Chapter 49 – Neve
Chapter 49
NEVE
I awoke, clothed, in Lord Riis’s childhood bed with my arm wrapped around Vale.
When had I fallen asleep?
I recalled making it to the bed and kissing and talking some more and then . . . things got hazy. I had to have fallen asleep first, but as sleep slowly left my mind, I recalled waking up a couple of times to find Vale tossing and turning. Though he’d assured me he was firm in his choice to be with me, he was still troubled. No matter how strong he was, he might remain that way for a long time.
However, as I looked down on him now, the morning light streaming in through the window and dappling his cheeks, he slept peacefully. I eased out of the bed, not wishing to wake him. He needed the rest, and not just because we’d stayed up late talking. No, during our pillow talk the night before, he’d also agreed to come with me to the western territory. To help me confront Roar.
My heart swelled. We’d been through so much, and while I was sure we’d go through more, last night had been healing.
I slipped from the room, down the corridor. I paused only at a window, taking in the conditions. Sunny, though dark clouds loomed in the distance, threatening more snow. When I reached my bedroom, I found Clemencia inside.
She eyed me with barely concealed amusement. “Where have you been?”
“Upstairs. Why are you sitting in my room like a nursemaid?”
“With the prince?” she asked, ignoring my question.
“Stars, you are nosy.”
“And you’re avoiding my question.” Clemencia leaned forward and clasped her slender-fingered hands together. “Did you make up?”
A smile spread across my lips. “We did. And we slept in the same bed.”
She squealed, which made me laugh. I pulled out warm clothes to change into, so I could go outside and practice magic. I needed to take advantage of every opportunity to do so because after I confronted Roar, I wasn’t sure my identity would stay a secret for long. The moment news that a Falk princess survived the White Bear’s Rebellion got back to King Magnus, he would hunt me down.
“What about you and Luccan?” I asked Clemencia, slipping out of my clothing and pulling on scratchy woolen pants and a top. “He eyed you often last night. ”
She blushed. “Nothing more than flirting has happened. I long for more, but he’s been so tired.”
I cringed. Luccan worked himself to the bone for me. I owed my friends so much.
“Is he up already?” It wasn’t too early but also not so late that I’d assume everyone was awake—particularly after all the drinking. Somehow, I felt fine, a small miracle that I wasn’t taking for granted.
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s go find out.” I pulled on my boots and my warmest cloak and gestured to the door.
“I’m not dressed properly,” Clemencia argued, all the while going to the door, a gleam in her eyes.
“You could wear a sack and he’d still be in love.”
“Please, the Riis males are far more stylish than that.”
“Except Arie,” we said in unison and giggled.
We left and made our way to the courtyard, where Luccan had been working on the gateway. If he was awake, I was certain he’d be there, and sure enough, the moment we exited into the courtyard, red hair glinted in the sunlight.
“Is he trembling ?” Clemencia gasped.
I nodded. “Let’s not startle him.”
Luccan was working difficult magic, and I did not want to ruin his efforts, so we rounded him slowly and gave a wide berth so he would see us coming. When he looked up from the spot in the air that shimmered when the light hit it right, he spotted us and gave a single nod.
“I think that means we’re good to approach,” I said.
My stomach sank more with each step we took toward the gatemaker. Circles ringed Luccan’s eyes, so dark they appeared bruised. His lips were chapped, whereas last night they’d appeared normal, and there was a hollowness to his cheeks that hadn’t been there hours ago.
He was working far too hard.
“How long have you been working?” she asked when we reached Luccan, and he paused to cast his magic.
“An hour or so.” His shoulders slumped as he spoke.
“Aren’t you tired?” Her voice dripped with concern, and I could tell Luccan heard it too because his eyes warmed a touch.
“I am, but Arie had to go to the House of Wisdom today, and he woke me to tell me he wouldn’t be back until much later. After that, I couldn’t sleep.”
“Maybe you should take a nap?”
“I’d rather not leave it for that long,” he replied. “I’m doing well, and making gateways is easiest when my magic flows nicely.”
