Chapter 35 Aerin
AERIN
Aerin was expecting to surprise Khortland in his little love den upon her arrival.
Aerin was expecting Malice and Emrys to be upset to hear the news that she is Paramyr to a Prince of the Zeneith.
She was even expecting the Human in bed with her Paramyr, the one who is now trembling against the headboard.
Aerin did not expect Malice to snap. She didn’t expect him to half shift. And she certainly didn’t expect him to slam the naked Fae Prince against the wall so hard it crumbles.
And because she wasn’t expecting it, it takes her a moment. A blink really, to react. A blink too long.
Khortland blasts Malice in the chest with ice. Malice flies back, letting the Prince go. He roars in anger, fire flaring from his palms.
“Get your pet under control!” Khortland shouts at Aerin, a morsel of desperation in his eyes as he realizes Emrys has maneuvered himself between the fight and the Human on the bed.
Snapping into action, Aerin puts a wall of magic between Malice and Khortland seconds before Malice sends flames towards the ice Fae, steam rising off his skin where ice once coated him.
“Em, do not let anything happen to the Human, and do not let them leave,” Aerin orders over Malice’s roar of frustration.
“She is mine!” It’s Reikan’s voice that roars out of Malice’s body, directed towards her Paramyr, who is now edging back towards the Human.
Fear and uncertainty rise within Aerin, but she squashes it. Now is not the time to be afraid of the Dragon.
Despite the danger, Aerin steps through the wall she put around Reikan and changes it to be opaque in color. No sight or sound passing through in either direction.
“Malice,” Aerin whispers, approaching him with her hands outstretched in surrender. He is still fuming, literally. Steam rises from his skin, his shirt melted away. His eyes blaze orange, trained on Aerin, looking downright predatory.
“My name is Reikan the Vanquisher, and you, Aerin Tolvare, Moonstone Dragon, and Princess of Valtara, you are mine.”
Aerin blinks at him.
“Reikan, I need Malice back. Now,” Aerin orders, trying to keep the tremble in her hands out of sight. Flames still flicker in his palms.
“You are mine,” he growls again.
Anger, disbelief, and indignation form in equal parts. Aerin hardly stops herself from blasting him with her own magic. Her caution switches to rage in a matter of moments, and she steps forward, chest to chest with Reikan.
His chest rises and falls rapidly but hers is even as she says, “What I give to you, I give to you by choice, Reikan. You think you can control me?” Venom laces her voice.
“You think you are more powerful than me?” Aerin lets her voice rise, lets the Dragon see just how furious his behavior has made her.
“I will do as I please.” Her voice hardens. “Who I please.” She pushes a finger into his chest. “When I please.” Reikan’s eyes flare. “And you will be grateful for the parts of myself I give you!”
There is a long pause. Reikan seems to be considering this.
The flames in his hands sputters out as he gives her a slight nod. A show of submission, of acceptance.
“Now,” Aerin says, blowing out a breath, “Give me back Malice.” She lays a firm hand on his shoulder and shoves her magic into him. Reikan isn’t expecting it, so when Aerin grabs the essence of Malice and pulls him to the surface, there is little fight.
The scales and steam fade, but somehow Aerin is still caught by surprise when those blue eyes blink back to focus and Malice kisses her.
The stiffness in Aerin’s body only lasts for a second, then everything in her gives.
Malice’s kiss is desperate and needy. One of his hands holds the back of her head, tangled in her hair.
The other grasps her ass, pulling her whole body into his.
She parts her lips, and his tongue pushes its way inside.
There is nothing sweet, kind, or tender about this kiss.
It’s violent, and domineering, and so desperate.
The blood-bond hums between them, thrumming in a way that brings everything to a fever pitch.
Malice is the one to break the kiss.
He pulls back, panting, while his eyes search hers. He looks apologetic, though Aerin isn’t sure what for: the outburst or the kiss itself.
His forehead falls onto hers. Breathing the same air as she is, he says, “I don’t care that you have a Paramyr.
I don’t care that you sleep in the same bed as the Wolf.
