Page 96 of The High Mountain Court

Chapter Twenty-Four

The long winter had already reached the Northern Court, but the snow lessened as they rode into the High Mountains. Yexshire had light flurries at this time of year, but the heavy snow was still a month or more away.

Remy felt Hale hard against her ass, even through her thick winter cloak. The rubbing of her leathers on the saddle was driving her mad. It was another two hours south into the High Mountains, and she didn’t know if she could make it. The smell of him was intoxicating. Her fae nose relished that musky, scorching arousal wafting from his pores like a heady perfume. She heard Hale inhale and knew he smelled her drenched wanting too.

“Memories of last night?” he whispered, nibbling on the delicate point of her ear. Remy arched into his hot breath with a frustrated mewl. She was so ready for him. Constantly. Endlessly. “Does the sound of my voice make you wet?”

Hale’s hand snaked around to her stomach, parting her cloak. His fingers dipped below the tight waist of her leathers. He hissed, his fingers soaked. Remy ground into those fingers shamelessly, desperate for him to touch her.

Hale chuckled in that gravelly way that awakened every nerve ending in her body. His fingers slid down her soft, wet folds and Remy moaned, leaning her head back into his shoulder as her eyes flitted closed.

“Is this what you want?” He slid his teeth across her neck. His other hand had gone slack holding the reins, and the horses trekked on, unguided. The grinding of the saddle, bumping them against each other, made it harder for Remy to hold on to her control. Hale slid two long fingers inside of her, and she cried out.

“What about this?” he purred

“Mm.” Remy hummed, the only sound she could make. She gyrated against those fingers, pinning them between her and the saddle. She bucked up as Hale pressed his palm hard over that bundle of nerves. Remy ground against Hale’s hard length, making him groan.

“You better hold that gorgeous ass still before it causes any more trouble,” he growled even as he moved himself against her.

“I like this kind of trouble,” Remy said in a thick voice, her eyes tilting back to see Hale’s scorching stare. She ground back against him another time. “What sort of trouble did you have in mind?”

Hale dipped his fingers out and slammed them back into her, causing a moan that shook through them both.

“I am one second away from pulling you off this horse and fucking you against that tree,” Hale snarled.

Remy yanked Hale’s arm away, pulling his wet fingers out of her leathers. She leapt off the horse in the same way she had on the streets of Wynreach.

She needed him now. All of him.

She looked back at her Fated with a devious smile. He grinned at her viciously as he hooked the horse’s reins onto a low branch and dismounted.

His hard shaft strained against his leathers as he prowled toward her. He pounced, spinning her around so her chest pressed against the tree trunk. Ripping down her leathers, he exposed her ass to the cool air.

That gorgeous ass, as he had called it.

Remy barely had time to brace herself as he slammed into her. She screamed out. The sensation of his huge cock filling her was overwhelming. Hale grunted as he pulled himself out and slammed into her again. Remy’s palms bit into the tree bark as she braced herself against his fast, deep thrusts. Her pleasure was building as she sank her teeth into her hand to keep from exploding. Hale grabbed her hips tighter as he pounded into her so hard she thought the tree might snap. The sound of their hot, wet flesh slapping together was the only sound in the forest. Hale ramped up to a punishing speed, barreling toward his climax, and Remy couldn’t hold on anymore. She shattered with a shout that shook through the forest. Two more pumps and Hale exploded into her, barking out her name.

Remy’s body twitched and clenched repeatedly until her teeth at last released the flesh on the back of her hand. She would have a wicked bruise there, and she did not care in the slightest. Her heavy panting breath ebbed.

“You are such trouble, Princess,” Hale laughed his heavy breath across her hair. “I think you might be even more wicked than me.”

* * *

The Yexshiri forests felt eerily familiar. Monopolized by dogwood, buxus, and alder, the leaves and branches allowing for just enough light to scatter through. Rugged purple and golden-hued mountain shrubs erupted from the brittle leaves on the ground below. Thick draping moss clung to the trees, and a hodgepodge of wildflowers tried to claim the last remnants of sunlight. Their brilliant shades of red and blue added some bright touches to the otherwise dark forest floor. A harmony of wild noises, predominantly songbirds, resonated through the air. Remy’s sensitive fae ears could hear frog croaks from nearby ponds despite the birdsong.

The forest was alive and thriving, reclaiming the unused road in front of them. The now-quiet highway that led to Yexshire was unrecognizable. Fallen trees blocked some of the path. They had to dismount and navigate the horses around the blockages more than once.

As they turned the corner, abandoned houses appeared. Yexshire, once a bustling city and home to many folk, was now a ghost town in the truest sense. A sinister silence had taken over, interrupted only by the cracking of branches in the wind. Even the birds who had made their homes in the many collapsed roofs dared not sing here. Some doors had collapsed, perhaps destroyed by looters or raided by animals as time passed. Most of the rooftops had caved in, sometimes taking the entire building with them. Other houses looked in decent shape and were simply dirty and overgrown with weeds. The fountain in the town square was still full of water, though it had turned green and was overgrown with algae.

Hale’s arms tightened around Remy. Her heart pounded in her ears. Snippets of memories flashed through her mind at every corner: the streets decorated for Summer Solstice, the city gathering to wave off the royal family on one of their trips, the lively crowds on market day, selling their wares.

It was all gone.

Street after street of abandoned homes made for a terrifying thought: each house was once a home, a home belonging to a family of Yexshire, and now there was only emptiness. Remy knew even if they could claim the Immortal Blade, this city would never be the same. Many of those families were lost forever.

Her chest clenched tighter as they rode the path up onto the mountainside that towered over the city. The Castle of Yexshire once stood proudly overlooking the High Mountains: now it was only black stone rubble and ash.

Remy could still remember the castle in vivid detail. Black stone towers connected by high walls had surrounded the castle. Around the walls in symmetrical patterns, small windows scattered, along with overhanging lookouts for archers and artillery. It had looked as much a fortress as a castle, for all the good it did them.

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