Chapter 17 #2
“It is said that a seventh son of a seventh son, or a sixth daughter of a sixth daughter, will double in power. They had many more sons than daughters, so when they got close to seven sons, my father pushed my mother to keep going. He wanted to be the first Celestial king to create the Ancestral Magic of Sevens. But my mother’s body was starting to fail.
By the time she had my brother, the sixth boy, she’d had nine children and lost two.
She pleaded to give up. Technically, fae live forever, and one would think they could procreate forever, but babies are hard on a female’s body, as you probably know.
It was becoming dangerous for her. The healers advised against trying for more.
He would not be deterred. So she agreed to have one more, come what may.
If she produced a daughter instead of a son, she granted him to try with another, something that must’ve killed her to say.
It is said she loved him greatly. She did not share.
She did have one more son, though. Me. But it was her last. She died in childbirth, and I nearly went with her.
I got the Sevens Magic and then some. Some healers think she imparted her dying breath unto me—a boost to my already boosted power. ”
“So you were mighty.”
“I was. And naturally gifted in my physical abilities, as well. I set hard to training, at first because the kingdom was watching. I wanted to earn my place in the family—the place my mother had died to give me. Then the court started to grow wary of my constantly growing power. They started to mistrust me. So I trained to keep busy. I spent all my time training—hiding, really. I made myself more than just my magic and stayed out of the court’s eyes while I did it. ”
He twisted to grab a washcloth and a chunk of soap from the stand. His arms came around her, and he rubbed the cloth against the soap before sweeping it over the dips and curves of her body.
She closed her eyes as he washed her, letting her head fall back to rest on his collarbone, feeling his touch as it moved along her skin. “In turn, you scared the court more because of it.”
He soaked the cloth in the water, washing it of soap, before dripping it over her skin. “Yeah. I learned that too late.”
“Don’t we always?” she whispered, angling her head to the side so he could run his lips across her shoulder and up her neck. “Did your father blame you for your mother?”
“No. He blamed himself. That’s why the court is failing. He is wallowing in misery. He has lost control, and the vultures are circling.”
She lay harder against him, reaching back to loop her arms around his neck.
She thought about all he’d said. What a tragic past. He’d caused a rift just by being born, through no fault of his own.
Because yes, with that level of power, physically and magically, it was no wonder they wanted to get rid of him, especially with the throne in jeopardy.
He was powerful beyond compare, decorated, tight friends with soldiers, and a natural heir.
He would be the number one contender to take over for his father. No surprise that he’d ended up here.
“It would’ve been helpful if I’d known you then so you could’ve filled me in before I ended up in this situation,” he murmured, tracing endless loops across her pebbled skin, where the warm water ended and the cool air of the bathroom began.
She breathed out, falling into the feel of his touch tightening her core.
“I’ve learned all this in the last handful of years, like you,” she said.
His fingers moved up and down her arms and across her stomach, as though he were memorizing every inch of her skin.
“In your situation, I likely would’ve ended up in the same place.
Well…I kinda did, didn’t I? With godly magic that will get me killed. A perfect pair.”
His hands drifted up her stomach. The mood deepened, their movements slowing.
“Yes, a perfect pair,” he said, and she could hear the conviction in his voice. The truth. He wasn’t lying. He wasn’t being sarcastic. He actually thought they were perfect together.
Strangely, surprisingly…she agreed.
She lowered her arms, letting her hands fall. They landed on his, and she directed them farther upward. His palms moved over her breasts.
He breathed out heavily. His thumbs stroked across her budded nipples. He kissed her cheek, then waited while she turned so he could kiss her lips.
“All I thought about today was getting back to you,” he admitted, his tone deep and filled with reverence.
“I was finishing what had to be done so I could see your beautiful face again. So I could taste your perfect lips. I haven’t known much of heaven in my life, but lying here with you, feeling the closeness of your flesh, it was worth the deal I made.
It is worth all the hardships I’ve endured.
If I only know this moment, it will have all been worth it. ”
She deepened the kiss, desperate for him. Needing to feel him deeper. “Make love to me, Tarian.”
He reached lower with one hand, down over her stomach and on between her thighs. She sucked in a breath as his fingers explored.
“I nearly lost my mind when Glimrey suggested I loan you to him.” He leaned forward and nipped at her neck. “I wanted to kill him on the spot. It took all of my control to stop at a threat.”
His finger moved in a tight circle. She pushed her knees wider and drank in the sensations.
“I want to mark you so badly,” he murmured.
“Won’t you be embarrassed that I’m human?”
He breathed out a laugh, stroking down and in, the heel of his hand grinding, hitting everywhere at once. His other hand kneaded her breast. She arched, his fingers plunging, her body tightening up.
“Fuck ’em.”
