Whisper of War and Storms (Heirs of Elydor #1)

Chapter 35

35

MEV

I stood by the window of my bedroom wondering how I’d possibly explain this moment to anyone. Clara. My friends. My mother. It wasn’t just the sheer number of stars or the fact that they were brighter, appeared closer, or that some glowed blue, reminding me of the way the etchings came alive in The Crooked Key. There was something else different about this night sky. Maybe that I knew what lay between it and the palace where I stood?

Aetheria didn’t just look different from Earth. It felt different too.

I turned at the click, watching the door from across a room that I’d learned was designed for me, the lost princess. Arched windows were draped with deep blue curtains, their embroidered, silver threads depicting wind patterns. Soft, muted shades of cream and sky blue adorned the walls. A grand four-poster bed with a sheer canopy and silk bedding wasn’t even the most striking feature of the room. That honor went to a marble fireplace with intricate celestial carvings reaching all the way up to the raised ceiling.

I wasn’t chancing a repeat of last night. Giving Kael the key, my father insisting I lock my door even with all of the protections around the palace, I’d prepared for him. Chalk having a lady’s maid up to the things I never thought to experience in my lifetime. After a bath that put the huge one in the Wind Haven Inn to shame, she’d given me more clothing than the first day. I had no idea where they came from or how it was possible they fit so well, but tonight was no exception. I could see from Kael’s expression he appreciated the nightgown as much as I did. Made from lightweight silk, the fabric a soft, pale blue that shimmered like the early morning sky, it was easily the most beautiful, delicate, thing I’d ever worn.

“Mev…”

He strode to me, Kael’s arms open before he’d reached me. I fell into them easily and willingly, our lips meeting and melding. It was a kiss I hoped would never end. When he reached down and lifted my nightgown, I wrapped my legs around him. As purposefully as he’d strode to me, Kael did the same as he climbed the steps to my raised bed.

Placing me on it, he began to undress as I watched.

“I’m going to make love to you. Again, and again, and again.”

With every article of clothing he tossed aside, my heart raced. “We don’t know what will happen,” I blurted, not wanting to have this conversation now after waiting so long for this. But I’d said it anyway.

Since he’d removed his boots and tunic, only Kael’s leather breeches remained. He sat next to me on the bed. Reaching up, he began to twist strands of hair through his fingers.

“When you’ve lived as long as I,” Kael began, “you learn to do so with uncertainty. I am unsure how humans can fully grasp such a lesson in one lifetime. But there is one thing you can be certain of, if it brings you comfort.”

When he released my hair, Kael’s fingers tracing my cheek and jaw, then lower still down my neck, I guessed, “Your love?”

Kael smiled. “That too. But something far greater.”

When I didn’t immediately guess, he leaned down and whispered into my ear, “Your ability to choose your own destiny.”

Kael sat up.

“As you’ve done.”

“As I’ve done. And I do not regret it, Mev. Nor did I make any decision lightly.”

“But your father. Your clan?—”

“My brother will see to our clan. And to my men.”

He left out his father. Kael’s feelings for him were complicated and always would be.

“How can you be certain you’ve chosen the right path?”

“The alternative, to be without you, is not acceptable.” His answer was swift and assured.

“Because I foresaw it?”

“No. Because I’ve never felt this way before. We will open the Gate, Mev. And you will choose a path. Here, in Elydor. Or in your realm. Just know, princess”—his lips curved upwards—“whichever path you choose, it will be with me by your side.”

Surely he did not mean…

I didn’t have the chance to ask him. Kael had leaned down, and this time, the kiss wasn’t soft or light. It was one filled with need and promise. He lifted my nightgown, and I shifted under him to allow it. With his hands everywhere at once, I reached between us and began to unbutton his breeches. In seconds, we’d gone from serious discussion to serious about being together.

“I need you,” I said as he helped me undo the buttons.

Pushing down his breeches, Kael moved between my legs. Without warning, he spread them. The last thing I saw before his head lowered was Kael’s wicked smile.

At the first touch of his tongue, my ass lifted from the bed. I reached down, grasping his hair even though he didn’t need any encouragement. Like everything Kael did, he excelled here too, and I wouldn’t think too hard on the reason.

My breath came quicker as he plunged in and out with an expertise that could only come from many lifetimes.

Because I’ve never felt this way before.

The words meant more from him than they would have from any other man. I believed him. Loved him. Never wanted this to end.

