Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I groaned at the vibration of his words and barely noticed Daemon’s arms wrapping around me until he plucked me away from Darian’s kiss. A whine escaped me, and Daemon chuckled.
“This will be better, Lamb,” he said, nipping my neck and distracting me. “I promise.”
He lifted me high and set me on my knees on the bed. When I would have turned to look back at him, his hand pressed between my shoulders. Giving into his urging, I braced my weight on my hands and knees. The bed dipped as Darian joined me, naked.
I needed no further coaxing when he lay opposite me and took hold of my knee. Straddling him, I sank onto his mouth and kissed his stomach as he kissed me more intimately. Daeman’s hand smoothed over my buttocks. His desire sparked higher each time I rotated my hips against Darian’s tongue. I increased my pace, gripping the sheets and leaning my forehead against Darian’s abdomen.
The slow insertion of Daemon’s fingers added to the building pleasure. The sounds I made softly rang out in the room. Daemon gently bit my shoulder blade and curled his fingers as he partially withdrew them. My world broke apart as I came with a scream.
Shuddering and gasping, I held onto Darian, and I floated back to reality.
Daemon lifted me, allowing Darian to shift on the bed so I no longer straddled him. When my knees touched the bedding once more, I felt his hard length prod my pulsing core. My eyes closed, and I groaned at the penetration.
Darian watched me with hooded eyes. His thoughts were turning more chaotic, and I knew what he desperately wanted. I reached for his hard length and kissed the end as his brother slowly thrust into me.
Daemon and Darian’s desire bled into me, flooding into the well that seemingly had no end to its capacity. Yet, their desire was nothing compared to their silent brother’s.
Without taking my mouth from Darian, I lifted my gaze to Garron who was leaning against the bedpost, watching with a yearning I’d never witnessed before.
When he caught my gaze, he started to turn away.
“Stay,” I murmured.
Their desire and adoration surged at that answer.
Smiling, I went back to kissing Darian as he’d kissed me. His fingers tangled in my hair.
Daemon’s hands stroked my hips as he found a steady rhythm that hit the same spot he’d touched earlier. The pleasure climbed more quickly the second time.
I needed them. I needed them all.
From somewhere else in the estate, I felt Liam and Eadric. Their desire for me. I took it and begged for more.
“Stop!” Garron said.
Daemon abruptly withdrew from me, and I lifted my head from Darian in confusion.
“I felt you,” Garron said. “You connected with me just like you did this morning right before the air changed.”
I blinked at him, attempting to focus on what he was saying. It wasn’t easy. Need clawed through me. I hungered. For them. For their desire.
“The queen will find us and kill us, Snow,” Garron said, holding my gaze.
It broke through the fog in my mind, and I shook myself free from the remains. Carefully, I sat on the bed and brought my knees to my chest, not because I was hurt but to focus on what was happening within me.
I could feel them—all seven of my men. And if what Garron said held true for them all, they could feel me, too. Yet, my lid was firmly covering my well. Their desire continued to flood it through the lid.
Stunned disbelief coursed through me.
Never once had I considered the lid anything other than solid. But as I focused, I realized that when energy existed within me, it had no form—my mind created the form. The same held true of the well. No physical container existed; it was simply an invention of my mind to explain what I felt and what I could do.
“Lamb? You just paled,” Daemon said, instantly beside me.
Darian’s hands ran over my back. “It’s not your fault, Princess.”
I realized they thought I was upset that I’d almost lost control. But had I almost? Or was it something else?
Unable to explore further out of fear of gaining the queen’s attention, I closed myself off from all of them.
“I wasn’t reproaching myself,” I said. “I was trying to determine what was happening inside of me. It’s…confusing.”
“Though it pains me to say this—and I mean that quite literally—we should stop here,” Darian said.
Their collective disappointment and regret made me laugh. “Dinner guests will arrive soon, and I’m not the only person who needs to dress.”
The pair kissed my cheeks then left the room.
I held out my hand to Garron, who helped me stand.
“Thank you,” I said.
“There will come a day when you will not need to worry about losing yourself in loving us. I promise.”
I kissed his cheek and lifted my arms so he could slip the clean shift over my head. Garron’s skills paralleled those of any practiced handmaiden and brought a happy smile to my lips as he brushed through my long hair.
