Page 64 of Bonded By Moons

“Where. Is. Father.” I grind out through my teeth. “Did he take my mate?”

“What? Oh gods, no dear. Your father went on a trip!” She exclaims and all my siblings hoorah in unison.

“Where is my mate, then?” I stare into her eyes with determination. I would normally never treat my mother this way, but the loss of my mate is driving me fucking wild. “She’s been reported missing.”

My mother looks at me utterly confused and then raises her hand to point at me. “She’s right behind you, dear.” She looks sympathetic, seeming to understand the inner battle I face with the rage of my bond simmering deep below my skin.

I startled at her accusation and quickly turned to find Ember sauntering towards me. “Hello, everyone. I’m sorry to cause all this fuss. It seems I got lost in one of the many gardens here.” She raises her hand to show us a stream of blood trailing down her finger. “I also came face to face with one of your rose bushes.” Ember softly smiles and laughs to herself.

I leave the dining hall without another word, slamming the doors behind me and sealing Ember and I into a silencing bubble. “What happened? Where did you really go? Are you okay?” I start battering her with questions while I take in her appearance. Aside from the cut on her finger, she stands before me completely unharmed. She actually looks utterly delicious in the pink leather bodysuit I had made for her. She’s strapped several daggers to her thighs and moons help me they look so hot. I’m almost always aroused when I’m around her.

“I’m okay, I’m sorry. Naistrelle took me without warning to a library. I have this feeling that what we’re searching for is there. Come, I have to show you.”

She tries to turn and walk away but I latch onto her wrist. Guiding her hand to my mouth, I slide her bleeding finger through my lips and lick the blood off of it. Tasting her essence fills my body, I watch as her lips part and let out a soft growl. “Never, ever, allow anyone to take you from me again.” I demand of her.

She stares at me for several seconds with shock and something akin to sympathy. “Never.”

I lick her finger clean and watch as her wound is healed by my kiss. “Did you really fall in a rose bush?” I ask and chuckle under my breath.

“Of course not! You really think I’m that clumsy? I had to make a sacrifice in order to access my fathers journal.” she smiles but then her smile falters. “Where’s Amara?”

"We weren’t sure what happened to you, so I have her heavily guarded in my private study. I’ll have her sent to meet us right away.” With that, I release the silencing bubble and nod to Artie, who flashes into his faerie form and takes off flying towards my wing.

“Okay, let’s go. I have so much to tell you, but it has to wait till we reach our destination. Can we dismiss the current guards stationed around the palace?”

That’s an interesting request but I don’t try to argue. I trust my mate’s intentions completely. “Yes, I will have them sent to training. With the king gone, I act as his ward and control the palace until his return.”

Together, we walk towards The king’s wing and I’m curious why she was on this side of the castle to begin with. I open my communications orb and announce for all royal guild members to report to the south lawn for training and magic practice. I watch as the guards stationed along each wall quickly depart and follow my command. My family is probably curious why they’re only left with personal guards, but I could care less right now since I finally found my mate.

The halls are empty as we approach the first rooms of my father’s wing. We stop in front of a large, empty wall and I stare in awe as Ember bites her wrist and drags her fingers through her blood, spreading it along the stark white walls. For a short moment, nothing happens. But then, a doorframe slowly unravels from a strong glimmer I had never known was here. The large doors are adorned in silver and gold fleur-de-lis and scrolls. It’s truly stunning and unlike the rest of the palace.

She slowly pushes the heavy doors open and reveals the most elaborate library I’ve ever seen. It’s almost equal in size to the grand ballroom.

I stare at my mate in wonder as she shows me something I’ve never seen before. She’s truly amazing.

“Welcome to king Morak’s Library. It’s been hidden for decades from your father, and this is where the goddess summoned me today.” she explains as we enter the room. There’s several hidden alcoves full of cozy blankets, plush cushions, and large pillows. In the center of the room are several tables with golden and silver carved chairs. There’s three different chandeliers that hang from the ceiling, each one representing one of our three moons.

I follow Ember to a small alcove tucked behind what she says are the primal texts, and watch her as she plucks different books off of the shelves and creates a pile in the center of our cushions. “We need to learn everything we can about primal magic, the ancients and the past wars. The goddess left me again without explaining herself further, so we’ll have to dig into everything in order to make sense of her instructions.”

I lean back into the pillows and cushions. “You’re so fucking hot when you talk scholarly to me.” I smirk at her and she swats me with a book. “Hey!” I laugh and grab her wrist, pulling her body down on top of me. She cradles my waist with her thighs and my mind instantly goes somewhere scandalous as I wish for her to rub her clit against me, causing friction and taking the release she deserves.

As if sensing that thought through our connection, she slowly rocks her hips back and forth, staring down into my eyes. “I’m sorry if I worried you. I can’t control when they take me. I’m just glad it wasn’t in the presence of the king.” she softly whispers to me.

I nod in agreement, placing my hands on either side of her hips and feeling the way she moves against my body. “Fuck,” I exhale. “I’m just glad to be with you now.”

She giggles and pries herself out of my hands, moving to the side of my body and folds her legs under herself as she starts to open several texts. I don’t know how she resists the pull of our bond as easily as she does because I’m barely resisting locking those doors and tearing that fucking pink bodysuit right off of her.

She laughs again and whispers down the bond.If you promise to be good now, I’ll reward you later, my Prince.

Yep. That’s enough for me to kick it into study mode. I sit up and cage her body in with mine as we start to scan the pages of some ancient texts. “You said you found your fathers journal?” I ask while nuzzling her ear and neck, smelling her hair and taking in everything that I love about my mate. The way she smells of roses and honey drives me absolutely crazy.

She hums her appreciation of my ministrations and begins telling me more about her encounter with the goddess.

“Yes, once the goddess left me here, I heard a song that sounded strangely familiar. When I followed the voice, I found this–” she unzips the front of her bodysuit and reaches in for a leather bound book, handing it to me and readjusting her leathers. “When I opened it, I found that there were no writings. I don’t know why, but I just knew I had to make a blood offering to unlock the truth of those pages. I confirmed that only my bloodline can uncover the words.”

When I opened the journal and started skimming through the empty pages, I realized she was right. It’s completely empty but she tells me she’s able to see everything now.

“The goddess also told me something I still haven’t processed yet.”

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