Queen of Fate (Fae of Woodlands & Wild #3)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Since I’d enjoyed an extensive tour of the palace with Alec right before we’d left for Leafton on the royal ship, I was vaguely familiar with the royal residence’s layout.

“I’ll make sure you’re properly oriented to the entire palace in the coming weeks,” Jax said to me as he led me through his wing.

This area was entirely quiet and completely new to me. I followed him closely, soaking up the feel of our bond humming pleasantly from him into me.

The palace was so huge that I knew it would likely take me months to fully learn each turn. And since all of the rooms, corridors, and passageways that Alec had shown me were in common areas, I hadn’t seen many places of the palace.

Of course, at that time, the purpose of Alec’s tour had been to reveal my face, which was why we’d only visited places that House nobles and a multitude of servants frequented. All of that was to ensure I was recognizable, so it wouldn’t be a shock if I began turning up at court events with the Dark Raider and his band since I was to be his indefinite captive. However, things had now changed. I was no longer Jax’s captive. I was his mate, and someday he wanted me to be Stonewild’s queen.

As my feet swished through the carpet, I said, “Before I forget, will you remove the bargain Saramel and I agreed to about Bastian?”

He arched an eyebrow. “I suppose I could. You do seem fairly trustworthy,” he added teasingly.

I pinched him playfully, and we stopped in the silent hall. Jax took my hands and ran a thumb over my inner wrist, a common area the gods used to seal their bargain marks.

“Elowen Emerson, lorafin of Faewood Kingdom, and mate of my heart, as by my right according to the terms you agreed to in the bargain created with Saramel Highcrest, siltenite of Stonewild Kingdom, I—Prince Adarian Willip Jackson Stagthorn, crown prince of Stonewild Kingdom, and heir to one of the mighty four thrones on the Silten continent—hereby abolish the bargain you both agreed to, rendering you both free of its consequences.”

A clash of magic clapped the hall, gone as swiftly as a distant boom of thunder. A searing flash lit up my wrist, and the wintercrisp fern that the gods had branded me with fizzled out of existence.

I ran a hand over my skin, smooth once more, and felt a moment of relief I was no longer tied to the gods in a bargain.

Jax chuckled. “I bet that took Saramel by surprise.”

I made a face. “Hopefully, it didn’t scare Cassim when her bargain mark flared.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. And now that that’s done...” Jax entwined his fingers through mine and led me down the hall, moving even farther away from Bastian’s chambers. We passed several closed doors, and Jax nodded at one. “That’s where your guardian’s being kept.”

I listened intently but didn’t hear a thing. “Are his senses still gone?”

“Only his voice, and we forced a potion in him to cage his fire element, but he can still see, hear, taste, touch, and smell.”

No movement came from behind my guardian’s closed door, and I wondered if he was sleeping.

My brow furrowed, and I tallied how many days my guardian had been caged within that chambers. But given all that he’d done to me, I once again found that I didn’t care and stopped trying to add it up.

Jax kept walking and led me to the very end of the wing. We went past the staircase that I’d used in my initial escape. And when we reached the hall’s end, Jax stopped in front of a wall in which a long banner hung. “You enter my upper tower this way.”

I frowned. There were no doors anywhere, but with a sly smile, Jax swept the banner to the side.

I gasped when an arched entryway to another stairwell appeared. The banner hid it completely, and I would have never known it was there if Jax hadn’t shown me.

“So clandestine,” I commented in amusement.

He smirked. “I like my privacy, and in this palace, I’m awarded very little of that.”

I stepped into the circular stone staircase, and a wash of powerful magic prickled my skin. “Is this stairwell warded too?”

“Indeed. Wards encircle my entire tower in various places, which keeps certain fae out of areas I don’t want them in. Only a few of my most trusted staff have access to the upper floors.”

“Do all of the palace’s servants have access to this floor and the lower ones?” I distinctly remembered the feel of his wards when he’d initially brought me into the palace, when I’d still been blinded, and the feel of another ward when I’d done my mad dash down the stairs in my attempts to escape.

Jax shook his head. “No, very few servants are able to cross my wards at all. Even fewer can access this stairwell.”

I began following him up the steps. “Where exactly are we?”

