36. Dayton
36
Dayton
I love Autumn: the bright calamity of colors, the warm hearths crackling inside the keep. The first time I visited as a child, it felt like the chill breeze whispered secrets and stories of the forest and ancient fae. It’s so different from the Summer Realm, with its vast ocean horizons and open buildings. Something about Autumn is cozy, familiar, inviting.
Like Farron.
My gaze rests on the High Prince of Autumn perched on his great elk, Thrand. He adjusts the collar of his deep red tunic. It’s paired with fitted black trousers and knee-high brown boots. Over his tunic, he dons a leather jerkin with golden clasps that taper to his slim waist. His wild mane of auburn hair flutters in the breeze, a stray strand framing his jaw.
Damn, I want to kiss him.
Rosalina trots her horse up beside him, a beautiful white mare named Amalthea. Except the horse decides she’d rather graze on the grass.
“Come on, Thea,” she chides. “You just had a snack.”
I can’t help but chuckle and trot closer to grab her horse’s reins and direct us to Farron. It’s been a week since we’ve arrived in Autumn, and I took it upon myself to show Rosie the ropes of horseback riding.
She was a quick learner, charming the horses as easily as she did all of Castletree. She’s mostly able to ride on her own now, with a well-trained horse on even terrain. I do miss our first lessons, with her soft body pressed against mine on the same mount. Or the time we lost focus and were almost found by a pair of guards with her top off and my hands beneath her waistband… It’s not my fault she screams so loud when she comes—a sound I’ll never tire of.
“Thanks, Day.” She smiles across at me, a pink blush to her cheeks. Her long brown hair is tied in a high ponytail, clasped with a golden circlet. Fuck, I want to wrap her hair around my hand and pull back, exposing her throat, so I can bite and lick my way up to her lips. She wears a form-fitting top that hugs tight to her full breasts. Some laces are undone, leaving a tantalizing hint of cleavage. A sweeping cloak crafted from dark red velvet drapes over her shoulders and hangs off the back of her horse.
She suits the Autumn Realm too.
“I’ll get the hang of this eventually.” She flushes.
“Everything alright?” Ezryn calls from up ahead. He’s beside Kel, both also on horseback.
“We’re coming!” She looks to me and Farron. “Race you!”
She kicks the side of her horse, and Amalthea begins an awkward canter. Farron bursts into a laugh, the sound musical and charming—one I haven’t heard in a while.
“Come on, pup.” We urge our mounts into a run.
As we crest the hill, I’m stilled by the beauty of Farron’s realm. The rolling hills shine with orange grass. A stream snakes through the valley resembling a ribbon of silver. Below us lies the sprawling Emberwood Forest, a chrysanthemum field, and beyond that, a cluster of ancient ruins.
“It’s beautiful,” Rosalina sighs.
“Excluding that nasty frost,” I say, not able to resist pointing out the obvious. A white-blue shine clings to the trees, flowers, and ruins. “Sorry, Kel, but I don’t think your touch suits this realm.”
“This isn’t me,” he growls.
We’ve spent the first week here preparing and gathering intel from Autumn. Niamh seems more at peace having Keldarion where she can see him, but I know her ferocity. If we don’t discover the true source of this frost, she will attack Winter.
Kel’s sour-faced vizier has sent barren reports, noting the creeping frost along the border of Winter and Autumn, but no discovery or theories of its origins. We need to understand how it’s spreading if we’re to have any chance of stopping it.
Today is our first venture into Autumn’s wild realmlands. Surely, there are answers here.
“What are those stones between the flowers?” Rosalina asks, looking into the field of orange and yellow chrysanthemums.
An awkward silence fills the group before Farron clears his throat. “They are grave markers. This was a battlefield during the War of Thorns.”
Rosalina shifts to look at him.
“Autumn forces marched from Coppershire to confront a legion from the Below that sallied out from the Winter Realm. However, during the conflict, there was a horrible mudslide, and it engulfed both the armies. We normally burn our dead, but they were too deep. We planted these flowers atop the site and used markers to remember the names.”
Rosalina’s brow furrows. “Why would forces from the Below march from the Winter Realm?”
Because Keldarion is the biggest fucking idiot to ever rule, and he was dangling from the side of a mountain at the time. Tension feels palpable in the air, and I cast a steely gaze at the High Prince of Winter. When are you going to tell her? But there’s a part of me that doesn’t want her to know. What if she leaves him? What if she leaves us?
“Are you a princess?” a small voice asks, interrupting the silence.
My horse gives a whinny of surprise as a child approaches, staring up at Rosalina. His eyes are the bright blue of a robin’s egg, and he hasn’t grown into his ears, which look two times too big for his face. Tawny hair peeks out from his hat, an oversized mushroom cap, red with spots.
