Chapter 13

13

C reatures fell from the skies around me, dropping like rain to the battlefield below. Whipping around, I searched for light-sucking black and iridescent blue among the skies, but found none. The roar of soldiers around me couldn’t stop the panic that clawed up my throat, and I tried to sprint away from the fray and to higher ground. Each step felt like I was moving through quicksand, and tears burned my eyes as I fought to run.

“Please, please please,” I begged anyone who would listen. But it was no use. My limbs were nothing more than stone while the leather-clad soldiers surrounding me moved like the wind. Suddenly, the sun was blotted out by a thousand black dots, and movement returned long enough for me to observe the new addition to the battle. A thousand pairs of black feathered wings circled above, most carrying longbows with arrows already notched. It was only then that I realized a circle of soldiers had formed around our group, and we backed together, defenseless from all sides.

“Why!” I screamed, tearing my throat with the force of my agony as the first arrows twanged into the air.

With a gulping gasp, I bolted upright, throwing Ruslan’s arm off my waist in the process. I clutched my chest, my heart being out of control as the absolute terror from my nightmare carried over into my waking existence. Ruslan was upright within a breath and yanking me into his embrace. The gentle rocking motion he offered still did not soothe me. “You’re safe, here in our bed. I’ve got you.”

Twisting my fingers in the white sheets beneath me, I tried to ground myself to the present, but the lingering bits of the nightmare clutched at me until I used my other senses to regain control. The sun set behind the sharp peaks in the distance, darkening the room that smelled of sex and wood and roses. Ruslan’s warmth at my back relaxed the tense muscles there, and finally, I sank into his hold.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he murmured, his raspy voice gentle, but through our bond I felt his worry.

“It was a battlefield… we were surrounded.” I shook my head as if I could banish the last of the violent images. “Everyone was going to die.”

“We have the advantage, Izidora. I won’t let that happen,” Ruslan promised, and I believed him. Wholeheartedly. After witnessing the Dragons in the sky today, in addition to the ferocity of the Iron Realm’s army, and Rares’ continued experiments with non-magic weaponry, I couldn’t imagine a way in which we would lose. Nothing the Night Fae could conjure would match the might of the Iron Realm.

Blowing out a breath, I nodded. “Especially because of the Dragons.”

Nuzzling the top of my head, Ruslan responded, “Especially that.” We remained locked in the tender embrace until the dying sun disappeared behind the mountains. “Do you still want to go to Steel tonight?”

My cheeks and core heated at the thought. “Yes,” I whispered. “Should we invite Liliana and Drazen?”

“Why not? Though I’m fairly certain they’ll be there given that it's one of the busier nights of the week at Steel,” Ruslan murmured, planting a tender kiss on my hair.

Extracting myself from Ruslan’s arms, I yawned, stretching my stiff limbs and working movement back into my body. “Do I have time for a bath before we go?”

“Absolutely. You stay here and I will draw it for you.” Ruslan hopped from the bed, making his way to the bathroom. I raked my eyes across his naked form until he disappeared around the corner. Turning over, I sprawled out as I rummaged through the bedside table in search of something to read while I bathed. I was still slow, especially since I’d had a chunk of time without reading at all, but Ruslan had been working with me every night, just like we used to before Béke.

Water splashed into the deep soaking tub, and the earthy scents of lavender and rose wafted to the bedroom, enticing me to wander to the bathroom. Candles floated in the water and lined the sides of the tub, Ruslan lighting them one by one with his magic. It was a peaceful oasis, and just what I needed after the nightmare of nearly dying on the battlefield.

“I’m going to shower and look over some paperwork while you bathe,” he commented, straightening when he noticed my entrance. “I’ve got to take care of a few things before we leave for the Day Realm. And I’ll definitely be too busy after our wedding to do them.” He smirked suggestively, and I grinned in response, my belly fluttering under his heated gaze.

“How many days?” I asked, padding toward him and running a nail down the center of his muscled torso.

“Too many,” he growled, capturing my finger and nipping the pad of it. “You will be my mate, my wife, and my empress. All will bow before our might and our wrath.”

“The two most powerful Fae to ever live,” I repeated his words from so long ago back to him.

“That’s right. Now, hop in and relax, sprite. You deserve it.” He released me, and I stepped lightly over the lip of the tub, groaning as the heat soaked into my body. Sighing, I leaned my head against a rolled up towel on the edge.

Ruslan thought of everything.