“The best I can manage is a braid. Would you like me to summon someone?”
I shook my head and, keeping my lid firmly in place, attempted to connect with the energy in my well. No resistance existed, and I realized that I’d been unconsciously connecting with the energy within me every time I had opened my senses.
Energy had no form. Intent formed it. My intent had broken Maeve’s spell. My own misunderstanding had prevented me from breaking it without Brandle’s aid.
Foolish girl, I thought, echoing Pogwid’s voice.
With little effort, I used the wind to twist my hair into thin braids and a fashionable coif.
“Could you sense me?” I asked.
“No, but I’m not the queen,” Garron said. “This home isn’t protected like ours had been. And don’t even think about attempting to protect this place. It’s too large.”
“You doubt I’ll be able to do so without being detected or that I lack the power to do so?” I asked without censure.
“Both, actually. We’ve run from her enough, Snow. I don’t want to run again.”
“Then we won’t,” I said. “We’ll find the help we need and stand and face her. I vow it.”
He kissed my brow and escorted me to the sitting room where Eadric waited with Liam and Philip. All three wore coats cut from a rich cloth with stitching so fine I couldn’t see it.
I smiled at them when Eadric gave a low whistle. He crossed the space between us and strolled around me.
“Do I pass your inspection?” I asked.
“Most assuredly,” he said, bringing my hand to his lips.
The first guest arrived shortly after the others joined us in the sitting room. As we’d agreed, Philip introduced me as his relative. Instead of a niece, I was a distant one from the country. He kept it vague, and no one asked for more information.
Most exuded eagerness and welcome. Maeve had taught me not to trust what people showed on the outside. So, each time I touched someone in greeting, I connected with my well and touched their minds. I searched for fear or anger, trying my best to maintain their privacy while also ensuring our safety.
Many feared the queen and what would happen to Adele if her reign continued for much longer. They feared losing their lives attempting to free themselves but also feared losing them if they did nothing. The impending doom, regardless of their chosen path, created a volatility that worked in our favor.
“May I have your attention,” I called. The room quieted, and I lifted my glass. “To Pogwid. May she forever be known for the extraordinary gifts she possessed and the light she brought into this world rather than the sacrifice she made to leave it. Death to the Foul Queen.”
A subtle ripple of shock ran through the room before a nobleman lifted his glass high.
“To Pogwid. And Death to the Foul Queen.”
The room echoed with similar sentiments, and they drank their watered wine.
“Thank you for answering our call in the wake of Pogwid’s capture,” Liam said. “We can no longer wait to move forward with our plans. The queen understands that Pogwid could not have remained hidden within the castle’s shadow for so long without aid. She will seek out and imprison every person involved. And where one noble can hide a powerful caster, she will look to the others suspecting the same.”
“What do you need of us?” one of the noblemen asked.
“We need to meet with the remaining casters in this kingdom who have the strongest abilities,” Liam answered. “We need to unite and fight the queen.”
* * *
I collapsed into the chair and lifted my foot. Darian knelt, plucked off my shoe, and rubbed my pinched toes.
“Two days,” I said angrily. “We’ve met countless nobles, yet not a single caster. What are they waiting for?”
“Perhaps a sign that they can win,” Garron said. “The casters, I mean. Not the noblemen.”
I allowed my head to fall back and closed my eyes. A sign? What sign would inspire them? Another public hanging of one of their own?
“Blighted poxes on humanity,” I mumbled under my breath.
Eadric’s humor flared, but he wisely didn’t comment on my colorful cursing. Darian’s fingers dug deeper into the arch of my foot, and it helped me release some of the tension I held.
“What more of a sign do they need? Three of the queen’s casting stones broke—quite visibly, mind you—in front of all the nobles gathered. Do they doubt their supporters' words?”
“We cannot ignore that Pogwid also lost her life after that bit of defiance,” Eadric said. “The casters are afraid. As they should be.”
His voice of reason didn’t help abate my frustration.
“Two days,” I reiterated. “Two days Edmund and Brandle have been in the queen’s clutches. Do they still have their fingers and tongues? Pogwid lost hers in a matter of hours.”
I felt their turbulent emotions at my words.
“We know,” Daemon said quietly. “If we thought we could save them by storming the castle, we would have done so already. Waiting is anguish for us all. But without the casters, we have no hope and would lose our lives. Who will save Brandle and Edmund then?”
