31. Thea
Chapter thirty-one
Thea
The Autumn Court
“ I will claim you right here, right now.” I fluttered my wings wide, showing off their large wingspan and the power in them, and kept them on display. A blood-splattered show of my power along with the bloodied crown. I sat in my rightful place. “Fetch me a priestess.”
The Beast rose his head and winked at me.
I smiled back at his cocky attitude. He’d stood at my back. Kept me safe while I’d dispatched with the traitors in my kingdom. He was a worthy mate. One I couldn’t wait to claim as mine.
More guards rushed into the throne room and dragged Melanie’s body across the floor, leaving a red smear in their wake. I liked the thought of it being a red carpet for our upcoming ceremony.
I tapped the staff against my foot, waiting with impatience for someone to produce a priestess. Saltine appeared out of nowhere, a huge smile on her face. She flicked back the hood of her black cape and strode along the blood aisle. Pausing at the bottom of the throne, she inclined her head.
I rose and stepped forward.
The Beast, still on his knees, waited for my signal of when he could rise. Smart demon. I fell in love with him at that moment. The demon was willing to put himself at my beck and call. To allow me to lead my people. I wasn’t sure what he’d say once I told him we had a son. A child I longed to return for and fetch back here.
But…
Sirens would never accept a king. As our firstborn, he would be next in line to the throne. Traditionally, there’d never been a male siren born. We were always female. Never male. The other sirens would never accept a male ruler. Then there was Melanie. She would attempt to assassinate him even from the dark depths of a cell. I didn’t doubt she’d find a way to end the life of a successor to the throne. As it was, she was still next in line to rule if I died. If that changed, then it wouldn’t be just myself I was protecting, it would be our child. A child who’d know nothing but hate and fear his entire life. I didn’t want that for him. He deserved the love and acceptance he had from Cara and Seamus. They would love him forever. Remembering how selflessly they’d loved us would have to keep me from reaching for our son. Keep me from bringing him into this dangerous life of a siren royal.
I cleared my throat before I told him now about Cillian. “Rise, Beast.”
He rose to his impressive height. Horns proudly protruded from the top of his head. His leathery wings were still behind him. The fatal talons were a weapon I could use if I so desired of him. He would do anything for me. He’d let my sister live when we both knew I should kill her.
The Beast mumbled something under his breath. Saltine shot him a look that reminded me of regret and sadness. Perhaps I recognized it because that’s how I felt right now that we couldn’t bring our son to the Autumn Court. She shook the expression off a second later.
“Dearly beloved,” Saltine cackled.
We both shot her a glare.
“Can’t a witch have a little fun?” She tossed her cape from her shoulders and withdrew a small dagger. “Hands out.”
I held my hand out. The Beast placed his hand beside mine. Saltine slashed our wrists and then slammed our palms together. The slice stung. The cut wasn’t deep, but the blade held power.
“Claim your mate,” she said.
“I claim you as mine for all time. With my blood, you will answer me. With my essence, you are my mate.”
Swirling red-black energy circled our wrists, floated up over our hands, and dissipated from our fingertips.
Saltine gathered her robe, slid the dagger inside, then disappeared as instantly as she’d arrived. I didn’t miss the murderous look the Beast glared at her during the entire ceremony.
I drew my hand out of his and motioned Raelin forward. She stepped toward me, a crown of black iron and red rubies in her hands.
“Kneel Beast.”
He followed my command.
“With this crown, you will be king of the sirens.” I placed the crown on his head over his horns.
It was like they’d made the siren king’s crown for him, yet we passed it down through the ages just as we handed down the queen’s crown through the royal line.
A cheer spread out through the throne room.
The Beast rose and together we sat on the pair of thrones. It’d been a long time since the sirens had welcomed a king. Not since my father. I’d do everything in my power to make sure they did not murder the Beast as I suspected my father was. Now I questioned if Melanie had been the culprit…
I led the Beast away much later after a tiresome number of formalities, debriefing of the guards, and learning all there was to know about what Melanie had done as queen. Melanie had been the one to kill the Fae King in her quest for more power. Everyone thought it was me, though. Even if we explained the situation, the fae would never welcome us in the Summer Court ever again. We’d try to undo the damage Melanie brought to the siren name, but it might take many years to achieve the task. Years we had as immortals. Those years Melanie would spend in the dungeon paying for her crimes.
The Beast joined me in flight into the sky away from any prying ears for I still had to make certain there were no more traitors in cahoots with Melanie lying in wait in my court.
“I have to tell you something.” I cupped his face as we hovered together in the clouds over the Autumn Court.
“Later. I’ve been hard since the throne room.”
I laughed but kept him at arm’s length.
“I love your laugh. It feels like an eternity since I’ve heard it.”
I wanted to stay laughing to keep him happy, but this was too important. The smile dropped from my face.
“This is important, and you may not agree with me, but what I’m about to tell you must remain a secret.”
“You’re trusting me?”
The gentle wind blew his words to my ears and sent my hair flying back from my face.
“Yes. I trust you.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “I trust you too.”
