Page 16 of Fates of Monsters

She looks a little surprised. “Your deal is tempting but restrictive. Can we—”

My tone is firm. “No.”

Posy walks to her mother. “I’ve heard what you did all those years ago, but I still believe you could change. If you leave us to fight this alone, we will probably die in this war. You’ll be stuck here with nothing but the monsters outside. Here alone, forever. Make the deal, if not for yourself, for me.”

“I do not make deals with mortals, even queens,” she huffs.

“I am fae and immortal,” I correct her. It’s the first time that I really believe it. “I am the Wyern and Fae Queen, and you will make a deal with me. I am the granddaughter of the goddess. I bear her sword and her magic, too. You may have tricked my grandmother, but you will not trick me. I’m not offering you forgiveness; that will never come from me, but perhaps there is a chance you could earn it from others. You should come and fight with us. Maybe then, you can get mortals to believe in you once again. They might even sing the songs of the elemental gods who came out of their prisons to fight. To save them. I believe you wanted to be loved, and this is your chance.”

She looks at Posy. “I will bring my answer on the wind. I must consult with my brothers and sister.”

Posy glances back at me. “I want to talk to her alone.”

“I’ll wait outside,” I answer before turning and walking out. The doors slam shut behind me, leaving me in a dark, soundless room. They talk for quite a while, although I can’t hear anything. There is nothing but utter silence, not even an echo. The doors open and Posy storms out, waving her hand and making a portal. I quickly catch up to her side, noticing unshed tears in her eyes. “Are you alright?”

“She will have an answer by tomorrow morning,” Posy answers, and I don’t push her on it as we step through the portal, back into her bedroom. It snaps shut within seconds. “You shouldn’t trust her. Make sure the deal you bargain is air tight, or she will find a way around it.”

“I will,” I promise her, searching her eyes. Whatever her mother said has upset her, and unless she wants to talk to me, there is nothing I can do to convince her to talk to me. Posy is stubborn.

“I’m going to train,” she declares. “I need to work off some of this energy.”

“Training?” I question, dumbfounded. I’ve heard Lorenzo beg her to let him train her a million times. “I can help you. Lorenzo taught me—”

“I will learn on my own,” she says, cutting me off, her chin held high, and she stubbornly walks out. I sigh before going to find Emerson and explain to him everything and hope he doesn’t get too mad at me for not telling him my crazy plan. The corridors are quiet and the soft sound of piano music echoes to me. I follow it, finding Emerson’s father playing his piano. He looks back at me. “Come in, Calliophe. We haven’t seen each other in many, many months.”

“I’m sorry we haven’t,” I softly answer. I know who he is, what he has done, but I never get the sense I’m in danger with him. I sit down next to him and touch a key, the lingering sound banging. “Why do you only speak to me?”

“I hoped you would ask,” he replies as he begins to play, his hands moving expertly across the keys. “The magic I used to save him, it cursed me. I cannot speak to my children, and every time I try, I am blocked. Sometimes, I lose my mind and I’m not here. Not aware. You are above my magic. In every one of your lifetimes, it was possible for me to speak to you. I could speak to what was left of my lover. Emerson’s mother.”

My heart races. “I asked her to make the Monster Acquisitions Division, to make protectors to hide you. She told them that you would be the one to save us all, and she believed that, even as her soul was broken and her body taken over by creatures from the Rift. She gave up what magic she had to protect you and your enforcers knew it.” He keeps playing, the music racing up in its beat. I don’t move, even as I sense Emerson in the doorway. “I believe she was the one to pick you up off the floor outside the Rift and care for you. We made many mistakes as rulers, caused much death, but Emerson and you are our salvation. Our legacy.”

“Father…” Emerson gently whispers.

He doesn’t look back or away from the piano. “The song of me is ending soon, but my love for my children will exist forever. It always existed in my love, the Fae Queen, for her only son.”

I look over at Emerson as his father continues. “Love exists forever.”

