A Dance Of Twilight: (A Fae Dark Fantasy Romance Stand-Alone )

Chapter 26

Wrapping her fingers up, I struggled to keep my anger under control. She hadn’t even noticed that each of her fingertips were sliced open by the portal. Or perhaps she had, but made no complaints as I cleaned the wounds and bandaged them up. The only complaint she expressed was that a king should not tend to her wounds, as he had more important things to do.

Granted, she wasn’t wrong. I just felt awful for shouting at her and scaring her, but right now she was the most important thing in this entire kingdom. When she didn’t come to dinner, I wasn”t worried until the maid had rushed in to say she couldn’t find Ornella. I tried to contain my anger and not rip the maid’s throat out or kill the guard who was meant to escort her.

Instead, I went looking for her myself. I relied mostly on luck. Listening to see if I could hear her mind”s voice, taking advantage of the bonding line we’d created when we had sealed our deal.

I couldn’t make any sense of how she managed to activate the portal. Only the Obsidian bloodline could do such a thing as it was our blood that protected the gate. The power of our blood kept the monsters locked behind it and away from our world. I dreaded to think if I was but a second later what would have crossed through the portal.

“Why do you have one of the Goddess” portals hidden away?” She finally asked the question I could hear burning away in her mind.

“It doesn’t belong to the Goddess,” I admitted softly.

Tying up the bandage, I removed the blood-stained cotton cloths and took them over to the smaller basin in her bedroom. I wasn’t sure if I should even consider telling her some of the secrets my family buried. My only problem was these secrets also involved her family.

Sighing, I went back to sit in front of her and placed my hands on her knees. I stared into her beautiful hazel eyes. I could get lost inside of them. She would always be the most striking Fae I’d ever met. Her olive skin made her eyes stand out beneath those long eyelashes as she licked her pink, plump lips.

Oh, the things I wanted to do to her. How I ached to hear her moan and whimper out in pleasure whilst I claimed her as mine.

Shaking my head of such thoughts, I needed to focus on other matters. I let my hands fall from her knees and swallowed the lump in my throat, begging my ever-growing erection to calm the fuck down.

“Ornella, there’s a few things I need to discuss with you.”

She didn’t flinch—didn’t really seem all that surprised—as if she knew something was coming. I wanted to keep most of this hidden away from her, until the day before our wedding. It wasn’t fair of me to keep these things from her, she deserved to know. I had promised not to lie to her, and even omitting the truth would be a lie.

“I’m listening.”

Her voice hinted at sarcasm, and I rolled my eyes at her. Did she have any idea of how important and dangerous the information was? Standing back up, I went and poured myself a drink. I didn”t need the drink. I wasn”t nervous or afraid. It was simply a way to give myself a moment to collect my thoughts.Drinking it in one gulp, I poured myself another then gave her one. Leaning against the vanity table across from her, I sighed hating to tell her this story.

“When your father, Sirius, was—for lack of a better word—made a prisoner of war by my parents, I hadn’t been born, so I only know of the stories passed down to me,” I paused, looking at her to see her reaction. Ornella’s face became unreadable, as did her mind. She just hummed and took a sip of her drink. Continuing, I said, “When your grandparents invaded our land to retrieve Sirius, they brought with them a giant beast capable of destroying our entire land and people.”

“What? I’ve never heard that.”

“Why would you? When my parents did eventually give him back—after the beast tore through many villages and lands of our people—it was locked away.”

Her brows tensed as her mind registered my words. I wondered if she would put two and two together at that point. I hoped she would.

“Are you telling me, that thing in the portal was this creature you speak of?” she asked, locking her eyes with mine.

“It may have been, but there are many other monsters that lurk behind that door.”

She lifted her glass to her lips and gulped her drink down as the realisation hit. Her parents and grandparents never told her and quite possibly any of her family about the exchange. Sadly there was more I needed to tell her.

Pouring us both another drink, I could sense the tension rolling off of her as she stood. She opened one of the balcony doors, allowing the cool fresh air in.

Her purple dress swayed in the gentle breeze. My eyeline caught sight of a shoulder strap sliding down towards her forearm, exposing her collarbone and neckline. I turned away from her, knowing I would be drawn to move towards her. I had to keep my eyes off of her bare skin. Attempting to seduce her was not what I had planned this evening. No matter how much I wanted to.

“What else happened?” she asked, still staring out the door.

“There was a deal made, a vow made of blood. Your father was to marry my auntie to keep the peace, to which my parents agreed. My auntie would reside in your lands once they were wed, and we would stay out of theirs.”

“I’ve never heard of this.”

“You wouldn’t have, all records of this exchange were destroyed. Your father broke his vow to my family when he came of age and married your mother instead. In doing this, my aunt died.”

She turned quickly in shock, her eyes wide and raw. I truly believed she always thought the best of her father and I understood why. My sisters were the same with our parents, but they all had their faults.

“A blood vow as you already know is very important. Your life force is tied to the other person but if one of you breaks that bond without the proper ceremony, one of you dies,” I explained as she began to look confused.

“Is that the same as our bond? You said our lives are tied together now.”

“Ah, I may have exaggerated that. Our lives will only be tired together when we are wed. As of right now, the vow we took is sort of a promise, the kiss simply sealed that promise.”

She took a sip of her drink as she looked back out the window and simply nodded for me to carry on.

“I believe your father knew the risks and took them anyway.”

“When did she die?”

“Many years before I was born. My father went into a deep and dark state of mourning after her death. My parents eventually had me, and they learnt to continue on living, hoping one day to enact their revenge. But that day never came as both my parents were killed—murdered in their beds.”

Her glass fell from her hands and shattered across the floor. She snapped her head towards me, her eyes racing with questions as she tried to put the pieces together. I wanted to give back her memories then. The ones of our time together. It would give her so many more pieces, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her either.

“Is that why you came for me?”

“Yes. After my parents were murdered, I made it my mission to find the person responsible and when I did—I made them pay. Afterwards, I found you hiding in the woods just as I did when you were a child. I watched you for a few weeks before I made myself known,” I told her.

“Was the murderer from my land?”

“Yes, they were. They snuck into our court under the pretence of a truce. They had handwritten note from your parents that asked for peace by renewing the vow by marrying your brother to my sister, April.”

“No, that can’t be right. I don’t believe you. My parents wouldn’t send someone to kill another king and queen. They are peaceful and wouldn’t dream of harming another soul, unless it was to protect their children,” she insisted with a bitter tone.

Pushing past me, she walked over the glass. The glass cutting into her feet didn’t stop her. Now filled with adrenalin, she paced her room back and forth mumbling the word liar under her breath.

“Ornella, sit! I now have to sort out your feet!” I shouted, swiping her legs out from under her and carrying her to sit on her bed. “What am I going to do with you? You have glass stuck in them now.”

“Don’t you dare touch me!” she hissed as I picked up a foot to inspect it. “And here I thought you came to save me, to take me away and give me the freedom and life I’d always wanted.” She kicked her feet, jerking the one from my grip.

“I already told you I came because you called, and then I took advantage of the situation after what your father did. Now stay still!” I demanded, dodging her foot before she made contact with my temple.

“I would never have called you. I don’t even know what that means.”

Sighing, I called for the maid again to bring some more ointment while I began picking out the shards of glass. Ornella was testing my patience, and she knew it.

“I cannot explain how you called for me, you just did one day. Shortly after I killed the spy, I came and found you.”