“I’m not a princess.” Rosalina laughs and awkwardly tries to clamber off her horse.
Before she struggles too much, Farron quickly dismounts, and lifts her to the ground. She mouths a silent thank you before they both approach the boy.
“Well, you look like a princess,” he says.
There’s a soft woof, and a brown and white dog bounds out from behind him. Rosalina gives a squeal of delight as the dog licks her hand. It’s short with stocky legs, long droopy ears nearly touching the ground, and an adorably wrinkled forehead.
“There’s no village close by,” Farron says, considering the boy. “What are you doing out here?”
The boy points a confident thumb at his chest. “I’m mushroom hunting. Name’s Flicker, by the way. My old patch got the frost, so me and Koop been looking for a new one. My little sis has a bad cough, and only the luminesce mushrooms help it.” He stops and narrows his eyes, then a bright grin lights his face. “Hey! You’re the prince, right? Here to stop the frost?”
Farron flushes. “I, uh, we’re—”
“We’re on an adventure,” Rosie says, giving Koop the best belly rub of his life. “We’re searching for a way to end the frost. Have you seen much of it around here?”
“Yeah, it’s really bad in the forest and down at the Shrine of Nymphia.” He nods to the ruins down the hill.
“I guess that’s where we should start looking.” Rosalina straightens. “Thank you so much for your help.”
A bright grin flashes across Flicker’s face. “You said you weren’t a princess, but you will be once you two get married, right?”
Rosie and Farron both flush the most adorable shade of pink, and I lean forward on my horse, a laugh booming from my chest. Rosalina only smiles and pats Flicker’s mushroom head.
Ezryn jumps down from his horse. Usually, a giant in armor would startle someone, but Flicker tilts his chin way up, and Koop sniffs Ezryn’s boots curiously.
Ezryn grabs a small paper package from his horse’s saddlebag and kneels in front of the boy. “This is an herbal tea. It may help soothe your sister’s cough. Let it steep in boiling water, then bring it to a simmer. You can add some maple syrup to sweeten it.”
The boy’s eyes gleam as he thanks the Spring Prince, then trots down the hill toward the Emberwood.
“Be careful,” Farron calls after him. “Stay away from the frost.”
“Will do, Prince,” Flicker beams. “And thank you for fixing it.”
Farron’s gaze falls at the boy’s words, “If only it were that easy.”
I ’m pretty sure this is the thirteenth mushroom Farron has described to me, no doubt inspired by that little mushroom boy.
Our party split up to save time. Fare and I are checking out the ruins, and the others are heading to the edge of the forest. We’ve left our mounts at the top of the hill and descended on foot down the rocky gully to the ruins.
“Actually,” Farron says, sliding nimbly over a rock, “there are over 75,000 different species of mushrooms in the Autumn Realm alone. We have the largest variety here, but there are a few types specific to the other realms. There’s a particular strain of marine fungi that only grows in the ocean of Summer.”
“I didn’t know.” I spin around, giving him a wide grin. “Is that one poisonous too?”
“Yes, but you can negate the poison with a little lemon juice and…” He trails off, then knits a hand through his hair. “I’ve been talking about mushrooms for a long time, haven’t I?”
“Yes, but now I’m dying for that portabella stew you mentioned.” I throw an arm over his shoulder and bring my lips to his ear. “I love when you talk shroomy to me.”
He laughs, a sound I haven’t heard enough of lately. So what if Farron’s stories have a tendency to go on from time to time? I don’t care. As long as I’m the one he’s talking to.
Farron’s laugh dies as we approach the ruins, and he sighs. “Even Nymphia couldn’t stop the frost.”
Crumbling ruins spread across the field. Moss and vines crawl over long-fallen statues and pillars. This was once a place of worship, but now only a circular broken staircase leads to a fallen tower.
Worse than the passage of time is the frost. It covers everything with a pale-blue gleam.
“Poor Nym.” I follow Farron to inspect the worst of the frost. “I suppose you know all about her too?”
“I do,” he says. His hand dangles loose at his side, and I almost grab it. “She was the first High Ruler of Autumn and said to be a great friend of Queen Aurelia.”
“Ahh, yes,” I say. “Our lost Queen. Would be nice to have her help right about now.”
“You don’t think she’s ever coming back, do you?”
“I don’t know, Fare.” I run a hand through my hair. “Five hundred years is a long time to be gone. What do you think?”
“I think she’s out there,” he says softly. “Only because Castletree is still standing. It was her magic that created it. I think… I think we’d feel it if she were truly gone.”
We lap the ruins twice, investigating the ice, but there seems to be no source. This trail only leads to the nearby creek. Frustration lines Farron’s face.
