62. A Walk in the Park

A Walk in the Park

N othing compared to what it was like to make love to my soulmate—to be fucked by him. With every touch, every kiss, every orgasm, we found our way closer to each other, a process so natural and comfortable that I couldn't imagine doing anything else. It was like practicing with my swordmistress, each step and movement getting closer and closer to perfection. Breathless anticipation skimmed under my skin, a foretaste of the moment when we'd be laughing or kissing or wracked with ecstasy and nothing else would matter.

He could feel it, too. I saw it in the disbelief and wonder in his smile; felt it the way his mouth caressed my skin.

We were soulmates. We were going to get to love each other forever. The moment he truly believed that – the moment we believed that – it would come true, our joy singing eternity into being.

Cass didn't have to rest if he didn't want to, but the comfortable bliss caught us in warm arms at last. We drowsed together, me on my back with Cass sprawled against me, totally sated. I couldn't stop smiling, rousing with the sun while he gently snored. My soulmate, my King, my Court. Mercy Himself slept there, his love warming my skin.

I pushed a few strands of hair back from his face, tucking them behind his sharp-tipped ear. His dark lashes parted, sleepy eyes focusing on me in the morning light.

"Hi," he murmured, his voice rough with sleep and soft with affection.

"Hi," I said back. I ran my fingers along the edge of his ear with a smile. "Is this still okay?"

A smile like the sun spread across his face. Cass lifted his ear, pressing it into my caress. "Far more than okay, sunlight," he said. He cupped my cheek with one calloused hand and tilted his face towards mine to run his nose along mine, luxuriating in the motion. "It's wonderful. I feel like I'm floating on a thermal, the sun on my wings and the breath of the earth buoying me up."

I had no self-control to exercise with Cass' mouth that close to mine. I closed the millimeters of distance, melting into his warmth.

Cass made a low sound of pleasure, kissing me with sultry care, the endless depths of his yearning heart all mine to drown in. I love you , he murmured into my soul.

I love you, too, I replied, feeling him smile against my mouth.

"Want to go for our walk?" he asked. "It's early enough and cold enough that we might actually get to be alone, for once."

My eyes danced with good humor. "Not even a shower after all that sex, huh?"

His smile spread, showing the tips of his teeth. "Why bring wet hair out into winter cold? We can surely shower when we get back," Cass said, in a low purr that suggested there would be rather more going on in the shower than simply getting clean.

"Is showering a 'we' thing, now?" I asked with a smirk.

He ran his tongue along the sharp tip of his canine in a lascivious gesture. "It could be. I don't seem to ever want to stop touching you," he said. His fingers traced along my bare side. "I'm afraid I'm getting somewhat addicted to having my hands on you. I may become something of a glutton."

"Are you going to start sleeping next to me, too?" Even thinking about it sent a trembling sensation all down my front, my lungs feeling suddenly too shallow. "Keep me warm at night?"

"If you like." Cass kissed me again, soft and affectionate. "As long as you don't mind having some of my weight on you, if we sleep like this you should be safe from my wings. I doubt I'd forget where you were, even in my sleep, but I could trust that with you alongside me."

"You're spoiling me," I said, doing a little wiggle.

"Then be spoiled." Cass heaved himself up and half-spread his wings, about as far as they could go in the small room. He smiled down at me. "Let's get outside for a bit. Enjoy the morning while everyone else is sleeping the revel off."

Responsible adult Cass got us out of bed and dressed, though I suspected it was more so he could stretch his wings than any real desire to be outside instead of in bed. He did hold true to his threat of keeping his hands on me: his hand on my back every time he passed by, his deft fingers trailing through my hair, his forearm resting across my shoulder while we strolled through our palace towards the gate.

I certainly didn't mind. I loved the way his touch amplified my connection to him—the way his sheer raw joy poured over me like the summer sun. As far as I was concerned, this could be the new status quo.

We'd gotten into the habit of taking our walks in the forest instead of through the gardens; the gardens were pretty boring during the winter, but the forest was still full of life. Nobody met us, and the guards merely nodded to us as we headed off down our usual path. I had a theoretical guard rotation, of course, but none of them bothered to stick to me like burrs when I was with Cass. They were my decorative guards, for formal events only.

