58. Ezryn
58
Ezryn
I inhale a deep, rattling breath. Every nerve of my body stands on edge, but I hold myself perfectly still. Rosalina darts through the crowd, but I don’t move to follow her. Not yet. I allow a single moment to bring myself under control.
Because if I don’t, I’m likely to devour her in the middle of the party.
My cock throbs against my steel armor. Her skin, soft as a petal, feels imprinted upon my fingertips. I barely grazed her and yet that touch was enough to make an untamed craving flare within me, something both thrilling and terrifying. The gleam of her arousal on my armor only fuels my need.
I stand and move through the crowd with slow but deliberate purpose. I lost her in the throng but I’ll find her quickly enough. Her scent drives me forward. My senses zero in on that delicious smell, letting the din of the party die away. She’s here…
Brown hair flashes before me, and I spot the familiar profile of her nose. Mine . I reach out and snag her arm.
“Don’t touch me,” the woman snarls, and I release her. This is a fae, not Rosalina. I notice now her hair is much shorter, and her eyes flash with a feral glint that would never match Rose’s sweet demeanor.
“Apologies, I thought you were someone else.”
The fae woman looks me up and down, and a smirk darts up her wild face. “Interesting.”
“Excuse me.” I push past her and give my head a shake. My senses must have been confused among all these people. But it doesn’t take long for me to pick up her trail. She ducks into a passage that connects the courtyard to the rest of the castle.
I slip into the shadows behind her, taking a moment to watch as she catches her breath in the quiet. Beautiful. I’d said I was going to murder Marigold for dressing her in such an outfit, but only because no one’s eyes are deserving to stare upon the majesty of her radiance. Not that I am more worthy… But she is the mate of my brother-in-arms.
That does not make her yours, I tell myself. So why are you torturing yourself like this?
The answer comes with a flick of her dark hair over her shoulder, the sway of her thick hips.
Because the pleasure is worth the pain.
In a single swift movement, I’m pushing her back against the stone wall. My hand wraps around her small wrists and pull her arms over her head. The act causes her chest to shudder in and out, beautiful breasts barely hidden by the inky black designs dripping down her bodice. “Rosalina, what did we say about going off by yourself?”
Her eyes are wide and unblinking. She licks her lips and flicks her gaze down to my leg. “Ez—”
“Eyes on me when I’m talking to you,” I growl.
A flash of mischief crosses her face. “What if I don’t obey? Are you going to choke me, tin can?”
I can’t help my smile. “Only if you ask nicely.”
Her perfect mouth drops into a delicious O. I tighten my grip on her wrists. “Where did you think you were going?”
“Away,” she whispers. “I was… embarrassed.”
I trace the hand that isn’t holding her wrists up along her jaw. “Now, why would you feel something so ridiculous as that?”
Her breast heaves close enough to touch my chest plate. Suddenly, I understand Dayton and his preference for going without a shirt. “Because I couldn’t help myself—”
“And you should never have to.” I inhale deeply, tilting my helmet to curve into the dip between her neck and shoulder. “It is a privilege and pleasure to be at the beck and call of your arousal.”
She squirms beneath me. I tighten my hold on her in response and push in closer, trapping her between my body and the wall. “Ezryn…”
I drop my hand from her jaw down the line of her neck. “You deserve to be satisfied, Petal.”
She barks a laugh, which is quickly cut off by the light press of my hand on her neck. “Did I say something humorous?”
She gasps, and I feel the delicious bob of her throat against my hand. Her heart beats in a nervous cadence, but she swivels her hips to brush against mine. “Well, not everyone thinks that way.”
A growl rumbles through my chest. “Who dared not satisfy our lady?”
She looks sheepishly to the side. “Dayton—”
I swirl her in my arms, reveling in the press of her body against mine. She looks up at me with wide eyes and a genuine smile, and for a moment I’m mesmerized that I’m finding joy in such an evil place.
I dip her, and she throws her head back, long hair dusting the ground. “Dayton is a fool,” I say. “His mistake should be rectified immediately.”
I stand her straight and lace my fingers through hers. And then I pull her down the hall.
