Chapter 26

GOLL

I did not sleep. I could not. For the first time since I'd broken out of my father's dungeon, since I'd slain him and taken his throne, since I'd defended my people and battled against the moon fae, I finally had what I wanted right here in my arms.

No. I could not sleep through this profound emotion suffusing my mind and spirit. I didn't want to miss a moment of this feeling lost in dreams that could not compare to reality. I couldn't remember ever feeling this before. Supreme, undaunted joy.

I'd felt triumphant, satisfied, and even content at my achievements since I'd rallied allies in secret and then killed my father to take his throne. But never this. Never unbridled happiness.

I stared down at her, so lovely and still, blissfully asleep in my arms. I frowned at the bite mark on her shoulder. I hadn't been able to stop myself, even though I knew it would be painful. She likely thought me a monster because of it. I'd apologize later, but I wasn't sorry. I wanted everyone to see that I'd marked her as a proper mizrah should be. There would be no question now whether the Princess of Issos was truly my mizrah.

There should have been no question after the Servium, but I'd seen the side glances from courtiers, heard the whispers that I never went to her bedchamber, that it was a formal arrangement for political purposes and no other reason.

Now she wore my bite and soon she would bear the roundness of my child. Even so, none of that satisfied me as much as this right here. Us, alone.

She roused and mumbled something in her sleep. I smiled. Awake, she was the most formidable woman I knew. Asleep, she seemed sweet and fragile, a precious treasure I wanted to protect and keep all to myself.

Soon, we'd have to return to the palace. Soryn and Keffa were likely scouting the perimeter, searching for us. They knew I wouldn't stay out in the storm, especially not with Una. But I had no desire to face the world just yet. I pulled her closer, relishing her soft, warm body.

Glancing over at the small table I'd built for rudimentary cooking when I came here, I wondered if I had any rations stored in my satchel still on Drakmir. Likely nothing worthy of feeding my mate.

Son of Vix. My mate. I squeezed my arm around her waist, still savoring the warmth of her beneath the wool blanket I was glad I had packed on Drakmir.

Finally, her eyes blinked open, bright by the blue-coal still burning. I should've given her time to gain her bearings after what we'd experienced together, given her a moment to collect her emotions, but I was too ravenous for her thoughts. I'd been ruminating on her the whole time she rested, the storm long past now.

"What were you seeking at Dragul Falls?"

She blinked rapidly, turning her body to peer up at me. She didn't try to put space between us. For that, I was grateful.

She trailed her fingers through my curtain of black hair spilling onto her chest. "I was looking for a text. One that is god-touched."

Frowning, I asked, "How do you know one is there? What is it for?"

She moved her hand to my chest and traced the runes etched into my skin by my gods. I couldn't prevent the low groan at her sweet touch.

Her mouth quirked up on one side while she continued to explore my skin, and I attempted to focus on the conversation. "When I came here before…" Her eyes lifted to mine, the gravity of what she was confessing catching my full attention. "I was trying to find this text that was prophesied by our oracle to be there, one that I was sure would help against the plague."

"You were seeking a cure for your father?" The pieces finally fell into place, what she would've risked her life for so many years ago.

"Actually, my father hadn't fallen ill with it yet. But so many of our people have." She heaved a sigh, her breath brushing my bare skin, bringing me back to awareness of her intimate embrace. "And now he is dying from it."

"An Issosian oracle said it was here, so close to Silvantis?"

She nodded. "I can show you."

"How?"

That mischievous smile returned. "I brought the book with me. I'd hoped that I could look again since I'd be so close. Maybe the gods wanted me to find it."

"By sending you to me?"

She turned those violet eyes down, away from me. I touched her chin, tilting her gaze up. She finally met mine again.

"The gods did send you to me," I informed her. "Vix would not have allowed you to live after bathing in N?kt Lykenzel if you were not."

Fire returned to her gaze. "What if I'd died? You could've been wrong."

"Did you believe you would die?"

She hesitated, then finally, "No."

"Neither did I. There was fear, I admit, but I've always known. Since the moment I saw your wings in the throne room as you stood up to my father." I quirked a smile at that memory. "I think even before then. When I saw you in the dungeon being lowered on that hook—"

When she shivered, I stopped, pulling her tighter against me, brushing my hand up and down her spine. She rested her forehead against my chest, trailing a delicate hand to my waist.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to remind you of that day."

There was a lengthy moment where I wondered if I'd hurt her by reminding her. But then her reply baffled me.

