Page 48 of Chaos and Destiny
I knew deep down she wanted to help, but Oleo’s death had scared her into submission. Maybe not to the degree the king would have liked, but enough that she was afraid to move against him.
I disappeared across the room while she made sure to keep the king facing away. I managed to get to the fae in the corner easily enough.
“We need to get out of this room right now. I can help you, but not here.”
He moaned and shifted from the fetal position he was in to look up at me. He lifted his arm high enough to point to a small, discreet door in the wall not too far from where he laid.
“This is going to hurt,” I warned, looking over my shoulder to Gaea. She had a fake smile plastered on her face, and I knew I had only seconds to disappear.
I grabbed under his arm and dragged him into the small closet hidden below the stairs. He breathed heavily. I laid my hands on his damaged wing, and he sighed in relief as I called my magic forward and pushed it through to him. The king had broken not only his patterned wing but also his back, several of his ribs, and it sounded as if at least one of his lungs had been punctured. Left on his own much longer, he would have died in that corner without a soul to even notice his grave suffering. Alone.
The healing was only slightly draining, but I worked as quickly as I could in the dark, lit only by the small bit of light coming from below the closed door. The ambiance from the ball was only marginally muted. The fae sat up with my assistance and twisted back and forth.
“How?” He sucked in a deep breath and pulled his head away from me in awe.
“Magic,” I responded.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “Without my wings—”
“No time. Listen. You need to follow the phoenix symbols throughout your city until someone finds you. Trust me, they will. No lesser fae is safe. No matter what anyone tells you, war is coming.”
He nodded and took my hand, shaking it frantically. “Thank you, sir. Thank you.”
I stood and cracked the door open to peek out. I could barely see the king across the crowded room, but still his back was to me. I slipped out and left the male behind, hoping no one had noticed. I kept telling myself he would have died. His fragile life was worth the risk.
I grabbed several wine glasses from a passing tray and hustled back to Gaea. I gave a barely perceptible nod, and her shoulders relaxed as I handed her a glass. “Sorry. They must not have enough servers around here. I had to chase these all over the room.”
I handed Ragal a glass also, and I could tell he didn’t quite believe me as he searched the room, but said nothing. As more fae filled the dance floor, I drifted back toward the comfortable shadows along a far wall. I watched them dance and spill wine and laugh, and the fury within me grew like wildflowers. How could they? How could they find joy in this world? How could they stand in the room with anything but understanding and fear of what was to come? Could they truly be so oblivious to what King Autus’ betrothal to Morwena meant?
I looked to Gaea as she moved through the room, taking dances with the males who asked. The king would expect nothing less of her, and so she would play the part.
I caught a glimpse of fire-red hair, and my body reacted before I realized. I had taken two large steps toward the female before I stopped, confused. My breath was stolen as something I could only describe as foreign magic weighted my entire body down until I could scarcely draw in a breath. I placed my fingers to my temples, willing away the pressure as King Autus left his diminutive throne and descended the steps to speak with the female I’d seen and someone I presumed to be her mother. They were similar in stature and shared facial features but something about the younger one feltoff.
I watched as the king leaned in and whispered to her. I saw her eyes glaze over, and my stomach lurched when I realized he was enchanting her. She pulled away laughing, and her mother smiled broadly. The king reached for her hand and pulled her up to the throne. He sat her on his lap, and they whispered back and forth, smiling like lovesick children.
I turned back to the room and saw Gaea watching me. I walked over to her and pulled her hand to my mouth for a gentle kiss. “I hate seeing that and knowing it was done to you.”
“I don’t want to talk about that tonight.” She pulled me to the packed dance floor and pressed her body to mine. We moved back and forth until I forgot about everything and everyone in the entire world. She had a way with me. One day we were fine and the next we would never be fine, but for now, that would have to be enough.
She spent the rest of the night in my arms, and while I caught King Autus watching us on several occasions, I didn’t care. Couldn’t.
It was well past midnight before Gaea took us all home, and we stood together in the darkness of my rooms. I couldn’t help but think of the last time we were here, in this position, after a ball. We had lost Oleo that night. I knew she thought of it too, but she had drank and drank at the ball, and it was a miracle she was able to spirit us home.
“Take me to bed, Temir,” she slurred.
I rocked her back and forth and ran my hands up and down her exposed back, leaning in and kissing below her ear. It would have been so, so easy to finally break through this wall she had built between us. I tipped my head back and moaned. She stood on her toes to kiss me, her soft lips massaging mine, and I breathed every ounce of her in.
She tugged on my arm, and we collapsed to the couch. She swung her legs over my lap, and the slit in her dress gave me easy access to brush my fingertips along her soft thigh. I closed my eyes and remembered what it felt like to be between her glorious legs. I could have gone there—she would have let me—but she probably would have regretted it in the morning.
“I’ll take you to bed, my love. But I can’t stay.”
“You can,” she answered.
“You’d hate me in the morning,” I whispered as I carried her to my bedroom. I covered her in layers of blankets and went back to the couch. Walking out of that room was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. My heart called to her, but hers did not respond.
The next morning, I woke early. I had dreamt of fire-red hair and a tyrant king with the voice of poisoned honey. I was unsurprised to find Gaea had spirited away in the night. That spoke to me as the distance between us grew. Shaking off my hurt and disappointment, I went down to the lists to check on Eadas who had seamlessly taken over training the soldiers, and I was curious to see how well he led them. I passed the twins watching and whispering. They always seemed to be plotting something horrendous, though I never saw them do anything.
I had hoped for far worse than what I found. He did not yell and scream at them but ran drills, and the males moved in fluid motion with each other. I thought Eadas taking over as commander would benefit the rebellion, but I was so wrong.
