51. CONSUMED BEFORE OUR EYES
Chapter fifty-one
CONSUMED BEFORE OUR EYES
Amira
“ I t has been rather difficult to get anywhere near you,” complained a familiar voice. I did not have to turn around to know it was Riordan’s mother approaching where I was standing with Sofia. Where we watched Riordan show Clodagh to the entrance of the new territory that he had spent several days crafting for the Spring Court.
My handmaid winced in an apology for missing the approach of my mother-in-law, but I dismissed it with a quick roll of my eyes before turning to face Andromeda.
“We’ve been busy making the preparations for today,” I explained, even though I knew she knew that. It was not every day one’s mate signed a magically binding contract with a fey king and then renovated his kingdom to make a prison settlement for war-wearied fey. Lunch invitations with a snobby, nosey mother-in-law, admittedly, were at the bottom of my extensive list of priorities.
Especially once we confirmed her concerns about disgruntled Imítheos were really just reports of idle gossip that were more about getting her son’s attention. And with everything we had going on, I resented her quite a lot for wasting our time with that investigation…
“It is strange that you should be so involved in it all. My son is capable, is he not? Or are you the mastermind behind his sudden maturity?” she asked suspiciously.
Riordan had not discussed it with me fully, but I had deduced enough to know that his relationship with his mother was rather… strained.
“Your son is exceptionally brilliant. But this has been an important development. I needed to support him.”
She hummed thoughtfully, as if the concept of a mate who wanted to help their partner was foreign to her. Although considering the fact that Riordan’s father and his skiá seemed content to stay away from her, perhaps it was not surprising. Riordan and Rhea got lots of letters from both males, but I had no idea if Andromeda did.
“He is different. I like who he is becoming. Even if he is not very fond of me now,” she added, her wings jostling with agitation as she frowned in his direction.
I wanted to assert that he was who he had always been. He had just gotten tired of wanting her approval. And she was only just taking notice of his brilliance now because he was the king, and she had to. But I held my tongue.
“I hope this doesn’t take all day,” said another familiar and very unwelcome voice. I tried not to tense as Castor came to stand on my other side to observe Riordan.
I never thought I’d miss the time when they all found me unworthy of the energy it took to even speak to me.
“I expect it will,” I admitted, crossing my arms and keeping my eyes on Riordan.
It had taken a considerable amount of effort to make all the arrangements for the Spring Court to arrive today. None of which had been helped by Clodagh constantly portalling in with reminders that time was of the essence. Or Riordan’s mother desperately begging for attention from either of us. But we accomplished it with minimal impact to the fey already living in the Spring Quadrant. The Vale obeyed Riordan, so he’d merely asked it to make space. My understanding was that it was like a fold in the fabric of the world. Or like a pocket that was only accessible by the beautiful gate in front of us that was formed by two flowering apple trees bent together with their branches all entwined.
“We need only wait to greet the Spring King, and then we can return,” Andromeda assured Castor who agreed.
Because who cares about a bunch of plebeian fey who were threatened by an evil warmonger, right?
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes just as Andromeda moved toward her son before I could think of a way to divert her. I gave my mate an apologetic mental warning of her approach which he acknowledged thankfully.
“How is the Rookery relief program? Have you been able to manage it while all of this has been happening?” Castor asked with what sounded like genuine interest.
I glanced at him, not bothering to mask my surprise that he was still speaking to me. Much less asking about my efforts to alleviate the pains of poverty for Ktínos.
“I wish I could assist directly more often. But we have fey healers coming from the Summer Quadrant to assist children with wings that had been clipped for stealing. Wet nurses come to help with infants whose mothers are too malnourished to feed them. And I have encouraged donations from local businesses for things like medical supplies and clothes by way of tariff breaks. All of which was approved by Riordan,” I added, still watching his reaction closely to determine if he actually cared.
“I have heard that you are actually there quite often,” he advised me with a sly glance as if he thought I were trying to hide something from him.
“Spying on me, Castor?” I guessed, feigning a smile even though his words had put me on my guard.
