Page 50 of The Lord of the Labyrinth

Holding her in his arms, comforting her, pleasuring her, giving himself to her and telling her about his past had somehow given him a sliver of that blissful peace he’d craved.

But he also felt alive, right down to the last fiber of his being. Making love to Kate had electrified him, and that feeling of excitement didn’t fade. It lingered like the scent of spring flowers as twilight descended on the royal gardens after the rain.

“Thank you.” Kate kissed his cheek, then the crown of his hair. She had remembered to thank him for the pleasure he had given her, as he had commanded. Yet it wasn’t the worshipping whisper of a mortal woman craving his desires. No... this was different. Kate’s thanking him was sweet, full of tender affection and something deeper than he ever could have imagined he’d hear from a lover.

He gently pulled out of her body, hating to disconnect himself from her. He wanted to press his lips all over her skin, to taste every part of her. Roan wanted to imprint in his mind the memory of her just as she was at this moment forever. Sweet, vulnerable, yet brave enough to trust him.

A voice whispered in the back of his mind that he was not worthy of her, that he was a selfish creature, like all Fae, but he didn’t want to face that truth.

“Sleep, my little Kate,” he urged. He caught her up in his arms and settled her gently on the bed that he had made in the Crystal Cave and held her close, more covetous than any dragon with his gold.

She was his now. All that he had to do was keep her away from the center of the labyrinth for a few more weeks. The labyrinth itself would do most of the work, leading her down false trails, but he also planned to use his seductions as a way to keep her distracted.

And then... then she would be his.Forever.

ChapterEleven

The bride discovered that the trolls, creatures without beauty, had the voices to sing and make the dryads weep at their sonorous songs.

—Anon.,Tales from the Twilight Court

Asong woke Kate from sleep, and the voice that sang was soft and deep. She reached instinctively for Roan, but he was gone, just like last time.

Kate drowsily sat up, her eyes taking in the rhythmic pulse of the glowworms and cave crystals as a beautiful, melancholy tune continued. The words were in a language Kate did not understand and somehow filled her mind with the image of the bright and beautiful moon high in the sky.

She pushed back the blankets, dressed quickly, and wandered through the cave in the direction of the song. She found Patch sitting on a rock that was low to the ground, a spellbound expression on his face as he watched Magda.

The troll was the source of the intense, beautiful song.

Kate sat beside Patch and listened as the song’s deep notes vibrated the air around them. She felt such peace just sitting and listening to the troll sing. Magda held her arms up to the sky, even though they were in a cave, but a brightness glowed from above, lighting her upturned face.

Kate looked up and saw hundreds of glowworms, their glow keeping time with the song. Magda spun in a slow circle, rocking back and forth on her booted feet as she sang. Kate once more saw images in her head, but this time they played out like a movie.

Magda was facing the other trolls, frozen in place as they began to hurl stones at her. She had accepted her fate. She was too small, too unlike the others of her clan, and she deserved to die.

Then sunlight flashed across the blade of a dagger. A dagger belonging to King Arun. The rain of rocks stopped.

Kate gasped as she saw herself through Magda’s eyes. A tiny human who challenged the trolls and then, while they were confused, came to Magda and held her hand out to her. It was a gesture of friendship and trust, so sacred among the Fae that Magda was overcome with emotion. A stranger had saved her and offered her the precious gift of friendship. Then that new friend had been hurt.

The troll’s song deepened as rage, sorrow, and fear for Kate’s safety colored the visions the song produced.

Kate’s lips trembled. She felt what Magda had felt when they had entered the cave. Magda’s desperate need when she’d called for Lord Arun’s help. Her hope and fear as she guided him to the cave to save Kate.

So that was how he knew I was hurt.

Magda ended her song, and her arms dropped back to her sides. She turned toward Kate, a solemn look of relief on her face.

“Kate is back,” Magda said in her slow, solemn voice.

Patch gave a start as he only now realized Kate was sitting next to him. “Oh! Glad to see you back, girl. After Lord Arun took you to the healing pools, you both vanished. Magda said she felt you close by, but neither of us could see you. We hoped you would show up at some point.” He turned away from her to wipe a tear from his eyes, then clapped his hands together as he stood, trying to act like everything was back to normal.

Kate smiled at Patch, still shaken by the power of Magda’s song. “Does that mean you missed me?Worriedabout me?”

“Me?” Patch scoffed. “Hardly. But I promised Magda I would wait to see if you came back. She rather likes you and doesn’t want you to get hurt.”

Kate hid a smile. She had a feeling that Patch liked her too but didn’t want to admit it. “I actually didn’t go anywhere. Roan made us invisible to you.”

The kobold’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Well, what do you expect from a Fae king? You finally figured out pleasing him wasn’t so bad,eh?” He snorted as he retrieved his bag of gemstones from the ground.

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