The sound of cascading water filled the bathroom as I allowed my gaze to soften and linger on the landscape before me. Basking in the bath, I relaxed, letting go of everything and simply being for a moment. We were always so busy, so on the go, that moments like this were rare.

When my mind had enough of nothing, I lifted the book from its safe place on the edge of the tub and cracked its pages. I lost myself in the mystery until the water grew cold enough to warrant my attention, and only when I could stand it no longer did I blow out the dark flames surrounding me. The water sloshed as I reached for a towel to dry myself, and I wrapped it around me before I wandered our suite in search of my mate. I found him in the living area, bent over a pile of papers and scratching away. Leaning against the doorframe in nothing but a towel, I watched him work, loving the way the muscles rippled across his back.

Without looking up, he said, “In the back of the closet you’ll find some dresses for warmer weather.”

Of course, sneaking up on a mate was nearly impossible with the bond acting like a beacon to one another. “Thanks,” I replied, strolling to the closet in search of something fun to wear to Steel. If I’d learned anything in my time in the Iron Realm, it was that despite the cold, skin was the norm. And with the summer temperatures, I could only assume that meant clothing was nearing optional. After sliding through a row of dresses, I decided on one that barely covered the tops of my thighs, with a very low dip in the back .

Ruslan’s words from before Béke drifted back to me, making me smile as I gazed upon the dress.

“Your scars are a signal that you are a fucking survivor, sprite, that you remain unbroken despite them, and that you can hold your own against the most seasoned of warriors. One day, you will tell me the story of each one, and when you’re through, we will end the life of every male who inflicted them upon you. You will get the vengeance you deserve, and in the meantime, you will flaunt those scars like the badges of honor they are.”

Because I was a survivor – of being chained, whipped, abused, raped, and any manner of horrors people could inflict on one another. I’d gotten the first part of my vengeance that night when Ruslan and I returned to Vasvain and tortured my former captors. The sounds of their screams still echoed in my mind, as delicious now as they were when I’d ripped their balls away from their bodies. Heat flooded my core as more memories from that night surfaced. After we’d killed them all, Ruslan and I had fucked covered in blood, and when we finished, I’d accepted our bond.

During Béke, I had realized I didn’t know what I wanted from life. To rule, originally, was Kazimir’s idea. After I made my choice of mate, my wants started to shift into fighting for the Félvér. But after waking and realizing what had happened at the end of Béke, and that Kazimir had tried to kill me, my desires had irrevocably shifted.

Sure, I still wanted to free the Félvér.

But now, I also wanted blood. While I may have been the one to fill the land with light, there was no denying the darkness that called to me, especially upon waking from the endless void of it. I wanted to embrace it, to savor it, use it . The thought should have frightened me, and yet, somehow, it didn’t. It thrilled me as the darkness flitted through my magic well and promised to fulfill my deepest desires.

And oh, did I plan on using it to my advantage.

Because what I wanted more than anything was Kazimir dead.

Liliana and Drazen were already waiting for us as we appeared on the street in front of Steel. Blinking, I took in the building with the silvery climbing ivy covering its slate exterior, and the intricate front door carved with swirls and delicate lines depicting a story of love and loss that I’d come to expect from anything Ruslan designed. Liliana squealed and ran over to me, snatching me from Ruslan and linking her arm through mine.

“You look hot as fuck,” she commented, looking me up and down.

I laughed. “So do you.” And she truly did. Her chocolate brown locks were gently curled and tumbled to her waist, and she wore thick lines of black around her eyes, making the seafoam green color pop. Her dress clung to her every curve, cut out in places to reveal hints of her stomach, and with a corner cut out of the hem, pointing dangerously high.

“Why is it that the two of you always match?” Drazen asked, his voice warm with amusement.

Glancing down at myself, I realized, we truly did. From our dresses to our hairstyles and the way we’d painted our faces, we could have been twins if it weren’t for the height, hair, and eye color difference.

Ruslan’s smoky grays heated as they perused my form, resting hungrily on the place where the skin of my legs disappeared beneath the black fabric. My core tightened immediately. “This night is about you, sprite. Whatever you want to do, whatever you do or do not feel comfortable with, I will support. If you get nervous or overwhelmed, I will take care of you.”

“I trust you,” I replied, offering my mate a small smile.

“Shall we?” Drazen asked, interrupting our mental exchange. He grasped the door handle and pulled it open, waiting for us to enter first. Liliana giggled in response and tugged me forward.

