Chapter 1

One

EMORY

“Tell me you won’t go, Em,” Zephyr asks, his voice low, almost pleading.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I huff, pushing off his chest to stare down at him.

He’s not.

I can see it as he stares up at me with those damn pleading eyes.

“Right now, Z?”

Of all the damn times he has to bring this shit up, it has to be now? Can’t he just fuck me and not talk, for once?

Who am I kidding? I should have expected this. He’s been hounding me about it all damn week. He knows as well as I do what’s coming, and given our history, I’m not surprised he knows what I’m planning.

“You can’t, Em. It’s forbidden,” he says, then has the audacity to buck his hips up, burying his cock deeper inside of me and making my breath hitch.

I swear I would stab him if he wouldn’t take it as foreplay.

I pry myself from his grasp. His fingernails dig into my skin as he refuses to let go, but I don’t flinch. If anything, it only makes me want to stay more. But I don’t care how badly I want to come, it’s not worth having this damn conversation for the hundredth time.

“Em,” he whines, reaching out in an attempt to grab me, but I wiggle free. His dick slips out of me, still hard and no doubt standing at attention. I silently mourn the loss of it but keep firm in my resolve.

Serves him right.

“Don’t Em , me. You know I’m going, and you know I don’t give a fuck if it’s forbidden. That has literally never stopped me before,” I growl, annoyed that we're doing this again and at my loss of a perfectly wonderful orgasm.

Hopping off the bed, I look around for my clothes, but even being able to see in the dark doesn’t help. In Zephyr’s haste to get me naked, he’d apparently tossed my clothes into the abyss.

Asshole.

Whatever, he can go without a shirt then.

The bed squeaks behind me as I quickly pull his shirt over my head. Before I can get my arms in the damn sleeves, his much larger one wraps around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. I’d tried to put the shirt on, hoping a layer between us would help me resist him. I knew it was dumb. We could both be fully clothed in the middle of the throne room, him in full armor, and I’d still feel this pull toward him.

Fucking stupid fate and their mates.

Blowing out a deep breath, I push my arms through the sleeves and shove my hair out of my face, working hard to ignore him and his stupid lingering fingers. It lasts all of two seconds before his hand slowly begins creeping down my stomach until it hits the hem of his shirt, gently teasing my bare thigh. I know he felt the shiver that ran down my spine from his touch when he breathes a deep chuckle in my ear.

Damn him to the depths of the kelpie; I might just stab him for the fun of it at this point.

“Get out,” I hiss, making no move to pull away from him.

“Do you want me to leave, my lady?” His words roll over the exposed skin of my neck, and goosebumps break out along my body in response.

I grit my teeth at his question; he knows damn well I don’t. He also knows I hate when he calls me that, especially when it’s just the two of us.

“I’m not having this conversation with you again, Zephyr. You know I have to go, and you know why. So why must we keep doing this?” I ask, ignoring his question and hoping to change the subject.

“I know you think you have to, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s forbidden, and if the queen finds out…” he trails off, but he doesn’t need to say more. We both know what would happen should she find out.

But it doesn’t matter, I have to do this.

I might be the princess of the Unseelie court, but that doesn’t mean shit, not when I’m a half-breed. If anything, that makes it harder for me.

In our courts, women rule. As much as my father, the king, might love me, his wife is another story.

The queen, my wonderful stepmother, hates me. She has since the day I came to live here, almost three hundred years ago. It’s not an exaggeration, either; she’s told me so herself many times.

“She won’t find out. We’ve been hiding things from her for years,” I say, waving my hand through the air even though I know he can't see it.

“Em.” I turn in his arms, pressing my hand to his mouth to shut him up.

It’s ridiculous how big he is. Even with him seated on the edge of my bed, I have to stand damn near on my tiptoes to reach his face. It once again puts my chest to his, and I feel his rumble deep at the contact.

“Stop it. You know I have to go.” I say, ignoring the way my body sings at the feel of him. “Ivy has three mates. You know as well as I do she will kill us if we enter the academy like this.”