“Still in the west tower. This entire area is mine.”

My breaths turned to pants as we climbed up. And up. And up. Windows dotted the stairwell, allowing natural light in while also revealing sweeping views of Jaggedston.

Fairy lights hung intermittently as well, and they shone off Jax’s dark locks. “The enchanted chambers I created for Bastian are on the third floor of my tower, but my private suite is at the very top.”

We climbed an additional five flights of stairs to get there, and the size and monstrosity of the Stonewild palace once again took my breath away.

“Is it normal for a crown prince to have this much space to himself?” I asked when we finally reached the top floor. I was panting heavily, not having the endurance of shifters despite my potent lorafin magic.

Jax shrugged, not even winded. “As their only official child, I will admit that my parents have indulged me.” His voice turned sharper. “Perhaps if I’d had a legitimate sibling, that wouldn’t have been the case, but as it is, all of this is mine, even though half of it should be Bastian’s.”

I followed him down another hall, which was wide enough to park two carriages side by side. Windows lined one of the walls, and imposing portraits of males and females looked down on us from the other. Each portrait held a name plaque beneath it. They were all Stagthorn family members.

The setting sun set everything aglow, but twilight had begun to set in, and one of the moons had risen. Outside in our night sky, the colors of our galaxy were coming alive.

“Did you do the decorating?” I asked when a particularly sinister-looking male gazed down his nose at me from a large portrait. Shivering, I wanted to hurry past it but found myself stopping to stare at it.

Jax halted at my side, looking up at the male. “No, I can thank my mother for that. She won’t admit it, but I have a feeling the reason she insisted on placing family portraits here is to remind me of who I am every night when I go to bed. Having my ancestors stare at me each day is supposed to instill in me a sense of duty and purpose. I dare say my mother has sensed some of my discontent with our family’s line.”

I cocked my head at him. “And has it? Instilled a sense of duty and purpose, I mean?”

“It has, although not in the way my mother intended.” He nodded up at the dark-haired male staring at us. “That’s my grandfather.”

My eyebrows shot up, and I studied the severe-looking fairy again. Like Jax, he had midnight black hair, chilling blue eyes, and strong features. I couldn’t recall seeing a picture of Jax’s father, but if my mate resembled his grandfather this closely, I imagined it was the same with his da. “When did he pass?”

“Eighty full seasons ago, when I was twenty summers old. He lived to two thousand, one hundred, and eighty-seven summers and ruled this kingdom for over fifteen hundred of them. He abdicated the throne to my father around four hundred summers ago, as is common in our kingdom when a royal is nearing the end of his life.”

“And his name?”

“King Jackson Persevious Adar Stagthorn, ruler and creator of Stonewild Kingdom, king of the stags, and commander of the north.” A throb of Jax’s aura puffed out of him, enveloping me in his scent. A trace of bitterness coated the pine and spice, and I glanced at my mate to find a contemptuous look on his face. “My grandfather claimed the Stonewild throne after the elvish wars ended, and he managed to hold on to it despite all of the strife and political maneuvering during that tumultuous time.” His eyes narrowed, and he scratched his chin. “But whenever I see his picture, I don’t see a male blessed with a cunning mind and courage to declare an entire kingdom his.”

He paused, his brow furrowing. “No, instead I see a male who began the ostracization of our culture. It was my grandfather who declared that wildlings should be in serving positions only. He felt their inferior magic deemed them lesser.” His jaw locked, and he began to stride away, as though looking at his grandfather for any length of time infuriated him. “I have no doubt if my grandfather were alive today, he would have agreed with my father on the treatment of Bastian.”

I hurried after him, taking one last glance over my shoulder at his imposing grandfather. The artist who’d painted him had also drawn antlers along the bottom of the portrait, and I couldn’t help but notice their size and shape were similar to the antlers Bastian had permanently and the ones Jax could call forth with his magic.

“His name was Jackson, and one of your middle names is Jackson,” I commented.

Jax glanced over his shoulder at me, and a sly smile lifted his lips. “It was, and it is.”

I offered a teasing smile in return. “I suppose I won’t need to ask Saramel, after all, where your nickname comes from.”

He chuckled softly and stopped when he reached a set of large double doors in the middle of the hall. “I suppose you won’t.”