His thumbs pressed into my thighs, the pressure, and flick of his tongue, bringing me so close to release. “Please, Kael…” Thankfully, I didn’t need to say any more, because I couldn’t. But he sensed my meaning anyway, plunging in and out, licking me with such wild abandon, as if he enjoyed it immensely, that my ass squeezed… my muscles tightened… my heart raced and threatened to explode out of my chest as I called his name.

Aware he’d stopped, it wasn’t until my eyes popped open that I saw him between my legs, smiling. “That’s my princess.”

Oh dear lord. That was all it took. At the next flick of his tongue, everything tightened and then released. Letting go so completely, I forgot to breathe. By the time he stopped and scooted up to me, I’d not only recovered but was more than ready to have him inside me. “I need you, Kael.”

He positioned himself above me. “I need you too, princess.”

With that, he moved slowly, at first. The man was all muscle and hard lines, a glorious sight and even more glorious feeling as he filled me, little by little. I’d imagined this so many times, but the reality was so much better than the fantasy. I tried to grab him by the arms, but it was like holding onto tree trunks. Thrusting my hips up, into him, worked well though. Just like that, he was buried inside me.

“I cannot wait to learn precisely how you like me,” he said, moving more quickly. “What gets you off,” Kael said, reaching a hand between us. “What makes you moan.”

Guess that discussion Clara and I had had not long ago about not being able to orgasm without a vibrator was useless now. Hopefully I’d have a chance to tell her. Some guys really did know how to make it happen.

“That,” I said. “That does.”

“This?” he asked innocently, burying himself full hilt as his thumb circled my clit. “I wonder what would happen if I flipped you over and did this from behind? Would my princess like that too?”

His words. The feel of him. Watching Kael watch me, his expression as intent as when he used magic. “You are unbelievable,” I said, meaning it.

“No.” His voice was as silken as the gowns I’d been given. “You are.”

It was the guttural tone to his voice, the knowledge of what Kael could do, that nearly sent me over the edge. Again. But I wanted to give him as much pleasure as he was giving me.

“I wonder what my prince likes. If I wrapped my lips around him?—”

“Mev,” he warned. “You will come first.”

I could literally do it any time. He was that good. “Come with me, Kael.”

Pulling away his hand, Kael drove hard. I met his every thrust, his lips claiming mine as we climbed together. I clawed at his back, trying to pull him closer, deeper. As if that was possible.

“Kael.” I couldn’t hold on any longer. Didn’t want to.

With a roar of pleasure, Kael thrusted one last time, remaining there as my entire body tensed, my core throbbed and all thought fled for the briefest of luxurious moments. Though he collapsed on me, it wasn’t a crushing weight at all. I actually tried to get closer, but there was nothing between us. No shame. No judgment. No space. Just pure bliss and joy and love.

“I love you, princess,” he said, before I could say the same.

Kael propped himself up then, and I was glad for it, to be able to look into his eyes. “I love you, Prince Kael of Gyoria.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Would he be welcome home ever again? Certainly not by his father.

Kael kissed my nose.

“Tonight, there is no regret or remorse. There is only the two of us, in this bedchamber, loving each other and making promises to each other that will withstand anything that is to come.”

“Then I’ll start. I promise you will always have a home with me.”

“Careful, princess. In Elydor, a vow such as that, freely given, can constitute a union.”

Was he serious? “You don’t need someone to marry you? Or witnesses? Or anything?”

“Just a few words.”

I didn’t need to think. To contemplate. We were meant to be together.

“What are they?” I asked.

He didn’t hesitate.

“By the earth beneath us and the stars above us, I vow to stand by your side, honoring the bond we share. With this promise, I bind my heart and soul to yours, now and always.”

I’d never felt more sure about a decision in my life. “Prince Kael of Gyoria, by the earth beneath us and the stars above us, I vow to stand by your side, honoring the bond we share. With this promise, I bind my heart and soul to yours, now and always.”

He didn’t say anything.

“Are you going to repeat them?”

Kael’s slow smile hinted at his answer. “I don’t need to. I said them already.”

My eyes widened. “Are we married?”

“We have entered into a union. So… yes.”

“No fucking way.”

He laughed, spinning us around so I was on top of him. “There’s the Mia I first met.”

“A lot has changed since then.”

Kael reached up, kissed me, and lay down once again.

“Aye, princess. Everything has changed.”