He opens his mouth to say something, but I don’t pull my hand away, and his words come out muffled. I ignore him instead, taking the opportunity to push on while I can. Zephyr is never quiet for long, at least not while we're alone.

“Look, if I didn’t need them, you know I wouldn’t go. It’s not like I want more mates and shit from the fates to deal with, but I need them.” I pause, sucking in a sharp breath. I know I’ll regret my next words, but also know it’s the only way to get him on board.

Fuck my life.

“ We need them.” The second I say it, I wish I could take it back. His fingers tighten, curling into his shirt until they dig into my skin. His lips pull up, and I can feel his grin against my hand. I know him well enough that I don’t need to see his smirk to picture it. It’s the same one that's gotten us into trouble since we were children.

But that was before.

Back when we were friends, his dad was my guard, and he was around because he didn’t have a choice. Before he followed in his father’s footsteps and took over for him. Before fate intervened and made him my mate. Back when I thought it was our choice that kept us close and not some all-powerful, unseeable force.

I might not be able to lie, but I damn sure can be mad at what the fates designed. I’d wanted Zephyr when I thought it was our doing, and while those feelings grew and changed as we did through the years, I hate that it no longer feels like a choice we made for ourselves.

I’m yanked from my thoughts as he drags his tongue across my palm.

Gross.

I snatch my hand back, wiping it down his arm as he hums a laugh, seemingly pleased with himself.

For a royal guard, he’s a fucking child, I swear. Not that anyone but me knows that. To every other person in the court, Zephyr is professional, disciplined, and loyal to a fault. Only I know the real Zephyr, and let me tell you, he’s not at all what they think he is.

He’s a giant child behind closed doors, though I can’t say he isn’t loyal. It’s just not in the way most assume.

Zephyr has always been loyal to me, long before the fates stepped in. That’s why we’ve been best friends for so damn long and why I know, despite his protests and worries, he will have my back.

Even if he hates it.

It’s always been us against them. The queen, Ivy, the courts, you name it, and we’re against it, together. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat up wishing we had been born to lower-status families, unworried about things like thrones and backstabbing sisters who want to kill me, us.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt, my queen,” he says as his arms wind impossibly tighter around me, pressing his still-hard length to my stomach. If I were weaker, he would have folded me in half by now. Thankfully, all the years of him secretly training me keep me from snapping like a twig.

“Then help me,” I say, reaching up to push back a long strand of his hair that escaped his ponytail while we fucked. Ugh, I love his stupidly long hair. “Ivy has three mates. As much as I don’t want to fall to my knees at the hands of fate, we both know I’m no match for her with just the two of us.”

It pains me to admit it, but I know he needs to hear it and understand why I’m willing to face the queen’s wrath for this. I know he’ll understand.

Ivy and I are alike in many ways while also being complete opposites, but now she’s tipped the scales in her favor.

This year, we will join the rest of the realm, attend four years of Ironcrest with our mates, and learn how to rule in hopes of keeping the two realms in peace.

Three hundred years ago, the king and queen of both courts met in secret to end an age-old war that had both courts on the verge of ruin. From that one night, they were gifted two children, two half-breed heirs. After almost a thousand years of no new life being gifted to the realm, two princesses were born to both courts, of both courts . We are the first, and only, of our kind. Never before have the future queens been half-breeds, and no matter how they might try to hide it, it’s still the truth.

Mixing between the courts isn’t unheard of by any means. Fae, as a whole, are sexual beings. Once upon a time, it was said that the fae traveled to the mortal realm for sex, even going so far as to fall in love with them and stay there. Now, that realm is forbidden, but that doesn’t stop many from finding others, new partners, and conquests. I’ve met very few in the court who I believe even know what love is, but sex is something everyone understands.

Even those who are mated often share a bed with others.

The fates decide our mates long before we live to find them, but once we do, we’re stronger for it—as if they complete some missing pieces. Most only search for their mates to better themselves, not for love, much the same way I intend to.

