the Orc Warlord

The thought would have made me sad only a week ago, because I never got the chance to be this exasperated with my own mother. But I touch my crystal, feeling the whisper of herpower sing through my blood. I feel her with me now. For all the wonders Faerie has given me, this might be the greatest prize.

Dravarr steps into view.

Okay, maybe not thegreatest-greatest.

His wide shoulders flex as he braids his long hair, his fingers agile and quick.

In a flash, I remember the feel of them on me,inme, playing my body like a virtuoso plucking strings until I sang out exactly the tune of desire and need he wanted. My thighs clench.

When his huge hands span my waist to lift me into the saddle, I long for them to slide up, to cup my breasts, to—

“What are you thinking about?” Drake’s head makes circles in the air, his tone amused. “You have the strangest look on your face.”

“Nothing!” I chirp. My cheeks flame as Dravarr settles in behind me, his thighs pressing along mine and making my body flush with awareness. I squirm to get comfortable on the saddle, sore from last night. “Are you all right?”

“Just a little sore,” I whisper.

His hand splays across my stomach, pulling me more fully to him. The firmness of his erection presses into my butt, and I suck in a little gasp, my nipples hardening at the thought that he wants me again, too.

I imagine him behind me like this. For a second, I wish Midnight was a regular non-sentient horse instead of a unicorn, so we could have sex while riding. The thought curls heat through my lower belly.

“Remind me to rub some healing salve on it this evening.” His voice is a deep rumble behind me, vibrating through my back where our bodies touch.

Oh, god. My core tightens at the thought of those wicked fingers on me.

“I have excellent hearing, you know.” Midnight tosses her head with a laugh.

“Me too!” Drake says. “But I don’t understand why it’s funny.”

“You will one day, youngling.” With that, she takes off, breaking into a canter for a few strides before increasing into a ground-eating gallop.

Drake leaps into the air, soaring about twenty feet up and enough ahead to remain in view. If he were older, I’d think he did it out of consideration for me, but I’m pretty sure he does it to be “first.”

The other unicorns spread out around us, the wind of our passage making their tails wave behind them in silvery flags.

From the edge, the grasslands had appeared flat. But now that we race across the wide-open plain, it’s gently rolling land covered in a thick green grass dotted with tiny splashes of yellow buttercups. Here and there, a lone tree rises from the top of one of these subtle hills, its tall, wide-branched shape clearly outlined by the bright-blue sky behind it. Dark green leaves blanket it densely.

“What kind of tree is that?” I point. “It doesn’t look like the ones from the forest.”

“It’s an ash,” Dravarr says, a note of sadness in his voice. “Ancient beliefs say they used to house doorways to other realms of Faerie.”

“It was a lie?”

“It may very well have been true, but all such portals disappeared over three hundred years ago.”

“What happened?”

“We aren’t sure. The doorways all closed, and within only a matter of weeks, the Moon Goddess plucked my ancestors from Avalon and deposited them here. We were the first fae in Alarria, but others have arrived over the years, all with similar stories.Faerie, once a vast place encompassing many worlds, broke into its separate parts, and only the Moon Goddess can move people around.”

“So all the fae are here now?”

“By the goddess, no!” He snorts. “The elves and others remain in Avalon, wrapped in their castles and cities and finery. The Moon Goddess favors Wild Fae.”

“Three hundred years ago,” I say. “That’s also when Earth got cut off from Faerie.”

“Yes.”

“I think that’s when witches on Earth lost their magic.” The date lines up with some of the things I read about the women in my family. That’s right about the time they went from being well-off and respected to existing more as outcasts.

---