I gave him a sad smile. “When Melanie sent me to Earth, and I had no memory, I…”
“I knew you’d have another lover.” He scowled.
“No. I didn’t. I promise.”
“How? You’re the most exquisite woman I’ve ever seen.”
I’d never tire of his compliments. Of how they made me feel happy, cared for, and loved.
“Flattery will get you everywhere in a minute.”
He grinned and licked his lips.
I was about to wipe the smile from his face.
“I had a child. A son.”
The smile dropped as I’d predicted.
“He’s the spitting image of you. Except for the horns and the wings.”
“I have a son?” His lips spread bit by bit into a grin. “Let’s go get him.”
My eyes welled. “We can’t.”
“Like Hell we can’t,” he said.
“Think about it, Rozronuuk. My sister is a traitor and who knows how many knew of her plans?”
“Your sister is in the dungeon. She won’t get out, and I’ll find and kill anyone who isn’t loyal to you.”
“I believe you.” I grabbed his arms. “But he’s the firstborn. The heir to the siren throne. A male. Sirens don’t birth males. Ever. No siren will accept him as another siren, let alone as their future king and leader. He’ll be a walking target his entire life if he lived here with us.”
So many emotions flickered over his face it hurt my heart to look at them.
“This is my fault,” he ground out through a tight jaw. “I should never have let my demon power out when we mated. If I’d controlled the urge, then there wouldn’t have been a chance for you to fall pregnant with a part-demon child.”
He thrust out of my hands and flew up into the sky, threw back his head, and roared to the heavens and the gods.
I gave him his moment. The chance to let out his rage. I suffered his rage too at the unfairness of our life together. If I could abdicate the crown to Melanie, I would have, but she’d sought to take it for herself. If she’d just waited, the crown would have been hers. Not now. Now she wasn’t fit to rule the sirens. She’d never put our people’s needs first.
The Beast flew back down to me and gathered me in his arms.
“Is he safe?”
I snapped my wings together and let him hover us in the air, trusting him to take care of me.
“He is, and he’s loved.”
“By whom?”
“A loving couple who helped me. They looked after me. Cared for me, too. He couldn’t be in better hands.”
“He can live with my brother. At least he’d be with family. We can still see him.”
“How would your brother explain his existence? How would he keep his heritage quiet?” I asked, wishing we could have our son in our life too. “He has a mixture of our wings. Golden feathers of a siren and the sharp, black talons of a demon. It would be too difficult to pretend he was a demon. Siren wings are notable. You wouldn’t fool anyone into thinking his wings were anything but the mark of a siren mating. He’s the first of his kind. A male siren. His life would be in jeopardy if my people knew of his existence. They’d never let a male rule them.”
He scowled. “I hate this. It’s making my rage intense.”
“Fight it for him. For me. And you.”
“I will. I’ll fight anything and everything for my mate. Even my instincts to find my son.”
I gazed into the mirroring hurt in his eyes.
“I love you, Rozronuuk.”
The pain and hurt lifted a fraction.
“I love you too, my little queen.”
His ebony eyes glittered a second before his lips crashed against mine. He took us past the clouds. The blazing rays of the sun streamed over the hard angles of his handsome face. There were so many emotions flittering in the ebony complexities of his eyes, but the one that held my thrall was love and trust.
He dropped me and swooped to catch me. We came together for a kiss, then drew apart again. He teased me over and over, kissing my lips, dropping me to catch me, and kiss my neck and my breasts. On the next drop, he caught me around the waist, his face disappearing under my dress, buried between my legs, his tongue seeking my aching clit. He licked me hard and fast until my legs shook. Then he dropped me from his hold again. I plummeted fast. The rush of air gusting over my body made my skin more sensitive and more aroused. By the time he caught me, I’d almost hit the ground, but I didn’t care. I knew he’d save me. I trusted him with my life. With our son’s life.
Up and up, he flew us. Spreading my legs, he undid his leather pants and buried himself deep. Each powerful pull of his wings thrust him inside me. I clung to his waist and buried my head against his chest as the wind whooshed past my ears. He paused at the top of the soft gray clouds high in the sky. The Autumn Court below us was small from this distance, but vast. Our kingdom. Ours to rule together.
With a gentle kiss on my forehead, he said, “Hold on to my horns.”
I clasped them with my warm palms. He flipped us and dove from the heights of bliss to the roaring ecstasy of orgasm. The release rushed through me, claimed my body as he’d claimed me as his mate. I’d claimed him too. I dug my nails into his horns. He roared his release and spilled inside my body. Hot bliss floated through my veins as he hovered us over to the grounds of the castle. He gathered me into his arms, tugged my dress over my legs, and carried me to my bedchambers.
There he undressed me and himself, laid me on the bed, covered me with his body, and filled me over and over again. Perhaps next time we’d have a daughter, the future ruler of the sirens, as I’d set out to do before the Beast came barreling into my life with his mate claim. Before I’d fallen in love with him.
Being a queen with a king by my side who I loved and who loved me.