Ivy has three mates, and while I don’t want more, one is not enough to help me stand against her.

I need them. Hopefully, the boost from having them will be enough to keep us alive, maybe.

With every passing day, I can feel the connection. I have at least one more, possibly two, but the pull is weak. The only thing that makes sense is that they are beyond the veil, in the mortal realm, which is why I have to go.

“I hate this, just so you know,” he says, finally breaking the silence that engulfed us.

“I’m not a huge fan either,” I chuckle, dropping my head to his chest. It’s not funny, not really, but if I don’t laugh, I might cry, and fuck that.

“Whether or not I hate it is beside the point. If this is what you think we need, then you know I’m here for you.” His lips press to the top of my head, and I breathe in this moment of peace. It might be the last one we have for a while, and as much as he drives me crazy most days, he’s my best friend.

“I’m not sure how many times I have to tell you before you get it. You are my queen. Fuck the courts and fuck the realm. As long as I have you, that’s all I need.”

“Shhh!” I hiss, smacking his chest and glancing around.

We’re alone in my room in the early hours of the day. The majority of the kingdom has turned in, but there are almost always ears everywhere. Saying something like that is a great way to find yourself on the wrong side of the queen.

Nobody wants that, believe me, I know.

“Shut me up then, Em. Come sit on my face, and then you won’t have to worry about it,” he says, lying back and pulling me down with him.

The urge to argue and tell him I need some sleep is on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t force the words out as I look down at the stupid smirk on his stupidly handsome face. Who am I to deny him?

By my standards, Zephyr is the hottest member of the guard, if not the whole Unseelie court, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. Even the queen, which is disgusting, if you ask me, but only further proves my point. Not just anyone can catch the attention of her majesty the bitch.

Pushing up, I let my legs drop to either side of him, straddling his waist. Seeing as I only had enough time to grab his shirt, there’s no hiding how fucking wet I am as my bare pussy presses to his pelvis. His cock nudges my ass as it throbs with need, and I watch as his pupils blow wide, almost devouring the red entirely. His chest rumbles in a low growl that has me clenching around nothing as I further make a mess of him.

“Emory,” Zephyr groans, tugging my hips, trying to get me where he wants me, where I want to be. I keep my ass firmly planted, though, enjoying having him at my mercy as I burn this image of him into my mind for later.

His large body makes my bed look small, and I guess to him, it is. Zephyr stands at an impressive six foot ten, which is tall even by elvish standards, and leaves him towering over my five foot nine ass.

By design, we’re typically tall and thin, whether of Seelie or Unseelie, but that’s where our similarities end. The Seelie tend to be dainty, with the exception of the guards and a select few others. Their hair is fair, eyes bright, with skin kissed by the sun, where they spend all of their time.

The Unseelie features are dark, almost as if a reflection of our court. Our hair and eyes usually lack lighter colors, mostly consisting of reds, grays, dark browns, or even black. We also spend most of our time out at night, below the surface, or in the courts of winter, leaving us with naturally paler skin.

Zephyr’s hair is long, pulled back into a ponytail, with the underside shaved short. It’s as dark as the night, except for the bright pink tips that match my hair. He’s tall and lean, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t built. No, if anything, he looks as if he was sculpted from marble. Every inch of him is hard muscle that he earned through years of training. His pale skin looks even paler with the dark swirls of ink that cover his arms, chest, and back, stretching up the back of his neck and into his shorter strands.

Reaching up, I pull his hair free, playing with a few strands as they fall to the bed around his head. He leans into my touch, nuzzling against my hand as his eyes fall closed. Pressing forward, I take advantage of his lack of sight to get close until we're only a breath apart. I let his hair fall through my fingers before gently trailing one down his ear over the many piercings that trail up to the pointed tip of them. I know how sensitive they are, and a smile curves across my lips as his hips buck again.

I press my ass back into his cock, feeling the cool steel in the tip. I swear I could almost come simply from thinking about it, knowing how it feels to have the hard steel buried so deep inside of me.

