Page 68 of Faeheart
I’m not sure if any of us slept that night. Each time I woke up, someone was either sucking my cock or riding it. The night was a haze of lust, magic, and the taste of cum. And when morning finally came, I was somehow more exhilarated and full of energy than I had ever been.
I slipped out of bed before the others stirred, careful not to wake the tangle of limbs and contentment that was my three mates. Through our bonds, I could feel their deep, satisfied sleep. Caden was curled against Wild’s back, and Wild was sprawled across Atlas’s chest, all of them radiating the kind of peace that only came after complete surrender.
The mansion seemed different this morning, warmer somehow. As if our magical joining had awakened something within its ancient walls. The ethereal servants glided past me with what I could have sworn were knowing smiles on their translucent faces. I made my way down to the kitchen, following the scent of fresh coffee and something sweet baking.
My body should have been exhausted after last night’s activities, but instead I felt charged with power, my magic humming just beneath my skin. Each step I took sent littlesparks of blue energy dancing across the floor, my magic responding to my heightened emotional state.
The kitchen was empty of people but full of activity, spoons stirring themselves in bowls, pastries rising in the oven without heat, fruits arranging themselves in artistic patterns on floating platters. I poured myself a cup of coffee from a pot that tipped obligingly in my direction and leaned against the counter, savoring the quiet moment.
“You’re up early,” came a voice from the doorway.
I turned to find one of the ethereal servants, the one who seemed oddly more substantial than the others, watching me with curious, silvery eyes.
“Couldn’t sleep,” I replied, taking a sip of my coffee. “Too much on my mind.”
The servant drifted closer, its form shimmering like moonlight on water. “The mansion felt the tetrad’s completion last night. All four points connected as one. It’s been... a very long time since these walls witnessed a union between souls.”
I felt heat rise to my cheeks, but there was no judgment in the servant’s tone, only a kind of reverent wonder.
“Lydia?” I asked gently. “Her and the other two were the last ones here. I’m sure this place has been…deadwithout them.”
The servant nodded. “Yes. This mansion has been quiet for many years. Some of the other servants started to fade, and I feared that I, too, would disappear with time. But you and your companions, you have brought life back to this place.”
I smiled, hearing the relief in the servant’s voice. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, sir. Anything.”
“Why are you so much more… I don’t know…put togetherthan the other servants?” I took another sip of my coffee. “Are you a homunculus or something more advanced? Or are you just older than the others?”
The servant’s form flickered, becoming more solid for a moment before settling back into its usual translucent state. “I am... what remains of someone who once lived here. The others are true constructs, born from magic and purpose. But I was something else once, long ago.”
My coffee cup paused halfway to my lips. “You’re a ghost?”
“Not quite,” the servant said with what might have been a smile. “When the mansion was created, certainfragmentswere bound to the mansion’s foundations to keep it stable. We became guardians, caretakers, ensuring the sanctuary would never truly be empty.” The being’s silvery eyes grew distant. “I was Lydia’s bond mate, her third in the triad at the beginning. When she and Sorrel left the mansion at last, I was bound to remain behind. But they visited now and then before they… passed on.”
“Does… Does that mean?—”
“Yes,” the servant nodded. “I am a fragment of Thorne, the dryad bound to Lydia and Sorrel. And your family’s namesake, I believe.”
The coffee cup slipped from my nerveless fingers, clattering against the stone floor as the implications hit me like a physical blow. Through our bonds, I felt my mates stirring upstairs, my shock rippling through our connections and disturbing their sleep.
“Thorne,” I whispered, staring at the ethereal being with new understanding. “You… You’ve been here the whole time? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you needed to form your bond without my intervention,” he replied. “I’ve made sure the house changes to meet your needs, kept the servants in line, and reinforced the wards when you were attacked the first time by the Purity Front.”
“That was you?!” I scoffed. “I thought the house just did it on its own!”
He smiled and I swore I could just make out the green edges of his skin. “It was me. I wanted to be helpful and keep you on the path, but not become a crutch for you and the others to lean on. Forming a bond like yours isn’t something I could teach you anyway. You had to find out for yourselves, towantit to happen without my intervention.”
I sank into a chair, my mind reeling as I processed this revelation. The ethereal servant, Thorne, my grandmother’s bond mate, moved to clean up the spilled coffee with a gesture, the liquid and ceramic shards floating obediently into the air before vanishing.
“You’ve been waiting for us for a long time, haven’t you?” I asked.
Thorne nodded slowly. “It’s been decades since Lydia and Sorrel left this place. And time in the Veil is…strange.”
“I’m sorry,” I said automatically.
“Don’t be,” he smiled. “This was my choice. I wanted to be part of the mansion, to be here to help whoever would come next to fulfil the prophecy Lydia told. We knew another celestial alignment would come eventually that brought a bonded triad back to the mansion. But I never expected there to be four of you.”
