Chapter 38

38

“ W e need to free some Crystal Fae to help us,” I argued, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at Drazen across the strategy table.

“Izidora is right,” Liliana and Endre came to my defense at the same time, exchanging one of many awkward looks that had occurred since he’d defected from the Night Realm. The tension hanging between the three of them was enough to set my teeth on edge, and after a week of it, I was about ready to force Zuriel to read all their minds to pronounce their true feelings for all to hear.

The Angel perched on a stool in the corner of the gray canvas war tent, unnaturally still as arguments about how to put out the fire raged on. I still couldn’t believe he could read minds and told absolutely no one until the moment Endre was on his knees before Ruslan, waiting to be burnt alive.

Was that how we’d been able to communicate all this time? Or did we truly have a mind to mind connection like I shared with Ruslan?

Every one of us in this tent was soot-soaked, exhausted, and thirsty. Dragon fire was apparently very difficult to snuff out, and even with the might of the Iron and Day Realms’ armies, we were barely holding back the blaze.

“If we shift into our Dragon forms, we can go to a coastal town and pick up volunteers and be back within half a day. If the Night Fae are still in Vlisa, they won’t even know we were there.” Ruslan rose from his chair and stalked out of the tent, ending the conversation.

I spun on my heel and followed him. “I’m coming with you.”

I nearly slipped in the mud as he came to a startling halt and captured my mouth with his for a quick kiss. “Of course you are. We might need your magic to convince the Crystal Fae to help.”

Grinning, we rested our foreheads against one another. “Thanks for having my back in there.”

“Us against the world,” he hummed. Ruslan kissed my forehead, then tugged me along behind him as we wound our way to Rares’s tent, where the old Mage worked round the clock churning out potions and making shifting permanent for the Félvér who could only partially shift or lacked the ability entirely.

Rares barely acknowledged us as we entered his space, too focused on working with a patient. The female shifted into a Wolf, howling at the absent moon, before shifting back, her golden eyes shining.

“Thank you,” she choked out, eyes shining as she swung her regard first to Rares, then Ruslan.

Down our bond, I felt Ruslan’s pride and happiness for her, but his expression remained impassive as she dipped into a bow and departed the tent with a bounce in her step.

“My turn,” Ruslan growled his command, his tone sending a shiver down my spine and heating my low belly. We’d been so busy with everything else, we hadn’t been intimate in weeks, and my body ached for his in a way that nearly drove me to orgasm from his raspy voice alone.

His nostrils flared, and he winked at me, his smoky grays holding a promise for later.

“At least I know you can handle the pain,” Rares grumbled, handing Ruslan a potion before running a sharp needle over a bright white flame.

I chewed my lip as my mate swallowed the drink, then ripped his shirt overhead, baring his tattooed torso. The ones trailing down his fingers flexed as he prepared himself for the injection. Without thinking, I grabbed one of his fingers, stroking the back of it soothingly.

“I’m here, and you’re safe with me.” His nervousness made sense – after all, Rares had injected him with Goddess-knew how many concoctions as a child, all against his will.

“Love you, sprite.”

“Love you, Ruslan.”

He flinched when the needle slipped into the boulder of muscle at his shoulder, and I pushed soothing emotions into him. Ruslan subtly shook his head, and I relented, allowing him to feel the pain and process his feelings.

Rares chanted an incantation over Ruslan – one that had been the background music for the past week while we remained in the war camp – as he worked his magic to provide Ruslan the permanent ability to shift into a Dragon. Back and forth on the opposite side of the tent, I paced, waiting for the process to complete. My eye caught on the perfect circle between my mate’s shoulder blades, the one that marked us for each other and told the world we’d been permanently claimed. Heat bloomed in my low belly as the bond that tied us together hummed contentedly. I stroked it absently, drawing goosebumps to Ruslan’s skin.

Those goosebumps turned to scales.

“You need to get out of the tent, now. I don’t want you shredding it to pieces when you shift,” Rares instructed, stepping back and ceasing his incantations.

