46. Chapter 46 #2
Talen hid a smirk behind his hand. “Then it seems you and Sylven have something in common. He tries to kill everyone’s mood, too.”
Esme gasped. “Talen!”
Kaelin didn’t look up from the board as she slid another piece forward with cutting precision. Talen grimaced. “Speaking of Sylven,” Kaelin said coolly. “He asked to court me.”
Esme froze.
“And I declined,” Kaelin added smoothly.
Esme set her cup down very slowly. “Oh.”
A silence stretched, which was unusual for her. Then, in a much quieter voice, she murmured, “Perhaps he’ll consider courting me.”
Talen and Kaelin shared a glance.
Sylven had probably retreated to the gardens yesterday to kneel before the gods and salvage whatever scraps of pride he had left. Maelion carved Sylven’s dignity into neat little pieces that morning, and Kaelin had savored every second of it.
After Maelion’s reprimands, Sylven knelt, head bowed.
But not low enough.
“I did what I thought best for Pyraelia,” he explained. “Why waste resources protecting human prisoners? I have been loyal to this court my entire life, as well as my ancestors. And yet you defend them over me?
“You mistake loyalty for entitlement,” Maelion responded. “And you mistake cruelty for strength.”
Sylven’s jaw clenched. His fists tightened. He clearly did not understand, and worse, he did not want to.
Kaelin had seen it, then. Something hungry. Something dangerous .
Esme looked down at her tea, cheeks flushed pink. “He’s very handsome.”
Kaelin folded her hands neatly in her lap. “If it’s prestige you’re hunting for in a marriage, then Sylven may not be the glittering prize you imagine.”
“Why not? ”
“Because if he keeps defying the crown and behaving like an insolent fool, he’ll lose what reputation he has left. Titles can be stripped. Favor can vanish. I’d recommend choosing your suitors with care. Some loyalties are unpredictable.”
Talen let out a low whistle under his breath. “In other words, pick someone who’s not moments away from royal ruin.”
Esme stared into her tea again, suddenly very quiet.
Kaelin didn’t feel even a flicker of satisfaction as she slid her winning piece into place. Talen cursed softly, shoving a hand through his hair in frustration.
Because her true victory had slipped from her grasp two days ago in the greenhouse..
Kaelin’s mood curdled as she swept the game pieces aside. She rose with a sharp rustle of silk, crossing straight to the wine table.
Ren was brave. Ren was fearless. Ren was everything Kaelin admired in a fighter.
But Ren was a wretched liar.
Kaelin replayed it again and again, the moment Ren turned away, shoulders rigid, voice trembling at the edges. The refusal had sounded strong, Ren hadn’t let Kaelin see her face.
And Kaelin knew why.
The truth lived in Ren’s eyes.
In the way Ren had kissed her back, fervent, desperate, as if starving for something she had never allowed herself to want. Kaelin could still feel Ren’s weight in her lap, the press of her palms, the heat of her breath. There had been nothing reluctant or uncertain about it. No hesitation.
So why had Ren pushed her away?
Kaelin poured herself a glass with a steady hand. Behind her, Esme had finally found her voice again, rambling about some trivial matter to Talen. Kaelin lifted the glass to her lips, eyes narrowing at the far wall.
Because whatever excuse Ren had given her, it wasn’t the truth.
And Kaelin intended to know the truth, no matter how long it took.
Even later that evening, as Kaelin retired to her bed chamber, Kaelin could still taste Ren on her lips. They had come together, two storms crashing into one another. The way Ren had gasped into her mouth with something hungrier .
Kaelin braced her palms against the carved edge of her vanity, her reflection a blur in the gilded mirror. Her memory replayed over and over how Ren’s lips were still flushed as she backed up, a mark of what she’d let happen.
Of what Kaelin hadn’t finished.
“Damn it,” she growled.
Her chambers were too quiet. Too still. She slumped onto her bed, feeling as if something had been ripped from her chest. Her fists tangled in the sheets in an effort to anchor herself, but all they did was remind her how empty her bed was.
Kaelin rolled onto her back. But even behind closed eyes, she could not escape the human who had unknowingly stolen her heart.
Kaelin wanted her. By the gods, she wanted her in ways that made her chest ache and her temper snap.
Her breath hitched. Heat coiled low in her stomach like a slow-burning ember. Her fingers dug into the velvet beneath her. They wandered under the silks of her dress, brushing against her flesh, feeling the heat and wetness of her aching desire.
As thunder boomed overhead and wind swept against the walls and the windows, Kaelin lost herself in thoughts of the red-haired human with freckles scattered like stars of constellations on her cheeks.
Recalled how soft her lips were, how sweet her breath smelled against hers.
How Kaelin felt fire in her core when their chests pressed against each other, every curve aligned perfectly.
Kaelin groaned into the stillness of the room, eyes fluttering shut as she succumbed to her fantasy.
Ren knelt before her, settling between Kaelin’s parted legs. Her lips were parted, her hot breath ghosting over Kaelin’s sensitive skin as she prepared to take a pert nipple into her mouth.
Ren’s tongue darted out, swirling around the stiff peak before drawing it between her lips. Kaelin moaned, the phantom sensation sending sparks of pleasure shooting through her body. She could almost feel Ren’s fingers splayed across her breast, holding her in place as she suckled and nibbled.
Kaelin’s hand drifted down once again, ghosting over her own thigh, and she imagined that it was Ren who touched her instead. Those clever fingers would part her legs, trailing up to stroke Kaelin’s most intimate places. Kaelin’s hips bucked at the mental image, a needy whimper escaping her.
Ren continued her lavish attention on Kaelin’s breasts, teasing and tormenting until Kaelin was writhing with want. Only then would Ren allow those talented fingers to delve deeper, to bring Kaelin to the brink of ecstasy and beyond.
Kaelin bit back a curse as she came undone and reached her peak. The force of her release left her breathless, limbs trembling with residual pleasure that seemed to radiate from her core out to the tips of her fingers and toes. Panting, she felt as though the stars exploded overhead.
But even in the haze of her post-orgasmic bliss, Kaelin knew one thing with absolute clarity: she was in deep trouble where Ren was concerned. Ren had gotten under her skin, tangled up her mind and body in ways she’d never experienced before.
Kaelin had always been in control, in every aspect of her life and relationships. But Ren made Kaelin feel things, need things, that challenged her iron-clad control. And if the fae didn’t watch herself, she would lose that control entirely.
The thought should have terrified Kaelin. But sprawled there on the bed, still quivering from the force of her climax, all she could feel was anticipation.