Fae's Fate: Fated Mates of the Fae Royals (Summer Court Book 7)

29. Malachi

“We’re back here again?” I asked, taking in the caravans.

“I figured it would be a good place to meet up with Sir Axis and Vanya,” Ciara said. “It’s far enough away from the village that it’s discreet for our travel through the Veil.” She let out a long breath. “Besides, we don’t know if Sir Axis needs discretion as well.”

“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” Ivo asked.

“I didn’t think to ask him that.” Ciara’s shoulders slumped.

“Why don’t you and Malachi wait inside a caravan?” Emer said.

“I’m fine out here,” Ciara said.

“It’s safer,” Emer insisted.

Was she giving us a chance to be alone? I’d take it with both hands.

“I agree.” I nudged Ciara gently toward the caravan.

Her gaze flickered to me then the caravan, and suddenly she was walking toward it with hurried footsteps. I followed her. She was the love of my life. I’d follow her anywhere she went. We climbed the timber steps and stepped inside the cozy caravan. A small bench seat in earthy tones sat on one side, while on the other was an assortment of kitchen cabinets. At the back of the caravan was a large bed decorated in more earthy tones of soft browns and greens, as though the bed was made from the surrounding forest, except made from plush cushions and blankets. I longed to see Ciara spread across the bed, satisfied from the pleasure I’d given her. I locked the door behind me. Not that a flimsy human lock was a match for supernatural creatures, but so Ciara knew I didn’t want us to be disturbed. Because I’d take this moment alone and make it all about us.

“I despise seeing his medallion around your neck.”

Ciara lifted it in her fingers. “It’s a strange piece of jewelry. I’ll take it off.”

She raised the chain higher, but it stopped at her chin as though an invisible force wouldn’t let her remove it.

“I guess I can’t.”

I nodded. I’d suspected there’d be a magical quality to the charm around her neck. Sir Axis didn’t do anything without a reason.

“Now what do we do?” Ciara asked.

A smile stretched my lips. I imagined a million sexual fantasies I’d had over the years. We might have a short time, or we might have a long time to wait in the caravan. Either way, we’d have a pleasurable time while waiting.

I stepped closer to Ciara and brushed her hair over her shoulders. Tiny goose bumps lifted on her arms.

“There is one thing we could do…”

An answering smile graced her pretty lips. “And what might that be?”

My fingers toyed with the strands of her hair. “I think you know.”

She giggled. “Ivo and Emer will hear us.”

“I can be quiet.”

She laughed again. “I’m not sure I can be.”

“Hmm.” I raised my hand and placed it over her mouth. “Would this work?”

Her luminous blue and indigo rimmed eyes widened, but she nodded her head against my palm. I shifted my hand out of the way so I could kiss her. And kiss her, I did. I devoured her like she was my last breath, and I couldn’t breathe without her. It was true. I couldn’t imagine life without her. No matter what, she would always be the woman I loved and even if Sir Axis’s medallion never left her neck, then she’d still be a part of me.

Ciara’s hands slid over my shoulders and across my back, drawing me closer to her. I kept my distance and tugged the top of her dress down. Her breasts spilled free, and my eager hands cupped her tender flesh. A moan rippled out of her throat.

Dammit, she probably wouldn’t be quiet enough, so her guards didn’t hear us and know exactly what we were doing in here, but I figured Emer had sent us inside for this very reason.

“Shh,” I whispered.

Ciara giggled. “See, this won’t work.”

“It will.”

I glanced around the tiny caravan. There. I found what I needed. A circular hanger held an assortment of scarves. I stepped around Ciara and stroked each scarf, looking for the softest material to use on her.

She tugged her dress back up and settled on the bed with a disgruntled humph.

I chuckled and made my way over to her, carrying a silky scarf in a vibrant yellow.

“Dress back down.”

Her eyes widened. “I thought…” her pale pink tongue darted out to her lips.

“You thought wrong,” I said. “I’m going to love you and show you how much you mean to me, even though you’re wearing his medallion.”

Ciara glanced at the medallion, then tugged the top of the dress down once again freeing her breasts. The rosy peaks of her nipples hardened in an instant. I crawled across the top of her. Her breath quickened. I loved how much my presence affected her.

“Do you trust me?”

“Always.” She nodded.

“I’m going to tie this around your mouth.”

“Oh.” She gasped.

“Yes?”

“Yes. I want you. Now. Hurry.”

I didn’t waste time because we might not have much alone time together.

“Open,” I said.