“Of course. If you thought otherwise, then you are not as wise as I have come to respect,” he told me bluntly.
I blinked at him, my smile slipping in uncertainty of whether to be alarmed or complimented.
“I have also heard that you have been impactful there,” Castor continued seamlessly.
Another backhanded compliment somehow? Surely he was not paying me real ones? I simply did not trust it.
“I am what humans call an overachiever.”
“Then there is another group that you must look into,” Castor advised me more quietly.
“Oh?” I asked, feeling some relief that he was about to finally uncover his true interest. I waited for him to tell me some pathetic story fraught with privileged naivety about how the Imítheos needed my support too.
“The mentally unsound,” he explained, taking me off guard completely. “It is a taboo subject to our people.”
I did not trust Castor, and he had blatantly admitted to spying on me, so I was hesitant to tell him about the ideas that came to me after talking to Orion about therapists.
“There are warehouses near the docks where many of them live,” Castor continued, shocking me even further. And then he tilted his head in farewell to both me and Sofia and walked away without another word…
I stared after him, reevaluating everything that I knew about the grumpy councillor.
Castor has secrets, I thought to Riordan, diverting him from his mother who was quizzing Clodagh. I sent my mate a brief impression of the conversation I’d just had, and he seemed equally skeptical.
Perhaps he knows someone there, he suggested.
A Ktínos? That seems very unlikely.
Clodagh finally informed Riordan that she was ready to begin the migration of the Spring Court. He gave her permission to create her portal which she did from a bowl of water as she had done before. Once the oval swirl of swamp water and weeds was established and was stable, Riordan began enlarging it.
Most fey could easily create a portal about the size of themself, but such a small doorway would take far too long to bring all the Spring Court fey through. It took considerable power to hold a portal open, even more so the bigger it was, but my mate found it effortless.
So once the kelpie established the link, he took over and widened the portal until it was easily the size of a bus. The rippling surface grew tighter until it was so thin that it was almost transparent. The scent of mud and brackish water, along with a hint of the fragrance of lily pads, was almost overpowering, and I saw Andromeda grimace.
Despite the boggy smell, I could not help wandering a little closer when the Spring Court became visible on the other side. It looked very much like the eerily beautiful, flowering marshland of the Spring Quadrant around us.
I saw a vast sea of fey waiting to cross into the Vale. Most were kelpies, their faces grim and determined, their meager belongings slung over their shoulders and infants clenched tight. There were thousands of them.
Several kelpie knights came through first with their hands gripping pikes with barbed spears. They appeared cautious until Clodagh stepped forward to direct them.
Soon there was a steady stream of fey coming through the portal and walking through the gate into the settlement that Riordan had made for them. The Spring King came finally, surrounded by guards, and I was relieved that he was bound by a blood contract when his magic flooded my senses. Fey might be able to lie, unlike in so many of the fairy tales, but they were bound by blood oaths.
I was sure that the woman beside him had to be his daughter, Aisling, that he’d tried to pawn off on Riordan. And, unfortunately, she really was beautiful with her long, damp hair that was an astonishing colour of periwinkle and her fair, almost seafoam-tinted skin. I couldn’t see the colour of her eyes from so far away, but they were pale, and she was slim and graceful as she bowed to Riordan.
I had no idea how such an ethereal creature had come from one such as King Balor, but she looked like royalty. Someone who would have belonged at my mate’s side.
Riordan sent me a memory of how I looked the night before from between my own thighs while I was coming on his tongue, and I gasped aloud.
You are the most beautiful creature I have ever known. Would you not agree?
My cheeks were flushed as I darted my eyes to him, but he didn’t even look at me, although there was a smirk on his face as if he knew I was looking at him. He sent another image, this one from behind me when he had me pinned down on the mattress, and I gave another choked gasp that had Sofia glancing at me worriedly.
Point made, I assured him, and I felt him relent.
Andromeda lost interest in the proceedings once she met Balor, and she stopped pestering Riordan in favour of returning to the Metropolis. I thought she looked rather proud of herself for having made the effort.