I cocked my head. “What about everybody else’s true names? Come to think of it, I’m only certain of Nellip and Alec’s birthnames. Alec told me everyone’s nicknames were roughly their true names spelled backward, but he never actually told me what they were.”

He made a low sound in his throat. “How remiss of me. You’re correct that Phillen’s true name is Nellip. Lars was born with the name Sarl. Bowan is Nathob. Trivan is Navani. Lander is actually Edwin. Like me, Lander chose a middle name for his nickname. And Alec...is Alec. We call him Cal on our raids.”

“And Quinn?”

Jax shrugged. “He’s just Quinn. We never gave him a nickname since he’s usually in shadows and has such few interactions with actual fae.”

I contemplated all of their true names. Nellip, Sarl, Nathob, Navani, Edwin, Alec, and Quinn. I made a face. “I have to say, I quite enjoy their nicknames more.”

He smirked. “That makes two of us, or rather seven of us. All of us prefer our nicknames, and as you may have noticed with Bastian, it’s also what my brother prefers calling me.” He grasped one of the door handles of the double doors we’d stopped at, and a shimmer of his magic disengaged the lock.

But before he could open it, I thought back to the picture of his grandfather and asked, “Brommel stag shifter blood must run strongly in your family, and the land’s magic here must want your line to continue having that shifter ability.”

He faced me more, and his azure eyes looked stormy in the dying sunlight. “It does run in our family, and you’re right. My line keeps producing brommel stags. My great-grandfather was also a stag shifter, as was my grandfather, father, and now me.”

Unconsciously, I put a hand to my stomach. If Jax and I ever conceived a child, I had no doubt if I birthed him or her here, he or she would also be a stag. Or perhaps it wouldn’t matter which kingdom I was in at the time. It certainly hadn’t with Jax. He possessed magic from all four kingdoms—a true anomaly.

Jax’s attention dipped to where my hand was, and another low sound came from his throat, part content rumble and part possessive purr.

Stepping closer, he slid an arm around my waist and pressed his lips to my ear. “Soon, mate, I shall place a child in your belly and watch it grow. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see you with my seed swelling you round the middle.”

A throb of lust shivered through my insides. “Perhaps we could enjoy a few summers first with just the two of us? If the stars and galaxy eventually decide to bless us with a child, that is.”

Nostrils flaring, Jax drank in my scent, then opened the door to what I assumed was his private suite. A sultry smile curved his lips. “I could be persuaded to wait. But I shall insist we practice conceiving a child many, many times in the interim. Now, come, my love, this chambers is now just as much yours as it is mine.”

I stepped over the threshold, Jax still in front of me, and a strong wash of magic prickled my skin. I arched an eyebrow. “Another ward?”

He turned, his large frame blocking the view of his residence. “Of course. This is my private suite. I don’t allow anyone in here, not even the servants. Only you have access now, in addition to me.”

“Truly? You do the cleaning yourself?”

“It’s nothing a few charms can’t take care of.”

“And you’ve never allowed anyone in here? Ever? Not even your friends? Or your parents?”

“No, not even them. Much of my life”—his brow furrowed—“hasn’t been mine. It’s owned by others, but here, within these walls, it’s truly a haven for me. Nobody disturbs me when my doors are shut, not even the king and queen.”

My breath caught. “Are you seriously telling me I’m the only one to have ever stepped over that threshold?”

He nodded. “Since I moved up here eighty summers ago? Yes. Only you.”

“And you’re truly telling me you’ve never had another female up here? Not even for a night?” It was a ridiculous question. If he had, I didn’t want to know, but in response, he only stepped closer to me.

“No, Elowen. You are the only female ever to pass through my ward. Nobody has been in here since I claimed this as my private residence. Only you, my love.”

Warmth bloomed through me, and he finally moved so I could see the chambers that he’d now opened up to me.

I gasped, my gaze alighting on the circular stone walls holding dozens of tall windows. A thick, plush carpet graced the room’s center, and a large canopied bed sat by the far wall. The bed was large enough to easily hold three, even four, fae and was perfectly made without a wrinkle or crease in sight.