She opened her mouth, and I slipped the fabric past her lips and tied the ends at the back of her head.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded her head. I placed a soft kiss on her parted lips. The material taste mixed with the usual pleasant taste of her, but it only made me want her more. I ran my tongue down her neck to the peaks of her nipples. There I swirled my tongue around each one until they both glistened with moisture and peaked into delightful buds. Her moans were muffled through the gag as she lifted her legs and tried to wrap them around my waist.

I stroked my hands up her legs under the folds of the dress. Her hips rose to meet my fingers as I found her core already slick with arousal. A deeper moan muffled through her gag, but I couldn’t stop even if Sir Axis was already here. There was only our pleasure at this moment.

My fingers parted her, and I slipped two inside her warm heat, reveling at the way she was ready for me in an instant. Maybe I wasn’t the only one who was full of lustful thoughts for my best friend. Her hips rocked back and forth in time with my fingers. Her walls tightened. She was close to orgasm, but I wanted us to be together.

I slid my fingers free and popped the buttons on my pants. My hard cock sprang free as though on a mission of its own. Not waiting a moment longer, I covered Ciara’s body with mine. My cock rubbed against her swollen flesh then slid inside her. She let out another muffled moan while I bit my lip to keep from moaning myself with how good she felt.

Keeping quiet was harder than I thought it would be.

That thought fled as instinct took over and our bodies moved in unison. My cock thrusting hard into her. The medallion warmed between our chests. I almost imagined it was Ciara’s power marking me as her mate, but it wasn’t. I thrust into her harder, wanting to make her mine in every way.

Her fingers dug into my shoulders as every muscle in her body tightened, and then she came with a muffled cry against the gag. The strength of her orgasm sent me over the edge. There was nothing better than giving her pleasure, feeling her pleasure, and knowing I was the one who made her this happy.

I rolled us over with my cock still buried deep, not wanting to leave her. My fingers found the knot in the gag and released it. She lifted her head and smiled, a satisfied grin on my face.

Her lips parted as though she was about to say something, but then a knock pounded on the door.

“They’re here,” Emer called out through the timber door.

“Coming,” Ciara yelled back, then placed her hand over her mouth to smother her giggle.

I kissed the back of her hand and helped her climb off me. She smoothed the ruffles of her skirt back into place while I tugged the top back over her breasts. Then her fingers were at the buttons on my pants and doing them up for me. I patted down a few stray strands of her hair and stroked a flower on her crown. She shivered and smiled.

“Well?” she asked.

“What?”

“Do I look presentable?”

“You’d look presentable in a brown bag.”

She reached up and placed a quick kiss on my lips. I gathered the gag and stuffed it in my pocket.

“Memento.” I shrugged.

She smiled and strode toward the door, more composed than I was. I suppose she was raised as a royal princess, whereas I wasn’t. My hand reached for the lock and opened the door. She swept down the stairs.

Sir Axis stared at her as she walked toward him. Neither of us had voiced our concern that he wouldn’t even come, but that niggling thought had been in my head, so I was sure Ciara had thought it too.

“Take it off,” Ciara said, lifting the medallion. “You found us, so take it off.”

Sir Axis grinned. “So prickly Princess. Who ruffled your feathers? Or should I say dress?” He winked and stared at me.

My power surged to my hands, but I struggled against the jealous rage pounding inside me.

He laughed as he reached for the medallion. His fingers closed around it, then he lifted it over Ciara’s head and returned it to his. The medallion shone as it hit his skin.

“Mmm, delicious,” he purred.

“Enough,” Ciara said, walking back to my side. “Time for you to make good on your word.”

“As you wish, Princess.” He dipped his head.

Ciara clasped my hand in hers.

Ivo stepped in front of us and led the way even though we’d been here in this town a short time ago. I guess she was on alert. I didn’t blame her after all the things we’d dealt with since coming to Earth. Our change of clothing was even more of a waste of time, and I hated Sir Axis a bit for not saying sooner we were using magical means to travel.

A few drunk men staggered along the streets. But if we’d still been in the Water Sprite clothing, then they wouldn’t have mattered. They were too drunk to care, and if they did, then no one would have believed them if they’d seen strange people wearing clothes that glowed.

The golden streetlights lit our way along the cobblestone streets until we arrived at the vine-covered wall surrounding the library.

“Interesting,” Sir Axis said.

“What is?” I asked.

“The magical barrier surrounding this place.” He lifted a hand and tested what must have been the barrier.

The solid timber door clicked open, and a man appeared holding a lantern. The golden light shone on all our faces.

“Princess Ciara, we’re glad to have you back,” the man said.