She lost her breath as he worked faster, stroking her higher. She rolled her hips as the pleasure pounded, as she braced at the edge, and then she was flying, hitting her crescendo and coming apart.
She breathed deeply as she came back down. He kept exploring, lighter now, firing aftershocks through her. She twitched with the aftermath of that damn contraption.
“The mark is the tattoo, right?” she asked as she angled her head back.
He leaned in to capture her lips. “Yes. A tattoo that marks you as permanently mine. I thought the magic would be enough, but others think that is something for pets. That I might still share, as some do. A mark means I won’t. I assume. This court is so fucked up. Who knows anymore?”
Shivers coated her body as she realized she liked that. She liked that he wouldn’t even think of sharing, despite the customs. Despite the status difference. Not that she’d allow herself to be shared.
Still, being with him felt strangely natural.
It felt like what intimacy was supposed to be, something she’d never thought would come naturally to her.
Or at all, honestly. Her version of intimacy was usually just physical.
She didn’t share her thoughts, didn’t have much in the way of emotion, and figured her life had stunted her for the type of closeness most people took for granted.
With him, though, she hadn’t had a choice.
And now it felt comfortable. She liked that he could read her innermost thoughts, her secrets.
He’d opened her up, allowing her to be blasé about sharing her vulnerabilities with him.
In turn, he’d shared pieces of himself. His own vulnerabilities.
They were on equal footing where their true selves were concerned, and she’d never had that.
She’d never allowed it. Without his mindgazer ability, she knew she never would have.
She was glad for it now. Happy for this with him, as short as their time together would be.
“You can’t mark me because it might turn to diamond dust, right?” she asked in an almost quivering voice.
“Yes.”
“Even though that would be really pretty.”
Humor entered his voice. “Even though. You are a rare and special treasure, little dove. You don’t shy away from the creature I have become in this court.
The creature you met in the dungeon—the dark side of me that rages and kills without remorse.
The part of me that is distinctly, unequivocally fae.
That part makes Eldric very nervous. He doesn’t trust me.
He hopes I’ll do as I’ve said, and he can read in my mind that I mean to, but he worries that the second these obsidian shackles fall from my shoulders and my power swells to its natural heights, I will claim your magic for myself.
That I will be unstoppable, and my desires will turn from healing to destruction.
Ruling rather than disappearing. That my time here has twisted me the way it has twisted so many others.
” He huffed. “My own family didn’t trust me.
One nearly killed me. I think that is why Equilas put me here, to test me.
To see if my darker side would boil over and consume everything around me.
I’ve spent thru—years wondering the same thing. ”
“I trust you.”
“I wonder if you should.”
She shrugged. “I’m not a gullible person, nor am I prone to allow feelings to blind me to reality. I think we can agree on that.”
“Yes. It gives me assurance.”
“Then I’d think my having the final say on whether you can use my chalice powers to restore balance would assure you and Eldric that the right thing will be done.
I will trudge to the end of the worlds to protect my family.
He seemed to get that. I know you do. I’ll see this to the end, as is my duty as the chalice.
I ultimately have control, and I’ll use it. ”
“Wait…” Tarian tensed. “What’s this now?”
“I thought Eldric would’ve told you—” She went through the memories from earlier, showing their conversation about what would happen if she pulled back before the magic killed her.
“No,” Tarian drew out. “He didn’t mention it, and it wasn’t in his head from the meeting.”
“Well, now you know I hold the power. Suck it.”
He huffed out a laugh. She could feel his body move as he shook his head. “The gods are tricky, I’ll give them that. So yes, the power is in your hands, after all.”
“I mean…kinda.”
“You can stop me.”
“Yes.”
“You can nullify me if you don’t want to go through with this.”
“Assuming I could ignore being repeatedly shocked and learn how, yes. In theory. It would be your sword against mine. And I’m not so sure I could take you, to be honest.”
“Don’t be absurd. I’d be dying before I realized you meant to kill me. I’d already be dead if my knife had allowed it.”
She preened, angling so he could see her smile.
His eyes were deep and soft. He brought a hand up to trace a thumb against the edge of her lips. “You’re so fucking beautiful, little dove. The pleasure of looking upon you is so sharp it pains me. We’ve always been worried about your breaking, but I think it will be me who suffers the most.”
“I don’t know about that,” she replied, sitting up and turning around.
She pushed his legs in a bit so she could crawl over them and sit on his lap.
His hardness rested against her, and she closed her eyes to savor how good that felt.
“Little by little, you’ve peeled me apart.
Shy away from the creature you are? I’ve been living with that creature all my life.
I am that creature. My trainer recognized like for like, because he is that creature.
You’re just another of the same. You don’t scare me, Tarian. You excite me.”
He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her toward him. Their lips smashed together, hard and bruising and needy. Desperate for each other.