I tugged my foot from Darian’s grasp and leaned forward to kiss him passionately.
Over the course of the last few days, I’d needed these spontaneous kisses with increasing frequency. My already questionable control was frayed to the point of breaking, and that we could not allow.
When Darian pulled back to look at me, I was breathing heavily and ready for more than kissing. He palmed my chest through my dress and pinched my nipple. Each morning and evening, one of them brought me to the height of pleasure, giving me the release I needed to reset the frustration. But never more than one of them and never more than once.
The desire I gathered from them never ceased now. They fed my well even when sitting in a room with boorish nobles, using pretty words to promise introductions to their casters but never appearing with them.
“I’m done waiting,” I said. “Done.”
Darian kissed my forehead. “What would you like to do?”
“Hunt them myself,” I said. “Liam, I’ll need your old clothes, please.”
Eadric groaned, and I felt their collective resistance as I stood.
“Fetch them, or I start casting and let the queen come to me.”
I meant every word. I was done—done with everything—the dinners, the fawning over my men…especially that.
One noble had had the audacity to think of pairing his niece with Liam. Of course, he didn’t speak it, but he’d thought it while kissing my hand . It wasn’t simply jealousy driving me. I’d had subtle hints of hidden agendas from all of the nobles. Nothing that aligned them with the queen, though. No, far from it. They were very eager to align themselves with the princes to win their favor. They wished for lavish gain.
Liam hurriedly slipped from the room as I fisted my hands in my skirts.
Eadric crossed the room and, without warning, swung me up onto his shoulder. His hand swatted my buttock with stinging strength. The pain was so shocking I couldn’t even draw air.
“Um, Eadric, you might not want to do that,” Daemon said. “She bites, remember?”
“I remember,” he said. “But the kissing isn’t working anymore.”
He swatted my other buttock with the same stinging force.
His words and the pain cut through to the sensible part of my thoughts.
“Cease,” I begged. “I am calmer now. I promise.”
Eadric immediately righted me then hugged me.
“You can still bite me if you’d like.”
I shook my head and hugged him in return.
“Unbelievable,” Daemon whispered. “We would have broken noses if we spanked her like that.”
Eadric chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “Thank you for not breaking my nose, Sparrow. I am a bit disappointed you didn’t bite me in the arse. I saw the mark it left on Brandle and want one of my own.”
I snorted and pulled away from him.
“You’re ridiculous.”
He shrugged and darted in for a quick kiss.
“Will you share your plan? Do you need a fellow miscreant to accompany you? I’ve been told I’m quite beggar-like in my old clothes.”
I smoothed my hand over his handsomely tailored coat and slipped my hand inside to feel his fine linen shirt.
“The clothes don’t make the man,” I said. “It’s his heart.”
He pressed his hand over mine and kissed me more passionately. I was the one to step back from the distraction.
“Since I know that none of you wants me to go out alone, I will accept one person to accompany me. The choice is yours.”
An hour later, Garron and I slipped out of the servants’ door. With a hat pulled low over my brow and my hair tucked into it, I passed well enough for a man.
We weaved our way through the streets, once again avoiding the increased number of patrols. The route we chose didn’t matter, though, since I meant to walk every street eventually.
“What are we looking for,” Garron asked, noticing that we’d backtracked.
“A sense of wrongness like I felt when we turned onto Pogwid’s street.”
It took several hours before I found what I was looking for. The ever-present tingle of warning under my skin intensified when we turned down a street lined with well-kept homes.
A woman wove cloth in her side yard, humming to herself. A man sat on his front step and carved something. An older child turned the soil in a narrow strip beside her home.
And none of it was real.
I didn’t know how I knew it since I could feel what they felt as they worked and saw the shadows they cast in the midday sun; I simply knew.
Stopping in front of the man, I watched him look up at me.
“Need something?” he asked gruffly.
“I do,” I said. “Desperately.”
He tilted his head, his expression full of suspicion.
“Well, speak already, boy. What do you need?”
I leaned in and whispered, “Your help to kill the queen.”
The man swore and stood up abruptly, slamming his door in my face.
“Snow,” Garron said in soft warning.
“Hush.”
Focusing, I closed my eyes and told myself to see and feel the truth, not what the caster wanted me to see and feel. When I opened them again, the street looked much the same. All the homes were well-kept, but the people were missing, and only one home had smoke drifting from the chimney.