The forest was a lovely place in the early morning. Bright daylight filtered through the naked branches of aspens and illuminated the snow on the dark evergreens, making everything sparkle. Our favored paths were kept clear and freshly sanded, so we crunched along easily next to two-foot-high barriers of snow, heading towards the overlook. It was a favored spot for outdoor sparring matches and duels, given the flattish stone underfoot and the sky-scraping magnificence of the spruce trees. The trees themselves made for an interesting arena, too; the huge trunks made for good cover and limited the movement of people who fought with polearms and heavy weaponry.

It looked to have been freshly cleared, too, maybe for a match. The snow on the ground was only the dusting from last night, and the sandy ground underneath was a bit rumpled.

I ducked under Cass' arm and laced my fingers through his, tugging him towards the more-open space. His brows went up and I grinned up into his face. "Let's dance."

"Dance?" he asked, following me onto the cleared ground. When I nodded, Cass stepped up close to me, setting my hand on his arm and tracing his fingertips down along my spine. "Well, alright," he said with a laugh. "What's your pleasure, majesty? Waltz? Pavanne? Something more sultry, perhaps?"

"Dealer's choice, splendor," I said, giddy with happiness. "Have any—"

A tawny bird appeared, literally out of nowhere, trilling prettily.

Cass' head jerked up as the bird landed on a branch. "A flicker-bird? The fuck?"

My connection to Cass cut with the same cold finality of opals.

I staggered, the sudden loss of sensation all but blinding me. "Cass," I managed to get out—and got flattened as he flung himself over me.

I hit the ground so hard it drove the breath out of my lungs. Branches scratched me through my clothes. Darkness, my vision dancing, TING TING TING thunk thunk TING thunk ! Before I could catch my breath, Cass was already moving, flinging himself to his feet, dark bars sticking out of his back.

Arrows. Those were arrows , someone had shot him—

All around us, leather-armored fae materialized out from under their glamors of snow-covered brush, gleaming weapons in hand.

Cass crouched over me, his wings held awkwardly to shield his body and mine from arrows, his hands up in a defensive position as he faced down two sword-wielding fae. A hard-eyed woman, her longsword held in an easy grip; a grim man with a shortsword and shield, a scar across his jaw marking a battle fought with steel. Three arrows jutted out of his back, blood flowing freely, soaking his shirt.

Bleeding. Cass was bleeding .

My eyes widened, panic thrilling through me. Another volley of arrows hissed through the air, pinging off of Cass' wings. One struck him in the calf. Another hit him in the shoulder.

One thunk ed into the tree next to me. Black like tar coated the head of the arrow and the first three inches of the shaft. Poison—something to stop him from healing. Something to stop him from killing .

Cass snarled like an animal and lashed out with one wing. He hit the scarred man's sword arm, pinning him against a tree, walling off his companion. His foot dug into the ground as he shot forward, grabbing the shortsword before it hit the ground.

He threw himself against the swordswoman, his wing dragging across the pinned swordsman. He was full of arrows, bereft of magic, but he was a living weapon. He knew how to fight.

Blood splattered the snow. The pieces of the dead swordsman slumped to the ground as Cass turned and retreated deeper into the woods, leading them away from me, wing slicked with blood and sword held like a club. Two spearmen menaced him, driving him into position.

Another volley of arrows. One struck him in the back of the thigh. Cass only snarled, hunching his wings and backing away.

I stayed in the snowy bushes where he'd shoved me, keeping my head low as snow melted against me and chilled my skin. With a silent snarl on my face, I scanned the forest. Cass knew how to fight, but he couldn't maneuver while trying to keep the archers off of him. They were easy to find. They weren't even bothering to hide themselves, standing in a loose ring around our cleared area, upslope and on rocky outcroppings.

They didn't give a shit about me. They had their eyes focused on Cass, raining arrows down on him with grim precision.

I could hear him panting. My terror hardened into icy rage. That was my Cass—my soulmate . No one got to hurt him.

Shielded by the brush, with no eyes on me, I crouched, digging my fingers against the stone. My sense of the Court – the one I was used to, flowing so freely into me through Cass – had cut off in the same instant my connection to him had. But I could still feel it, something inside of me that I'd never noticed in the roar of magic from my soulmate, like a single voice in a chorus. I gritted my teeth and gathered my will, focusing on the stone beneath my fingers.