Desperately, I search the ruins again, my gaze landing on the tower. Despite the collapsed walls, I’m sure we can still make it to the top.
“Come on.” I grab his arm. “We can see for forever up there. Might find a clue.”
We ascend the spiraling staircase. Despite its decay, the tower still holds a haunting beauty. The sun shines in through the broken windows, casting the stone in a golden light. As we climb higher, Farron’s hand slips into mine, our fingers intertwining. I wonder how this tower would have looked in its prime, with its walls gleaming and halls filled with the laughter of fae nobles. Did the Queen herself visit here?
As we reach the top of the tower, we step out onto the remains of a circular room. The roof has long since rotted away, giving us an unobstructed view of the Autumn Realm.
It is magnificent. But nothing is so enchanting as the man beside me.
He leans on the collapsed wall, his auburn strands dancing in the wind. He really belongs here.
If only he could see it. “Fare.”
He looks up at me, blinking. I cup his cheeks and pull him into a kiss.
A soft, surprised sound comes from the back of his throat. For a moment, the ruins fade away, and all that exists is the warmth and softness of Farron’s lips against mine.
A smile plays at the corners of his mouth. “It’s been a while since you kissed me.”
“Too long. But for the record, my mouth is available for you anytime. My body, too.”
He sighs deeply, and my cock hardens at the sound. Gently, I kiss along his jaw, breathing in the scent of his skin. My hands drift through his soft hair and down his neck, but something cuts my finger.
Farron lets out a sigh and adjusts his shirt over the thorn collar. “Sorry.”
“I fucking hate that thing,” I growl.
“And you think I like it? But I’m grateful for Caspian in a way. There’s a peace knowing if I turn, this thing will take over, day or night. I don’t want that beast to hurt anyone anymore. I don’t want to hurt you anymore.”
There are scars all over my body from Farron’s beast, like the three jagged lines down my back from our first year being cursed. Ez can heal the injuries, but the scars remain. A mark inflicted by a cursed beast is a hard thing to get rid of, even with Spring’s Blessing. Most recently added to the collection is the one down my chest and the other across my eye. But the biggest scar he left was not from the beast, but the man. One right into my heart.
I think he broke it. Broke it so badly I don’t ever want to find my mate, even if it means never breaking my fucking curse. A sick, twisted part of me would rather stay a beast forever than give him up.
And Rosalina… I need her, too. That became obvious when she left us. We need her.
“You’ve got a strange look on your face, Day,” Farron says tentatively.
I comb my fingers through my hair, attempting to recall what he said. “It’s hard seeing you tangled up in those thorns.”
“It’s my wolf, not me.”
“But you’re in there, just like the beast is in you now.”
I touch his jaw, unable to take my gaze off the thorns. I hated the way Caspian looked at him when they made the bargain, like he’d been offered the most delicious spread of food, and Farron was the main course.
“A beast for a ruler,” Farron mutters. “No wonder my people have no faith in me.”
“You just need to show them who you are.”
“What?”
“The High Prince of Autumn has returned,” I say, voice rising. “Remind them who you are.”
“It shouldn’t be me,” he says. “What are you doing?”
“Bending the knee for the High Prince of Autumn.” I lower to the stone.
“There isn’t a High Prince of Autumn. At least the people don’t think so.”
“Well, I see one.” I undo the laces of his pants. “He’s tall and handsome and smart. And deserves to be worshipped… passionately.”
“Day,” he whispers as I slide his pants down. His hard cock bounces up to his stomach. “Here? What if someone sees?”
“There’s no one around.” I press my lips to his inner thigh. “Let me do this for you.”
He grips the stone wall, scanning the surroundings.
“See anyone?” I ask, dragging my tongue along his soft skin.
“No, but—” He cuts off in a long sigh as I take his cock in my mouth.
The feeling is exquisite. My hands slip beneath his tunic to touch his skin. His hips jerk, thrusting into my mouth.
He brings his hands to my hair. “Daytonales…”
I keep going, taking him deep, swirling my tongue up his steel length, drawing out his pleasure until his whole body quakes.
“W-wait,” he stammers, pulling my head back.
“What?”
“I, well, I want to come with you. If you want…”
I grip his thighs hard enough to bruise. “High Princes don’t ask. Tell me what you want.”
He bites his lip. “I want to come as you fuck me.”
“There you go.” I laugh, smacking his bare ass. “I can promise you that, love. But remember what I told Rosalina in the hot springs? I don’t let those I care about come only once. First, you’re going to come in my mouth, then you’ll take my cock like a good boy. Deal?”
“Yes.” He smiles down at me, looking so damned beautiful with the golden sky swirling behind him.
