Chapter 7
Seven
SENAN
As my hand clutches Allette’s, her piercing golden eyes search for answers I don’t have time to give. If this is going to work, we need to leave right now, before Sir Diligence realizes we’re missing.
“I can’t leave Wynn,” she protests with a shake of her head.
“Don’t worry about her. My guard will bring her back.” I told Wynn to stick with him if we get separated. And that is exactly what is about to happen.
Allette’s brow furrows as she glances over her shoulder to where Wynn sits, sipping wine and swinging her feet along to the beat of the music.
“Allette, we must hurry.” I hold my breath, waiting for her response, my heartbeat thundering in my ears.
When she nods, I nearly collapse with relief. Together, we charge through spinning couples, heading straight for the road that brought us here only a few hours earlier. Our footsteps pound against the stones. We hold onto one another as if the world would tear us apart if it knew my plan.
A plan born out of desperation.
Seeing Allette with Philip fucking Windell of all people…
I hadn’t been joking when I’d said I wanted to kill him. The way he’d smirked at me as he walked away…
A fresh wave of rage spills through my chest.
If we’d been in Kumulus, I would’ve had him thrown into the pit, his connection with the king be damned.
Allette and I race past the pub, where only a single man remains at the picnic tables scattered outside.
I dart a glance over my shoulder.
No one appears to be following us, but I can’t take any chances. Not with her. By the time we make it to the forest’s edge, my lungs burn like that bonfire. Who knew running was so fucking hard?
If only I could use my wings and fly us out of here. But if I drop my glamour, I might not have enough magic to recall it again.
Instead of turning left toward the path, I cut right between two tall green trees with prickly branches and head into the unknown. Twigs snap beneath our boots as we dodge tree trunks, leap over roots, and skirt around stones.
“Senan?” Allette gasps.
“Shhhh.” It’s so dark, there is no way of knowing if we’re truly alone.
“But we’re going the wrong way.”
I hate ignoring her, but there really isn’t time. If that guard can run even half as fast as I’ve seen him fly, he’ll be right on our tails. So I keep going, searching for a safe place for us to hide.
Allette tries to tug free of my grasp, but I can’t let her go now. The forest thickens, filled with too many prickly bushes and so many damned thorns. The tiny buggers stab through the arm of my coat when I sweep them back, clearing a path so Allette doesn’t get stabbed as well. She uses my distraction to free herself from my hold.
My beautifully insistent girl plants her feet, forcing me to stop lest we get separated. “I’m not taking another step until you tell me what is going on.” She draws down the mask I purchased after my dance with Wynn, fixing me with a hard stare. “I deserve an explanation.”
“And you’ll get one, after we find a place to hide.”
Uncertainty flickers over her shadowed eyes. “Hide? Why do we need to hide?”
Because I can’t lose you. “Please, Allette. I swear I’ll explain everything as soon as I can.”
Although a frown tugs at her lips, her fingers curl around mine once more. I search the darkness for some sign of shelter but find only the skinny silhouettes of barren trees.
“It’s this way.” I tug her to the right.
There must be something in this forsaken forest. A cave, maybe? Except, wild animals live in caves, right? Or is that only in storybooks? What about a barn? It’d be smelly, but at least it would be dry. But who builds a barn in the middle of the damn forest? Hell, I’d take a fucking overhang at this stage.
We keep walking, our feet growing more and more saturated with each step. Up a hill. Down the other side. Around a bend and?—
There . Straight ahead. If we weren’t on the run, I would’ve let out an exuberant cry. “We’re here.” I gesture toward a building-shaped shadow in the distance. I really hope this place isn’t covered in feces or inhabited by some rabid animal.
The shape ends up being a shite one-room cottage with a sagging thatched roof and no glass in the windows. Not exactly a castle, but the crumbling fireplace appears functional, and the creaky wooden walls will keep the breeze at bay.
I go in first, searching for signs that someone lives here. The place seems abandoned—my first bout of good luck in forever. Allette steps inside after me and turns in a slow circle, her gaze dragging along the cobweb-lined beams.
The floorboards groan when she shifts her weight, and a piercing crack rings through the air. Allette pitches forward, but I catch her before she falls. Damn rotten floorboard. Her boot has punched right through.
I open my mouth to say something that’ll lighten the mood, but her glower tells me I’m better off staying silent.
Once she extricates herself, she smooths her hands down her skirts and inhales a deep breath. “Do you care to tell me why we’re hiding in an abandoned shack instead of flying back home?”
This is it. My one chance to convince her. If it doesn’t work, I’m not above taking her hostage. Just kidding. Mostly. I scrub my clammy palms against my coat. Why am I so nervous? This is Allette. My one and only. My forever.
“I don’t think we should go back to Kumulus. I think we should stay here.”
She glances around the empty room, her eyes slowly widening. “You want to stay in a shack?”
“Not in this cottage specifically. I mean stay in this realm. With the humans.”
Her eyebrows arch. “This is one of your jokes, isn’t it?”