The bed’s large coverlet was a deep navy with stone-gray sheets peeking out beneath it. Matching dark-wood tables graced the bed’s sides, and across the chamber directly facing the bed waited a huge fireplace.

Surrounding the fire were two chairs and a sofa. I couldn’t help but imagine us one day curling up on that couch, letting the fire warm us on a cold winter night, as the sounds of Jaggedston drifted to us faintly from the city streets below.

On the far wall of the chamber sat a huge bookshelf filled with hundreds of books. Next to that was a writing desk covered with a stack of parchments and quills. And beside that was a wall of swords, crossbows, and bows and arrows.

I smiled playfully. “Do you do a bit of training up here as well?”

He chuckled. “I like having my weapons close.” Jax waited patiently, a content smile on his face as I explored his private suite. “I’ll make room for whatever you would like added to our chambers as well. There’s plenty of space.”

I couldn’t help but grin as I continued my wander. In the chambers’ corner, a door waited. The door led to a large bathing room, putting the one attached to the suite Bastian had to shame. Unlike that suite, the windows in this one were crystal clear and awarded one a breathtaking view of the Adriastic Sea glimmering along the coast.

I eyed the monstrous tub and fluffy towels beside it. Jax and I could both easily fit in that tub, and the thought of doing so sent a shiver through me.

“Do you like it?” he asked quietly from the doorway.

I swirled toward him. “I love it.”

“Come. I have something to show you.” He beckoned me, then wrapped his hand around mine.

I followed him out of the bathroom to another door that I hadn’t spotted since it lay close to the chambers’ entryway and was easy to miss behind the double doors.

Jax stepped through it, and I followed, only to stop dead in my tracks.

A huge wardrobe stretched out in front of us, but instead of only holding clothes for the crown prince, half of it held female garments.

My heart began to pound when I eyed rack upon rack of beautiful sweaters, cozy tops, breeches in every color imaginable, billowy cottonum pants, simple dresses, and shelf after shelf of underthings in every shade of color. And at the far end of the wardrobe in a very small space, was a rack of opulent gowns.

Slowly, I made my way down the ginormous closet, feeling the clothes along the way. I stopped at the end, near the gowns, and my fingers trailed along their material. Every single gown was made of comfortably silky cloth. None of them had restricting corsets or endless tulle or plunging necklines meant to titillate.

Tears formed in my eyes when I swung back to face Jax. “Is all of this...for me?”

He stood just behind me, having followed me silently, an unsure look on his face. “It is.”

“When? And how?” I somehow managed in a choked whisper.

“I hired a dozen seamstresses the day that you broke out of your chambers. I knew that I couldn’t let you leave, and I wanted to take care of you. It made my instincts absurdly happy to provide this for you, even if you didn’t know about it and I was keeping you captive.”

Another burst of warmth coasted through me. “So, it wasn’t just the green gown you had crafted for me that I wore to meet King Paevin, or that chest of clothes you brought along to Leafton?”

His throat bobbed. “No.”

“You had all of this made just for me?”

“I did. I made it very clear to the seamstresses what your tastes were. I hope I got it right.” He raked a hand through his hair, suddenly looking unsure. “If I didn’t, I’ll?—”

I wrenched him to me before he could utter another sound and kissed him.

His lips crashed into mine, his hands automatically going to my waist to pull me closer. Our mouths moved as one, and his taste flooded my senses. He tasted of wind and pine, hope and love. He tasted of home.

When I finally pulled back, I was breathless.

A smoldering look filled his gaze. “I take it that I got it right?” He smiled cheekily.

“You did.” I ran a hand over one of the sweaters near me, still panting and breathless from our kiss.

My fingers encountered thick and soft material. I held the sweater up. It hung to mid-thigh and would be warm and comfortable when strolling through the chilly halls at night. “But this isn’t the regal sort of attire a queen wears.”

Jax cocked his head. “Perhaps not usually, but who’s to say that can’t change? Why should a queen be required to wear restrictive, uncomfortable gowns from dusk until dawn while the king wears comfortable pants and woolen tops or tunics and breeches?”

The tears in my eyes grew so thick that I could barely see. Blinking, I glanced at the gowns at the very end again. “And those are for when duty requires me to wear such finery?”

I surveyed the collection. There were around four dozen gowns, each of a different color with unique embellishments.