“Now picture our girl bouncing up and down on my lap, screaming your name as I worship your beautiful cock.”
Fast, that’s how I take him, one hand on his waist, as his hips thrust into my mouth, again and again and again. When his fingers grip my hair tight, and his body shudders, I know he’s close.
“Fucking give it to me,” I release him quick enough to whisper before placing my lips around him again.
He moans, thrusting his hips once more, and then he’s coming, spilling his delicious pleasure onto my tongue. I swallow it all down, and he collapses into my arms, panting.
Farron brings his mouth to mine, and I part my lips, knowing he’s tasting himself on me. When we’re together in this way, my soul feels ablaze.
“You’re not fucking done, pup,” I remind him.
He gives me a devious smirk, one that shows me he craves me just as much as I do him. His hand slides down my chest.
“I could just leave you like this,” he teases, massaging my bulging pants.
“No,” I murmur huskily, “because this hard cock is going to fuck you raw, right here out in the open as you look over this land and know that it belongs to you. That I belong to you.”
“But—” he begins. I cut him off with a kiss, hauling us both up. I grasp at his shirt, pulling it up over his head to reveal his bare chest.
“What if someone shows up?” Farron stammers, flushing. His nipples harden in the chill air, and I can’t help but tug on one. He grimaces, swearing.
“There’s no one around.” I force him to bend over the low wall. “See for yourself.”
The realmlands spread before us, but I’ve got the most beautiful part of Autumn by my side.
“Suck.” I shove my fingers into his mouth. A shiver runs through my entire body as his tongue swirls around my skin, the soft sounds of his pleasure.
I prepare him quickly. “How long has it been?”
“What?”
“Since we fucked?”
A slight frown appears on his face. “Before Rosie left.”
“No wonder I want you so badly,” I growl.
When I feel he’s ready, I gently place my cock at his entrance, then push inside. Our joint moans are proof of how much we both need this. I rock my hips forward, feeling him clench around me every time our bodies connect.
I press Farron harder against the wall, using it as leverage as I take him deeper. His breathing quickens.
“You’re hard again.” I smirk, satisfaction rippling through me as I gaze at his perfect cock.
“Always for you.” He sighs. “Always, Day.”
Something painful clenches in my chest. I feel completely alive in these moments with him, and I let that energy pour through me as I thrust faster. His moans become louder and more desperate. His body moves in sync with mine, so fucking perfect out here in the open. Perfect except for the thorns around his neck.
“I told you I hated the collar,” I rumble. “But I hated the way he looked at you more.”
“Caspian?” Farron’s fingers dig into the stone.
“Like he owned you, like you were his .”
Farron tilts his head back as I drive in hard. “Yes, deeper, please. ”
I’m more than happy to give him what he wants, adjusting my angle to hit every inch of him. “But you’re not his. You’re mine.”
He moans at my words, and I think that might be drool dripping down his chin.
“Say it,” I demand, slowing my pace to firm, languishing strokes.
“I’m yours,” he bites out, saying the words like a mantra with each thrust of my cock. “I’m yours, I’m yours, I’m yours.”
I grip his steel length. “And I’m pretty sure we’re both hers. ”
A low mewl sounds from his throat as his whole body stiffens and his release sputters out, coating my palm.
I groan, feeling my cock spasm, so relieved to have claimed him. “Farron, I—”
White hot pleasure flashes, and everything releases into him, ecstasy rippling through me in waves. Pure fucking bliss.
Farron’s body relaxes as we both come down from our high, falling in a tangle of limbs to the stone floor.
His face is flushed and his eyes bright, and for a stupid idiotic moment, I think he’s going to tell me something he never has before. But he just shakes his head. “They’ll be mad if they find out we got distracted.”
“Hey.” I tug him against me. “It’s hard work to remind you of your perfection.”
We kiss until there’s no air left in our lungs, then slowly dress and make our way down the tower to clean up in the cool stream.
As I finish lacing my pants, ice crystallizes along the water.
“Hey, Fare,” I say. “Something strange is happening to the stream.”
I pull away just as the water below solidifies into pale-blue ice.
Our gazes track upstream, where the frost first emerged. Everything past the chrysanthemum field all the way to the forest is completely frozen.
Rosie, Ez, and Kel wander out from the south end of the Emberwood, thankfully away from the water. But to the north…
There’s a creature, a staggering being of white-blue skin. It’s too far away to make out the details, but the frost trails in its wake.
It’s heading toward two smaller silhouettes walking on the edge of the trees: a little boy and a dog.
“Flicker and Koop,” I breathe.
Farron’s brows shoot up and he trembles. Then he shakes his head and takes off in a run. “We have to help them.”
“I stand with you, High Prince,” I say, running after him. “Always.”