Chapter 43

Isat on the edge of my bed in Ignis House with one ankle perched on the opposite knee, my foot bouncing impatiently while I tried to convince myself I was watching the movie that was playing on the huge screen beyond my couch. In reality, my eyes were more often landing on the door, minutes slipping into hours while I waited and waited for Roxy to return.

It was late. Almost four in the morning. I'd spent the entire day with Geraldine and Max explaining as many details of my father's war camp and new palace as we could recall and helping plan the best moves for the rebellion to make next.

It was fucking exhausting, especially when Geraldine scrutinised every little detail, always asking for more, then studying me through narrowed eyes as if she was deciding whether or not my memories could be trusted. She'd even mentioned getting a Cyclops in to pluck the memories from our minds and scrape the raw facts from what she had termed ‘the trauma of the encounter.'

I growled as I thought on that, smoke drifting between my lips and over my tongue. I blew a ring into the air and watched as it sailed towards the TV, bursting over the face of the actor who was doing a spectacularly bad job of holding my attention.

She should have been back by now. How long did it even take to convince a bunch of reclusive Nymphs to come out of hiding and fight for their freedom? The twins were willing to offer them far more than most Fae would ever even suggest giving to Nymphs in the way of liberties, and I expected them to bite their hands off for the opportunity they were presenting.

I half stood then dropped down onto the bed. It wouldn't do any good for me to go out searching anyway – Roxy was the only one who knew the location of the Nymphs and she had refused to share the knowledge with anyone before star dusting away.

I growled, focusing on the steady beat of my heart, reminding myself that if she were in danger then it would be pounding harder, and if she were dead then I would have already followed her into oblivion.

A knock made me jerk upright, but I frowned as I realised it wasn't coming from my door at all but from the floor length window I used whenever I shifted.

I strode to the window and pulled it open as I found her there, her cheeks pink from the biting cold and her hair windblown from flying.

I caught her arm and pulled her inside, kissing her hungrily and letting the heat of my flesh dive into hers. Not that she needed any additional fire, but I was always going to offer it all the same.

"What took so long?" I asked, knocking the window shut behind her and inhaling the scent of her skin as I dropped my mouth to her throat.

"Oh, you know, Nymphs are dicks. The High Nymph refused to join ranks with us, but there's a group of rebels among the village who are willing to fight with us."

"That's good," I said hopefully.

"Yeah, except for the fact that they can't leave the village without the High Nymph's permission, and even if they could, Lavinia will probably taint them all over again."

"Not so good then," I sighed.

"No, not unless we can figure out a way around all that."

I regarded her for a moment, and she pushed out of my arms, striding into my room like she owned the damn place.

"What's for dinner?" she asked, her wings melting away so she could peel her shirt off and toss it on the floor.

"We ate hours ago. Maybe if you'd let someone know when you'd be back there would have been something waiting for you."

Roxy huffed. "Be a lamb and go get me something covered in cheese and guacamole – oh and a big ass soda too, the more sugar the better." She kicked her boots off as she spoke, continuing on her way to the bathroom.

"I'm not a lamb," I told her, taking a step closer instead of further away.

"Ugh, don't make me command you." She wafted a hand at me, her eyes sparkling with amusement as she waited for me to bite, no doubt hoping I'd follow her into that bathroom and remind her that I was no errand boy. But it had been a long fucking day and despite her teasing I knew she really must have been hungry, so I forced myself to take a step back instead.

"As you wish, my Queen," I gave her a mocking bow, enjoying the way her eyebrows rose in surprise before I turned and headed out into the corridor of Ignis House. If my wife wanted food, then I'd sure as hell feed her.

I jogged down the stairs two at a time, my agitation finally settling now that she was back. I knew she could handle herself, but that didn't make it any easier to watch her disappear into a nest of Nymphs in an unknown location for the majority of the day and night.

I made quick work of the journey to The Orb, shooting my order ahead of me via my Atlas so it would be waiting when I arrived.

The night was calm, the waning moon pale through the clouds overhead, nothing to say that a battle had been fought here this time yesterday. Nothing to remind us of the bodies which had been so carefully retrieved from the battlefield and given a send-off the stars would rejoice over. Not to mention the corpses of our enemies which had been sent back to the outskirts of my father's palace via stardust – a reminder of our power and the fact that we now knew where he was hiding.

