Chapter 26
Kerym
Kerym’s eyes moved between the flames licking what was left of the castle—barely a pile of rubble now—and Lessia, who was coming back from the sea, face streaming with tears, which she tried to hide from the guards standing posted along the path by keeping her eyes firmly on the green bushes surrounding them.
“She told Ydren to go back to Raine and the other wyverns.” Merrick sidled up beside him, his dark eyes reflecting the large fire—the one they’d started together after they’d released all the prisoners and taken out all the gold and other valuables that could be distributed amongst the people, to erase whatever they could of Rioner’s legacy.
“I’m guessing it didn’t go too well,” Kerym mumbled as he eyed Lessia again, watching her clutch the two sisters to her chest as they approached her for a quiet goodbye, more streams trickling down her pale cheeks.
Merrick turned around again, and Kerym frowned when he noticed something.
“We’re getting weaker,” Merrick snapped as he steadied himself with a branch of the tree beside him. “I feel it in my bones. It’s…” The silver-haired Fae ground his teeth. “It’s why she looks so pale, and it’s also why…”
“I know,” Kerym responded when Merrick remained quiet, watching the witches give Lessia a final hug. “We all know why you should go. I just hope she doesn’t—”
“So do I,” Merrick interrupted. “Hope is the only thing I cling to.”
Kerym was about to say something else when a rustling noise had them both shooting straight, eyes darting around the thick hedges that wove their way through the gardens beneath what had once been the grandest castle in Havlands.
A shudder caught his shoulders when one of those large snakes twisted its way through the grass, head lifted so high it would have made any royal grumble with jealousy as it watched the half-Fae with the amber eyes approach them.
“You know what you need to do?” Merrick asked as Lessia stopped before the snake, dipping her chin in a bow that had Kerym let out an involuntary sound of disgust.
He fucking hated those things. And Lessia? She seemed to be talking to it.
“Kerym,” Merrick demanded when he couldn’t stop staring at Lessia saying something to the slithering monster.
“Damned reptiles,” Kerym muttered before turning toward his friend.
“Yes, as always, your instructions were quite clear, brother. I’ll get the soldiers and anyone else ready to travel, and then we’ll be waiting.
If we don’t hear anything else from you, we’ll be at Iviry and Loche’s grand wedding in a few days. ”
Merrick nodded, gaze still locked on his mate.
Used to his friend’s quiet ways, Kerym let his eyes drift back to the sparkling fire, watching it reshape the stone that Rioner had spilled blood to erect, while his mind worked through everything he’d need to do the next few days.
He’d start with the soldiers here—make sure that they knew he’d act in Merrick’s place. Then he’d take one of Rioner’s beautiful stallions and ride down the coast, ensuring all the ships floating there were filled with those who would fight. Then he’d—
Merrick placed a hand on his shoulder, and Kerym felt that wrinkle between his brows deepen as his friend whispered, “Thank you for everything. And I’m… I’m so fucking sorry about Thissian.”
Kerym didn’t like his tone. Or his words, for that matter.
Merrick wasn’t usually one for melancholy, and this? This sounded like a goodbye.
“We’ll see each other again,” Kerym assured him as he turned to meet his friend’s dark eyes. “Whether it’s in this world or the next.” He forced his lips into a weak smile. “And you saw my brother… He was doing well.”
Another hand—a smaller one—landed on his forearm, and Kerym turned his gaze to Lessia instead, fighting to keep the ghost of a smile on his face as he realized Merrick was right.
She didn’t look too well. Her eyes were dull, her skin pale, and the hair that should have shimmered in the bright fire seemed to… fuck, it seemed as dead as the souls that thing that had invaded his mind had allowed her to bring forth.
Kerym pushed the memory out of his thoughts.
He wasn’t sure how he’d been so fucking stupid as to siphon that book.
He’d never done anything like it before—hadn’t even known it was possible.
“Do… you want us to bring him here to say goodbye?” Kerym’s smile vanished when even Lessia’s voice sounded weaker as she asked the question, and he was glad Merrick slipped to her side like he always did, winding an arm around her shoulders.
Even before meeting Merrick’s eyes—which carried a warning for his life that almost had Kerym chuckle—he shook his head. “Save your strength, Golden Eyes. I’m going to need you to survive this.”