“Need anything?” I asked, understanding that he was as stubborn as he was a good friend. He’d work until it was done. “We can get you food. A drink?”
“Just to concentrate,” Luccan said.
I took that as our cue. “We’ll leave you, but please, call if you need anything. I’ll come running.”
“The next time I call for you, it will be because I’m about to make the final push, and you need to be ready to walk through the gateway. Expect that to be around the hour of the gryphon.”
So he thought it would happen at midday when the sun was nearing its peak. I rolled my shoulders back, even more ready to get to work, and thankful that Vale and I had made up last night.
“Perfect,” I replied. “Until later.”
Clemencia and I left the courtyard, but she only made it but a step inside before she cast a glance over her shoulder. “I was going to offer to be with you while you trained, but . . .”
“Stay with him.” I understood her concern. I’d feel better if someone was nearby too.
“Are you sure?”
“Very. Besides, isn’t it boring to watch me train?” Clemencia had no winter magic, so she did not offer input. She watched and encouraged.
She smiled. “I like imagining what you’ll do when your powers are fully formed.”
That was one question I’d been asking myself too.
A storm neared, and I took precautions, settling in to practice near the outdoor sauna. The log building cut most of the wind but still gave me enough space to work magic safely. I wasn’t about to go back inside because snow might soon fall. Not when I was just getting warmed up, both in body and magic.
The day before had been a disaster, but today I was reinvigorated. Much of that was down to reconnecting with Vale, though I also attributed some of my extra energy to me getting stronger.
With a flick of the wrist, I sliced off the icicles hanging from the tower roof. Once free, they wobbled a bit, but I used my power to claim control and sent them hurtling at the dead tree I’d been using for target practice.
One struck and the other nine missed.
“Better than yesterday,” I murmured, rubbing my hands together.
“What did that tree ever do to you?”
I spun and took a few steps around the sauna to get an unobstructed view of Riis Tower. My heart warmed when I caught sight of Vale trudging through the snow to join me.
“It looked at me the wrong way.” I shrugged.
“Fates, remind me only to smile at you.”
I waited until we stood face to face and lifted onto my tiptoes, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him. “Did you get enough sleep?”
“I feel better than I have in days.”
“Good.”
“You should have woken me, though. I could have been tutoring you all this time.”
I released him and cocked my head. “Do you actually have winter magic, though? After what you learned, do you think it might be something else? Just elemental magic?”
He smirked. “Ah, you want to be even more special, huh?”
“No!” I swatted at him. Stars, it felt so good for us to be back here, to tease and banter about. “I only meant that, if you’re not an Aaberg, would you have it?”
“Before the unification, the Vagles were winter monarchs in their own right, so they have that power. Also, they married into the Falk line, the strongest of all the winter families, long, long ago.” His eyebrows raised. “Is that a problem for you?”
Of course. All the noble families had intermarried at one point. With the sweeping news Vale had shared the night before, I’d forgotten that.
“How long ago?”
His eyebrows screwed together as he calculated the blood ties between our families. “I’m certain it has been thousands of turns since a union between a Vagle and a Falk. And I don’t believe they’ve ever allied with House Skau through marriage.”
“Then we’re good.” I took his hand. I couldn’t be unrealistic, and I wanted him too badly, anyway. And for the first time since we’d met, I might actually keep him—as long as nothing horrible happened.
“Very good.” He grinned at me, and the look of happiness stopped my heart.
Thank the Fates I didn’t have to pretend like I no longer wanted him, when in truth, I was certain that I was falling for him. I was also thankful that there didn’t seem to be lingering awkwardness between us.
“Would you like a lesson?” he asked.
“Definitely. Teach me how to use icicles like your fath—the king did. And can you teach me how to control wind like you do?”
He nodded. “Show me from the beginning.”
I replicated what I’d done, the good and the bad, because I wanted him to see it all. He noted that I had trouble controlling the elements with delicacy, which was true. It was much easier to hurl an icicle than it was to hold one steady, hovering in the air. Or target something precisely.
