Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
LYVIA
A might to break with the stars to take.
– Eghan Family Stone.
Lyvia – Ayla, Lotrennia
Bayne’s wooden chair clanked to the floor as he stood, and six War Slayers converged from the two entries of the room. Eyes wide and pinned on the chain of death wrapped around her porcelain wrist, Queen Antares’s lips curled into an ugly snarl.
“Let’s keep our hands to ourselves, shall we?” I warned, the surge of protectiveness continuing to rise like the hackles of a wolf, but the muscles in my face remained calm. My eyes slid to Kellan’s as he tracked the long line of power streaming from my palm to the queen’s hand.
A shadow wolf pup leaped from the line of power and raced up his arm to perch on his shoulder.
I smothered a surge of exasperation, my powers unable to stop creating on their own and throwing themselves at the pirate lord.
He lifted a finger and scratched it on the head before taking another drag of his smoke and shooting me a wink.
A pulse of air gathered around us as he effortlessly locked his shield into place.
“Remove this,” the queen hissed, a quiet rage growing beneath the carefully crafted mask.
“Lyvia,” Bayne warned.
I glanced at the king of Lotrennia, noting the small white flames dancing in the center of his pupils in near threat.
My lips pursed as my shadows reluctantly slunk back into my palm. The tiny wolf pup remained on Kellan’s shoulder for a moment, flashing its teeth at the queen before hopping through the air back to me.
The queen turned an ugly snarl toward me as she shook her hand out.
“I see your powers are working together at last,” she sneered, the mask of control struggling to reform on her face. “Tell me, dear Lyvia, what did it take? Did someone finally beat it out of you? I tried, you know, with Tiberius.”
Her petal pink lips tilted into a mocking smile as she took a sip of her drink. My stomach dropped as memories of her iron whip ripped across Ti’s withers… his bleeding wings… The wrath I’d carefully caged as I prepared for this dinner thrashed behind its bars.
“Do you know what would make me smile?” Kellan cut in, finally addressing the queen’s comment from earlier. His boot thudded to the floor as he set his goblet on the glass table. He turned to the queen and cocked his head to the side, one corner of his lips tugging up in a handsome smirk.
Queen Antares snapped her attention back to the pirate lord and arched a golden brow. “Do tell,” she purred.
Kellan stared at her, his eyes going glassy before blinking slowly.
“Taking these hands,” he said calmly as he held them out.
The queen’s eyes flared in lustful greed, likely imagining the power that came with them.
“And ripping out your throat.”
The last word dangled in the silence of the air as the queen blinked. My lips fell open, icy shock warring with the warmth swelling in my chest. I clamped my mouth closed, biting my lip to keep from smiling.
If I hadn’t already fallen in love with the pirate lord, the quiet conviction with which he spoke the words would have done it.
I would have fallen to my knees if I hadn’t been seated.
Kellan’s eyes remained pinned on the queen’s, his cocky smirk disappearing.
A quiet, deadly thing had replaced his easy-going attitude, and my blood surged in response.
“And you expect us to trust you?” Queen Antares spat at me, shaking her head. “Threats and demands of the king and queen of Lotrennia.”
“Threats and demands are your language of choice,” I reminded her.
“We’re done for tonight,” Bayne cut in, waving his hand at the six War Slayers still encircling the table.
The queen snapped her face at Bayne, but he’d already stalked across the room.
The soft, Lotrennian breeze blew a wavy stray strand of hair across my vision as we made our way through the open chamber, though it did little to douse the heat. Night eclipsed the violet twilight, and our blue moons were nowhere in sight.
The enchanted lights from the Gilded Fortress floated onto the outdoor stairs that spiraled around this turret of the living castle. My hand slid over the railing of vines, the canopy of the bordering forest reaching the tips of its soft leaves onto my arms as we left the room in silence.
The War Slayers had departed with the monarchs, and Kellan and I strode slowly after them. I paused as we reached a short landing where the trees twisted and merged with another variety. Kellan’s hand softly appeared at my lower back.
“That could have gone better,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. I just—”
I whirled to face him. “Why are you apologizing?”
His hand slid along my waist. His brows narrowed as I scanned him, and I slowly shook my head.
“I probably shouldn’t have threatened to tear her throat out,” he explained before clearing his throat, eyes dipping.
“But in my defense, most diplomatic talks in Votruvia end with bloodshed. I once saw another Lord of Marisarma stab another’s first mate in the eye during Congremar.