Interestingly, Castor remained. I had almost forgotten about him because he hung back and didn’t make himself the centre of attention the way Andromeda had. He was watching the fey, Balor in particular, but also Aisling who attempted to engage Riordan in a private conversation.
Thankfully, she seemed to take note of his disinterest quickly, and unlike Balor, she respected it enough to just move along. I suspected her father must have actually put her up to it because Balor seemed disappointed after she politely excused herself.
It had been hours, and the afternoon sun was high in the sky when I felt Orion approaching with a shiver of awareness that warmed my skin. I had always been hyper aware of him whenever he was close to me, but it felt like I might be becoming even more sensitive to him.
Riordan was my mate, thanks to the Dowrra bond that I’d evidently created with him, and his griffin link to me. In that way, we were double bonded. Typically Dowrra only ever had one mate, but if they inherited traits from their mate, and I now had the griffin ability to form bonds with my mate’s skiá …
Did it mean Orion was also my actual mate or was the attraction between us just a product of his connection to Riordan? Did it even matter if I felt… like this?
I glanced up at him as he leaned against the tree beside me with his usual solemnity, but I thought he was also hesitant which made him appear slightly vulnerable.
He had seemed ready to begin exploring a relationship after our kiss. At least I had thought so. But I was pretty sure Balor’s revelations about me as a Dowrra might have shaken him pretty badly. Especially what the Spring King told them about my ability to command my mate’s will. That was what he had seemed most uneasy about.
Which, considering his past, I understood completely . But I was pretty sure Balor was referring to the ability of Dowrra to command the fidelity of her mate. They did not possess any compulsion powers of which I was aware.
But I was not sure how to reassure Orion of that when we had not really established what was between us. So I tried to be patient with him. Despite my growing curiosity for him, I did not want to put too much pressure on him.
“You can return to the Metropolis. I know you have a lot to catch up on with the relief program now that this is finally done,” Orion acknowledged. He indicated Riordan who stood with Balor and Clodagh to oversee the portal with a forward tilt of his head. “I’ll watch over him.”
“It’s alright. I will start it tomorrow,” I reassured him, but he stayed there. His wings shuffled in discomfort.
“You… look tired,” he admitted reluctantly.
I barked out a laugh, equal parts offended and amused by his honesty. Although I refrained from telling him the main reason I was always so damned tired was that his beloved skiá kept me up most nights.
Something for which he probably could have been providing me with some backup.
I had no idea if all griffins had such an insane libido or if Riordan was just getting centuries of celibacy out of his system, but regardless, it was hard on my mortal body.
The silence went on for many moments, and I saw his tail beginning to move faster with his growing agitation. Sofia eventually decided to give us space, as if she knew we may need privacy, and Orion seemed to relax.
“I never thanked you,” he told me finally, and I was so relieved to hear it. I had been so nervous he would revert to pushing me away after learning what I was.
“You don’t need to thank me! I was honoured to be in your confidence,” I reassured him honestly.
He was quiet for another long time, looking so pensive that I began to get nervous again.
“I should not have kissed you,” he said, and my heart absolutely plummeted just as fast as it had begun to soar. “You were right. I… I was feeling a lot of emotion, and I did not know how to express it. So… Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For seeing my truth and for being sensitive to how I was acting and feeling in that moment,” he clarified.
I did not know what to do with the confusing medley of relief, guilt, and dismay that squeezed my heart, so I merely lowered my head and nodded. I did not want him to see the brittleness of my emotions just then. I didn’t even trust my voice enough to speak.
“I had no right to kiss you like that during a time when I was… overcome. But I also cannot forget… how it felt. Or how you kissed me back.”
Holy fuck. Holy fuck.
“But of course, I kissed you back,” I managed to reply, impressed when I managed to keep my voice calm, and I raised my eyes to him. I had no idea what to make of his expression that was somehow hard and uncertain.
“I have not been kind to you,” he insisted.
“But I have seen who you really are when it is just you and Riordan,” I admitted tentatively, and he turned his head to look at me in surprise. “And you cannot blame me for wanting to know that person more. He is protective, loyal, and sweet. He smiles easily and laughs often.”