Once I finished, missing the tree that time, I turned. “Tips?”
“I think you’d do well to work inside the forest,” he said. “More surrounded by snow. Enveloped in winter.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Winter is all around.”
“Try it. If your aim doesn’t improve, we can try something else.”
I had nothing to lose, so we trudged through the drifts into the woods. The moment we stepped into the trees; snow began to fall.
“Working in a storm might help too. Also, I have one more idea.” He held out his hand. “I will direct you. I think that’s all you need. Then practice controlling more and more power over time.”
I took his hand, marveling again at how perfectly we fit.
“I’m going to use those smaller icicles.” I gestured to those dripping from a tree branch. “And hit the tree with the knob that looks like an orc’s face. Right on the knob.”
Vale laughed. “Very well. First, experience this.”
Warmth flooded me. Vale’s magic.
If there was any doubt in my mind that I possessed a purer form of winter magic than him, in that moment, it would have vanished. Vale was strong, no doubt about it, but the feel of his magic was warmer, less harsh, and more wieldable. Which he made clear when he used his own power to grab onto mine and control it. I sucked in a breath, made to fight back, and barely stopped myself, but from the way he watched me, Vale understood.
“Let me. I’m showing you.”
“I know. Sorry, it’s instinctual.”
“You’re a fighter. I love that about you.”
My cheeks warmed, and I gave a single nod. “Show me.”
He did, controlling my power and guiding it through me in a more controlled fashion. The sensation was so odd, but I took notes and when the power simmered under my skin, Vale whispered, “Let it fly.”
The release rang through me, amazing, and as my magic did as I wished, picking up the small icicles and shooting them at the ugly-knobbed tree, I marveled. Each and every icicle hit.
“Amazing,” I exhaled.
“Now you do it with the control you felt. It was different from how you used your power, right?”
He was correct. Before, I’d been more apt to let my power fling about inside me, and when I tired, it overwhelmed me. But Vale had just shown me a new way, a slower, more methodical way.
I tried once, twice, three, four times to mimic Vale’s control. I failed each time, though the improvement was noticeable. If minimal.
On the fifth time, though, I did as I wanted to, striking each small icicle against the ugly tree.
“Nice work.” Vale wrapped his arms around my middle. “I knew you’d get there. ”
“I’m sweating.” I wiped away the trickle of sweat that had formed around attempt number three. “That doesn’t usually happen so soon, but it was worth it.”
His lips dipped to my ear. “I know another way to work up a sweat and make it worth it.”
I gasped as he nibbled at my lobe, making his intention very clear. “Vale! I need to practice!”
“Rest is as important as practice.”
“You’re saying that because you’re frustrated .”
“If I have my way, I intend to become even more frustrated.”
“Wha—oh!”
He spun me around and threw me over his shoulder.
My heart thundered as a grin spread across my face. This wasn’t at all what I’d planned for the day, but I’d smite the stars before I stopped him.
“Where are you going?” My voice came out breathy.
“Deeper into the woods. I don’t want the others to be watching when I make you come.”
Oh. My. Stars.
He didn’t go too far into the forest before Vale set me on my feet and pressed my back into the trunk of a tree that had long since died.
When his head dipped and his hand cupped my face, my heart stuttered. And when he took my lips, my knees buckled. Stars, I’d missed this feeling. Of us. Together.
His hand dropped from my face to my hips, the prince gripping the plump flesh there with a soft groan. I smiled into his kiss, loving that my curvy figure turned him on .
“I can’t believe I almost lost you,” he whispered, moving to trail kisses down my neck. “Never again.”
“Never again,” I echoed, my heart thundering with desire as he reached beneath my cloak, cupped a breast, and stroked. A soft whimper left my lips, only to be met by a chuckle.
“I missed that sound. I want to hear more of it. Different types of whimpers and whines and moans from your sweet lips.”
“Yes,” I breathed, my hand dropping to his pants, landing on his buckle. “I want—wha—oh!”
Like a flash, he had removed my hands from his belt and pinned them over my head to the tree and held them in place with a single large hand. Looking down at me, he shook his head. “I’m in control here.”