“It’s not a joke.” Going back to Kumulus means certain misery. Staying down here, we have possibilities. A future together instead of apart. Happiness.
I step over the rotten floorboard and take both her hands in mine. The longer I hold her, the more right this feels. “I want you to marry me, Allette.”
Her breath hitches, but instead of smiling, she frowns. Shit. Why is she frowning?
“That isn’t funny, Senan.”
I’m not trying to be funny.
She jerks out of my grasp and starts swiping at her eyes. Hold on. Is she crying ? “You can’t say things like that to me. My heart cannot take it.”
“Allette, look at me. Please. Just look at me.” When she finally does and I see tears glittering along her lashes, my heart turns to dust. “I’ve never been more serious. I cannot marry someone else when my heart and soul belong to you.” I tuck a loose lock of silky black hair behind her ear, already missing the blue. Blue or black, it doesn’t matter. I’d love her if she were bald. “Up there, I am bound for a future without love or hope. Here, with you, we can have both.”
What is the point in a long life if I cannot share my days with the woman I love?
“You truly want to stay here and marry me?” she says slowly, as if she still can’t get her head around the idea.
Doesn’t she see how much she means to me? Haven’t I shown her every day since the moment we met? “More than anything in the world. But what I want means nothing if you do not feel the same.”
Still sniffling, she runs her thumbs beneath her eyes, catching her tears before they fall. “How would we support ourselves?”
“I have some gold in my pack. It should be enough to get us started.” Speaking of, I need to collect my pack as soon as possible. If anyone else finds it, we’ll be in right trouble.
“And when the money runs out?”
“I’ll find work.”
She snorts. “You? Work?”
“Yes, me, work.” Why is that so funny? “I’m young and strong. Finding gainful employment should be no trouble at all.” How hard can it be? Surely someone down here could use some help in exchange for coin.
“You’ve never worked a day in your life. Neither of us have. You’ve been raised for politics and merrymaking, and I’ve been brought up to be some wealthy Scathian’s wife.”
Philip Windell’s smug face flashes through my mind. My hands clench into fists. I should’ve hit him. Just once. Just enough so that he’d be too embarrassed by his broken face to show up at Allette’s tower for the next month.
My girl is far too intelligent to end up as an accessory on that irritating ass’s arm. She deserves better than what awaits her. We both do.
“That is exactly what I mean, Allette. If we go back, that will be our fate. Don’t we deserve to choose?”
What did I have to offer her up there? Life as a mistress? A social pariah? I want to give her the world, but for that to happen, it must be this world.
She wrenches her hands together, tugging on her littlest finger the way she does when she gets nervous. Why hasn’t she answered me yet? What does she want me to do? Beg? I will. At this stage, I’ll grovel. “I can do anything as long as I get to come home to you at the end of each day. There may not be magic in this realm, but we can make our own.”
Allette’s eyes soften, and she cups my cheeks in her frigid hands. “I love you so much.”
“Then marry me.” Better yet… I remove my dagger from its sheath at my belt. Allette’s breath stutters when I drag the sharp blade along my palm.
Shit . I knew this was going to hurt but didn’t expect it to sting this bad.
Blood wells in the shallow wound, dripping down my wrist and disappearing beneath the sleeve of my coat.
“Senan, we can’t do this. If the stars don’t agree, we’ll be cursed.”
The stars can go and shite if they disagree. This woman is the other half of me, of that there is no doubt. “I choose you, Allette Rittey, as my wife and my mate.” No celestial bodies, no king, no council, and no priest can tell me otherwise. Besides, the stars are too far away to care about us. In this world, we make our own fate.
I extend the hilt of my blade toward her, waiting for my love to choose me too.
Allette hesitates for only a moment before taking the blade and cutting herself as well. Her eyes lock with mine, reflecting the smile on my face when she says, “I choose you, Senan Vale, as my husband and my mate.” When her blood-drenched hand clasps mine, the magic flowing through our veins grows hotter and hotter, burning like hellfire. We cling to each other until silver scars are forever marked upon our skin.
My forehead falls to hers, our breaths mingling and bodies molding.
“I will love you until the sun implodes and the stars no longer shine,” I whisper. A pledge. A promise. My lips hover over hers, and when she closes the gap, all I can think is: Finally . I’ve been craving her sweetness on my tongue all night. Forever. This woman is everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. Our tongues tangle together in a slow, luxurious dance as I tell my girl how much I love her without uttering a word.
We come together with the ferocity of a hurricane. Skirts yanked up. Trousers tugged down. Hands roaming, taking and giving. With the ecstasy of her body enveloping mine, I know I’m not going to last, but I will have eternity to make it up to her. Next time, we’ll be in our own bed. Next time, I’ll take it slow. Next time, we’ll make love. This joining is about claiming.
Allette’s head falls back, and my teeth drag along her throat. When I reach the place where her neck meets her shoulder, I have this uncontrollable urge to clamp down a little harder.