The interior was dim, and if it hadn’t been for the dusk outside, my eyes would have taken longer to adjust. At first, the Félvér club seemed empty, but I realized we were only on a landing, and beyond, a set of stairs descended into the earth. Even from here, the beat of the drum reverberated through my body. Drazen descended the stairs first, and Liliana dropped my arm and followed, shooting me an encouraging smile over her shoulder.

Ruslan’s large palm found my lower back and rested gently there, thumb stroking softly against the bare skin. “After you, sprite.”

My entire body tingled, whether from nerves or excitement, I did not know; perhaps it was a bit of both. When I smoked herbs during Béke, I hadn’t anticipated fucking Ruslan in front of the entire tent, and then watching others as they writhed together too. But now that we stood on the precipice of it again, my thighs dampened while my hands shook.

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Ruslan murmured in my ear, his hot breath fanning across it and making me shiver. “But say the word and we’ll leave. No questions, no hesitation. Whatever you need to feel comfortable, sprite.”

“It's not that. I just… don’t want to be trapped underground,” I said, exhaling a shaky breath. His hand found my hip and pulled me into him so that my back was flush against his front.

“When we’re down there, you won’t be thinking about where we are. The only thing your mind will be able to latch onto is the pleasure I am delivering you. You have me harder than a fucking diamond just standing here, your skin on display and your every curve promising to send me to hell. And I plan on dragging you there with me.” He ground his erection into my back to drive home his point.

Our bond flared, and I arched into him, need flooding through my veins. A low rumble emanated from his chest. “You’re going to look so fucking good riding my cock, your dress bunched up around your waist and your head thrown back in ecstasy. The Félvér are all going to wish it was them you were riding. And when their future empress falls apart, they’re going to hear you scream my name.”

“Oh, fuck,” I whimpered, my thighs growing slick.

“Are you ready to enter now?” Ruslan purred, his hands drifting over my stomach and up to cup my breasts.

I leaned into him, arching my back as I did so. “Not as much as I am for you to enter me.”

A masculine rumble brushed across my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “Lead the way.” His hands left my body, leaving me cold, but with the intensity of his attention at my back, I heated all over again.

Striding forward, I watched my feet as I took the dark steps one at a time, the earthy scent of smoke filling my nostrils the further we went. At the bottom, a gauzy curtain blocked the room from view, but I breezed through it, shoulders back and head held high. With a sashay of my hips, I entered the open space, scanning quickly for any sign of Liliana and Drazen.

Along the walls, small alcoves with similar drapery hid patrons, though the largest at the back of the space had its curtains drawn, and Liliana and Drazen sat inside, already filling glasses with liquor and rifling through bags of herbs. With them, Anton and Slavian and a few of the other Félvér I recognized from Béke lounged against the leather couch rimming the room.

They waved us over, and I picked my way through the tables in the center, noting the states of dress – or undress – of others in the room. Servers wore next to nothing, scraps barely covering breasts and skirts barely covering legs. I felt a bit overdressed by the time we reached the alcove and slid along the smooth fabric.

“I got you something to drink,” Liliana said, sliding me a small glass filled to the brim with a brown liquid.

Lifting it, I sniffed, and smoke with a hint of salt hit my nostrils. “What is it?”

“Whisky,” she stated, pinching her own between her fingers and lifting it toward me. “One of my new favorites that the Iron Realm produces. I wanted to share it with you since I know you haven’t gotten to try it yet.”

I smiled, heart giving a small squeeze. “Cheers!”

We threw back the alcohol together, and it burned from my tongue to my belly, settling there and warming me from the inside out. Not that I needed any more of that, with the lust assaulting my senses and the wetness coating my thighs. Taking a moment to ground myself, I threw up that mental barrier that allowed me to keep everyone else’s emotions out, and settled firmly into my own space.

While Liliana and I had been drinking, Ruslan and Drazen had been busy stuffing the herb apparatuses. Ruslan used the tip of his finger to light it, chest expanding as he sucked it down. He handed the herbs to me, still holding his breath. Before I could lift it to my own lips, he grasped my chin in his hand and pulled my lips to his.

“Open,” he commanded, and I obeyed, parting my lips and welcoming in his tongue. He breathed the smoke into my mouth, and I inhaled it down, sharing his air and growing dizzy from it. He didn’t release my face when I exhaled it back, choosing to remain with our mouths locked and tongues twining. He groaned as I turned to my knees and used my free hand to balance as I straddled him.

His hands found my waist immediately, and he used them to rub me along his length. “Mmm, I don’t think you have anything beneath that dress, do you?”

“Guess you’ll have to find out.”