It’s been decades since I’ve been to Cryptgarden. My last memory of my time here—Kel’s rage, the hurt in his eyes when he saw me and his army—threatens to overtake my mind, but I shove it away. Right now, I will stay present in this moment. For her. For me.
Though it’s been forever, I know my way through these halls. And things don’t change much down in the bowels of the Vale. It’s probably still here.
I lead us up a staircase that winds round and round one of the towers.
She says nothing, but excitement lights up her face. My heart thunders.
The stairs land us on the ramparts of the castle, the walls lined by a series of violet doors. “The residents of Cryptgarden Castle have a bit of an obsession with the world above. Many consider themselves collectors. They keep treasures from the surface within this section of the castle.”
“Wouldn’t the residents prefer to move to one of the realms?” Rosalina asks.
I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to remember the right door. “It’s not so simple. Many are considered traitors from conflicts predating the War of Thorns. Others seek refuge; it’s a place where smugglers, illegal merchants, or shunned nobility can disappear.”
Rosalina looks over the edge of the railing, staring out beyond the castle to the vast city below. An image flashes unbidden into my mind: Kel standing on the top of this very tower. “Admit it, Ez. There’s a certain beauty here.”
I never saw it. The jewels shine with magic sapped from the earth, the purple and sapphire light has no natural source, no sky, only hazy fog above.
I breathe in, trying to detect the scent of wood and dirt. “Through this door.”
Rosalina squeezes my hand tight and follows me. I try the door handle. Locked.
“Let me.” Rosalina pulls a thorn from her crown and leans down to the lock.
I place my hand on her hips, my groin pressed against her ass.
“You’re distracting me,” she says, though her voice is low and husky. The lock clicks open, and she looks up at me, giddy pride on her face.
I run a hand along her cheek. “So that’s how you escaped from your room all those months ago. You got me in a lot of trouble.”
She examines me with a half-veiled gaze. “I could make it up to you.”
My hand grips her jaw, and I push her against the doorframe. “Not could . You will , Petal.”
Her only response is her rapid breath and a delicious red flush over her cheeks and across her nose. I can’t wait another second. I need her alone now .
Opening the door, I grip Rosalina by the hair and gently push her inside.
“Oh my god,” she gasps. “What is this?”
Thank the stars Caspian truly hasn’t changed. I knew he’d still have this place. We walk into a small indoor arboretum. The room is dim but lit by huge crystals growing out of the ground like trees, gleaming with an ethereal blue and purple light. The air is thick with the heady scent of flowers from each of the four realms: only the rarest and most beautiful. Some shimmer like precious gems, their petals infused with an inner light.
Iridescent ferns glow like fireflies and leaves the size of dinner plates appear like emeralds ready to be plucked from the earth. A mossy bed lies in the middle, wavering with prismatic light.
“It’s a secret garden,” Rosalina whispers, turning in a circle.
“No one can deny Caspian loves beautiful things.” I lock the door, then feel for my magic. It’s so weak down here, far from Castletree, but I’m still able to grow a thick spiderweb of vines across the door frame. I can’t risk anyone finding us.
Not with what I plan to do.
“Some of the plants look a little withered,” she notes.
A little withered is kind. Many of the plants look sickly, near death. “Things aren’t meant to grow down here. It’s a miracle this garden exists at all.”
I can only imagine what magic Caspian has sapped to keep these alive. But I don’t want to think any more about the Below. I only want to think about her.
Now that we’re alone and the clamor of the party is far away, an odd, antsy sensation stirs in my chest. Am I… nervous?
Rosalina raises a brow. “So, Prince Ezryn, may I ask why you’ve just locked me in a room alone with you?” Her hips sway side to side as she approaches me. She walks her fingers up my chest plate. “You should know I’m a very dangerous human.”
Her playfulness washes over me, and my nervousness quells. I weave my fingers through her hair. “Trust me. I’m terrified.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you.” Her fingers dance to the bare skin between my armor and my helm. “Unless you beg for it otherwise.”
A primal need surges through my body, and I twirl her against the planter of a large fern. “Now, don’t get ahead of yourself, little human. My honor is the most important thing to me.” I lower beside her ear, voice low and smoky. “And I made you a promise.”
