Page 11 of Beyond the Mountain (Fae's Captive 4)

I pack my thoughts of Taylor neatly away, the edges worn from frequent use and the pages still warm from the last time. She’s never far. I follow Gray, all of us struggling up the steep rock wilderness until we make it to Selene. When I get to her, she’s snoring, yet still clinging to the stone.

“Selene.”

She jolts awake and grins. “I was just chatting with my magic.”

I take Gray’s hand, and he pulls me up onto another, wider ledge. “It tell you anything interesting?”

“Oh, yes!” She follows, clinging to the rock and skittering sideways. “The best news.”

“What news?” Gray’s dark brows lower.

“We’re going to have company.” She jumps down and claps, then points at a crude stone staircase that hews close to the mountainside.

A summer fae appears from the top, her face weary and her steps uncertain. She stops when she sees us, her eyes widening.

Gray pulls his warhammer from his back.

“I’m looking for Leander.” She fixes her gaze on me.

“You’re a lure, female.” Gray jumps across a narrow chasm and lands on the steps below her. “Sent here to destroy us.”

“Does it look like I can destroy anything?” She holds her hands out. The attitude in her voice sounds faintly reminiscent of the way Taylor used to imitate her roommate.

“Wait, Gray.” I jump across. “Who are you?”

“Cecile.”

“What are you doing here?” I peer around for soldiers. This must be a trap. I throw up a quick cloaking spell around us, hiding my warriors from prying eyes.

“The short version? Shathinor kidnapped me, tortured me, used me to get his hands on Taylor, and now I’m pretty much a maid. They treat me like a changeling.” She seems struck by her own words, her face souring. “They treat me like a changeling slave,” she says again, the frown growing deeper.

“What about Taylor?” I grab her arms. “Is she all right? Is she hurt?”

“She’s fine.” Then she hurriedly adds, “Majorly scared, of course. Terrified of Shathinor and the undead and the soldiers and all that.” She waves a dismissive hand. “Worried about you, naturally. She’s sensitive like that. Caring and sweet. Changeling through and through, you know?” She stares at her feet, then continues, “Anyway, she asked me to come take you to her. So that you can save her.”

“It’s a trap,” Gray growls behind me. “Shathinor sent her to entice you to your doom. He knows we’re here.”

“No.” She holds out the necklace, Taylor’s soulstone. “She said you’d be here, could feel you through the bond. I swear she sent me. She told me to give you this.”

Gray advances. “Shathinor could have sent it—”

I take it and turn it over in my palm, warmth pulsing into my skin. The bond. “It’s from her. I can feel her on it.”

“Let’s go, then.” Valen gestures from across the chasm. “I’m ready.”

“No. Just the king.” Cecile shrugs. “I can only sneak one of you in. More than that, and I’ll get caught.” She shivers. “And I definitely don’t want to get caught.”

“Leander, no.” Gray puts a hand on my shoulder. “It’s a trap.”

“Probably.” I pin Cecile with a hard look. “Lead on.”

Gray grabs my arm. “Wait.”

“Bad plan, my king.” Valen shakes his head. “Let’s talk about this.”

“The rest of you stay here and await my command. If I’m not back by sunup, leave this place and alert the realms of the coming war.” I shake my arm. “Gray, I’ll need that back.”

“No.” Valen jumps to the stairs. “If Shathinor gets his hands on you—”

“He’ll kill me.” I turn to look at both of them. “I knew that risk when I left the winter realm, but I will do anything to save Taylor. She is my sunrise and sunset, and if she asks for me, I will go to her, no matter what.”

Gray scowls, Valen’s face falls, and Selene is snoring again.

“I must see this through.” I offer my hands. They take them, reluctantly, and grip my forearms. “Trust me. Trust that I know what I’m doing, and we will all be together again—either at High Mountain or in the Glowing Lands of the Ancestors.”

“The second option doesn’t seem like the best one.” Valen pulls me into a hug. “Good luck.” His voice is tight.

“This is a bad idea.” Gray squeezes my arm and releases me. “I won’t let you live this down. Not here or on the other side.”

I smile for the first time since Taylor was taken. “I would expect no less.”

“My king.” Valen drops to his knee, his head bowed.

Gray’s face sobers, and he does the same. “My king.”

Cecile clears her throat. “If we’re done here, I’ve got laundry and—”

I turn to her so quickly that she stumbles backward, barely catching herself on the wall.

Trap or no, my fate lies with Taylor. “Lead me to my mate.”

11

Taylor

Cecile’s steps are loud even as she tries to creep down the hallway outside my door. Leander barely seems to touch the stone floors, but I can sense him. Everything inside me goes taut. My mate his here. The one who will rule Arin by my side.

I face the door, smiling as it creaks open and Cecile hurries in, Leander on her heels.

He stops, the air growing cool and his body tensing. “Taylor?”

“Yes.” I step forward, suddenly worried he won’t recognize me, not as I am.

He rushes to me and pulls me into his arms, crushing me against his chest. “Thank the Ancestors. You’re safe.” He kisses my hair, his lips straying down my cheek and meeting my mouth with a fervor that sets off an ache inside me.

I wrap my arms around his neck and answer his tongue with mine, every bit of the passion I feel for him going into this kiss.

He pulls back, but not far. ?

??I have to get you to safety. What did he do to you?” He glances at my darker hair, then runs a hand along one of my wings.

I shudder at his touch, every bit of me attuned to what it feels like to be near him again.

“Taylor?” Cecile waits at the door. “I did what you asked.”

“Your pet is safe. Get out,” I hiss.

Leander’s brows draw together, but I don’t have time to explain, not when my need for him blots out any rational thought. I skim a hand down his abs and reach into his pants.

“My mate.” He kisses me hard, his cock in my hand like an iron rod covered with the finest silk.

“I want you.” I back away and strip my shirt off.

He watches, his eyes hungry as I shuck my pants away and stand naked before him.

When I drop to my knees and pull him toward me, he reaches for my wings again. “You’re fae? How?”

I don’t want to talk. Not now. I pull his cock free from his pants and lick the head.

He growls and runs his hands through my hair. “Little one, we must leave. You aren’t safe.”

I take him to the back of my throat, my tongue pressed against his cock as I start bobbing my head.

His groan creates a sensual wetness between my thighs, and I reach down and rub my clit as I suck him until my cheeks go hollow.

With a roar he lifts me and pins me to the bed. “Taylor, what is this?” He peers into my eyes, desire and confusion warring inside him.

I spread my legs wide and rock against him. “I want you, my king. I need you deep inside me, mated and loved.”

His low purr vibrates through me.

My fangs lengthen, and without a thought, I sink them deep into his shoulder. He roars and enters me, filling me as I cry against his warm skin, his blood flowing on my tongue. His hands grip mine, holding me down as I take everything he offers—his body, his blood, the bond between our souls.

I let go and lick my lips as he claims my mouth again, his body surging into mine and shaking the bed with each powerful stroke.

“Mine.” He nips at my lips as he owns me again and again, his powerful body made for me and me alone. Releasing my hands, he grabs my hair and pulls, arching me so he can suck my throat.

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