44. Elianna

Chapter forty-four

Elianna

Jace led me through a sea of wildflowers in Alaia Valley, and I couldn't resist inhaling their sweet scent as the breeze carried it all around us.

Nerves rattled me as I felt his own down the bond, yet he still refused to tell me where he was bringing me.

“Why do I feel as if you’re up to something?” I admitted.

He chuckled. “Oh, and what is that like? That’s a feeling I have become quite accustomed to with you, my Lia.”

He had a point.

“That’s hardly fair…I have my reasoning,” I teased. He turned to me and continued his walk backwards as he stared down at me through thickly furrowed brows. “That I, of course , will never hide from you again, handsome,” I added, attempting to save face.

“Uh-huh,” he huffed as he turned forward once more. “Well, I suppose this spot is as good as any,” he said as he brought his fingers to his lips and let out a shrieking whistle.

A loud chirping sound echoed through the sky, followed by the powerful boom of Nox’s wings as he flew in from the distance and landed before us .

“Since when does he listen to you?!”

Jace turned to me with a genuine, radiant smile stretching from ear-to-ear. “We have set aside our differences for the greater good.”

“And that would be?”

“You,” he breathed as he stepped up to me, wrapping one arm beneath my thighs and the other around my waist as he lifted me into his embrace.

Numerous giggles left me, mixing with his own laughs as he carried me to our wyvern. Once he stepped up to Nox’s side, he pressed his lips to my forehead before carefully setting my feet back on the ground.

“I want to bring you somewhere very special, a place I’ve been meaning to tell you of for months now,” he said as he gestured to the saddle atop Nox.

My eyes narrowed in on him as I let out a hum, and he raised a brow in response, as if expecting a retort.

Instead, I turned to Nox and climbed into the saddle as I was told.

“Good girl,” he cooed, earning a wicked smirk from me.

He climbed up and positioned himself behind me, ordering Nox to take flight once we were both settled.

“And the others aren’t expecting us for dinner as well?”

“No, they won’t be. I made sure of it,” he admitted, and my eyes flared in surprise.

And with those words, we rode off into the sky, away from the city at our backs, and deeper into the heart of Alaia.

A forest appeared beneath us after flying for nearly a half hour, and Nox landed in a small clearing. My gaze lifted to the tops of the trees, where the sky now displayed vast swirls of orange and purple from the setting sun.

“A forest? And here I thought you had enough of exploring unknown trees with me,” I taunted him as we jumped down to the ground.

“These trees are only unknown to you, but I’ve been exploring them since I was a boy.”

Nox let out a growl of annoyance behind us, and we both turned to find him glaring at Jace. I lifted a brow in response and turned to my mate.

“Any idea what that’s about?”

“This gods-damn wyvern,” he grumbled as he reached into the satchel at his side and pulled out a dead fish, tossing it in Nox’s direction. “I said you get it after we’re done. You still need to bring us back!”

Nox caught it in his maw and swallowed it whole, letting out a purr-like sound of approval.

I didn’t even bother trying to hold in my laugh. “You bribed him. It all makes sense now.”

He shook his head at me, his lips pressed together in a thin line, trying to hold back a smile.

Jace reached for my hand, and I placed mine in his as he moved to guide me through the wood.

“Our destination is just beyond these trees,” he said, and as the words left him, the air filled with the sound of rushing water .

Recognition instantly flared within me, and I became giddy with excitement—his own tumbled with mine down our tether, making our steps quicken in unison.

My rushed strides turned into a full-on sprint as we raced through the trees together, our laughter filling the crisp forest air.

Our hurried steps halted as a vast opening appeared, and a hidden, serene waterfall emerged as it poured into a tiny pool that awaited only yards from our feet.

“Jace,” I breathed, my eyes wandering up and down the falling cascades.

“Surprise, my Lia.” He pressed his lips to the back of my head as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, holding me close to him.

“This is so beautiful,” I whispered.

And it was.

Among the ancient trees of Alaia's foliage, this paradise remained hidden. The air was thick with the sweet fragrance of nearby flowers and the scent of slick, moss-covered stones.

The waterfall was half the size of the one we fell from in the Sylis Forest. It was still framed by vibrant greenery, tumbling calmly over weathered rocks, while fragile ferns sprouted from their crevices. The last bit of light from the setting sun filtered through the dense leaves above, casting mirages on the water’s surface.

My heart raced as I took in the sight. Memories of the day that changed everything for us filtered through my mind—of us finding a similar intimate place among the enchanted wood, and what had ensued there and after .

It was the beginning of everything. It was the beginning of us .

“Do you like it?” he asked as I remained pressed against his chest. “I stumbled upon this place years ago and have been longing to bring you here since we arrived.”