Ruslan stripped off the rest of his clothes and burst through the canvas within moments. I followed him into the hot midday air, watching as he raced toward a nearby space that had been cleared for this purpose. Black scales rippled across his legs as he put distance between himself and the war camp. Skidding to a stop, I held my breath as wings popped from his back, and with a mighty roar, his massive black Dragon form forced its way into the world.

In three flaps, he was airborne and soaring toward the sea, in the opposite direction of the raging wildfire. The sun did not shine off his scales; his scales sucked in all the light, and it was as breathtaking as it was terrifying.

“Out of my way,” Drazen yelled, and I whipped around, sidestepping just enough for the male to race by me, lapis lazuli scales already taken over his entire body. Liliana jogged behind him, stopping to join me as Drazen’s shift tore through him.

“They’ll be able to shift back now, right?” Liliana asked, a hint of worry in her tone.

“Should be,” I replied, hoping it were true.

What if Ruslan became stuck like this?

“Then you’d have to figure out how to take a much, much bigger dick,” came his reply to a thought I hadn’t realized I’d shared.

Smothering a blush and a smile, I tracked his movement through the sky. He pulled up sharply, flapping his strong wings to carry him higher, higher. Until he stopped altogether and let himself fall, tumbling head over tail toward the earth.

“Ruslan!” I screamed down our bond, terrified that something had happened to him.

But a manic laugh echoed back and I realized he was flaunting his new abilities. Where terror gripped my chest in its claws, exhilaration expanded his as he tested his limits. Wings snapped out mere moments before he would have plummeted into the ocean, and then he shifted to the side, sending a spray of salty water flying as he dipped a talon into the endless blue. Drazen backflipped and joined him in skimming the glittering water, releasing a roar when Ruslan dipped again and sent a wave sailing in his direction.

The two rose again as they neared land, putting plenty of space between them and the burnt earth where the Day and Iron Realms’ armies camped. Their wingbeats buffeted those beneath them as they prepared to land in the open field. When Ruslan was about ten feet above the ground, his wings tucked close to his body before disappearing entirely, and then my mate returned to himself, rolling over his shoulder to take the impact of the landing. Excitement bubbled up inside me as I raced toward him. Disregarding his dirty state, he caught and lifted me into the air, spinning us as he shared his unbridled joy.

“I can shift whenever,” he grinned, sounding like a child who’d been given the present he’d always desired.

“You can shift whenever,” I echoed, tossing my braid over my shoulder and wrapping my legs around his waist. He hugged me, forcing all the air from my lungs along with a laugh. He was elated, and other than the moment and day after I’d accepted our bond. I’d never seen him so happy. His joy imbued me with more power as I drank from it.

Ruslan hardened, and with our current position, it didn’t take much for him to grind against my center. A groan escaped me before I could smother it. It had been far too long, and I wanted nothing more than to rip my clothes off and let him take me right there on the churned earth. Nudity had become as common as drinking water in our army’s encampment, and with how loose the Iron Realm already was with sexuality, I didn’t think anyone would care. Though they would definitely watch – which only made more heat pool between my thighs.

“We have to clean up our mess here, sprite, but when we return home… I am going to fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk for a week,” he purred, his words making my core clench.

“Then we’d better be on our way to the Crystal Realm,” I bantered, unhooking my legs and sliding down his body.

We flew over the ocean in the direction of a larger village near the coast, close to the Day Realm’s border. From Ruslan’s back, the dark, navy waters were endless in every direction, aweing me as the sun glittered across its surface.

“How far are the other continents?”

“A few weeks sailing by ship. Would you like to visit them someday, mate?”

“I would love that, after I’ve finished exploring our continent.”

“I will take you wherever you want to go. All I want is for you to be happy.”

“I know.”

We lapsed into silence again, and I let the steady beat of his wings lull me into a hazy slumber as the sun warmed me against the wind.

“Sprite?”

I jerked upright, not realizing I’d dozed off. Blinking, I realized we’d traveled quite far while I slumbered. Dozens of ships rocked back and forth in the ocean below us, some with sails furled and others without any to be seen. The water was no longer a deep blue, but rather a bright aqua, and from above, the clarity of it offered unfettered views of intricate rock formations and large fish gathering around them.