Orion was so shocked that it was a moment before he could recover himself and look away from me.
“Don’t say things like that to me,” he said softly.
“Why not? It is true. And if all you ever allow me is friendship, then I will take it because I’ve seen what kind of friend you are. I’d be honoured,” I continued softly.
He did not seem to know how to respond, and I knew he must not fully trust my words. I ached to promise him it would be alright. I would never hurt him. But I had no doubt that he would bolt if I tried to push too much.
“I also wanted you to know, if it… means anything, that I did not only kiss you because I was overwhelmed. The emotion only gave me the impulse to act on what I’d been feeling for some time,” Orion admitted softly.
I could not draw in a breath, much less give an answer, for many long moments.
“It means something to me,” I insisted, glancing up to meet his nervous eyes.
I saw his relief before he looked away, and I wanted to reach for him, but I could tell by the stiffness of his body that he did not want to be touched just then. There was more that he needed to tell me.
“I am not… Amira, the truth is I have never been with a woman by choice. I feel safer with male lovers.”
“I understand that!” I told him. “But… Riordan says love is more than sex, and I did mean what I said before. If all I ever have from you is friendship, then I would find such joy in that, Orion.”
His handsome face softened, and the corner of his full mouth curved slightly as if he were amused, but he did not look at me. And yet, I was helpless to look away from him as the tension bled out of his body, and he leaned a little more comfortably against the tree.
“I do not want only friendship, Amira. I only need… time and patience,” he clarified.
Holy fuck.
“I think… I could manage,” I replied after a moment, making sure my voice was light and playful rather than rough and eager with my excitement.
His smile widened, and gods , he really was gorgeous when he smiled. Even if it was still a bit fragile looking, and he had not turned it fully on me yet.
But I could not help grinning as I looked ahead toward Riordan to see if he had noticed we were talking.
Instead, my eyes were drawn to the portal. I had been too distracted to notice the sky in the Spring Court had begun to look rather terrifying.
I squinted at it, tilting my head in confusion when I saw the way it was moving. Roiling as if it were a black fog writhing beyond a transparent veil.
“What is that ?” I asked Orion, and he lifted his head to look in the same direction.
Riordan , I called my mate mentally, and he looked up at me. What is that?
He turned to look at what we’d noticed. A black cloud that seemed to be getting darker the longer I watched it.
Riordan opened his mouth to ask Balor about it when the darkness seemed to rupture . The sky simply split open like a magical barrier had abruptly grown too thin, and all that darkness came pouring down in the distance. It was still very far away from our portal, but it must have shaken their whole world, because I saw the crowd of fey stumbling. They all turned to look and started screaming, although we could not hear it from through the portal.
“What is that ?” shouted Riordan at Balor who merely tipped his head upward with a sort of resignation.
“The Wild Hunt,” he said simply.
Riordan’s eyes flared in disbelief and confusion at the composure of the Spring King as his court was consumed before our very eyes. Then my mate turned determinedly to widen the portal to make more space for fey running through from the other side. Their screams only audible once they had passed into our world. But the portal was open as far as it could go, and I could see it start to warble at the edges when Riordan tried to stretch it again.
I ran closer to him, and I could almost hear it all then, and it was the most harrowing sound…
Of a whole world screaming in fear and horror.
Was this really Rian? Devouring as Balor had feared he would in retaliation for our unification against him?
“Keep the portal open as long as you can,” I pleaded to Riordan when I reached his side.
“Will it come through?” asked Orion behind me.
Riordan would not risk finding out. I could tell he was poised to close the portal at the last second. All we could do was watch the sea of horrified and frightened faces. Mothers too far from the portal to make it tried to toss their children. The elderly shoved their younger family members to go on and leave them behind.
“My god,” I whispered, my hands covering my mouth as tears filled my eyes. I did not understand what kind of monster could do something like this. Consume a world.
My trepidations about handing the Light Wraith over to the Sylvan suddenly seemed foolish. The elves could do whatever they wanted with him after this atrocity that was easily the most evil thing I’d ever witnessed.
The Wild Hunt would deserve retribution for this.