23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Fae can be charming, helpful, and humorous, but remember, dear heir, they always have a plan." – Lord Finbar, Fifth Lord of Sídhetír.

F lowers surrounded me, releasing their silver glimmers and light scent, and my eyes remained on the trees, the leaves ranging from golden brown to pure red. Cethin had received a missive a few moments ago, and he'd left to respond to what I assumed was his mother's letter, which left my back cold. I rubbed my arms to ward off a chill as snow drifted from the sky and clung to me.

Cethin hadn't related the contents of the letter before walking to his—our home. I hadn't asked what his mother wrote, because I worried she wouldn't speak to me or was upset about Cethin and I being together.

My own family had an issue with us.

I scoffed and flopped back onto the flowers, crushing them. The main reason they had a problem with Cethin was because of the secrets they'd kept. All of them besides Oren had known of my fae blood, though it appeared only Thomas, Whitaker, and Lord and Lady Byrne had known I was Jonathan's son.

A soft thump came from my side moments before arms drew me into a solid embrace. I hissed at the sudden stabbing in my ribs, and Cethin frowned, hands smoothing the tension from my face.

"Did I hurt you?"

"I should be fine." The pain had quickly dulled to a throbbing ache.

He stroked the back of my head. "I didn't mean to injure you."

"It's not your fault," I said, for it truly wasn't. My injuries from the fight with the scheming light fae hadn't healed yet, and they seemed to be worsening. "What did your mother say?"

"She wants to meet you."

"That's good." When Cethin didn't say anything, I asked, "Isn't it?"

"Yes and no."

"How can it be both?"

"I'm not sure, and yet it is," Cethin said. "We need to meet with her, so you can discuss Sídhetír as well as the potential war, but…"

"Yes?" Worry prickled my gut, making the nausea worse. Would his mother hate me? I wasn't a fae—or solely fae, I should say. Perhaps she desired Cethin to wed someone of prestige and of his own species. He was a prince of the Night Court.

"Her phrasing was odd when she requested to meet you."

"How so?"

Cethin shook his head, his black eyes never straying from mine. "It was as if she was expecting you."

"Did you tell her of me?" We hadn't known each other long, and I knew little of how communication between the realms worked. Was it possible for a letter to reach her within such a short amount of time?

"No. I did not."

Unexpected hurt poked my heart, and I scolded myself. Cethin was in a different realm than his parents, so it wasn't unreasonable for him not to share my existence with them. I hadn't shared our relationship with any of the Byrnes until I had no other option.

My face must have displayed my emotions because Cethin's arms tightened and he trailed soft kisses up the column of my neck, nibbling on the tight tendons. He bit my earlobe sharply, and my cock twitched.

"I never would deny or hide my affection for you, Aidan, especially not from my parents. The distance and my utter distraction of finding you are the only reasons for their lack of knowledge."

"I'm not trying to doubt you."

"I know, dearest." Cethin kissed the sensitive skin behind my ear. "Much has changed in a short span. Such upheaval is not easy. And you are not as old as I am. I'm used to change."

I laughed. "I'm not ancient like you."

He nipped at the tip of my nose. "No, you are not."

My smile dimmed as the intrusive thoughts returned. "Will your parents like me?"

"Yes."

"Will they care that I'm half-human?"

"I don't believe so."

That was not a no. "Will they be upset that I'm the future Lord of Sídhetír?"

Cethin shook his head as he smoothed a thumb over my cheekbone. "I do not know."

"If," I started, swallowing the sudden tightness strangling my throat. "If they will not accept me, what will happen to us?"

"Nothing."

I blinked.

He rolled me onto my back and hovered above me, placing his weight on his elbows to keep from hurting me. "Nothing will separate us. No realm. No person. No magic. No distance. You and I are bound to one another, and I will allow nothing to rip us apart."

My heart thrashed against my ribs as if it tried to escape the confines of my chest. Cethin. This thing between us was something I'd desired my whole life. My soul must have been searching for him among the chaos of life, needing him when I didn't even know his name. Now that I had him, I would fight to keep him as hard as he would fight to keep me.

I straightened the black tunic I'd borrowed from Cethin. My clothes had completely disappeared, and when Cethin investigated, he found one of his servants had disposed of them—stating they stunk of humans.

While Cethin and I were close in size, he was taller than me and I was broader than him, which left his clothes fitting oddly on my frame. He'd used magic to alter the clothes, and yet they hung off me, not quite perfect. He wasn't a magical tailor, much to his annoyance to admit, and he lacked the touch to make the clothes perfect.

He grabbed my hand and tugged me against his side. "Calm yourself, dearest. You look as lovely as ever." Cethin kissed my neck, then whispered in my ear, "Besides, I quite like the look of you in my clothes."