“I thought you said this wasn’t a busy port?”

“It’s not supposed to be.”

My brows furrowed as I examined the boats and what waited on the approaching shore.

“Relay the message to land in the field beyond.” Ruslan swung his mighty head in the direction of a grassy clearing between the closest lake and the town.

I shouted his orders over the wind, and several Dragons back, Liliana and Zuriel did the same. The group flew low enough that when the townspeople pointed and shouted overhead, their cries reached my ears. Some Crystal Fae raced into their homes, while others rushed away from them and splashed into the bay’s waters.

The Dragons landed in quick succession, and I slid from my mate’s back before he shifted into his Fae form. Unhooking my backpack, I handed it to him, then sighed as he dressed. Losing sight of his muscular form was always a disappointment. He smirked, then bent me backward for a kiss before tucking me into his side and leading the way into the town.

At the gates, a group of withered, sun-hardened males waited with fishing spears and hooks in hand. “What do you want?” the boldest yelled, brandishing a wicked looking trident.

“I am Emperor Ruslan of the északi Empire, and I am here to free you from the oppressive Night Realm. It is time the Crystal Realm returned to the Empire.” The utter command in his voice would have been terrifying if I wasn’t intimately familiar with the softness hidden beneath his sharp exterior.

The male scoffed. “You all call yourselves emperors and kings, but you never care for the everyday people. All you nobles care about is swinging your cocks and trying to make yours look bigger than the others.”

Ruslan was on him in a second, lifting him into the air by his throat. His trident clattered to the ground, and his companions took a cautious step back. The smirk that crossed Ruslan’s face was wicked and promised violence. “My cock is the biggest, and if you didn’t see it the first time, I am happy to fly overhead again.” He released his grip on the Crystal Fae male and let him fall to the ground in a coughing heap. “Now, I am here trying to liberate you and give you all the wonderful inventions the Iron Realm has produced to make your lives easier. All I ask in return is that some of you return with me and help put out a fire.”

Another male stepped forward, wary but intrigued. “In the Iron Realm?”

“Day Realm,” Ruslan admitted, cracking his neck from side to side.

“I’ll go, but only if I can make my home in the Iron Realm.”

“And why would you want to do that?” he purred, circling the male with a predatory gaze.

“Because it beats trying to make a home among the Shifters or the Mages,” he shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, but the hook trembled in his hand.

“Why would you go to another continent?” I asked, my curiosity dragging me forward.

“The war,” he said, glancing between my mate and me. “Thousands are fleeing the continent for safe haven. The Night Fae came through not too long ago with conscription orders. None of us want to fight.” He glanced behind him at the disorganized band of males wielding fishers’ weapons.

“We must end this,” Ruslan growled into my mind.

“Agreed,” I shot back, clenching my fists. Fucking Kazimir.

Did he have to force his pain on everyone else because he wasn’t male enough to deal with it on his own?

“You will find safe haven in the Iron Realm,” Ruslan promised the male, then raised his voice so the rest of the crowd could hear what he had to say. “Any who come with us to fight the fire will have ample opportunity to start a new life along what little shoreline the Iron Realm has to offer. We could use skilled fishers like yourselves.”

Murmurs swept through the crowd, and even beyond them, to the Fae whose heads barely poked out from doorways and windows in the village beyond.

The trident-wielding Fae looked upon his brethren with a sneer. “Will you really bow to this arrogant prick?”

“Watch how you speak about your emperor,” I snapped, striding forward.

He turned his disrespectful regard on me. “What are you going to do about it, little bitch? You couldn’t hurt a fly.”

Tipping my head back, I released a bone-chilling laugh. I let the sound linger in the air for an uncomfortable moment before I snapped my gaze forward again, spearing the male with a sinister look. “I am your future empress, Izidora Valynor, and I have survived more than you can imagine in that tiny brain of yours.” I took a menacing step toward him, but he did not flinch. He continued to sneer down at me, which only set my teeth further on edge.

