Chapter 25 #2
I allowed my gaze to sweep over the room, noting the dancing fae and the couples writhing together along the floor. On the opposite side of the room, a naked fae male lay with his arms and legs spread while a crowd of fae groped and licked him.
Sybelle was right. While her entrance had elicited shock from the fae, as soon as she began participating alongside them, their concerns had melted away. It was as if she wasn’t even here.
Sybelle continued to watch me, waiting for my response.
I bit back a curse, then released one of her wrists. She tugged her other arm, but I held fast.
“You are here as my wife, are you not?” I asked.
Her eyes narrowed. “Yes,” she said, drawing out the word.
I tugged on her arm, dragging her back toward the sofa I’d been sitting on. She stumbled, then yelped, protesting as she struggled to keep up with my loping strides.
When I reached the sofa, I sat on the cushion, then pulled her onto my lap. I noticed Enzira gaping openly at us, a glass of faerie wine in her hand. She took a few steps toward us as if to intervene, then thought better of it.
“Varius,” Sybelle hissed, wriggling as she tried to extricate herself. Her movements did sinful things to me, sending unexpected heat straight between my legs. I stiffened, trying to leash the sudden and feral need sweeping through me.
She went rigid as she no doubt felt it, too. Slowly, she turned to look at me, one eyebrow arched in accusation.
I huffed a laugh. “Don’t flatter yourself, human. It’s natural to be aroused at a revel, regardless of whoever is draped across my lap.”
It didn’t help that I’d already had a few drinks.
Still, she looked at me with a smugness that made my blood boil. “I’m not hearing a denial.”
I clenched my teeth, my jaw tensing. “Fine. If I were to seek someone out for a moment of pleasure, it would not be you. Is that clear enough for you?”
“If that’s the case, then kindly remove me from your lap.” Once more, she tried sliding off my knee, but I clamped my hand on her waist, pinning her against me. I suppressed a groan as her backside ground directly into my arousal .
“You are the one who is intent on attending this revel,” I murmured against her ear. “If you insist on being here as my wife, then it’s only fitting that you play the part.”
She turned her head to glare at me, her eyes flashing. “Is that what you did with the other human brides—parade them around as your plaything?”
Shock skittered through me at her words. Other human brides. “Sybelle,” I said slowly, “you are my first and only human wife.”
Her head reared back, her jaw dropping.
Mother of Shade, had she really not known this? Had she believed I was an ageless fae demon who abducted her ancestors over hundreds of years?
“But you are the only human foolish enough to attend a revel as if you were an invited guest,” I went on, trying to gloss over this startling revelation.
It didn’t work. Sybelle continued to gape at me, unabashed. I cleared my throat, looking around the room to see if anyone was eavesdropping. But no one cared. The fae were too distracted by their merriment.
“So you aren’t the same Wraith King who has come for a human bride from my kingdom every generation?” she asked quietly.
I bit back a growl. “I am no wraith.”
“I know that.” She stated this so plainly that I almost believed her.
I sighed. “No. I am not the same king that married the other human brides. That would be my father, and his father, and his father before that.”
She blinked at me, clearly astonished by this. What was so alarming about this information?
“But… fae are immortal,” she said.
I smirked. “I am well aware.”
She shook her head. “ So…”
“You may be my first human bride, but many kings before me had multiple wives. It is not unheard of.”
She swallowed hard, her gaze lowering as she considered this. Her eyes turned calculating, a look I knew well by now.
Her interest was piqued.
“Can we perhaps discuss something else?” I murmured. The curse was the last thing I wanted to talk about, especially since, when I’d previously brought it up, she had yelled at me and stormed out of the room. If anything would disrupt a revel, it was that kind of behavior.
Sybelle blinked as if I’d jolted her from her thoughts. “I wanted to apologize.”
I raised my eyebrows, surprised by this. “Oh?”
“Yes. I reacted badly to your request for my blood, and I’m terribly sorry for that. I should have allowed you to explain further. Please forgive me.”
An unexpected knot of emotion formed in my throat. I hadn’t expected this level of sincerity from her. She had seemed so confident and—dare I say it—arrogant when she’d arrived. I thought for sure she had come to yell at me again.
“Is that why you came to the revel?” I asked, my voice low and soft.
A blush spread along her cheeks. “Partly.”