If Max hadn't sent the star to sleep, who knew what might have happened here? From what Roxy had said, the power Lavinia wielded had far outmatched her and her sister's Phoenix flames, as well as the magic in their veins. I had no idea how long we had until the star awoke again, but the moment it did, Lavinia would surely return to finish what she'd started. And my father might just join her instead of hiding in his castle.

I shouldered my way into The Orb, barely sparing a glance for the few Fae who hung about the place, some eating and others simply sitting in the quiet, perhaps unable to sleep with the war playing on their minds.

I moved to the end of the serving counter where a small hatch sat and touched my hand to it, releasing enough power for it to recognise me. The thing had been installed towards the end of our first term after Caleb had thrown a bitch fit over not being able to get any breakfast at three am after we'd all been out drinking one night. He'd demanded the option to place orders for whatever food and drink he wanted no matter the time of day or night, and because he was an entitled asshole and his mother was one of the four most powerful Fae in the kingdom, the academy had relented and created this for the four of us to use exclusively. Though I supposed I should probably get the twins access to it now too.

A wicker basket sat waiting for me when the hatch opened and I grabbed it by the handle, turning to leave as quickly as I'd come.

I glanced at the red couch which had once represented our position of power in the centre of the room – though now it had been shunted aside to make space for the huge table we used for war councils. Seth and Caleb sat there, their thighs pressed against each other's, their heads bent low together as they spoke and shared a huge pizza.

They glanced up as if feeling my eyes on them, and I offered them a grin before flashing a peace sign at Seth and winking.

Seth's lips popped open and Caleb elbowed him in the side, hissing something in his ear which I couldn't hear but it made me chuckle like an asshole all the same.

I strode through the door without so much as a word to them, enjoying the way they scrambled to react every time I taunted them over their secret affair.

I made it back to Ignis House quickly enough, ignoring the stares I drew from the few people who were awake in the common room. If I had to endure another question about what it was like beyond The Veil, I'd likely send the fucker who asked me there to see it for themselves.

I headed back into my room, moving straight for the bathroom where steam was rolling through the open crack in the door, but as I opened my mouth to announce my return, I fell still.

Roxy was in my jacuzzi tub, the bubbles roiling around her and her head tipped back against the edge of it where she'd fallen asleep.

I placed the picnic hamper down beside the door, trusting the magic inside it to keep the food fresh then grabbed a chair and headed into the bathroom. I dropped the chair beside the edge of the tub then leaned closer to press a kiss to her brow. She murmured something sleepily and I smiled, taking in the streaks of mascara under her eyes and the chipped red nail polish on her fingertips where her arm lay along the edge of the tub.

Geraldine was making sure that the twins headed out looking perfect every day, but I knew the concealer beneath Roxy's eyes was getting thicker, the blush giving colour to her cheeks more necessary. She was working herself ragged between war councils and checking in on the army, not to mention heading out on tasks like the one she'd taken on today.

I cast water magic in my hands and reached out to start washing her hair for her. She kept her eyes closed as I did it, but the corners of her mouth lifted into a smile. She moaned when I began to massage the shampoo through the length of her ebony locks and the knot which had been tightening in my chest all day finally unravelled.

"I missed you today," I murmured, rinsing the suds from her hair with warm water I cast from my palm.

"So clingy," she teased sleepily.

"Sometimes, I think I miss you even while you're with me, the knowledge that you'll have somewhere to go, something to do, somewhere to be, always hanging there, waiting to steal you away again."

Roxy breathed a laugh then moaned again as I worked the conditioner through her hair next.

"I am a queen," she pointed out.

"Everyone wants a piece of you," I agreed.

"But you're the only one who gets to keep the bits you bite off," she replied.

I rinsed her hair through again to clean it out then shifted closer so I could wipe the makeup from her face. She let me do it, opening those big, green eyes which had once captured me with a single, fate-stained look.

"I was such a fool to waste so much time fighting this," I said.

"Is the war making you nostalgic, Darius?" she asked and fuck, I loved the way her tongue wrapped around my name.

"Maybe."

"We'll win this," she added, the lie so pretty on her lips, because we both knew the chances of that were slim at best, despite how powerfully we would fight to make it so.

"I know," I agreed, my dishonesty as sinful as her own.

She smiled knowingly, but there was no fear in the eyes of the woman who was my world, just the blazing desire to force those words into truths despite the way the odds were stacked.

She reached out, fisting my shirt and yanking hard enough to force me out of my chair. The jacuzzi tub was more than big enough for the both of us and I laughed as I let her drag me into it, fully clothed, boots and all.