Fucking arrogant males.

“You see, everyone looks at me and sees a tiny, powerless female. They try to take advantage of that. But what they don’t know is that I am tired of males thinking less of me than I am,” I continued, cocking my head to the side and offering him a saccharine smile. The dark crystal flared to life in my chest, and I pulled on the intoxicating emotions to imbue myself with more power. Ruslan smothered a smirk, his eyes swirling with smoke and lust as he drank in the sight of me taking this old male on.

White flames flooded my palms as I closed the distance between us again until we were only a step apart. While I may have been forced to look up at him, it wasn’t because he deserved it in any way; no, my height prevented me from bearing over him in intimidation like Ruslan would have done.

But I didn’t need that to make him respect me. There was more than one way to force a male to bow before me. The Crystal Fae squared his shoulders and continued to look down his nose at me. Big fucking mistake. “Do you consider yourself to be a brave male?”

“I am a brave male. I fight for my family,” he stated with conviction.

“Brave enough to withstand torture for them?” I purred, fire crackling in my palms as I pushed more magic into them.

“Of course,” he said, but his swallow gave away his nervousness.

I cocked my head to the side, studying him as I slipped my way past his mental barriers with unsurprising ease. Then, I called further on those dark emotions filling the crystal in my chest, using what Zuriel and I had been practicing on the male. At first, I only offered him morsels of pain – the ache of a rib, cramp of a foot, spasm of the back. It wasn’t long before the first grunt slipped past his lips.

Pathetic.

The sound wasn’t nearly as satisfying as I wanted it to be. So, I provided him more. His face contorted, and with a gasp, he fell to his knees. “What are you doing to me, witch?” he gritted out, clutching his chest.

“I thought you were brave?” I teased, circling him as he cried out.

Behind him, the other Crystal Fae subtly stepped back.

“Agh!” he screamed as the first imaginary whip landed across his back. The scars on my own stung, my penance for delivering this pain. But this sensation had been my life for many years, and with the rage burning inside me, I was immune to its sharp call. I was stronger, braver, better than he would ever be. I was an insidious bloom, beautiful and deadly and powerful beyond measure.

No male would disrespect me without consequences.

“Let me know when you’d like to yield,” I purred, crossing my arms over my chest. The torture I delivered was exhilarating coupled with the complete domination of this male. No wonder Ruslan loved to mix pleasure and pain – it was almost addicting, feeling this utter power and control over another.

Two more lashes broke him. A pity, really, as I was having so much fun. I let a third imaginary one land before I pinched off the flow of pain, ready to release it again at a moment’s notice.

“I yield, I yield!” he shrieked, falling to his hands and knees, panting and sweating.

Dropping to a crouch beside him, I ensured that he knew exactly what my face looked like when I granted mercy. He needed to remember that it was by my will alone that the pain stopped. The way his blue eyes flinched with my proximity, I knew the message had been delivered. Keeping my attention on him, I said loud enough for all to hear, “I endured hundreds of whip lashes across my back and have the scars to prove it. If that is not enough to inspire your loyalty and respect, then I don’t know what is.”

Straightening, I scanned the hushed crowd of Crystal Fae and let them see the resilience fused to the core of my being. “We don’t have time to waste. If you want a new home and a better life, you’ll come with us. Now.”

I spun on my heel and stalked back toward the clearing where two dozen Dragons crouched and waited for riders.

“There’s my sprite,” Ruslan boasted down our bond.

When I faced the town once more, an entire crowd of people walked behind my mate.

“Did I really convince that many to join us?”

“You did. No matter where you are in északi, power and strength is respected. You, Izidora, have it, without question.”

Ruslan stripped and shifted, and I stuffed his clothing into the backpack before crawling up his hide and settling between his spikes. No one else rode him, as a further example of how far the two of us were set apart from other Fae. Ruslan and I were the most powerful in all of északi, and those who weren’t already familiar with us would do well to remember that.

Once everyone had found a Dragon to ride, I told Ruslan to take to the skies, and we soared back to the Day Realm with a small victory won and another on the way.