I recognized him, but I couldn’t recall his name. It was terrible of me we’d studied the books alongside the Fellowship and yet I hadn’t become friends with them. Not that I didn’t want to. It was the sensation of the ticking clock counting down the death of our spring and the Fae.

“Can you gather everyone?” Ciara asked. “We have news. Exciting news.”

The man’s gaze ran over all of us again. “You’ve brought a stranger with you.”

“Aye,” Ciara said. “An exceedingly powerful one. I’ll explain once we’re safe inside.”

“And he’s to be trusted?” he asked.

Which was what I wanted to know, too. Could we trust Sir Axis?

“He’s the only one who can help us,” Ciara said instead.

The man’s lips firmed, but he let us inside the walls and hurried to find the others while we walked through the thick, overgrown vegetation. Sir Axis tutted under his breath as though letting the place become a shambles was a grave error. The man was more complicated than anyone I’d ever met. True, I’d spent most of my life with only Fae, but we were a varied bunch.

We arrived at the fountain and halted at the edge. We knew better than to touch the water, but Sir Axis stepped closer as though the magic drew him to the running stream falling over the stones and disappearing beneath the moss-covered rocks.

“Fascinating,” he mumbled, stretching a hand for the water.

“Don’t touch the water,” Alister’s deep, gruff voice emanated from behind us.

The entire Fellowship stood behind him, and so did Aislinn, Fallon, Pepper, Lorcan, Roisin, and the Fae King’s guards. They were a formidable force with their powers and the swords held in their hands. Would Sir Axis take them all on? Or was he more of a team player than I gave him credit for?

“But it’s what they brought me here for,” Sir Axis said.

“Be that as it may, you can’t walk into our most sacred place and think to touch the sacred water.”

Sir Axis huffed and crossed his arms. “Fine, I won’t fix the Spring of Life then.”

Alister’s eyes narrowed. “You can fix the spring? The fountain and all that is wrong with our worlds?”

“Hardly.” Sir Axis laughed. “But it’ll be a start.”

Ciara tilted her head. “I’m not sure I understand.”

Sir Axis sighed and held up his hands. “Two worlds joined by powerful magic.” He intertwined his fingers. “They used to look like this.” Then he bit by bit unraveled his fingers. “Now they’re more like this.”

“We depend on each other,” Roisin said.

She was always smarter than we gave her credit for. Most saw her as the artist, but her senses were attuned to the smallest details, so why wouldn’t she have noticed what we’d failed to see?

“Separating the Summer Court from Earth caused our problems?”

Sir Axis said nothing, which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Who is he?” Alister asked.

Ciara told everyone who Sir Axis was, how he would help us with his powerful water magic, and why we’d brought him here. If our two worlds were still connected enough, then he’d be able to fix our spring through the fountain. If not, then she’d have to mark him as her mate to take him into the Summer Court to fix it there. Aislinn gasped when she said that, but she didn’t realize the worst of it. Ciara and I loved each other more than best friends. Or that we’d joined our bodies as one. We were as close as we could be without marking each other as mates, and we didn’t need to mark each other to learn the other’s memories since we were always together. Our memories were already joined. I offered her my silent support by stroking her lower back. Each stroke eased the tension running through her body and I was glad I could do that for her, even if I couldn’t fix the problems facing us.

Alister rubbed the back of his neck once Ciara finished talking.

“I suppose it’s worth a try, but if you damage the fountain, your head will leave your body,” Alister said.

“Touche, old man,” Sir Axis dipped his head before plunging both hands into the fountain.

Ciara gripped my arm hard, digging her fingertips into my skin, but I’d take the momentary discomfort for her, because if this failed then she’d mark Sir Axis as her mate, leaving me with no chance of being the one for her.

Luminescent blue flared from his hands and rolled over his body in rippling waves of water as though he, too, was made from the fluid. The entire fountain glowed from the wall behind it to the cobblestones underneath and even the green moss turned blue. The sight was spectacular and while I didn’t like Sir Axis, I had to give him credit for how powerful he was. Long moments passed, and glowing blue droplets of sweat rolled down his forehead as though what he was doing was a great strain on him.

“It’s no good,” he said, his arms vibrating in the water. “I can’t get through the Veil to the other side.”

Then the blue exploded in a large flare, knocking us all from our feet. Glowing blue droplets landed at our feet before rolling back toward the fountain as though the magic of the water was calling it all back together.

“Shite,” I muttered.

Ciara rolled her head toward me as we lay on the ground. The absolute devastation in her eyes broke my heart.