Page 134 of Atop the Faerie Throne
“Could I summon Diana, if I wanted?” I press.
“I expect so,” Mab says. “But not for long. She’s earned her rest, don’t you think?”
A vision of the warmth and peace I glimpsed on Samhain swims to the forefront of my mind, and I find myself nodding. My mother reigned for thousands of years, and who knows how much strife and darkness she had to deal with in that time?
“But haven’t you?”
Titania stands, wrapping me in another hug. “We’d spent millennia enjoying the Otherworld in peace with our mates before you came along. We’re rested.”
“Besides,” Maeve finishes. “Pretty soon, your queendom won’t be at war, and you won’t need us anymore.”
“You’re going to leave me?” I ask.
The question comes out more childlike than I intended, and I have to fight the lump in my throat that follows it. I never considered that there might be a day where I wouldn’t be able to turn around and just ask them for advice.
“No, not at all,” Mab says quickly. “But we realised when we signed up for this that once you found your footing, you’d call on us less and less. We’re going to watch with pride as you take control of the realm for yourself.”
“We’re only a word away if you need us to help you kick ass.” Maeve winks, stepping back.
Just like that, they’re gone, leaving me standing in dark armour that absorbs the warm glow of the lantern above. My fingers graze smooth metal as I start to utter a silent prayer to the Goddess, then stop midway.
“If you’re my mother,” I begin, so quietly that I barely hear my own words. “Why hurt us like this? Why send us to battle hobbled and?—?”
I break off, my throat closing over as my arms curl around my middle, holding me together. Titania’s words circle in my head, even as Danu waits patiently within me ‘…there are rules that bind even divinity.’
Was this one such time, or am I searching for a way to justify the actions of a Goddess, whose reasoning is so far out of my grasp that it may as well be laughable?
This isn’t the time for a crisis of faith. There are fae out there about to die because they believe in Danu. They believe in me.
And I will lead them to victory or die trying.
But I can’t stand the thought of that fate falling on my mates.
The bonds in my chest prickle with concern and alarm, and a second later, Lore is in front of me, red eyes wide with confusion.
“What’s wrong, pretty pet?” he croons. “Pre-battle nerves? You know the best cure is to fuck them out of your system, right?”
I wrap my arms around him and smile into his neck. “That was the exact excuse you used three hours ago.”
He shrugs, hand rising to cup my nape. “Fucking and killing are very important parts of a healthy relationship.”
It’s so tempting to melt under the heat of the kiss he presses to my lips. To give in and let him strip me out of this armour, nip at my skin with those pointed teeth, and drive us both to ecstasy again and again until I forget about the battle waiting above.
But it wouldn’t be fair to the others. To everyone else stuck in the horrible calm before the storm.
“After.” I kiss the word to his lips as I draw back.
“Does the one who kills Elatha get special treatment?” he asks, earnestly. “Because I have a few ideas for what I’d take as a reward for good behaviour.”
Only Lore could turn killing the Fomorian king into a competition, or consider it good behaviour, but I suppose in a way, it is. Back in the mortal village where I was raised, husbands did far less for their wives and considered it reward-worthy.
“Very well,” I agree. “What is it?”
Lore leans in close, pressing his lips to the sensitive tip of my ear. “I want you to shackle me to the bed while you let the other four fuck you.”
Frowning, I lean back. “That doesn’t sound like much of a reward.”
The cheeky grin on his face should warn me of what’s coming, and his hand reaches between my thighs to cup me through my clothes. My armour makes it awkward, but he isn’t deterred.