“It’s stunning,” I answered as I took a step away and turned to face him. “Now please tell me you didn’t bring me out here just to look.”

My hands reached for the bottom of my shirt and pulled it over my head. When my gaze met his, he captured his bottom lip between his teeth as he watched me. When my fingers aimed to unbutton my pants, his own shot out and handled it for me. He pulled my pants past my thighs and silently assisted as I stepped out of them.

“I will never have intentions of ‘just looking’ when it comes to anything with you,” he breathed.

His eyes roamed over me while I stood before him, wearing only a bandeau fastened around my breasts and the undergarments that were beneath my leathers.

My fingers worked to unbutton his shirt and then pulled it down his arms. Now my own eyes leisurely explored his chest, and the markings from all the previous battles he had fought. My fingers lightly traced over them, working their way down to the muscles that led below his belt.

When my eyes lifted to meet his, my breath caught under his gaze. My touch lifted once more to reach the scar that marked his perfect face—one of our many combined markings that was a testament to everything we had endured together .

Jace took my hand in his and then pressed his lips to the back of it. While he guided me to the water’s edge, my gaze drifted towards the hill that led to the falls.

“I should have known,” he said knowingly.

“For old times’ sake?” I challenged him, while tugging both of his arms to come with me.

“I go where you go.” He watched me with a grin.

We each moved to climb the steep, grassy hill that led to the top of the waterfall, his presence a constant support at my back as he followed my lead.

With the moon now ascending and casting its glow, the atmosphere surrounding us became enchantingly beautiful.

At the top of the waterfall, the cascade was a ribbon of liquid silver, shimmering in the moonlight as it fell to the pool below.

It exposed hidden dewdrops on the canopy’s leaves, making them shimmer as if they were the stars in the sky above. Bioluminescent fungi emitted a soft, pulsating light on the forest floor. Fireflies danced around us as we neared the small cliff’s edge, freely weaving through the air.

It was so eerily similar to the scene in the rift at the isles, yet I felt comforted more than anything.

From the top of the most breathtaking view I had ever seen, a sense of peace washed over me, realizing that this moment would forever be incomparable.

“My Lia,” Jace breathed from behind me.

Turning to face him, my heart skipped a beat at what my eyes beheld—Jace on one knee, his hand extended up toward me with a ring delicately held between his fingers. His eyes then locked with mine, filled with adoration.

“Jace.” My voice was barely audible. “What is this?”

“Every word I have ever spoken to you regarding where I stand has been true, and that is to be at your side for the remainder of my days—in victory or defeat, in sickness and in health.”

My lips parted as I took in his words.

“While I cannot fathom the responsibility you bear on your shoulders, I can still feel it every waking and sleeping moment of the day, and I plan to alleviate any burden from you that you allow. It would never matter to me where we end up after our victory. A cottage on the coast, an estate in the valley, a castle in Isla… I am nothing if you are not with me. And while I plan on us both surviving what is to come, I wish to approach our final stance with you, not only as my mate but as my wife.”

A single tear slipped down my cheek at his confession. “You wish to be my King Consort?”

As he stood up, he cradled my hand in his, slipping the ring onto my finger. “I wish to be anything you need me to be, as long as it entails being at your side.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

“What say you, Elianna Valderre? Will you make me the happiest mate in the realm and be my wife?”

My eyes drifted down to the ring now encircling my finger. A silvery sheen sparkled in the starlight, the band carved into two dainty wyvern wings that wrapped tightly around an oval-shaped emerald. My jaw dropped as I observed it, twisting my hand at all angles to view the one-of-a-kind jewelry he had created for me— his queen .

“Well, my Lia?” A nervous laugh left him.

A soft smirk crept up my lips as my neck twisted back to peer over my shoulder, where the falls awaited. My hair danced around my face as the night breeze blew around us.

“May the gods help me with you,” he said while shaking his head, watching me.

My innocent smirk morphed into a menacing grin as I lowered my hand to my side and took a single step backward towards the cliff’s edge—he matched the step forward, mimicking the dance from our first kiss.

“Do I receive an answer from the queen? Or will she keep me guessing as she always has?” he asked with a growl of anticipation.

The edge of the fall’s overhang scraped the skin beneath my foot, halting my movements. “You will find my answer at the bottom of the falls, my king.” I winked.

Without hesitation, I twisted my body and leapt off the edge of the waterfall, my body descending beside the cascades before diving into the pool that awaited at its floor.

Jace’s body landed in the pool only feet from my own, and I floated up to him as we were surrounded by the bubbles rising to the surface. In the depths of the water, I wrapped my legs around his waist, intertwining our bodies, and held his face tenderly in my hands as I pressed my lips against his, savoring their taste.