I broke our kiss, staring deep into his iron gray eyes as I brought the herbs to my lips. Without breaking our gaze, he lit and lifted his finger, burning them. Inhaling slowly, I filled my lungs with them, holding for a moment before pursing my lips and blowing a stream straight into his face. His eyes darkened, and a smirk spread as slowly as the smoke dissipating around us. I dragged my lip between my teeth and handed the apparatus back to him.

“So that’s how you want to play?” he purred, lifting and inhaling. Beneath me, his cock twitched, and my core tightened in response. He returned my gesture, blowing the smoke into my face in carefully practiced Os. Once the last one drifted past my head, he set the apparatus aside and yanked me closer, forcing my hands onto his broad chest. The short sleeved tunic he wore was loose across his chest, and I immediately slipped my fingers beneath it and traced the tattoos covering his skin. His arms flexed around me, drawing my attention to his rippling biceps and forearms.

My every nerve was alight beneath my mate’s touch, and time slowed to a crawl, the entire world dropping away as my focus became where the rough palms would trace next. Dizzy and blissful, I tilted my head back, baring my neck to him. He leaned forward immediately, capturing my back with his hand and licking from the base of my throat up to my ear.

But he didn’t stop there.

With a swipe of his hand, he cleared the table in the middle of the space and laid me flat against it. He towered over me, hands braced on either side of my head, and those eyes that had captivated me since I first saw him swirled with a hunger that mirrored my own. I reached for him, grasping his shirt and yanking him down so he was forced to kiss me again.

It wasn’t a kiss of love; no, it was a kiss of passion and protection, of claiming and conviction, and I lost myself in it – in him.

By the time we broke away, I panted for air, and with a startling realization, I noticed the other groupings surrounding us. Liliana and Drazen were locked in a similar state as Ruslan and me, twined together, while Anton and Slavian each had a group around them. Anton had his arms thrown wide across the back of the sofa and watched Ruslan and me unabashedly while another male was on his knees before him bobbing his head.

Ruslan stole my attention as his warmth left me, and he knelt before me in a similar fashion, pushing my legs apart. “I was right, sprite. There’s nothing here blocking me from you.”

I pushed up onto my elbows, watching him as he licked his way up my thigh and toward my dripping center. “Why would I let anything get in the way of us?” I teased, biting my lip.

He growled, nipping the sensitive skin of my inner thigh. “Nothing will ever come between us again.”

Before I could respond, his tongue found my slit and licked from bottom to top, sucking my clit into his mouth and tearing a whimper from my throat. “Ruslan,” I moaned, rolling my hips against his face. The hair covering his jaw brushed against me in the most delicious way, and I nearly melted as he began to fuck me with his tongue. I threaded my fingers in his hair, nails scratching against his scalp as I directed him lower, needing more of him inside me.

“Watch,” he spoke in my mind, then sucked on my center, pulling a moan of pleasure from me.

But I did watch, attention drifting to Anton again. The male on his knees still worked him, but another had joined them, and the female Félvér flattened her back against the wall while Anton lifted his face to her core, licking in a similar fashion as Ruslan did to me.

“Do you like watching her cunt get licked?” Ruslan asked, and my core clenched. He groaned, moving a finger from my thigh to my center and teasing my entrance.

“Yes. Please, I need more,” I begged, grinding my hips against his face.

He obliged me by slipping a finger inside and curling it against my walls. “Oh my Goddess,” I moaned, louder than I meant to.

That drew the attention of the female I had been watching, and through hooded eyes, she gazed down on Ruslan and me. She sucked one of her own fingers into her mouth, wetting it, and then circled her nipples, groaning as Anton tightened his grip on her thighs.

We locked eyes, both receiving pleasure from the powerful males beneath us, and I couldn’t look away as her breaths quickened, lashes fluttering against her cheekbones. With a cry, she came, and our gaze broke as she tipped her head back and rode out her orgasm. My walls fluttered, and I found myself careening toward the edge of release.

“Ruslan,” I groaned, tightening my grip on his head.

He slipped another finger inside me, stretching me out, and when his tongue flicked over my clit again, I exploded, arching off the table and crying his name as all I saw was stars. When I finally came down, he had risen, and his shirt was discarded behind him.

Fuck, he was devastatingly handsome, all dark, harsh lines and brooding power that emanated from his pores. There was nothing about him that didn’t exude strength and ruthlessness, and as he stripped his belt from his pants, I nearly cried from the depths of my need for him. The outline of his cock was visible in his pants, and I reached for it, wanting to wrap my hand around it and squeeze.