“Traditionally, we dress formally each night for the evening meal.” Jax came up behind me and encircled my waist. “But if you don’t like them, we’ll get rid of all of them.”

I laughed, the sound between that of joy and disbelief. I ran my fingers along the dresses. They were just as soft as the sweaters. “They’re beautiful, Jax. No, not just beautiful. They’re perfect. And I’m not entirely averse to wearing gowns, you know. It’s simply that in my life with my guardian, I never had a choice, and he always chose ones of styles that I didn’t favor. But these...” I pulled out one.

The dark navy dress had a fitted top encrusted with thousands of shimmering dark sapphires. From the waist down, the skirt was layer upon layer of fine, sheer-like material. It flowed like water to rest in a pool around my feet. And attached to the shoulder area of the gown’s top was a cape made of the same sheer material, but at only one layer thick, the cape was slightly see-through. More glittering sapphires adorned the cape’s clasp and seams.

The gown was breathtaking. Bold. Utterly beautiful. Yet I could tell from the cut and feel that it would be comfortable to wear for an entire day.

“I love this one.”

His lips curved in a satisfied smile. “Try it on for me. You can wear it tonight to meet my parents if you like.”

My cheeks warmed under his husky declaration and the arousal coasting from him into me along our bond. I swirled my fingers to indicate that he should turn around, then I quickly undressed and slipped into the gown.

It easily slid up my body, and the clasps in the back were something I could even clip together myself, nothing like the stays and hundreds of buttons that commonly befitted the gowns my guardian had insisted on. I didn’t even need a lady’s attendant to wear this dress.

Once done, I smoothed the navy material over me, marveling at how perfectly it fit, then I clasped the sheer cape around my shoulders, hooking it to the dress in clasps just above my breasts.

Jax’s large frame blocked the mirror at the wardrobe’s entrance, but looking down, I was able to see that while the gown showed off my figure, it wasn’t revealing, and the sheer layers of the skirt were lightweight and airy but not see-through. This gown would be easy to move in and wouldn’t make me feel exposed. Yet it was beautiful enough that I felt regal.

“Well?” Jax asked, still turned away. “The suspense is killing me.”

I laughed lightly. “You can turn around.”

He spun slowly, and the second his gaze alighted on me, a predatory look stole over his face. He looked me up and down, his expression turning hungry . It reminded me of all the times I’d seen that look on his face previously, before I’d known that he was my mate.

He stepped closer, his intent clear. Liquid heat rushed between my thighs, and I instinctually backed up.

He tsked , yet a wild glow lit his eyes. “No running, mate. I fear I’d give chase.”

I was already breathless by the time he pinned his hands to the wall behind me on each side of my head, caging me in. Leaning down, he ran his nose up my exposed throat, drinking in my fragrance.

“Is that arousal wafting up from you that I scent?” He pressed a kiss to my neck. “Why, I think it is. Is there something you’re wanting, my love?”

I rubbed my thighs together, the friction delicious against my aching core. He nipped my neck, and I moaned.

“I believe I asked you a question.” He trailed a finger up my thigh, dragging the gown with him until his hand slipped beneath it.

His fingers grazed over my leg, moving up, up . . . up .

Teasing, he traced his fingers along my hip, moving toward my center, right to where I was already throbbing for him.

When he reached my core, he tapped the bundle of nerves, and I cried out. “An answer, my love. Now . I believe I asked what you wanted?”

His dominant tone sent a spark of need spiraling through me. “I want you,” I somehow managed through breathy pants. “I want you inside me.”

A possessive rumble shook his chest, and he hoisted me up, parting the dress completely. He backed me into the wall until my spine was flush against it, and my legs hooked around his waist.

My hands went to his waistband as he hiked the dress up entirely. The slippery, sheer material easily draped over my thighs to spill behind me, and I let out a loud moan when his cock sprang free.

He rubbed himself against my entrance and groaned. “So wet.”

He lined himself up and slowly pushed into me. His large girth filled me with every inch he won, and my core clamped around him, holding him tightly. Gasping, I clung to his shoulders, already drunk with lust.

A harsh breath escaped him, and in a shimmer of magic, his antlers appeared. A wild glow filled his eyes, and he growled, “ Mine .”

