38. Chapter 38

Chapter thirty-eight

A fter getting himself off in the shower no less than three times, Nik cursed himself. He found himself slightly panicked over what happened tonight and the thought that they might've been seen. He knew most fae were in bed by about one in the morning but there was always a chance.

Nik hoped he'd been rude enough that Haven would stay far away from him. If she didn't, Nik didn't think he could stop himself like that again. To be honest, he couldn't remember much from their encounter, the feel of her underneath him clouded his brain. When he'd scented her arousal, even through the mud and sweat, he had almost ripped off her pants and taken her right then and there. It would have been rough and hard and not at all how he wanted their first time to go but everything about her seemed to bring out the animal in him.

Even though Nik knew they'd never get a chance to be together, he'd make sure of it, that didn't stop him from fantasizing about the things that could be. Haven was always in his head, the need he held for her was a constant and living thing. It was always there, right under the surface. Sometimes Nik found himself sitting outside of her door in the middle of the night, just to be close to her.

Nik changed into new drawstring pants, knowing Delroy would be by soon.

Speaking of the devil, a crow tapped at his window. Nik used his influence over wind to open the latch and let the crow inside. A cloud of magic swirled around the crow. When it dissipated, his best friend was standing in its place. Delroy walked to Niks dresser and took out a pair of pants to cover himself.

Delroy could turn into a crow, a fact Nik had always been jealous of. Nik was able to turn into a wolf and while that was fun, he'd always wanted to be able to fly. Nik absently wondered what Haven would be able to turn into once she learned enough control over her magic.

"Your father is planning something" Delroy spoke, breaking the silence and pulling Nik from his thoughts.

"Do we know when?" Nik asked

Delroy shook his head, a grim look on his face,

"Just that it'll be soon. We know he's been searching for a way around the rules, something that would let him remain as crown regent instead of Haven taking the throne"

"Has he found anything?" Nik questioned, sitting down on the couch in front of his fireplace.

"No, I don't think so. I think he has the support of at least one council member but it's not enough. As far as I know, Havens arrival mostly stalled the rest of his plans"

"Good" Nik stated.

Over the last year or so, Niks father had been planning something. Nik didn't know what but he did know it was not good. The last time his father had been as secretive and sneaky as he has been lately was right before he took over Shaston, Havens fathers kingdom. Even though Nik hadn't been around when his father had stolen the ruling power in Shaston, he'd heard many stories and they all sounded eerily familiar.

If Nik had to guess, his father was planning to take over another kingdom. Possibly Norwood since it had the smallest army. Nik knew that the king of Norwood would never be intimidated into handing over his ruling power like the crown regent of Shaston had been but if Nik knew anything about his father, it was that he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He was likely planning to use the armies from Shaston and Dralia to take Norwood forcibly.

At least, that had been his plan until Haven had shown up. She basically brought down all his schemes, a fact which made Nik infinitely happier. She showed up just in time to save Romans kingdom and she didn't even know it.

Speaking of Roman,

"I can smell him on you" He told Delroy, scenting exactly whose bed his friend had been in before coming to Niks room for their nighty meeting

"Fuck off" Delroy shoved his friends shoulder from where he sat next to Nik on the couch. Nik knew the subject of Roman was touchy at best but that didn't stop him from bringing it up from time to time, especially since Delroy loved tormenting Nik so much about Haven.

Nik pondered how long Delroy and Roman had been getting together, they'd been going back and forth for years now. Neither was willing to admit how they truly felt, although Nik could see how much Roman meant to his friend. Nik constantly wanted to tell either Roman and or Delroy to quit messing around and just be together, especially after feeling how hard it was to stay away from Haven.

Nik hated that pretty much everyone in Havens life was lying to her, Astrea, Roman, even Nik himself, they all had lied to Haven at one point or another. Some might not be outright lies but lies of omissions were still lies

***

*HAVEN*

The next four days occurred without incident. Each morning Haven got up, trained with Tasha, scoured the library, found nothing, had lessons with Elanor, finishing the days with another run and dinner with Rea and Roman.

The only thing of note was the ball being hosted tonight. The crown regent wanted to celebrate the progress Haven and Roman were making with their training. Not that Haven had made much progress, she still couldn't get the sword from Tasha and was definitely still wheezing by the time they were done running. She had, at least, made some progress with her magic. It wasn't much but it was definitely more than when they had started.