“Beg me,” I hiss, my voice low and demanding, full of raw lust and need that I don’t even try to mask.

His eyes snap open, and the same heat burns there that burns in my stomach, telling me how much he craves me. He could easily overpower me; it wouldn’t even be a struggle, but I know he doesn’t want to.

“Let me worship you, my queen. If you're going to leave me here alone while you go to find your other mates, at least leave me with the taste of you. I need to make sure you don’t forget me while you’re gone. So come plant that pretty pussy on my face and let me devour you while you fall apart for me. Give me something to think about while I’m missing you.”

Fuck. Being material in someone's spank bank shouldn’t sound so appealing. Yet the idea of him working his cock to the memory of eating me out pulls a whimper from my lips as I crawl up his chest, unable to deny him.

Leaning forward, I brace my hands against the cold stone of my bedroom wall as I bring one knee and the other up to rest beside his head. Before my legs fully settle on the bed, he reaches out, wrapping his large hands around my thighs and yanking me down. His nose bumps my clit, and my hips rock of their own accord, craving the release I know he will give me with his talented mouth.

Zephyr and I have been messing around for years now, long before we were mated. I’d tried to resist once we found out. I was upset and confused, and sometimes I still am. Having him as a mate somehow made what we had before feel forced, as if it wasn’t something we built but something the universe decided. I know it’s silly. Zephyr, being my mate, was the best choice given our history. It took me a while to realize it, and sometimes, it’s still hard to see, but with everything we will be facing in the next few weeks, I can’t help but be grateful for him.

He breathes me in, holding me close, his fingers wrapped so tight that I can’t possibly move.

“Fuck, Em, just the smell of you has me ready to bust,” he mumbles, his words hardly audible with his mouth pressed against my skin.

I open my mouth to tell him to shut up and get on with it, but before I can utter a word, his tongue darts out, licking up to my clit. Just like that, all thought is gone, replaced with a wave of pleasure that has my toes curling as I fight between the urge to grind into him or pull back from the intensity. Not that it matters; I can’t go anywhere, and as his tongue sinks deep inside of me, I don’t want to.

“Zephyr,” his name leaves my mouth with all the oxygen in my lungs as he sinks two long fingers inside of me. He moves slowly, almost at a leisurely pace, but that won’t do. He knows my body better than I care to admit and plays me like a fucking fiddle with his long fingers and skilled tongue. With my hands still braced against the wall, I grind down onto his face, chasing my release just to piss him off.

I don’t need to see his face to know it’s worked. His growl vibrates through me, right to my clit, and stops my movements as my orgasm rips through me. I shout his name, uncaring who might hear.

It’s pure ecstasy, and even before I’ve had the chance to catch my breath, Zephyr reaches up, his fingers gripping my waist, and he throws me down onto the bed. I squeak in surprise, but he swallows the sound as his lips press to mine. It quickly morphs into a moan as he slams into me with one thrust, bottoming out and making my toes curl as he makes me come again.

His tongue presses into my lips, and I open for him. I’m a panting, sweaty, over-sensitive mess, but I can’t deny him. The feeling of him inside of me is so right because we were made for each other; he is mine, and I am his.

“Fuck,” he growls, pushing up to his knees to stare down at me, watching his cock disappear inside of me. The metal balls of his piercing drive me high until I feel like I might shatter into a million pieces and be lost to the world. Zephyr grips my legs, tossing them up onto his shoulder and lifting my ass off the bed to bury himself impossibly deeper as he drives into me at a punishing pace.

“I love the way you grip my cock. The way you writhe and moan my name,” he grunts as I get closer to the edge, no doubt doing exactly that. “Come for me one more time. Let me serve my lady, my queen,” he demands, and that stupid nickname undoes me. I see stars as I’m hit with yet another wave of pleasure, but I feel his jerky movements and the warmth of his cum as he finishes.

“I love you, Emory.” I hear him whisper as he curls up beside me, pulling me into his chest. I’m already too far gone to respond, but he knows. It’s always been us and always will be, even if we add a few more to our bed.