I didn't need to be able to hear Mercy. I just needed it to listen .

I slammed everything I had into the ground beneath my feet. Everything faded into a gray haze as I begged Mercy to help, to take care of them , like standing too fast and having all the blood rush out of your head.

Mercy heard me. Mercy answered . Men shouted—men fell. I blinked my vision clear to see a fallen archer rot into a skeleton, his bones tumbling down the stone to get lost in the snow.

My eyes jerked over to Cass. He didn't hesitate, taking advantage of the opening, pivoting towards a clearing where he could use his wings better.

Six people closed in on him, armed with a variety of spears and swords. Cass kept them at bay with quick strikes of his wings, darting into the paths his wings cleared to attack with his stolen sword. But he was panting, arm shaking. Blood soaked his clothing and followed his path in dark footprints.

They'd forgotten all about the little mortal soulmate.

I bared my teeth and drew my sword, surging forward over the uneven ground. My blade took a spearman in the kidneys, sinking in cleanly, just like my swordmistress had drilled me.

He screamed and dropped. I was already darting back between the trees.

The others knew I was there, now, but none of them could turn their back on Cass. I heard footsteps behind me, but I stayed focused on Cass and his attackers.

Cass moved with sharp grace, dropping low with his wings slicing the air. His sword ran an assailant through. His wing hit another. A spearman dodged his deadly feathers and came into my range. My bloody blade sliced through her hamstring, and she went down with a shrill cry.

We could do this. There were only so many of them. As long as Cass could keep them occupied—

Instinct born from training with Tech sent me wheeling, reacting to the whistling sound of a blade before it even registered to my ears. A sword flickered through the air, inches from my face. I had my blood-slick blade up in time to parry the next strike, the sword licking for my throat. Two fae came for me, one with a dancer's build and a heavier woman with a balaclava-style cowl.

I barely managed to block the next strike. Fae were fast , and I was horribly outmatched.

"An adequate swordswoman can fend off a skilled one for as long as she can retreat," came my swordmistress' advice, her remembered voice level and calm. I obeyed, stepping backwards with each strike, my hand going numb from the strength of her blows.

Cass roared in pain, and my eyes jerked towards him before I could stop myself. There were only three left, but Cass had a spear through his leg. He hit the ground hard, down on one knee, the blood stark against his gleaming wings .

My opponent took the opening, slipping through my guard. Her sword took me in the right bicep, slicing through muscle and tendon. I screamed, vision whiting out and sword slipping out of my hand.

" QUYEN— !"

No time to think—no time to answer. Back up, back up, out of her range—

I scraped my scalp on a branch and reacted without thinking, grabbing it and jumping backwards. I let go just as the swordswoman came for me. It whipped forward, lancing across her eyes, and I lunged with it, knocking us both to the ground. I scrambled for her dagger, the sword useless in a grapple.

My fingers closed around the hilt moments before she rolled us. I stabbed blindly, not caring where I hit, sobbing from pain and terror. The blade sank in, over and over, like butchering meat. Hot blood spattered my face and hands.

She went limp. I shoved myself out from under her, frantic. Cass snarled , the sound reverberating through the air.

The black-cowled woman whipped her sword up, facing me. Her grip was shit. She held the sword like it was a stick, her stance unbalanced, but she menaced me, stalking forward. Even a shitty swordswoman could kill me. I only had a fucking dagger.

A sound like wet paper marked the end of the last of the assailants facing my soulmate, Cass literally tearing him apart. My soulmate's feral rage shifted to the woman between us, his blood-soaked wings mantling—the Court roused, wrath focusing on Cass—

"Courts don't allow their bloodlines to physically attack each other," he'd said, talking about how the Court would protect Yllana. "Any attempts are met with lethal retaliation."

My assailant was Tarra . His sister .

I flung myself at her in the same heartbeat Cass did—but I was closer, and I got there first. I hit her with my shoulder and staggered past, stopping my feral soulmate from attacking another member of the royal bloodline by interposing my own body.

Cass tried to pull the blow; staggered and fell. His sword-sharp wing hit me in the side, cutting deep. The agony dropped me to my knees. My stolen dagger skittered across the frozen earth, staining it red as hot wet soaked my side and painted the snow.

With a snarl of stymied rage on her beautiful face, Tarra lifted her sword and drove it for my heart.