"When I returned home, I was horrified at what I'd risked, at what I'd lost. I still mourn the magick I had and my white wings. But I also felt there must be purpose in it. I've always felt it could not be for nothing. And you're right." She lifted her gaze to mine again. "I am meant to stand beside you. Perhaps it is to discover and cure this plague. Or something else. Something greater. But I know down to my bones that I am where the gods want me to be. It seems so strange, an Issosian princess and a wraith king." She huffed a laugh. "But I know it's true."

A growl rumbled in my chest as I swept my mouth across hers. "It is true. It is right." Then something caught my attention as she ran her hand down my arm.

"Una." I took hold of her hand and raised her wrist closer so that I could examine the demon rune etched into her skin. My chest warmed, a proud knowing at the sight of it, while my heart raced with excitement. "You were given this on the night of Servium." I knew it instinctively.

"It's on the other wrist, too." She wriggled to lay more on her back and showed me. "What does it mean?"

"Hava didn't tell you?"

"She didn't know. And I didn't want to ask you."

I wouldn't question why, for that was already clear. I'd ignored her and neglected her like a fucking fool. I would never do it again.

"This is another sign, a marking by Vix."

"I know that," she said with confidence and a bit of annoyance that made my mouth twitch. "But what does the sign mean ?"

"Runes are tricky, sometimes having multiple meanings. And they are possessive by nature, reflecting the one who wields them."

I brushed the pad of my thumb over the black-etched mark with a crisscross line and a curved tip on one stroke, like a curling ribbon. She shivered beneath my touch.

"This is the symbol for hearth and home." I examined her closely, watching her brow dent with concentration as she stared at the mark on the wrist I still gently held. "Does that upset you?"

"Of course not."

"The gods have decided that you are home here in Silvantis." I didn't need to add that it was once the place of her nightmares. Perhaps still was. "With me."

She gazed up at me, a defiant fire burning in those ethereal eyes. "It could also mean I am your hearth, your home. And you belong to me."

Her boldness stirred my arousal. I wasn't prepared to leave this quiet paradise we'd created together.

"Oh, Una," I purred against the thin skin of her wrist. Her pulse quickened against my lips. "Of that, there is no doubt."

I kissed her long and deep till I smelled her arousal warm the air and I could do nothing but shift my body between her legs and slide inside her again, taking her slowly, gently. I watched her intently, savoring her subtle smile and the crease of her brow as she came.

When we were sated a second time, I remained inside her, hovering over her, breathing her air, not wanting to return to the palace, but knowing we must.

Her expression seemed to mirror my emotions. Then she said, "Can't we just stay here?" She combed her fingers through my hair.

It was more than I could've ever dreamed, that she'd want me like this. Like I wanted her. I pressed my forehead to hers. "We will have many more moments like this, Una."

"You promise?"

Rather than giving her words, I kissed her lovely mouth, her luxurious sweetness arousing me yet again. But I wouldn't allow my desire to demand more of her. When I felt my cock hardening inside her, I pulled out of her body, cherishing her small sound of anguish at our parting.

I retrieved the flask of water from my satchel, wet a cloth and warmed it near the blue-coal, then I wiped her clean and helped her dress. As I knelt at her feet and laced her boot, her hand on my shoulder, she laughed softly.

"What is it?" I asked, switching to her other boot.

"It's interesting. I never thought to see you, King Gollaya, kneeling at my feet."

I finished lacing her boot and looked up at her. "Interesting. I feel like I've always been here."

She bit her lip as I stood before her, frowning a little at my quick admission.

I'd not felt this sweet vulnerability since before my mother died. I hadn't thought I'd ever seek it out for myself, this tender connection. It was an intimacy I had intended to live without. Until Una.

I stole one more moment kissing my mizrah, knowing full well that this was what Vix had felt for the first Mizrah—he would have had one, and only one, mate. I felt more confident, a deeper power, a bonding closer to one woman rather than having none at all with many women. This feeling filled me with a newfound strength I couldn't describe. Like a secret only we could know.

It was rather terrifying, bewildering, and euphoric at once. While the reasonable side of me knew the dangers of a king allowing such emotions into his heart, the fae who longed for this intimate union didn't much care.

Therein lay the danger. I could easily forget myself and my duties in the arms of Una. But it wouldn't stop me from devoting all I had to her in the hopes that it would be enough.

"Come." I took her hand and led her toward Drak.

