Chapter 21
Arrow
Lost my nerve?
Truly my Aldara was the realm’s biggest shit stirrer. The fury in her green eyes hit me with the power of a thousand lightning bolts, causing shock waves to radiate through my body.
She fucking hated that I could just stroll into her room without consent and do anything I liked to her. Which was understandable.
But she probably hated me with a fiery passion because she believed I held her captive against her will. Again . But nothing could be further from the truth. Convincing Azarn to allow the feedings was the only way I could get close to her and strengthen the Aldara bond. To protect her.
And fuck her misplaced scorn. I was Leaf’s hero, not the villain in her story, and I wouldn’t stop trying to prove it until my dying breath.
Sitting in the window seat, she gazed dreamily at the sunset as if I wasn’t there, chin on her knees, hugging them tightly against her chest. The guards took their places on either side of the door, their armor creaking and clanking, but Leaf didn’t turn around.
“ Look at me ,” I said in her mind.
“Go away, Arrow. I’m not in the mood,” she said, staring out of the window.
Pain lanced my shoulder blades as my wings manifested, black and purple feathers flaring at the sides of my vision. I stalked forward, grabbed the book she clutched, and threw it across the room.
Anger blazed in her eyes.
“Get up,” I growled for the guards’ benefit.
“Now you’re abusing books?” she said. “What did Poems for a Perfect Murder ever do to you?”
“ Stole your attention from me ,” I replied in her mind.
Her eyes flared in shock. “ How can we speak through the bond when you haven’t taken my blood yet ?”
“ It’s still strong after last night’s feeding .”
Firelight danced over her face, and her gaze softened as it trailed over my wings, my feathers shivering in delicious response. She bit the corner of her smile, hiding it from the guards by rubbing her face.
Interesting. Perhaps her anger was an act, too.
“I told you to get up.” I held my hand out, which she ignored before jolting to her feet, her cheeks glowing red.
“ My anger is for the guards, ” I said in her mind. “ Never you. Ignore everything I say out loud. The truth will be whispered through our bond. Listen closely to every word. To my every plea. I beg of you, Leaf . Let my heart speak to yours .”
The feather glyph on her throat pulsed as she edged backward toward the wall beside the bed, her breath ragged and uneven.
“I’m frightened,” she whispered, covering her neck with a shaking hand.
“An appropriate response,” I said aloud, prowling forward before speaking in her mind again. “ My Aldara fears nothing .”
Bracing my palms against the wall on either side of her head, I dropped my face close to hers. “Show your throat, human, or I’ll rip it open without care for scarring.”
I dared to meet her gaze and found a tempest of green staring back at me. My eyes dropped to her laboring chest, then to the peaked, rosy buds visible through the silky material of her gown. With one hand, I pushed her head to the side as my other palm drifted over her stomach, then up to cup her breast. A groan rumbled in my chest as my thumb skated over her nipple.
“ Arrow ,” her bond voice whispered, the needy sound making my cock twitch in response.
Lust racing through my blood, I kissed her neck in the exact way I wanted to worship her lips, but dared not in front of Azarn’s men.
“ Nothing tastes as good as your skin ,” I said, shoving against her roughly, making her wince. “ Sorry . Sorry, my love. My queen. Most precious Aldara . They must believe I despise you .”
At my words, her body melted against mine, her limbs softening as her fingers twisted into the loose shirt I wore unbuttoned around my chest plate of gold feathers.
I nipped her earlobe, and she moaned aloud.
“ For gold’s sake, Leaf. Control your reactions in front of Azarn’s mutts. ”
The bond cord connecting our hearts vibrated harder. “ I can’t ,” she replied.
“ Fuck, I want to be inside you so badly .”
“Do it,” she whispered out loud.
“ Such a risk taker . You’ll be the death of me. ” I turned back to the guards. “Get out,” I growled.
The stupidest one straightened his spine. “By order of King Azarn we must remain with you at all times during the Aldara feedings.”
“Fine. Stay and watch me fuck the human if you don’t mind being scorched by lightning. Your mage’s blocking magic cannot dampen the bond’s ancient power. Be warned, you won’t enjoy what it does to your breeding organs. If you’ve a collective brain in your heads, get out, and don’t come back until I call you.”
The fire soldiers scurried from the room, all color leeched from their skin, reminding me of youths pissing themselves on the field before their first battle.
Leaf’s arms wound around my neck, and then she tugged my head down, breathing a sigh into my mouth. “First, make me forget. Then help me remember everything, Arrow. Each sweet word you ever said to me.”
Brushing my nose against hers, I laughed. “Which do you want most? To forget or remember?” I teased.
“Both. I want everything you can give me, as long as the fire guards won’t hear us.”
I stared into Leaf’s lust-glazed eyes, drowning in forest green, the color of her home, and thumbed her lips apart, revealing the beloved gap in her front teeth. Then I trailed my finger over her Aldara mark, sparkling like molten gold on her throat.