Roxy kissed me between her laughter, my weight pressing her down into the water before I rolled away and positioned myself facing her, hooking her calves over my thighs.

"Here, eat," I said, using my water magic to carry the hamper to us before I lost myself in ideas of her flesh and forgot to take care of her the way I'd promised to.

"Did you carry a picnic hamper all the way across campus for me like Little Red Riding Hood?" she laughed while I balanced the thing on the chair beside the tub and opened it up.

I snorted. "Yeah, baby, I did. And what big eyes you've got, grandmama."

She laughed again, batting her lashes at me. "All the better to see your bullshit with, my dear."

I grinned, taking the steaming plate of nachos from the hamper and placing them on a floating tray of ice I cast for the purpose. She reached for them, but I batted her hand aside and lifted one to her mouth myself.

"And what big lips you have," I added while she let me feed her with an amused expression that somehow bordered on disdain. But she was my queen as she so enjoyed pointing out, so I was going to play the obedient subject.

Predictably she moaned while she chewed, licking those fantasy-inducing lips of hers before replying. "All the better to kiss you with, my dear."

I resisted the urge to do just that, continuing to feed her while she allowed it, her eyes glittering at the treatment, enjoying the game.

"Your boots are digging into my ass," she complained around a mouthful before yanking one off of my foot and tossing it out of the tub, water flying everywhere. The second followed quickly after.

"I was content to wait on you from outside the water," I said, taking the bottle of tequila from the hamper and pouring her a shot in one of the glasses that had been tucked in there too.

"I wanted you closer," she replied easily, those words almost as good as her sliding her foot back over my thigh and running it over the bulge of my crotch.

I leaned closer to pour the tequila into her mouth and she let me, swallowing the measure in one hit.

I forced myself to keep feeding her despite my gaze slipping to the bubbling water where I was catching glimpses of her hardened nipples. She kept her foot on my crotch, flexing it against my cock and making it damn hard to concentrate on making sure she was well fed.

"So tell me," she said, her eyes brightening as something occurred to her. "How did you enjoy making out with Max?"

I snorted. "That was the fourth time I've been Siren Spelled by him. It wasn't all that thrilling aside from the star yanking him away during it."

"How much tongue did he use?" she pushed as she finished the last of her nachos and I tossed the plate back into the hamper.

"Sorry to disappoint you, baby, there was no tongue."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, come on, don't lie to me. I've been trapped in his lust web before, I know how it goes."

"Lust web? Nah, Roxy there's no lust in his magic. If you felt that then it was all between you and him."

She pursed her lips irritably. "So you're saying that the full on make out I had with him was entirely unnecessary to the magic?"

Jealousy flared through me at the thought of that despite it being way before the two of us and knowing that there was definitely nothing between them now.

"It requires a kiss. Closed mouth works just fine. Maybe you made out with him because of your sex addiction-"

"Oh fuck you," she laughed loudly, splashing me aggressively with the water and making sure that any part of me which hadn't been wet before definitely was now.

I barked a laugh too, grabbing her ankle and yanking to drag her under the water.

Roxy kicked me in the fucking jaw as she went under then damn near drowned me as she flung her power into the water and threw the entire contents of the tub over my head.

The bathroom was flooded, the chair upended, and the picnic hamper sent floating away towards the sink.

The two of us broke into more laughter and I stood, heaving her up with me and kissing her as she wrapped her arms and legs around my body, letting me carry her from the room.

"Oh, what big power you have, my dear," I teased against her lips as my feet squelched across the sodden carpet by the door to the bathroom and I headed for the bed.

"All the better to kick your ass with, my dear," she replied.

I tossed her down onto the mattress, biting my lip as I looked at her, the perfect curves of her body all on show for me to explore.

I yanked my soaking shirt over my head with one hand and threw it aside before unbuckling my belt.

"What big tits you have, my dear," I growled, my hunger for her past the point of waiting, my cock straining against my fly.

Her laugh was pure and beautiful, her hands moving to caress her breasts and tug on her nipples as she watched me undress.

I shoved my saturated jeans off, taking my boxers and socks with them and prowling to the end of the bed, taking hold of the canopy overhead and watching her writhe beneath me.

My cock was rigid and aching, my free hand moving to caress it while I stared down at this beautiful creature of mine, wanting to capture the image of her there in my bed, her wet hair soaking the sheets, her hands moving over the expanse of her bronze flesh, making my mouth jealous.