She folds against me, and I heave her legs around my hips. At the contact between my cold armor and her bare sex, she cries out, and I nearly moan from the sweetness of the sound. I grip her thighs, and she wraps her arms around the back of my neck.
So, this is what it’s like to have her in my arms. All those months at the castle when we sat across from each other at Keldarion’s forced dinners, I could barely muster up a word to her. And all the months she’d been away from us, I hated myself for my coldness. This is what I’d been missing.
I lower us down to the mossy bed. The shimmering light from the crystals paint her skin like a canvas of stardust. “You are a work of art. I’ll try not to tarnish you.”
She whimpers and laces her hands into the moss. Her body arches, head back, revealing her gorgeous long neck.
She sits up, eyes wide and frantic, and grips the side of my helmet. “Ruin me. I am yours to do with as you like. Take me and discard me, as long as I can be yours for a moment.”
The idea fills me with delirious heat: the idea of my sweet woman, in all her softness and humor, willing to be debased by me. The beast inside me thrashes against my chest. Take her. Take her.
“Ezryn—” she whines, but I silence her with a finger to her lips. Her expression flashes with annoyance and she wraps her mouth around my finger. I close my eyes and groan as her tongue swirls up and down, her eyes never leaving mine.
“Here I was, going to be so nice to you,” I say. “And you’re being very bad.”
She frees my finger with a pop . “What are you going to do about it, Tin Man?”
I prowl my full body over hers and place a hand softly on her throat. “Call me that one more time.”
A teasing smirk tugs at the corners of her lips. “Or what… Tin Man?”
Fire ignites throughout my body, and I mount her, pinning her to the ground with my legs. One of my hands grips the base of her hair hard . The other one wraps tighter around her throat. “Is this what you wanted, naughty girl?”
Her mouth opens in a soft gasp, and her eyes nearly roll to the back of her head. “Oh, yes,” she whimpers.
“You can still talk. I must not be squeezing tight enough.” I press more of my weight down upon her. “Blink twice if it’s too much, alright, Baby Girl?”
She bucks her hips up against me in response. I growl, my cock raging against the restraints of my armor. Fuck, she looks exquisite with my hand necklaced around her throat. I pull her hair harder, and see the movement mimicked by her own hands in the moss. Sorry, Caspian.
I release my hold on her and sit back. She gasps for breath, and her eyes are wet and shiny. “Ezryn…”
I run a hand across her cheek. “What a good girl.”
She lets out a frustrated mewl and starts clawing at my armor. “How do I take this off?”
I laugh and ease her arms back down to her side. “Close your eyes.”
She raises that brow again, her mouth soft and questioning. But then she does.
I take in a shaky breath. I’ve… I’ve never done this before. Never with any other lover. But I’ve also never been with someone who sees the world with such joy and positivity; never known anyone who cares for everyone, even those they barely know. I’ve never known someone willing to face the world with the innocent bravery in which she does. Never had anyone seen me that way. I want to be in your world.
Carefully, I grip the edges of my helmet and pull up. The cool air in the arboretum catches my hair. For the first time, I look at her not through the tinted lenses of my visor, but with my own eyes. Stars, she is beautiful.
I am stupid. If she disobeys me and opens her eyes, I will dishonor my house. I will be banished from the Spring Realm, and worst of all, I will betray every commitment I have made to our creed and way of life.
But one moment to look at her like this is worth the risk. I set my helmet down and place my hand over her eyes. She exhales quickly, and I bend to capture her sweet breath. Then I lay the softest kiss upon her mouth.
“Ezryn,” she whispers against my mouth.
The kiss is slow, intimate, tender. A kiss as vulnerable as I am. Aching, I pull away. “Keep your eyes closed.”
I pick up my helmet and ease it over her head. My hands are tender as I lift her by the base of her neck, twisting the helmet so the visor is at the back.
Within the depths of my sacred steel, she is blind.
Her hands tentatively come up to feel the helmet. Yearning tremors through my body; her gorgeous soft skin draped in the inky black fabric, crowned by a helm of the Spring Realm… I can only imagine her drifting through the cherry blossoms outside of Meadowmere dressed in only her own helm and nothing else.
“Wait.” Realization trembles through her voice. She sits up, movements frantic, and reaches for me. Her fingertips dust over my face, across my eyebrows, along the curve of my nose. I sigh against her touch, softly kissing her hands anytime they drift by my lips.