“Forever,” Emerson repeats, and his father’s song stops, and so does he. Any chance of speaking to him is gone. I kiss his cheek before leaving him to play and going to my mate, who I can feel is troubled by everything he heard. His father is alive, but a ghost that haunts him. I wish I could fix everything between them now, but so much has happened. Emerson’s parents, both of them, did everything for him, and I couldn’t be more thankful for them.

Emerson wraps his arm around my waist, leading me back to our room. He sits on the end of the bed, taking off his crown and placing it next to him. I walk over, stepping between his legs and running my hands through his hair. He looks up at me, his purple eyes glowing softly with nothing but love. “They say I was born to be the king, to unite them, but I only ever wanted one thing. One person. You. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Doe. You’re my beginning and ending.”

“You’re mine too,” I softly whisper, leaning into him. “You are stronger than you think, my king.”

“I like when you call me that,” he suggests, running his hands up the back of my thighs, over my ass, and to my waist. My skin buzzes to life where he touches, leaving me wanting him more and more. Emerson hooks his fingers in my trousers, dragging them down my thighs and legs, until I step out of them. I pull my shirt off over my head, careful not to knock off my crown. His large hands trace over my stomach, cupping my breasts. My breath hitches as he runs his fingertips over my hard, perked nipples. “You’re so beautiful, Calliophe. So very addictive and my favorite person in the world.”

“Kiss me,” I beg of him, needing to feel his lips on mine. A devilish grin spreads across his face as he leans forward, kissing one of my nipples, running his teeth across it. I cry out in pleasure, unable to stop myself, and he pulls me onto the bed, on top of him. I spread my legs around his waist, tugging at his shirt. He pulls it off as I lean up, my cheeks flushing as he looks at me. I can feel how hard he is under me, and I shamelessly rub myself against him, needing something, anything. His eyes darken as he reaches between us, sliding his hand down my soaking wet core and pushing two fingers inside of me. I clutch the bedsheets as he rubs my clit with his thumb and thrusts his fingers in and out of me, teasing and pushing. He knows my body so, so well. It doesn’t take much, and he knows it.

Before I orgasm, he stops and undoes his trousers. Lining us up, I slowly sink down on him, and he fills every bit of me until it feels like I’m going to break from having him inside me. His desire mixes with mine as I move, and he holds my hips, guiding each one of my thrusts. I go faster and faster, enjoying how he fills me over and over. My orgasm is right on the edge, and he knows it. My mate spins us over on the bed, pulling me to the edge and making me lie face down. I moan as he pushes his cock back into me. This new position makes him feel even bigger. I grab the sheets tight. The friction of the bed on my clit and Emerson’s cock thrusting in and out of me is too much.

My orgasm crashes into me like a storm on the sea, and I moan loud enough for the entire castle to hear. His hand wraps around my hair, pulling my head back as he thrusts harder and harder. The mix of pain and intense pleasure is incredible. I can’t think about the pain at this moment. Emerson groans as he thrusts deep, spilling himself inside me with one long groan. I swear I’ll feel his handprints on my ass for weeks to come. Emerson pulls out of me and picks me up, tucking us both into the bed and under the sheets. I lie on his chest as he strokes my back, knowing I need to clean up, and Emerson speaks into my mind. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I whisper back, running circles on his chest. I want to live like this forever.

I don’t even remember falling asleep, let alone being lured into this dream. I was in Emerson’s arms and then… I’m dragged, torn, and forced into it as I claw at the door to escape. Most of my dreams come easily into my mind, like floating in a cloud to an island, but this dream is different from the beginning. Within seconds, it’s too late to escape him and this dream.

Louie is here, and he is dressed for war with a stolen crown perched on his head. The beautiful Wyern mountains proudly stand behind him, spread out in a wave from his shoulders. They almost look like wings. Like he’s the angel of death himself, waiting to catch us all. My heart races because this means the war is here. He is outside my home now. I look behind me, and in the far distance, I can see the armies coming from both land and sea.

“You can stop all this now. Come to me and I’ll send the armies away for now,” he offers, his voice mimicking how Louie spoke to me when he was a child. His voice tears at my heart, and we both know it’s on purpose. “Come with the sword, and this all can be over before I rip your mate apart.”

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