“Did you just bite me?” she gasps.
Shit. I did. I just bit her. What sort of madness has come over me? I didn’t mean to hurt her. I never want to cause her pain. “I’m sorry, I?—”
Her hand slides down to cup the back of my neck and pull my head to the side. Her teeth sink into the same spot on my neck. The flash of pain is nothing compared to the pleasure of her marking me as hers.
When she does it again, what little grip I still have on my control slips, and I find my end with a final thrust. Our panting breaths fall in time, our chests heaving against each other.
I press a soft kiss to her temple, my cheeks warming. “Well, that is embarrassing.”
Her hair falls into her face when she shakes her head. “No. I love that I can make you lose yourself.”
“You don’t make me feel lost, Allette. You make me feel found.”
Her answering smile is like watching a beautiful sunrise.
But then her smile slips, and she darts a glance out the empty window. “Eason.”
Feral possessiveness grips my chest, burning like a fever beneath my skin. “Tell me you didn’t just say another man’s name while my cock is still inside you.” I nip at her swollen lips. This woman is mine, and if another man even thinks of looking at her, I’ll spill his entrails before he can blink.
Allette’s hands press against my chest, taming my raging heart. “Calm down. I’m only worried he won’t bring Wynn home.”
“He will.” The fool will wrongly assume that I returned to Kumulus and carry Allette’s friend back to our kingdom. By the time he realizes I’m not there, it will be too late.
Allette and I will be long gone by the next Samhain festival.
We’ll both be free.
I withdraw from her body and adjust my trousers before helping with her undergarments and skirts. Seeing my cum glistening between her thighs makes me want to claim her again.
Once we’re put to rights, Allette folds her arms around herself and tucks her hands beneath her armpits. I’m still overheated from our coupling, but that will soon fade. If we’re to stay here for what remains of the night, we need to find a different way to warm up.
When I step away, her lips purse into the most edible pout. “Don’t make that face. I’m just going to start a fire.”
“Look at you being chivalrous.”
“What can I say? I love your fingers and toes too much to let them fall off.”
With a light laugh, Allette runs her finger along the window frame. “This place could use some curtains. Blue ones.”
I kneel next to the fireplace, craning my neck to check if the chimney is blocked. Seems clear. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. “It needs windows first. And a new floor.” And a new kitchen and door. Not that we’re going to stay in this place. I’m sure squatting is as illegal here as it is up in Kumulus.
Allette sinks next to me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Are we really doing this?”
It’s too late to turn back now. Once the bond is in place, it can never be removed. She is mine, and I’m hers, betrothals and princesses be damned. “We’re really doing this.”
Allette nods toward the lone log sitting on the grate. “Do you even know how to start a fire?”
“I’m a fire elemental, of course I know how to start a fire.” I’ve been calling flames to my palm since I learned to wield my element at ten years old. “Your lack of faith wounds me.”
“You shouldn’t use your element. What if your glamour fails? Better safe than sorry.”
She makes a fair point.
No matter. I can do this without magic. Fire. Fire . How do the Tuath servants in the castle light fires without magic?
Allette shifts her weight, her lips tugging upward.
“Can you not stare at me?” I need to focus. Kindling. They usually have kindling. I glance around the room. We don’t have any, though. Where does one get kindling?
Her smile widens. “You don’t know how to do it, do you?”
Please. Everyone knows how to start a fire. I just need to find the right tools. I stand and feel around what remains of the mantle for something to help.
Allette rocks back, grinning like a fool. “What are you doing?”
“If you must know, I am searching for matches.”
Laughing, she pushes to her feet. “Maybe there are some in the kitchen.” Swiping bits of dirt and hay from her skirts, she skips over to the four cabinets screwed to the wall next to a porcelain sink. The doors bang as she searches. “No matches. Sorry.”
We can’t stay in this hovel without some source of heat. There really is only one thing to do.
I squat back down and draw on my element, the heat of magic warming me all the way through before a small spark appears at my fingertips. Even though I spent the better part of the last week in the sun, my well of magic shudders. Not that it matters since I won’t be needing my wings down here.
I’ll never need them again .
I quickly push the depressing realization aside. What I’m giving up is nothing compared to what I’ve gained.
“Have you lost your mind?” Allette hisses even as she sinks down next to me, holding her hands toward the now-blazing log. With the way the wood burns, we’ll need more sooner rather than later.
I reign in my magic, feeling it settle deep in my core like a glowing coal. “I think I have. I’ve not been able to think straight since the day I met you.”
She huffs a laugh and slips off her boots, leaving them beside the hearth. Her sopping wet socks land next to them. Her poor toes are almost as blue as her hair used to be. I wrap my hands around the pads of her feet, calling a little more heat into my palms.
Firelight dances on her rosy cheeks and the red tip of her slightly upturned nose. “Thank you.”
“What good am I if I can’t keep my mate warm?”
“No good at all,” she says with a mischievous smile.
I return her grin. “Exactly.” No good at all.