But he caught my hand before I could and tsked. “You’re not ready for that yet.”

I cocked my head to the side. “I’m not?”

“No,” he growled, lifting a discarded apparatus and lifting it to my lips. “You need to suck on this a few more times first.”

More wetness gushed from me, coating the table in my arousal. But I leaned forward, allowing Ruslan to light it for me, and inhaled deeply. My head floated among the clouds as I exhaled, filling the alcove with even more smoke. Ruslan dragged from it after me, blowing it out quickly up and away from us. Then he settled back on the couch and dragged my legs from the table and onto the ground in front of him. “As much as I can’t wait for you to be my empress, my equal, you look so fucking pretty on your knees in front of me.”

Heat exploded within me, and my mouth watered as I gazed up at my emperor, my mate, and my future husband. Squeezing his thighs, I worked my way up to his cock and palmed it, stroking through the fabric. Ruslan caught my wrist and yanked me to his lap, forcing me to spin so his front was pressed against my back. “Spread your legs. Let them see how wet you are for me.”

I opened them, the air around my center doing nothing to cool it. The female who had been engaged with Anton stared hungrily at me, and Ruslan’s chest vibrated against my back. “Do you want her to watch us?” His tongue traced the shell of my ear, and I shivered, core clenching.

“Yes,” I breathed, nerves lighting at the idea.

Ruslan shoved his pants down to his thighs, gripping his shaft and aligning me over him. Ever so slowly, he sank into me, giving the female a show.

“Ruslan,” I groaned as he simultaneously stretched me out and filled me up. Once he was fully settled, he flatted a palm against my back and forced me to lean forward, taking him deeper. “Oh my Goddess,” I moaned as he started to move.

He swept my hair over my shoulder, revealing my bare, scarred back with the perfect circle situated between my shoulder blades. “You and I are infinite, Izidora, just like this circle. In this life, in the next life, in all the lives after, we will find each other.”

He pistoned into me from below, causing me to cry out at the fullness. “Now, everyone can see your mark. There is no need to hide what we have from the world.”

“Us against the world,” I whimpered as he thrust up into me again.

“Us against the world,” he echoed, yanking me down and grinding my hips into his.

“Fuck,” I groaned out, eyes rolling in the back of my head. Reaching down, I found my clit, circling it as the female watched with hungry eyes. The heady combination of the whisky, herbs, and Ruslan was driving me toward another release already.

Ruslan pulled me back against him, changing the angle again, and one hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off a hint of air and heightening my pleasure. His teeth and tongue attacked the bare side of my shoulder, and my pulse fluttered faster under his attention. He dropped his hand away, sucking over that spot, and I nearly exploded. Something between a moan and a whimper escaped my lips, and I circled my hips over him in time with my fingers.

“The sounds you make… the way your walls clench for me… fuck, you are intoxicating.” Ruslan’s thrusts grew harder as he chased his pleasure.

The female had moved to Anton’s cock, her position mirroring my own as she watched Ruslan fuck me. The male on the floor alternated between sucking Anton’s balls and sucking the female’s clit into his mouth, pulling moans from both of them.

But her attention never left Ruslan and me as she watched us grind together. Wetness gushed down my thighs as I watched the exchange of pleasure across the table, and I groaned in time with her as the male flattened his tongue and licked from Anton’s shaft up to her clit repeatedly.

“Make me come,” I begged Ruslan, wound so tight I was certain I would snap at any moment.

“What do you say when you want something?” he asked, his tone not at all teasing but filled with wanton tension.

“Please.”

“Good girl,” he growled, and that was all I needed to fall apart.

“Ruslan!” I screamed, walls clenching his cock like a vice as I came. My hips rocked erratically against his for only a moment before he came too, groaning and burying his face in the crook of my neck as he twitched inside me.

Breathing hard, we pulled away, kissing roughly again as our orgasms subsided. A wave of weariness overtook me as he lifted me off him and pulled the hem of my dress back down. His cum dripped between my thighs, mixing with my own arousal.

Beside us, Liliana and Drazen were joined by Slavian and another female, the four of them swapping positions and partners for their next round of pleasure. Reaching around me, Ruslan poured two more shots of whisky, handing one to me before downing his own. I threw it back, allowing the burn to ground me. It hit me immediately, the alcohol mixing with the herbs until I felt reinvigorated.

More people slipped into our alcove to join the activities, and I sank into Ruslan, reeling from my orgasms and enjoying the moment of blissful unawareness from the world beyond the gauzy curtains.