He plunged himself entirely inside me, and I cried out when he filled me so deliciously. Hands running up his chest, I tangled my fingers in his hair and then encircled his antlers with my palms.

A grunt came from deep within his throat, and his look turned feral. He began to pound into me, his cock thick, and my body hummed with need. The bond inside me burned, tying me tightly to my mate, and every time I grasped his antlers harder or caressed their rough length, his hips bucked, and his thrusts increased.

He rutted with me against the wall, slamming into me over and over. It’d felt like so long since we’d last done this, and I wondered how in the realm we’d managed to go as long as we had without touching.

“You’re mine, Elowen. Mine ,” he rasped. “My mate. My queen. You’re fucking mine .”

I was a mindless mess by the time he slammed into me the final time. We both came together, our screams trapped in each other’s mouths when we kissed fiercely. Wave after wave of pleasure spiraled through me, and he swallowed each of my sounds as he emptied himself inside me.

Many breaths later, he finally dipped his head, and his antlers winked out of existence.

Panting, I cradled him to me since my legs were still locked around his waist, and he was still buried deep within me. “Do your antlers always come out when you’re...” I let my words hang, not entirely sure if it was simply sex that elicited them or something else.

He shook his head. “No. Only with you. Only you have the ability to bring out that side of me. Every time I’m with you, my mating instincts take a hold of me.”

A thrum of satisfaction coursed through me that no other female had ever seen him that way. I ran a hand along the back of my neck, on the mating mark he seared into my skin back in Leafton. Then I ran my finger along his mark, the eye of a semelee, on his inner wrist. He shuddered.

“Good,” I said simply and then draped my arms around him and kissed him languidly.

He kissed me soundly in return, his tongue dancing with mine. Gods and Goddesses , but this male had the power to consume me.

A faint bell began to ring in the distance, and when it reached seven tolls, I realized what time it was. We were expected in the dining hall at eight, and with how monstrous this castle was, it would likely take a while to reach it.

Regretfully, I tore my mouth from his. “We should probably start getting ready to go. We don’t want to be late to meet your parents.”

He kissed me again, but instead of releasing me, he began to harden inside me. “We still have an hour. One more time...or two, or three...are in order. I haven’t had nearly enough time to properly fuck you, my love.”

My hair spilled back when he began to move, his thick length rubbing deep inside me and demanding that I respond. Our mating bond burned brightly, and his growing arousal coasted into me.

Moaning, I dragged him back to my mouth, kissing him thoroughly as he began to thrust into me again and again and again.

We made love two more times. The second time we joined was again in the wardrobe, and the last was on the couch near the fireplace. It was well and truly close to eight by the time we’d both fully dressed again. But in a way, I was glad Jax had insisted on making love again. It’d certainly been a heady distraction. I hadn’t thought even once of his parents or what was to come tonight.

In a rush of Jax’s magic, he cleaned his seed away that had begun to slide down my thighs, and then, in another whisper of his magic, cleansed my folds too.

I gasped when his magic touched me there .

He smirked and kissed me softly before whispering in my ear, “Get used to it, my love. I plan to touch you in every way possible for many summers to come with my hands and with my magic.” A caress of his air element danced down my spine, and damn him, but another stirring of longing began to pulse inside me.

Chuckling, he ran his hands over my gown, straightening it until it fell in a beautiful pool around my legs. Nobody would have known what we’d just been doing in his private chambers for the past hour.

Jax had changed into a pair of navy trousers and a crisp white buttoned-up shirt, covered with a navy jacket. He looked elegant and commanding, exactly as a prince should.

At the end of the wardrobe, near the door, a mirror waited.

I gazed at our matching attire, and for a moment, my breath was taken away. I knew most of my beauty came from my lorafin magic, but even I had to admit that we made a striking pair.

A smile tugged at his lips. “You’re gorgeous, Elowen, absolutely gorgeous .”

Warmth rushed through me, yet as we walked out of his suite, the doors locking automatically behind us, it truly hit me what we were about to do.

I was going to meet the king and queen of Stonewild Kingdom while their son declared me his mate, and then we were going to drop the news on them of what King Paevin had done.

This night had the possibility to end in triumph...or complete disaster.