She seemed to be debating whether to say something else, her mouth opening for a second before she found Merrick’s eyes and appeared to notice what Kerym just had.
His friend was pale, too—pale in a way Kerym had never seen.
And his body…
Had he lost weight since last night?
“All right,” Lessia whispered, and damn if those words didn’t threaten to break his fucking heart.
He had no idea how Merrick did it. How he stood there tall beside this female as she once again fought for her life.
Despite the fire, Kerym’s body went cold, and it was all he could do to open his arms, pulling this brave half-Fae against his chest and holding her there until Merrick shifted before him.
“Don’t let him boss you around too much.” Kerym touched her cheek as Merrick dragged her back. “And don’t worry about the rest of us.” He made himself wink at her. “It’s our turn to be heroes now. I have to show my future wife over there what a strong, brave soldier I am.”
A low giggle left Lessia, and while Merrick rolled his eyes, Kerym could tell his friend appreciated the attempt to make her laugh.
None of them said anything as one of Rioner’s old soldiers brought over a large mare with a glossy golden coat and a mane and tail so white they mirrored the sun rising over the horizon behind them.
After a quick nod from Merrick, who got on the horse first, and then a small wave from Lessia as Merrick helped her up and settled her against his chest, the horse cast her head upward, and they were off, galloping through the gardens as the fire flickered to their left and the sun sparkled to their right.
Kerym stared after them for a few moments, an unwelcome sense of loneliness sweeping through him that had the warrior wrap his arms around his own chest. He didn’t move as soft footsteps approached him, but when a hand whispered over his back, he finally spun around.
Pellie’s hair shone like the fire roaring behind her, and while her green eyes were glossed, there was something determined in them, something that caused a pull in Kerym’s gut.
Her hand dropped to her side as he let his eyes travel over her, and he sensed she was debating whether to step back or just fly into his arms.
“Can we stop pretending this isn’t something we both want?” Kerym whispered when her fingers twitched by her sides. “Just… for today.”
Pellie’s lips trembled for a moment before she nodded.
Thank fuck for that. He didn’t know what he would have done if she had also left him.
Then she was in his arms, and he groaned as she stood on her toes to kiss him.
Fuck, her lips were as incredible as the rest of her.
Kerym slipped his hands under her ass, and he lifted her so she could wrap her legs around him, moving them under the tree he’d stood beside, letting the branches fall around them to hide them from the outside world.
Pressing her back against the bark, he ground against her, grinning into her mouth when she yelped at how hard he was already.
Her sweet scent joined the smell of grass and salty sea, and he kept one arm around her to hold her steady while finally using the other to explore her alluring curves.
“So fucking soft,” he groaned as his hand played with her swelling breasts, dipping into the dress she wore with ease and dragging his palm over her hardening nipples until she moaned.
His lips crashed against hers, his tongue playing with her hot one as his other hand slipped beneath the dress and—
“Fuck.” Kerym panted as he pulled back, and he was about to spill in his breeches when she gave him a lazy grin and declared, “I don’t like to wear undergarments.”
“As if I needed another thing to love about you,” he rasped before capturing her lips again, his hand moving to cup her already dripping pussy.
She stiffened—only for a second—but he pulled back immediately.
“Do you want to stop?” he asked hoarsely.
Her eyes moved between his, and she shook her head. But…
“Are you sure?” Kerym leaned his forehead against hers. “We can wait. I am in no rush.”
He tried to pretend his aching cock didn’t think otherwise.
“No,” she whispered, her voice becoming needy, causing his dick to twitch. “I want this. I want you right now.”
Kerym nodded slowly, somehow feeling like he was missing something, but she whined again, rubbing her bare fucking pussy against his trousers until her scent whirled all around them, and when she whispered “Please,” he growled and pushed her up against the tree again.
Her wetness coated his hand when he slipped it between them once more, and he wound his other one into her long hair as he dipped a finger between her folds, heat surging within him when it slid into her so effortlessly it felt as if it belonged there.
Kerym pulled her hair back when she cried out, using his teeth to tease her slender neck as he started driving his finger in and out of her, adding another one when her slick pussy squeezed him.
“You feel so good,” she whined. “I knew you would.”
Moving his fingers faster, using his thumb to press against her clit while his hand slapped against her pussy, Kerym growled, “This is nothing. It’s going to feel so good when I’m fully inside you.”