“I’d wager five bags of gold feathers that in the hopes of keeping their cocks in working order, they’re standing guard halfway down the tower steps.”
“I believe you’re right.” Her laugh ghosted over my lips. “Hurry up and kiss me, you idiot. We don’t have much time.”
“You’ve changed your mind? Now you just want to be kissed?”
She slapped my shoulder. “You’re enjoying having me at your mercy.”
I grinned shamelessly. “I can’t deny it.”
“Control still makes you hot.”
“Yes, always,” I whispered against her skin as I turned her away and pressed her forearms against the wall. With feverish movements, I began unfastening the buttons that notched her spine.
She wriggled, trying to turn around. “Please, Arrow. Not my back.”
I froze. “Why not? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Please… just…”
I loosened my grip, allowing her to turn around. She smiled, her hand snaking down my stomach before pressing lightly against where I ached the most.
Clicking my tongue, I gripped her wrist. “Distractions won’t work. Show me what you’re trying to hide, or I swear I’ll lose control and betray my cover. I’ll take those two fucking guards out there, and I will—”
“All right. Calm down. It’s nothing,” she insisted, facing the wall again and leaning her cheek on the cool stone with a sigh.
The light in her chamber was dim, the sky outside dark, and only purple-and-red flames flickered from the hearth, illuminating the room and my Aldara’s skin.
Confused, but undeterred, I kissed the top of her spine, freezing instantly as my lips brushed raised bumps on her skin. My hands wrapping her shoulders, I moved her toward the light of the fire and peeled the crimson fabric away from her body. My blood boiled at the sight of flesh-colored runes burned into her back.
Fire magic, worked into my love’s skin by that fuckface Bakhur.
No one else would be moronic enough to touch, let alone mark, my Aldara. But the Fire Prince would pay for hurting her, many, many times over. All the ways I could end him spun through my mind. Slowly cooking his organs, first his cock, then his golden eyes, was by far my favorite idea.
A tremor rolled over Leaf’s shoulders, but she kept her back turned, unwilling now to look me in the eye. “Arrow, please stay calm or the guards will hear. Then whatever game you’re playing in the Sun Realm will end.”
The only game I played was the one that would set her free. But maybe now I had another objective—the death and destruction of Azarn’s son and heir.
“Tell me who did this,” I growled, even though I already knew the answer.
“I haven’t forgotten your vengeful nature.” She looked over her shoulder and whispered, “If I tell you, you’ll only put us in danger.”
“So be it. The Fire Prince is a dead man anyway.”
She shook her head, then turned to face me. “Why are you so obstinate? So set on revenge?”
“Me? I cannot believe you accuse me of something that you excel in. You are the stubborn one. Disobedient and willful, recklessly risking your life over and over.” My heart melted at her expression of outrage, and I smiled. I couldn’t help it. “But have I told you what else you are? Unique. Beautiful. Precious. Mine. Only mine.”
“A perfect answer,” she said, stroking my cheek. “Let’s agree to worry about Bakhur later. Right now, I want to feel you inside me, around me… everywhere. Quickly. Don’t waste a moment of our time together.”
“As you command.”
Like an explosion of auron kanara feathers, hope burst inside my chest as I walked her backward to the bed, then laid her down gently.
Did my stubborn human finally believe me?
“Leaf?” I began, my voice shaking. “Do you understand at last that I never betrayed you?”
“Sh, not now,” she said, trying to draw me down onto the bed. “Let me pretend we’re back in Coridon. Just love me, Arrow. Please.”
“ Always ,” I said. “I will always and forever adore you.”
With trembling hands, I slid the gown up her thighs, exposing her body to my devoted appraisal. Through a hooded gaze, she tracked my every move, her skin pebbling at my touch, her breath labored. Tantalizing moisture glistened at her center.
I’d barely touched her, and she was wet for me, needing me badly. And yet I knew I desired her more. Certain I would die if I couldn’t bury myself in the sanctuary of her body.
“Nothing else matters,” she murmured, as if reading my thoughts.
In case someone entered, I shrugged off my cloak, but kept my shirt on and unlaced my pants. Even though I longed for every part of our skin to be in contact, at this time and in this place, it was impossible.
“ Soon ,” I told myself, the thought connecting through our bond.
Leaf shook her head. “Not soon, now . Kiss me,” she demanded, shuffling her weight onto her elbows, bringing our faces closer. “Come inside me. Hurry.”
“You’re as demanding as ever,” I said, pushing her backward, then climbing over her.
She writhed beneath me, one hand pulling my head down, the other fumbling at the laces on my pants.
With a laugh, I framed her face with my hands, then kissed her slowly. Each time she tried to rush me, I nipped her lip and soothed her with a soft whisper.
I’d been waiting for Leaf to look at me this way again since the moment I learned that the Sun Realm had captured her, tricked her, and placed the blame on me. I had to know if she trusted me. Her faith in me was more essential than oxygen. More vital than food or water.
Before we went further, I had to be certain she understood. That she knew I would always be her hero, and only her villain if she asked me very, very nicely.