I don’t even care if you fuck the stupid Jaguar from the club—” Malice inhales harshly through his nose.
“We are bonded-mates. I am a part of you. As you are a part of me. I can’t fight against it anymore.
I need to have you, Aerin.” His voice cracks. “Fucking please, let me have you.”
Aerin swallows, her head spinning. She would hop on his dick right here if she could. But now is not the time for such things. So instead, she leans up and kisses him softly one more time.
“I am a part of you, Malice.”
He nods against her forehead, his eyes fluttering shut. He seems to be placated by this.
Aerin steps away from him. “Are you under control?”
“Yes.”
At his word, Aerin drops the wall of magic and the room re-emerges. From one disaster to another Aerin shakes off the feelings Malice brought forth, shoving them down until she is the carefree Princess once more.
“Go fix the door, will you?” Aerin says to Malice, careful not to make it an order.
He obeys anyway. Aerin meets Emrys’s gaze.
He is standing near the open exit. Khortland and the Human sit, dressed now mercifully, on the bed.
It doesn’t escape Aerin the way her Paramyr keeps himself between them and the Human.
Aerin’s sources told her Khortland is rumored to fuck Humans occasionally. She always wondered what it is about them that entertains him; maybe it’s just their meekness. But this is more than a simple exchange of pleasure; it seems like Khortland actually cares for the Human.
Khortland starts a slow clap, pulling Aerin from her thoughts. He stands, still positioned purposefully in front of the Human, blocking her from Aerin’s view.
“Quite a show,” he says lowly. “If you wanted to prove to me how you’ve grown up, you could have just asked to meet for a drink.”
Aerin knows Khortland, and she knows this bravado is all an act.
“Oh, shut up.” Aerin grins, crossing the room and throwing her arms around the Fae. He hugs her back.
“I missed you,” he murmurs into her hair.
Aerin pulls back, looking at his white-blonde hair and dark eyes, the sharpness of his cheekbones and the smile lines that form in his left cheek when he smirks at her.
“Now, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Well…” Aerin trails off, glancing at the Human behind him.
She is pretty, in a Human way. Humans are soft all over, short with rounded edges, where Fae, Shifters, and Mer are sharp, tall, and lean.
She has brown hair that cascades down to her waist in waves and large brown eyes.
She swallows under Aerin’s gaze but meets it.
Looking back at Khortland Aerin says, “I need a favor,” before pulling away and glancing over her shoulder.
Malice lingers by the door, which is back intact and shut tightly.
Aerin nods at Emrys who glances at Khortland warily before shifting.
The Human lets out a shrill sort of noise in surprise when the white Wolf takes form.
Emrys doesn’t snarl but his stare is unnerving and menacing all the same, even to Aerin.
“I need a reason to be walking around Valtara with a Wolf.”
“Gods, what have you gotten yourself into?” Khortland asks, rubbing his hand through his hair again.
She shrugs, smiling. Her Paramyr gives her a look, one that tells her he knows she is full of shit.
Aerin has known Khortland is her Paramyr, her mirror soul, the one Fae she could become bonded-mates with and enhance his magic, rather than suck it away like a leech, since she was eight.
Though, they weren’t aware of their title as Paramyrs until eighteen.
Once revealed, their fathers declared they would become bonded-mates.
It is to be a large celebration, a show of strength between the Fae Royal families.
Separately Aerin and Khortland decided they would never become bonded-mates, despite their Paramyr status. Though, their autonomy does not matter to the Kings.
Even without binding, Khortland is exactly as a Paramyr is described: Aerin’s mirror soul.
Closer than her closest friends, they know one another intimately, even though they’ve never shared a bed or even a kiss.
Those who fantasize about having a Paramyr forget looking in a mirror can be painful as often as it is comforting.
“I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine,” Aerin offers, looking again at the Human whose gaze flits back and forth between the Wolf and Khortland.
Khortland glances over his shoulder at the Human, sighing.
Her Paramyr nods, just as Aerin knew he would, before holding out his hand to the Human. She’s pulled to her feet, easily accepting his embrace.