Roxy released one of her breasts, running a hand down her navel before reaching her core and beginning to toy with herself. She moaned as she caressed her clit, my grip on the canopy tightening while I watched as her back arched against the sheets.

"How wet are you?" I asked her, my gaze skating over the water droplets which rolled over her skin before falling back to her pussy to watch as she pushed two fingers inside herself.

"Soaked," she panted, sliding them in and out, rolling them over her clit and then doing it again. "Are you going to watch me come or take over and make me yourself?"

"I haven't decided," I growled, moving my fist over my shaft in a slow and languid movement to ease some of the need in my own flesh. Precum smeared across my palm, and I groaned as Roxy drove her fingers into herself again.

"I need more," she breathed, her other hand squeezing her breast.

"Not yet," I replied, my grip on the canopy so tight that it was in danger of breaking, but I needed more too. I needed to capture this in my memory and never let it go.

Roxy bit her lip, her eyes meeting mine before she took her hand from her pussy and flicked her fingers to cast magic.

I'd half expected vines to come drag me down on top of her as she so often tried to do when I wouldn't simply bow to her demands like this, but instead, she cast a cock out of ice, the thing as big as my own and sparkling faintly.

"Fuck," I cursed, pumping my dick harder as I fought with all I had to remain standing over her, wanting to see what she'd do next.

She grinned at me as she ran the sex toy over her body, her nipples hardening further at the kiss of it, goosebumps raising all over her flesh. The moan which escaped her as she rolled the thing over her clit was only topped by the one which followed as she sank it into her cunt.

My chest heaved with panting breaths as I watched her fuck herself with it, her other hand caressing her clit.

She was a fucking masterpiece, a creature of want and need and sex and she was all fucking mine.

I fucked my own hand while I watched her, the canopy over the bed crunching as my fist tightened around it.

Roxy arched off of the bed, moaning loudly before crying out in bliss, that sound a cacophony of ecstasy which made me swear loudly, the canopy splintering in my grip and breaking in two.

I let the pieces fall to hang limply above the foot of the bed and dropped over her, kissing her hard and wrapping my fist around her own where she still held the toy inside her.

I began to fuck her with it, looking down into her eyes and watching as that feeling built in her again.

"Now you're going to come for me harder," I told her. "First with this and then on my cock. Aren't you?"

"Yes," she panted, her hips meeting the thrusts of the toy as I began to fuck her with it even harder, pumping it inside of her and watching with bated breath until she fell apart for me as instructed.

Roxy called my name out as she came this time and I yanked the toy out of her, dropping my mouth to her pussy so that I could taste her orgasm too. I rolled my tongue around her inner walls, feeling the way they tightened and pulsed for me before giving all of my focus to her clit.

I hooked her legs over my shoulders, her thighs tightening around my head as I devoured her, loving the taste of her body and gripping her ass to tug her so close that I could hardly even breathe.

Her fingernails bit into my scalp as I licked her relentlessly, demanding more pleasure from her flesh and reaping my reward as she came with an explosive cry.

I was inside her before she'd even finished, sinking to the hilt and groaning with relief as the tightness of her cunt welcomed me home.

I reared over her, pushing up onto my knees and dragging her ass into my lap so I could watch her where she still lay before me on the bed.

She moved her fingers back to her clit and I watched the place where my dick sank into her, driving it in harder and faster, sweat slicking my abs, every muscle in my body tense with need and desire.

Her tits bounced in time with my thrusts and she panted my name, begging for a release from this torment.

I held out though, never wanting this to stop, loving this feeling far too much to relinquish it before I had to.

She took everything I had to give and when she came around my cock at last, her pussy squeezing tight and her lips breathing my name like a prayer, I went with her. I thrust in deep, coming hard, filling her and marking her as my own for what might have been the thousandth time but would never be enough.

I collapsed over her, kissing her hard, our panting breaths filling the silence left in the wake of our cries.

When we recovered enough to move again, I drew her into my arms and moved us up the bed, using water magic to clean away the evidence of what we'd done and then fire to dry us out at last before tugging the comforter over us.

"I love you, Darius Vega," Roxy said, her eyes falling closed as she settled herself against my chest where the pounding of my heart thumped against her ear.

"I loved you first," I told her, tightening my arm around her and letting my eyes shut too.

We may have been tangled up on the losing side of a war, but I wasn't going to let that take what we'd claimed in one another. Underdogs always got their day, and I would do all I could to make certain we got ours.