Page 124 of Across an Endless Sea

“What is she talking about?” Jaro asks.

“I teased her until she begged to suck my cock earlier,” Lore grins. “And, ooh, it washeadywith those sparkly eyes. I swear my dick has never ever been so hard—”

“Lorcan is ancient,” Kitarni cuts in smoothly. “It stands to reason that he would have some experience resisting mind magics once he knew what to look for.” The high priestess turns back to me. “I believe everyone here is strong enough to resist accidental slip ups. In fact, I’m fairly certain that—had you asked any of them to do anything they weren’t already predisposed to—they all could’ve said no.”

Relief fills me, then I frown.

“You’re saying they don’t really want to hurt Caed, and he doesn’t want to hurt them either?” I ask sceptically.

Kitarni shrugs. “There must be some reluctance.”

I regard Jaro and Drystan cynically. I could maybe see Jaro not wanting to hurt Caed in case it upset me or Danu. At a stretch, I could say the same for Drystan… but Caed? We’ve already proved he’s not even remotely concerned about my welfare.

“The real test will be when you use the gift while calling on Danu’s power,” Kitarni continues. “Then… you might be irresistible.”

“Good,” Drystan says. “That means we can finally deal with Caed.”

Caed? What?

My confusion is plain on my face, but Florian seems to be following Drystan’s line of thought without effort.

“You can charm him and prevent him from betraying you again with just a few nice words.”

“If you’re taking requests,” Jaro mutters. “You could make him swear a vow of silence at the same time.”

“That’s unethical!” I gasp.

“It’s practical,” Drystan retorts. “And it might just save his life.”

At what cost?

“All of us would trust him if we knew for sure he wasn’t a threat to you,” Jaro continues. “His curse would be lifted, and we could let him out of the dungeons.”

“You could charm him into letting me play with his ghost blades,” Lore adds. “I have so many dreams about the things we could get up to…”

Surely Kitarni won’t support this? The dryad stares pensively over the foggy city with her bark-covered lips pursed.

“A unified Guard would be best for Elfhame, and the realm,” she mumbles. “Though… I cannot imagine this is how Danu would wish it, but perhaps the ends justify the means.”

Bram is similarly lost in thought, and his face gives little indication of his thoughts on the matter, so I turn to Bree.

Only, the púca is gone. The one person who might’ve backed up my distaste for this plan is nowhere to be seen, and I can feel him getting farther away.

Running again?My heart sinks.

I follow Kitarni’s gaze, but I don’t see the city. All I see are the glimmering stars, reminding me of Fellgotha’s endless night, and the way Elatha used Caed’s name to control him.

If I do this, am I really any better than him? Yet, as queen, with all of Faerie depending on me, can I afford not to?

Every part of me rebels at the idea of exercising my will over another person like that. What would be left of Caed if I stripped away his independence? His free will? All of that fierce warrior pride… would it crumble into dust? Would he even regard such a life worth living?

My Guard are supposed to be my soul mates, not my pawns. I feel bad enough about the times I’ve unintentionally used the power on them, but this…

“I’ve never used it intentionally,” I stall. “I might not be able to.”

“You can practise on me,” Jaro offers. “And I’ll bet some of the knights would be willing if it got them out of helping set up for your coronation.”

“Having the full Guard present at the ceremony—even if there isn’t a mating ceremony—would be best for your protection,” Florian adds. “If Caed were on our side by then, I would feel a lot better about your safety.”

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