Heat went straight to my cheeks.

Cethin smirked, looking particularly smug as he brushed the redness. "I'm excited to divest you of them."

If possible, I turned even redder, excited for the same thing. Thoughts of him slowly stripping off the black clothes invaded my mind and made my body react, though, from the amount of pain I was in, I doubted we would do much. And now wasn't the time, with his parents impending arrival, and yet I had a hard time forcing the desire away.

His grin widened, and a gleam entered his eyes. "I shall suck and lick you until you're screaming from pleasure."

"Cethin," I groaned. "This is not an appropriate time for such words."

"Probably not, and yet, I find myself enjoying your arousal."

"Your parents are arriving shortly," I said between clenched teeth, taking jagged breaths and rearranging my semi-hard cock. Cethin stroked the back of my neck, which made it difficult for me to concentrate on anything other than him.

With a sigh, he drew away. "Yes, they are."

"Don't you want to see them?"

"I do, but at the moment, I would much rather whisk you away and explore you."

I swallowed and forced my gaze away from him. I wanted that as well, but I wasn't sure I was up to it. With every passing moment, I was feeling worse. I hadn't told Cethin about how much pain I was in, though.

"Shall I?" Cethin pressed his lips against my ear, stealing my breath.

A flapping sound interrupted us, and my eyes darted to the sky. My mouth dropped open. A sizable carriage formed of the same opaque glass as the castle appeared. Wings the same color as starlight fluttered on the sides, keeping the carriage aloft, as did the four pure gold pegasi with white feather wings.

The carriage landed on the grove of flowers with nary a sound. The driver, a type of dark fae I'd never seen before, leaped from the box. The fae appeared male to my eyes. He had a long black beard that was neatly braided and a bulbous nose. Two ram's horns curled on the side of his head, and his skin was gray as ash and his eyes glowed red as fire. His stout form filled his black breeches and smart coat.

He lowered a step, then opened the door with a low bow. A man stepped out first, and I had no doubt of who he was, since he resembled Cethin. His long black hair hung to his trim waist. His features were as sharp and feral as all noble dark fae, though they held the delicate quality Cethin's did. His eyes, though, were a deep green.

Cethin's father held out a hand, and slim fingers slid within his grasp. The second the woman alighted from the carriage, I flinched. I'd never sensed magic like this before, but the Night Court Queen exuded power. Her silvery-white hair, the same shade as Cethin's, hung to her chin in soft waves.

Deep black eyes ran from the top of my head to the tip of my toes before settling on Cethin's hand wrapped around mine. Her thin body, with the barest hint of feminine curves, was clad in a white dress that appeared almost ghostly in the moonlight. The gauzy fabric hid most of the dark purple tattoos covering her body, but I caught a glimpse of what looked like sprawling branches of a tree with silver leaves. Cethin's father also bore marks, but his were swirling black curls from what I could see.

"Mother. Father. May I introduce my mate, Aidan Byrne, future Lord of Sídhetír?"

A frown tugged at my lips at the surname. I had been a Ryan for as long as I remembered.

"Dearest," Cethin said, holding my hand to his heart, "This is Queen Eilidh of the Night Court and Consort Keefe."

"Charmed," I said, bowing, which made my ribs throb. Neither of his parents reacted; they both stared impassively at me. Sweat began to gather on my temples and nausea churned in my gut. God, I did not want to be here. My knees trembled. A wave of weakness crashed over me, making me wobble.

Cethin's arm wrapped around my waist. His eyebrows drew together, forming a deep divot. "Aidan?"

Queen Eilidh approached, hand stretched toward me. Cethin yanked me away, forcing a groan from my lips as my ribs screamed from the sudden movement. He growled at his mother, and she lifted her eyebrows while his father said in clear warning, "Cethin."

"I mean your mate no harm, my son." She slid past the tense wall he formed and wrapped her long fingers around my wrist. Her skin was as cool as her son's, but unlike his touch, it made me shudder and brought forth images of a full moon over snow-capped mountains.

Her fathomless eyes ran over my face. She pressed her fingers to my forehead and wiped the sweat from my temple. "How long have you been separated from Sídhetír, mate of my son?"

"I don't know."

She looked at Cethin, and he said, "A few nights. Why?"

"You haven't forgotten the contract, have you? You were there at its creation."

"Of course not," he snapped.

Keefe said, "Calm, Cethin. We are not a threat."

Cethin took a deep breath and his shoulders relaxed, but he snagged me around the waist and drew me to his chest. "Why?"

Her fingers stroked my cheeks as she stared at me without even a hint of emotion to soften her icy features. "Aidan is dying."