We sat beneath the cover of the water until our lungs burned for air before swimming to the surface .

“Shall I take your kiss as an answer?” He grinned as he watched me intently.

I swam the short distance between us and wrapped my arms around his neck, nuzzling his nose with my own.

“Always,” I breathed.

His hazel gaze roamed over me intently, making my breath catch, and then he claimed my mouth with his. Our bond became saturated with the pulsating rhythm of quickened heartbeats, a love that consumed our very souls, and an insatiable need for each other.

His hands moved to explore my body as we each struggled to tread the water as we succumbed to our constant craving for one another.

I followed his lead as he reluctantly waded towards the waterfall—its deafening roar drowned out the world, intensifying the intimacy, and the mist from the falls kissed my exposed skin.

The water pounded against our shoulders as we moved beneath it—the droplets gleaming on Jace’s back.

Upon reaching the other side of the rapid falls, we became wedged between the flowing water and what resembled a small cave carved from the stone. The torrential cascade overhead created a curtain of liquid jewels, glistening in the moonlight.

My mate rested his back against the rock wall beneath the falls, and I silently swam up to him. He instantly reached out beneath the water, cupping the backs of my thighs, and lifted me in his arms. With each shared breath and glance, our desperate, aching desire for one another interlaced down our tether .

Barely able to hold back any longer, I claimed his lips with my own, our tongues knotting in a dance as our hands explored each other slower and more assured than ever before. Beneath the water, I found the top of his pants and slowly began unbuttoning them.

He broke the kiss, leaving me desperate for him, so my lips flew to his neck, where my tongue traced the beads of water that glided down from his soaked hair.

“What is it that you want, wife ?” he groaned.

I climbed back up his body and pressed our foreheads together. “You,” I breathed.

Jace took that as his cue. He flipped our bodies, my back now pressed up against the rock wall, as he forcefully kicked out of his pants that clung to his skin below the surface.

In his need for me, he ripped the bandeau that restrained my breasts, letting them fall freely before him. Jace cupped them with his hands, caressing them with his fingers. He moved that same hand down further, tearing my remaining clothing from my body, and circled my clit as his fingers explored.

“Gods,” I gasped, but the echo of it was lost in the raining falls.

His mouth moved up the center of my throat with a mix of teasing kisses and licks, making his way to the sensitive tip of my ear. I felt his hardened length press against my center as his mouth worked to ravish my entire body.

I moved my hand to guide his length down to my entrance, and a gasp escaped me as he thrusted in, filling me. Each thrust felt as if it would be my undoing. I couldn’t get enough of him as my thighs tightened around his waist, pulling him in. His mouth was on mine once more, our tongues desperately colliding.

Our hips rocked in tandem, separating and finding each other over and over until we were on the verge of combustion. Caging me against the rock wall, he kissed my neck, running his hands through my hair as I rolled my hips, his cock moving in and out.

Jace maneuvered one of his arms around the back of my neck, cradling it against the jagged edges that protruded from the cliff’s cave.

I opened my eyes to be met with an intense hazel gaze fixed on me, and a moan escaped me at the thought of him watching me unravel beneath him. A grunt of approval left him, and there were so many things I wanted to say and act on in the moment, but my entire body burned and ached for him.

I could feel it all around me—both his desire and my own, churning and mingling together, becoming one. He moved in me continually, and I wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but all I knew, all my body knew, was that I never wanted it to end.

My eyes peered over his shoulder to where my hand held him for support—the ring he gifted me, what would become our ring of vows, glistening beneath the water droplets.

His lips left my skin, and I instantly felt its loss until he pressed them to my ear and spoke the words that would undoubtedly end me. “You are forever mine . ”

His voice held a mixture of desperation and possession, and if I was standing, it would have brought me to my knees before him.

And with it—I came undone. My entire body unraveled, the heat of my release coursing through every vein within me. A moan escaped me as I shuddered around him in my orgasm, bringing him over the edge in tandem.

His arms gripped me tightly as he steadied us against the cool stone at my back, and my body went completely limp in his arms as I let out a whimper.

I lifted my stare to his and watched as the lagoon water beaded off his thick lashes as he said, “If I meet my end in this, it was all worth it. Every moment of knowing you, every second of being yours…it was all worth it.”

I cupped his cheek as our gazes remained locked. “I love you, and I will never let that happen. We are seeing this victory through to the end. The two of us. King and queen, husband and wife, mates fated by the gods—the title does not matter. What matters is that we will be together. Always.”

A whisper of a smile tilted his lips. “Always,” he breathed.