“It’s like I can see you,” she whispers. “I mean, I can’t actually see you. But when I touch your face, I can see you in here.” Her hand hovers over her heart.
A knot forms in the back of my throat, and I need to do something before I’m eaten alive by my thoughts. Her hands tangle in my hair. I push her back to the mossy bed and run my lips all over her throat.
“Now, Petal, I am starving for you.”
Slowly, I work my way down her body, raining kisses and nips on each piece of bare flesh. It’s as if she can’t bear to take her hands from my hair. I have to pull my head free as I lower to the mound between her thighs.
I push aside the ribbons of her skirt, revealing her dripping heat. Stars, she smells good. I nuzzle my face against her, inhaling deeply.
She moans as the cold air hits her skin, and her hips undulate toward me. My mouth waters with need. I am going to devour you.
“Ezryn,” she whimpers. “Please. I need—”
She doesn’t have to finish the sentence; I know what she needs.
I cover her heat with my mouth. Her hands find my hair again, and she pulls hard. I grin against her wetness and tease her with the tip of my tongue, swirling and dipping, before plunging it deep into her warmth.
She bucks against me. The slick heat sends my head spinning, and I savor every moan and cry as I feast upon her. She tastes delightful, salty and sweet all at once. With each lick and suck, she gets wetter and hotter. It’s so delicious, I’m afraid I’ve bespelled myself with an addiction.
I lap at her clit, her thighs squeezing around my head. My cock is stiff against my armor, and I imagine tearing free of it all and taking her now.
Thankfully, I retain some sense within this ecstasy.
But she hasn’t. “Take this off, Ez,” she begs, pounding at my shoulder plates. The backwards helmet muffles her voice. “I want you inside me. Please.”
I tear myself away from her pussy and drift my hands over her breasts. As much as I want to rip off this beautiful dress and suck her beautiful breasts into my mouth, I can’t destroy her fragile outfit. There’s no way I’m walking her out of here naked. “When I take you, it will be among the cherry blossoms and the wildflowers. It will be under the cloud-dusted sky, with only the birds to hear your screams.” I sink my teeth into her collar bone. “Not buried under the dirt like two corpses.”
She lets out a frustrated growl and pulls at the back of my hair. “But—”
“No buts.” I descend back down between her thighs. “You’ll have to be satisfied with this for now, Baby Girl.”
I plunge two fingers deep within her warmth and curl. She releases a desperate, nearly feral cry and arches her back. I bury my face in her again, sucking deeply on her clit. My fingers and mouth work in rhythmic tandem, making her legs tense and untense around me.
“Ez… Ez, oh my god.”
I can’t stop the smile forming as I press harder and she unravels, her sweet nectar dripping over my tongue.
And it’s like her climax sends a rush through me, a tumbling of joy and wonder that blooms from my heart and extends out my fingers.
Her release sends her body quivering, but I don’t stop, eagerly lapping up every drop I can until she’s rigid and panting beneath me.
“Oh, Ez,” she whispers. “This is a heck of a party.”
I laugh and shuffle up beside her. I pull her body against mine, the steel helm resting on my chest. Her hand drifts down between my thighs. “I want to please you.”
I grab her wrist. Though my cock aches, I know we’ve been gone too long. “The others are going to send out a search party if we don’t get back soon. Besides, tonight is for you. Think of it as retribution for Dayton’s foolishness.”
“Okay,” she whispers, but curls tighter against me.
“I should probably take this back.” I knock on the helmet.
“My eyes are closed.”
I pop the helmet off her face, savoring the delicious flush of her cheeks, the mess of her hair. The face of a lady well satisfied. With a new heaviness, I place the helm back over my head. “You can open your eyes now.”
She blinks and looks around. “Ezryn…”
“Hmm?”
“The flowers,” she whispers. “They look healthier.”
I turn and stare around the arboretum. She’s right. The plants, once wilted and dying, now bloom in a way that would rival any meadow of Spring.
I look down at my hands and notice a fading green shimmer. “I… I did something.”
But as I meet Rosalina’s gaze, the thought corrects in my head. We did something.