18. Lark

Chapter 18

Lark

"My brother gave this to you for me?" I press the pink envelope to my nose and breathe. Jasmine and roses. "Mother."

"He said it was for your eyes only. I promised not to peek." Pike settles in my nest and I sit in his lap with Frankie pressed against his side.

"Surely you can look?"

"I won't. I take pride in keeping my promises, and this seemed important to Wren. I like him, by the way. But I wish he'd stop eating my snacks," he adds the last part with a mumble.

"That's Wren. Always shoving something in his mouth." I gently remove mother's wax seal. It's the same as always, an imprint of her wings.

Pike kisses the side of my head, and I push to my feet to read the note.

Mother's sprawling handwriting fills the page with swirls and elegance. I haven't seen the Fae language written by anyone other than myself in a decade, and my eyes fill with tears.

My Dearest Boy,

My heart is full of joy at knowing you're alive and well. I know one day soon you'll be home and in our arms again. We never gave up hope that you'd be home again. Your dearest brother tells me a crossroads demon is helping you. The demon can not tell you what will set him free, but I can. Destroy his crossroads. Destroy it and he'll be bound no longer. Once you're free of your soul tether, your magic is yours again. Use it wisely and the task will be easy.

Love,

Mother

I blink and the tears fall. Luckily I save my letter from ruin. She gave me what I needed to free Pike. I press the letter to my chest. I'm not worthless. I can give Pike something that will help him.

"Are you okay?" Pike asks at my sniffles.

"I'm perfect." I lift the letter. "Thank you." I shove the note under my nest for safekeeping, then crawl back into his lap. His strong arms wrap around me, his tail coils around my calf. "It does make me homesick even more, though. We're so close." And my heart aches because I know once I'm home I won't feel complete unless I can see Pike every day.

"So close." He kisses the top of my head. "But right now, rest. Rest and dream of gathering flowers and dancing and being free."

"He told you about that?"

"That you gathered flowers for your mom's breakfast table every morning? Yes. And I think it's adorable. I would have loved to see you running around being all cute in your Fae clothes in one of the meadows."

"Did he tell you about the hats?"

"The hats?" Pike's brow cocks. "No, he didn't tell me about the hats."

"Oh, well, then he didn't tell you the whole story. I had a collection of hats that I wore only when I gathered flowers because I didn't want to burn. They were big and floppy and I tied a ribbon under my chin to keep them in place. They also had lots of flowers and ribbons on them. Very flashy." I wonder if mother kept them all or sent them away to storage. "I also had a collection of baskets, so I wouldn't crush the flowers in my enthusiasm."

"Why did the flowers appeal to you so much?"

"It was the meadows. They're covered in Fae wildflowers and the scent is pure ecstasy. Some of the flowers are musical, so there's always a faint chime. I could run round for hours and never get bored. Anytime a class got out, I'd fly to the closest meadow and?—"

"Frolic."

"Exactly. I liked to run around, but mother didn't like that I got pollen everywhere. She wanted me to sit in the gardens and enjoy myself that way. But they didn't have the musical wildflowers, and the scents weren't as strong and deer never came out to play. The gardens were boring."

"And my poor darling has been stuck here for a decade." Pike pulls me closer. "I'm taking you out on the town tomorrow. Drake is going to have to deal with it. I won't take no for an answer."

I shake my head. "Drake is powerful. If he wants to?—"

"Sweetheart, Drake has been using your power through the soul tether. He's powerful because of you."

My blood runs cold. That's why I'm always exhausted. Always out of sorts. Not truly myself. My hands fist and it takes everything in me not to scream. Drake has been using me so intimately. My life force and magic, through the tether. He makes me perform for a crowd. I have no say in how I live my life. All because some human wanted power.

Pike continues to pet my head, soothing me. "I'm sorry Lark. You don't deserve any of this."

"I'll survive," I mumble. Fae are resilient and I'll get through this.

"Let me take your mind off of everything. If for a few minutes." Pike kisses my neck and I sigh into him. His hands drag down my body, making every nerve ending sing.

"Yes, please." I wiggle into him, begging with my body.

"Just relax and let me do all the work." Pike sinks his hand into my underwear and slides it over my throbbing cock. How does it feel so much better when it's someone else touching me? "You're so hard for me, darling." I thrust into his circled fingers, but he stills my hips. "Let me help you, Lark." He kisses my shoulder and I melt into him, wanting to be a part of him. Every touch sizzles against my heated skin. Every kiss fuels my desire. I moan into his mouth when he turns me toward him.

Thankfully, Frankie leaves to wander the basement.

I thrust against Pike and his hardness trapped inside his pajama bottoms. Pre-cum leaks from my tip and I know I'm not going to last long. Pike presses me to my back. "I want to taste you again." Plus, if he swallows, that means there's less clean up. At least that's my theory. One hand finds my balls as he takes me in his mouth. He hollows out his cheeks as he sucks and I'm done for. I clamp a hand over my mouth, trying to keep my shout contained. My back arches as I suck in deep breaths. Pike drinks down my release and keeps going until I'm almost too sensitive. But he pulls away before I can beg him to stop.

I rub my hand against his still hard cock, but he stops me from doing anything more.

"Rest and dream of musical meadows." Pike kisses the top of my head. He's so warm and safe. My mind whirls, but my body relaxes and I find myself asleep before I know it.