He took my lips once more as his other hand roamed from face to breasts to hips. Everywhere he went, he left a trail of fire.
“Vale, this is so unfair,” I purred, trying to get him to see sense. To see how much I wanted him too. “Let me touch you.”
“Not now,” he ground out, the sound pleasing because I could tell how hot and bothered he was.
“I want to taste you,” I tried again, my voice deepening to a sultry tone that I knew turned him on .
He stiffened, released my hands, and leaned back. His breathing was deep, his long hair wild from where I’d run my hands in it. I’d never seen a more beautiful male.
I was about to leap at him, to kiss him, when Vale took me by the hips, pressing me hard into the tree for a moment before one hand slid to my belt.
“I told you, I’m in control. Stop trying to tempt me.” He licked his lips, eyes dipping from where they locked with mine, to my buckle. “You stand here, little beast.”
My mouth fell open as he undid my pants and pulled them and my undergarments to the ground. With his feet, he pushed mine out, exposing the most intimate part of me so much that cold air caressed skin that usually remained covered. Then the warrior prince fell to his knees and grinned as he peered at my sex.
“Blazing moon, that looks delicious.”
Heat flooded me, but I barely had time to truly feel the embarrassment before Vale licked his lips. Dark eyes flashed up, stealing the very breath from my lungs.
“Lean back, Neve. Enjoy .” For privacy, he spread his black wings as he pulled aside the edges of my cloak. “I’m about to.”
He leaned closer, spreading my lips and kissing my nub. Lightning shot through me. I was already so wet, swollen, which Vale likely felt because he didn’t stop the kisses but looked up at me through thick, black lashes. He winked.
Unable to believe what was happening, I looked to the sky and thanked the stars, the Fates, and the dead gods for this moment. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve it, but whatever it was, I would try to repeat that good deed for the rest of my life.
Vale’s tongue parted my slit, and he began licking me up and down. I reached for him, for any way to touch him, found his hair, and ran my hand along the shaved under portion before wrapping my fingers through the longer tresses. A rumble came from his lips, and I tugged, needing a deeper connection.
He gave it to me by slipping his fingers inside my pussy. I gasped, my breaths becoming thinner, my chest tighter and my breasts heavier as he worked me up and down, his tongue playing with my engorged nub.
Where in the world did he learn to do this so well? Never mind, I didn’t want to know. I only wanted to be the one to receive this attention. The only one. The last one, though I did not dare say such a thing.
The prince looked up and stopped sucking, but his fingers still plunged in and out, slowly caressing the insides of my tightening channel. My juices gleamed on his lips.
“Neve,” he growled. “Let go. And when you do, I want you to say my name. Scream it.”
“But I— oh , bleeding skies!”
His mouth was back on my clit, his fingers deeper inside me than ever, and my insides quivered. I was close.
“I’m nearly there,” I hissed, the back of my head pressing into the rough tree bark. “Vale.”
“I need the kingdom to hear you.” He began kissing and sucking my clit again.
I looked down at him as his eyes flashed up to meet mine, and in them I saw more than lust. I saw an unspoken promise. I already thought of him as mine, wanted more time with him, more than perhaps I even thought wise. And with that look, I was sure he wanted all the things I did too .
The certainty, the unspoken promise, sent me over the edge. My fingers tightened in his black hair, and I cried out.
“ Vale! ” Stars filled my vision and pleasure overtook me as Vale continued to suck, to lick, to caress.
Suddenly, we were in a whirlwind. Beautiful, glittering snow spun all around us, all the way to the top of the tree. A moan ripped out of my lips as my body went boneless.
My climax dimmed, with many smaller waves following, and Vale was there to drink up each one. When it was over, I leaned into the tree, panting.
“Vale . . . that was amazing.”
He rose and kissed me with the same hunger as when he’d kissed my sex. When we parted, he pulled me close, and I buried my face into the furs of his cloak.
“You’re amazing Neve. Losing my title is nothing to getting to have you.”