He roused when he heard us crossing the cavern floor. After a low grumble, he uncurled, allowing the night air to rush in at his back. Una stepped close to his muzzle and petted him along the jaw.

After I fetched the satchel, having folded the blanket and packed it inside, I looped my fur cloak back around my neck. The scent of sex, of her, had me groaning inwardly. I wanted to rewind time to that moment Una moaned with pleasure when I first entered her.

After the Rite of Servium, it wasn't a privilege I thought I'd ever experience again. I'd expected every coupling to be her enduring me and her burden, her face turned away with tears in her eyes.

I smiled at her crooning and whispering softly to Drak, his half-lidded gaze showing he was enjoying her attention.

"Before long, he'll no longer be my dragon, but yours," I teased her, helping her up into the saddle.

"You told me that no one could own a dragon." She smirked over her shoulder at me as I settled behind her.

"True. However, they do have their favorites."

Dragons have no masters. Yet, I was a dragon demon, a brother in blood, and I knew then and there that I was owned—body and soul.

Una gripped the two pommels and I held onto her as Drak leaped over the edge of the cliff and beat his wings toward N?kt Mir. Night had stretched its arms over Silvantis, a half-moon peering from behind billowy clouds. The storm had left a glistening sheet of ice over the land, glittering like stars in the dark.

"You know," she said softly, turning her head so that I could hear, "Drak has let me see into his memories."

Puzzled, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"When I told you that I had no magick, that wasn't entirely true."

"I'm aware. I can sense magick living inside of you. Even while you denied it. Are you saying that you have a telepathic link with Drak?" My heart raced wildly, for I had the same connection.

"It isn't exactly telepathic. I'm able to see through the eyes of winged creatures. It only ever happened with birds before. Back in Issos. I tried once when you first introduced me to Drak, but he wouldn't let me connect."

"But he has since that time," I confirmed.

"Yes."

Fascinating.

Then she said no more as we glided over Esher Wood, the starless night deepening the landscape in shadow.

"You won't tell me what you saw?"

"I saw you," she answered after a moment. "I saw you saving him when he was an adolescent dragon."

"Mm." I remembered that day. "Some fucking shadow fae dragon slavers had him chained in a cave. I was on a hunt in Meerland when I heard him. They were torturing him for entertainment."

She stiffened in my arms. "Do the shadow fae always do that sort of thing?"

I held her more tightly as Drak banked left toward the palace, lowering out of the clouds. "No. To be honest, they didn't seem right. They didn't seem well." Shadow fae were a peculiar race, but they weren't innately cruel. No race was. Something was wrong with those fae. "After that, Drak followed me back home to Silvantis. I let it become his home."

"And eventually he let you ride him." She spread a palm over Drak's hide next to the saddle. "I read there has been no dragon rider for over a hundred years."

"That's true. The last was Verek, the blue-eyed boy who became king, the one you mentioned to me once. But he managed to befriend a full-grown dragon on his first boar hunt."

Drak glided closer to N?kt Mir, the black spires reaching toward the heavens.

"This is a wondrous gift you have, Una," I said close to her ear. "It's extraordinary."

"I don't see how. All I can do is fly with birds and, apparently, dragons." She sighed. "I think sometimes it was a gift from Lumera since I can no longer fly with my own wings. She has given me a gift to allow me to still feel that sensation."

"It could be from Lumera." My gaze lingered on her dark wings hanging low between us. "Or it could be from Vix."

She huffed a laugh. "Why would a god I don't worship give me a gift?"

"The gods exist, whether we worship them or not. They have their own designs for our destinies, and they'll do as they wish, regardless of whether or not we acknowledge them." My mind strayed back to the reason she'd left the palace. "Will you show me your book of visions?"

She turned her head to catch my gaze, her expression soft and open. "Of course, I will. I want to show you. I want you to help me."

She'd never looked at me with so much trust. It tore something open inside my chest. It felt like a blessing, a precious gift. But this one wasn't from the gods. It was from my mizrah, my mate.

I brushed a kiss on her temple. "But first, you have a visitor and then you must eat."

"A visitor?"

"An ambassador from Issos."

Her muscles stiffened yet again. "Is something wrong in Issos?"

"No. I believe your brother wants proof that I haven't fed you to my dragon."

She chuckled and leaned harder against me as Drak descended toward the back of the palace gardens. "Drak would sooner eat you before he'd eat me."

"Undoubtedly."

Then we braced for the landing, and I prepared to give her time alone with that fancy fae in my palace.