I found myself smirking again. “And the other part?”
Her blush deepened. “I was curious. And, yes, I wanted to embrace my role as your wife, and I can’t very well do that by hiding in my chambers every time you host a revel, now, can I?”
My smile widened, showing my fangs. Sybelle’s eyes dipped to those incisors, but I scented no fear on her. “Well, that’s quite admirable of you, dannahla .”
“So it’s dannahla again, is it?”
“You are sitting on my lap, wife.” I leaned closer, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. Her hair smelled like lilacs. “It is certainly not the most scandalous thing I could call you. ”
I delighted in the way her skin pebbled as a shudder swept over her. But my victory was short-lived when my own body reacted as well.
Sybelle clearly sensed it, too, because she wriggled against me once again. I clamped my teeth together to keep from groaning.
“You’ll want to stop doing that,” I murmured in a strained voice.
“Oh?” She tilted her head toward me, her red-tinted lips curling into a smile.
“Do you recall how I warned you about certain parts of me being more monstrous than a typical human male?”
She snorted. “Warned me? Or taunted me?”
I grinned. “Both.”
“So you want me to stop arousing you because your male appendage is monstrous?” Her eyes gleamed. “Now you’ve made me curious.”
Well, damn. I should have expected that. I heaved a sigh. I was flustered enough from her sitting on my lap with no regard for my red skin and clawed fingers. Did nothing affect her?
She leaned closer to me, her lips brushing my jaw. “Can you tell me?”
I suppressed a shiver from the way her breath tickled my face. That lilac scent enveloped me once more, tinged with the barest hint of old parchment and burning incense. “Tell you? Or show you?”
Her cheeks flushed again, but she said nothing.
“This is a revel, after all,” I went on, bolstered by her bashfulness. “If I were to disrobe right here, no one would think anything of it.”
Her pupils flared, and her lips parted. I felt her breath hitch, and her pulse quickened.
Mother of Shade, was she actually considering this? If she said, Yes, Varius, please show me your cock, then I wasn’t sure how I would respond.
Before she could say anything, I explained, “It’s barbed.”
Her eyes widened. “It is?”
“Well, there are ridges, and, on command, I can summon the barbs.”
“Ridges,” she repeated.
“Yes. Like… hard bumps.”
Her eyes dropped to just below my navel, and that same intrigued gleam sparked in her eyes.
“You want to see it, don’t you?” I smirked again.
“I—n—” Her mouth clamped shut, and her blush deepened. She had been about to deny it. A normal human would have. They could lie, after all.
So why hadn’t she? Was she so accustomed to being around the unseelie that she did not want to lie?
I chuckled. “You can’t lie to me, wife.”
She huffed an exasperated breath. “I am merely fascinated by the anatomy of the unseelie fae. Are all males like that, or just you?”
Now it was my turn to feel flustered. “I don’t know. I—I don’t often look at other males’ genitalia.”
She laughed at that, and I couldn’t help but grin in response.
Someone cleared their throat loudly, and we both turned to find Enzira standing awkwardly before us, clutching a glass of deep purple wine. It was different from the mauve color of faerie wine.
“Forgive the interruption,” she said in Agnarrish, pressing her free hand to her chest as a sign of respect to me. She turned to Sybelle and said in broken Terrish, “You drink? Is safe.”
Sybelle smiled at her, then reached out her hand. “ Garsha , Enzira.” She accepted the flute and sipped from it, then hummed with pleasure. “This is delicious. What is it?”
“Berry wine.” Enzira beamed .
Sybelle nodded and took another sip. “Thank you. That is very kind of you.”
Enzira inclined her head, then gestured to the group of females dancing behind her. “Dance?”
I found myself smiling as well. It was clear Enzira was providing Sybelle with a way to escape, if she was uncomfortable with me. I felt Sybelle stiffen on my lap, and I wondered if she would take Enzira’s offer.
I tried to tell myself I wouldn’t be disappointed if she left me. But that would have been a lie.
Sybelle glanced at me, biting on her lower lip. The motion drew my eyes to her full mouth, and that same rumbling need coursed through me with violent fervor.
Mother of Shade, what was wrong with me? She was a human. I was simply aroused and in need of release, that was all. It had been far too long.
After a moment, Sybelle said, “No, thank you. I’m content to remain here with my husband.”