Chapter Eleven
Castor Aegaeon
Three days on the sea training shifters in etiquette and politics… I’d rather face a horde of the fallen creatures or a night in Minaeve’s chambers. And surprisingly, one of those was actually survivable.
I lounged on the edge of the desk, twirling a quill between my fingers, pretending not to be on my very last nerve with these lessons.
“As I’ve said,” I began, flashing my most charming grin, “human courts are like a den full of wolves—eager, calculating, and ready to tear you apart when we enter their lands.”
“Really?” Talon asked, his expression dropping.
“What? I thought you’d appreciate that metaphor, considering you two shift into—”
“We get it,” Rhea said.
“Right. Well, humans will smile while planning your downfall, hoping to distract you with glittering spectacles and pretty words.”
Rhea, the fiery one, leaned over the table, laced her fingers together, and rested her chin on them with a smug grin that only meant trouble. “So, they’re exactly like the High Fae.”
I can tell why she and Skylar get along so well.
“Exactly. We won’t be favored, nor welcomed with open arms.”
Talon narrowed his brows. “But the request—”
“It’s a ruse,” Rhea cut in.
I smiled. “Clever wolf.”
Talon slumped back, arms folded across his chest. “I don’t like this. I’m with Skylar. I believe we should first negotiate for peace.”
Rhea turned toward her mate, placing a hand on his thigh. “Which is why I love you, and also why Skylar needs you at her side more than me when we meet with the human king.”
“While the rest of us—” I paused, seeing if anything from my teachings sunk in.
The she-wolf’s grin was cunning, and if I was honest with myself, slightly terrifying. “We’ll anticipate a trap.”
“Very good.”
By the time I concluded the lesson, the cabin door clicked shut behind the shifters, leaving me in blissful silence. I rubbed my temples, feeling like I had survived some kind of torture uniquely designed to diminish my immortality.
Teaching shifters politics. Gods above, someone save me.
I collapsed onto the bed near the door, letting the salty breeze cool the edges of my irritation from the open window. I gazed up, seeing that night had taken root as stars blinked overhead.
No longer able to fight the pull, my eyes drifted shut.
And then, I felt it.
That subtle tug at the edge of my soul, like a thread winding tight. My pulse slowed, and everything seemed to fit into place.
Nyssa.
I cracked one eye open and saw her. She was breathtaking, silhouetted by the moonlight along the railing, wind tugging at her long ebony hair, eyes already on me like she knew. Like she always did.
I sat up without thinking and went to her.
She signed, “You survived.”
“Barely,” I huffed. “If Talon asks me one more question about napkin placements, I swear I’ll hurl myself overboard.”
She giggled softly, and the sound of it hit me straight in the chest.
“I take it you’re done playing tutor for the night?” she signed, eyes flicking over me with amusement.
“For the night,” I said, voice lower now. “But I’m always available if it’s you requesting my attention.”
She rolled her eyes, but her steps didn’t falter as she moved into my space. I caught the scent of her in the breeze, like rain and something warm and comforting.
Home.
She was my home.
I reached for her. My hand brushed her cheek as she leaned in to kiss me. Her lips were soft, familiar, and warm. I would gladly fight any battle if it meant I could kiss her every day like this.
When we finally pulled apart, I whispered, “What are your plans for the rest of the night?”
Her smile was quiet as she pulled back, biting her bottom lip, signing one word, “You.”
I closed the distance without hesitation.
The beauty of the sea and the stars faded into the background when compared to this moment with her.
Nyssa’s hands found my chest, her fingers digging into the collar of my shirt to bring me closer.
Her tongue danced inside my mouth as a fire licked up my center, causing my cock to pulse as she released her hold to rub her palm against it.
I fucking loved that she kissed me like this.
That she didn’t take it slow.
I pulled her to me, one hand in her hair, the other at her back. I forgot where she ended, and I began. Her mouth was delicate and blazing all at once. She kissed me like she needed me to breathe, fighting to tear through every wall I’d ever built.
Our bond allowed her to see me at my core, and still she loved me, despite the darkness and death the gods had bound to me as a gift.
Nyssa gasped, and I swallowed the sound, deepening the kiss until the world fell away. Salt air, starlight, everything vanished but her. I kissed her like a starving man tasting his first meal in months.
When we broke apart, breathless and tangled, her hands moved to fist my hair. My forehead rested against hers, and all my armor, all my facades, disintegrated.
Damn near breathless, I rasped, “Never before have I said this to another.” I paused, steadying myself. “You are not only my mate, Nyssa… I am bound to you in a way I never thought possible. I love you with all that I am.”
She smiled—the kind of smile that could ignite wars or end them just as easily. Her full lips parted, with a soft laugh escaping before she signed, “I love you too.”
A warm chuckle ran through me, followed by a warmth in my chest that I allowed to consume my heart. “Thank the gods.”
I bent to claim her lips once more, savoring the quiet of the night. In the silent corners of my heart, I prayed for the day I would crown her midnight hair, take my place beside her on our throne in Silver Meadows, and vow to the worlds that she was mine.
My mate.
My everything.