Elanors lessons about ruling a kingdom were also helping fill Haven with confidence about this whole Queen thing. She no longer started shaking when thinking about wearing the crown and ruling over not one, but two kingdoms.

Haven was almost certain that the reasoning behind the ball was complete BS but it gave her a chance to wear a pretty dress and to speak with the council. So far, she hadn't seen any of them around the castle nor did she know how to call a meeting with them. She wanted to impress them, if they were to be her advisors while she ruled then she wanted not only their respect but also their loyalty. She already suspected that one or more did not want her as their queen based off the whispers she'd heard and her limited interactions with them.

Haven definitely wouldn't know half the things she did if it weren't for her gifted fae hearing. It had taken some getting used to at first, she'd overheard way too many things she wished she hadn't. At least now she knew to stay away from the everything stew planned for next Wednesday. The change in appearance had also taken some getting used to, for the first three days she constantly knocked the tip of her tongue on the edge of her newly pointed teeth. Haven still hadn't figured out why she needed fangs but everytime she thought to ask someone, she couldn't find anyone she'd be willing to talk to.

Overall, Haven was still getting used to the changes in her body. Sometimes she ran directly into things, having used her advanced speed without meaning to, but those collisions were becoming less and less as the days went on. The first time she saw a shadow under her skin Haven had screamed, causing the guard at the end of the hall to come running. He'd politely explained how that was a normal manifestation of her magic and that it would likely happen again.

Now, occasionally when she was alone in her room, Haven let her shadows free. The expression of power helped ease the rumbling inside of her begging to be let loose. They often bounced around her room, knocking things over, spilling the ink on her desk and turning on the bathroom faucets. They almost always fixed whatever mess they made but it was hilarious to watch them wander. Haven was also learning to discern the difference in the magics inside of her. She now knew how to summon shadows that were hers and hers only, that didn't do anything she did not command them to, and to summon shadows that moved around on their own, mostly listening to what Haven wanted, but not always. Tasha had been right when she likened that part of her magic to a pet.

So far, her fire wasn't as playful, it was more subdued but just as powerful. She often summoned a ball of fire at the foot of her bed and just watched it exist. It was incredibly beautiful and made her heart fill with something akin to contentment. As of now, Haven couldn't do much that was useful other than moving objects with her shadows or lighting a candle with her fire but it was a world away from where she started. Haven was incredibly proud of herself.

Haven pulled the shadow back from where it had been opening and closing her closet door when she heard a knock at her bedroom door. Not waiting for an invitation, Astrea entered holding a garment bag, presumably her dress for the ball tonight.

"Hey!" Rea exclaimed

"Hey! What have you got for me tonight?" Haven asked, standing from the bed and moving next to her desk where Rea draped her dress.

"Oh you're gonna love it!"

Rea was right, Haven loved the dress. Made out of Emerald green satin was a dress with a deep V connected to an under bust corset that led way to a flowy skirt and high slit. Off the shoulder short sleeves paired with elegant black gloves and matching black high heels completed the ensemble. The dress made Haven feel empowered, sexy and refined. Rea never missed the mark with her dress selections.

Once upon a time, Haven might have felt a little awkward in her body with a dress like this. She wasn't skinny but she wasn't fat either. Haven had decided a long time ago that she was somewhere in between and she needed to be okay with that. Sometimes she'd look at ‘curvy' girls and wish she had more meat on her bones, then she'd look at a ‘skinny' girl and wish she had less. At the time, she'd just wanted to fit in somewhere, anywhere. Not anymore, Haven was finding more and more that she loved her body just the way it was.

Rea stepped out of the bathroom where she'd been getting ready in a pale cornflower blue dress. It blended almost too well with her pale skin but somehow she made it work and looked amazing. Both girls twisted their hair up, Havens into a loose low bun, strands framing her face and Rea into a Dutch braid that fell to her low back. They were almost ready to take on the night.

Haven pulled out the necklace Binah had given her, fastening it around her neck .

"I wonder why Binah didn't want me to be seen with this necklace," She wondered aloud.

"I know why," Rea stated.

Haven looked up, meeting Rea's eye. Her friend almost seemed guilty.

"Come on, I'll show you" Rea hooked her arm in Havens, leading the way to somewhere that might finally give Haven some answers to her many questions.