“There,” I said, pointing.
The door opened at our approach as it had at Pogwid’s.
Not waiting for an invitation, I walked inside and slowly peeled away the layers of the spell hiding what truly existed until I saw the older woman standing before me.
“You’re the distant relative,” she said a moment before I felt her attempt to touch my energy. I brushed it away and made no attempt to connect with hers.
“I am, and I am not, much like your neighbors and your home.”
“So I see,” the old woman said. “Then what are you?”
“The future queen,” Garron said, speaking from behind me.
The old woman’s gaze shifted to Garron, assessing.
“The sixth prince,” the woman said. I liked her more for not fawning over him.
“I am,” he acknowledged.
“And do you think that you’ll take the throne over your brothers?” she asked.
Garron laughed, surprising me.
“My brothers and I will not fight each other for the throne once the queen is removed.”
The woman’s assessing gaze came back to me.
“What do you want from me? Help? You think the two of us can face the queen?” She scoffed, turned her back on me, and settled into a chair facing the fire.
Only…she didn’t, not truly. The woman in the chair was the result of the subtle spell she’d been casting while speaking. What she did was walk around the room as if to leave the house.
I used a breeze to close the door before she reached it then cast a spell of my own. From nothing, I created two chairs and sat in one. Something that should have been complex was easier than anything I’d previously cast because I finally understood. The energy inside of me was whatever I needed it to be.
“I’d like a few moments of your time,” I said, meeting the gaze of the real caster.
I could feel Garron’s surprise and knew he’d been watching the woman at the fire.
“My name is Kellen. May I ask yours?”
“Getaina,” the woman said. Her gaze shifted from me to the chair. “It’s real?”
“Find out for yourself.”
She shuffled forward, touched the chair, then sat facing me.
“You’re the one Pogwid was protecting.”
“She said I was dangerous because I lack control. Did you feel me when I cast just now?” I asked.
“No. Do you still lack control?”
“Yes.”
“No,” Garron said. “She doesn’t lack control. She loses control when she experiences extreme emotions. There’s a difference.”
“True,” Getaina said. “Were you at her hanging?”
“I was.”
“Was it you who broke the queen’s casting stones?”
“It was.” I hesitated for a moment. “I couldn’t save her. Pogwid. She wouldn’t let me.”
“I should think not. You have too much potential to waste like that.” She folded her arms over her stomach and leaned back into the chair. “Do you know how to search people’s minds?”
“I do.”
“Good. You need to search mine. I have eighty years of knowledge you need, and we have no time for me to teach you. Look into my mind.”
“So you can look into mine?” I asked.
Her wide grin answered my question.
“You might be offended by what you see,” I said.
“I’m old, girl, and you’re dressed like a lad. I doubt anything I see will be offending.”
Garron set his hand on my shoulder. “If I have a vote, I’m against this. We don’t know her.”
“Smart to be wary,” Getaina said with a nod.
“You do have a vote, Garron,” I said, patting his hand. “One for it, one against, and no tiebreakers other than the fact we’re running out of time.”
He gave my shoulder a squeeze and released me.
“Do not harm her,” he said.
I knew his warning was meant for Getaina but found myself worrying regardless. The time I’d looked into Pogwid’s mind, my abilities had still been caged by Maeve’s spell. Joining with Liam had broken it, and understanding the true nature of energy had freed me even more.
When I carefully touched my energy to Getaina’s well, it felt different. So very different. I could see everywhere with little effort and could control where she was looking in my mind. I let her see everything from my youth, fearing nothing found there, not even the trouble Eloise and I caused from time to time. However, I kept the intimate time with the princes hazy.
While she learned from me, I learned from her.
Everything. Her sad childhood, neglected by a father with too many children and a second wife fresh in the grave. Her first marriage when her powers were still growing. I watched her daughter marry then die in childbirth.
With each memory flooding me, so too did the emotions associated with them. They became my own. Tears trailed down my cheeks. I felt Getaina’s terror over the last two decades and her heartbreak over all the innocent lives lost. So many children. So many wards she’d made that the queen always found a way around.
“Lend me your wisdom,” I murmured. “Help me.”
Spells—failures and successes—bloomed in my mind between one blink and the next.