I should have leashed my anger. I’m sorry, love. I’ll behave next time we—”
My lips slammed against his before the words could escape, and I slid my hands around his neck.
His arm wrapped around my waist as his hand drifted to the back of my neck, and he pulled me against him.
His lips parted for me, and my tongue slipped desperately against his before I sucked his lower lip into my mouth, letting it pop free as I leaned back to stare at him.
“No one has ever stood up for me against her,” I said as I scanned his face.
His brows furrowed as his lips pursed.
“Ever. Thank you.”
A quiet tenderness softened his eyes, and he opened his mouth to speak. He paused as my hand met the bulge in the front of his formal pants.
A puff of breath escaped his lips instead, his eyes darkening as my fingers quickly tugged the barely visible laces free.
“Bonscaíh—”
His voice lowered a husky octave. I glanced quickly around before I pressed him against the smooth bark of the hidden alcove along the outer walkway.
Midnight graced us with its gentle shadows.
My lips slipped along his strong jawline to his ear, where I drew a long line with my tongue down to the hollow of his throat.
He was free now, the thick, velvety length of him resting perfectly in my hand as I made one slow sweep after another.
Heat pooled at the center of my abdomen at the feel of him.
My hair fell loose along my shoulders as he gently tugged one pin after another free, dropping them to the ground as I left unhurried kisses over the exposed skin on his chest.
His hand tangled in my hair, and I glanced up as I reached the buttoned part of his shirt.
Dark eyes watched me as I dropped to my knees, my gray gown falling in a small pool at his feet.
His head fell back against the golden bark of the Gilded Fortress, and his eyes threatened to close as I wrapped my lips around the broad tip of him.
Heat surged to my core as my tongue slipped around him. He blew out a tight breath as my head bobbed, taking as much of him in as I could manage, his wide head bumping the back of my throat. My hands gripped the rest of him, and he let out a moan I wished I could bottle up.
I moved slowly, luring one ragged breath after another, and a pressure of my own built with every visceral sound that escaped his lips.
He hardened further between my lips as I moved faster, my tongue paying close attention to every detail that fit in my mouth.
I worked him, adjusting my speed to keep from ending this too soon.
He wavered at the edge of control, and a pulsing began between my legs at each ragged breath I drew from his lips.
Something moved in him, and I looked up at Kellan beneath heavy lids.
I let a fuck-me moan roll up my throat and reverberate through my lips as his eyes landed on mine.
His hand tightened in my hair, and I relinquished control as he began to move against me.
A delicious groan escaped his parted lips as he finished, his brows narrowing as he drove home.
My throat bobbed twice as his hand loosened, his head slumping against the wall. He gently lifted my chin, raising me to my feet, and my lips slipped against the strong column of his exposed neck.
“Bonscaíh. My shadow… My love,” he murmured into my hair, shaking his head softly.
I pulled back to find those heavy eyes, and his thumb brushed the bead of salty pleasure from the corner of my lips before he took them in his own.
The kiss was smooth and slow. His tongue explored the now-familiar territory of my own, each swipe a promise of what would come later.
Heat slid to the center of my legs, and I pulled away, knowing our time of privacy was running short.
My hand slid to his, and I pulled him down the steps.
“You looked…” I paused, my mind slipping back to one of the many evenings on board the Hydra last year, “rather dathuil, tonight.” I did my best to curve the sound against my lips, taking on the Votruvian accent as I spoke the word for handsome.
“I like you in black. Though I think I’ll always prefer the blue coat. ”
A thick laugh escaped Kellan’s lips, and he squeezed my hand.
“I’m not accustomed to…” he paused, stretching his arm out and examining the designs down his jacket, “being fancy.”
“Why were you early?” I continued. “I thought I’d beat you up there.”
A scoff escaped his lips, and I paused as we reached the grand entrance of the Gilded Fortress at last. The calm darkness of night beckoned us beyond its gates. I turned toward him to find a scowl on his face, his brows narrowed in annoyance.
“Well, first, they tried to dress me, as if I were a child and couldn’t put an arm into my sleeve. I wouldn’t allow that. And then, they tried to groom me, like I was a godsdamned horse—” He paused, searching the dark sky overhead before murmuring, “no offense.”
A rush of amusement rippled down my bond with Tiberius, though I knew he’d been flying far from here, and he’d been absent in my mind earlier.
“I was early because they tried to cut my hair,” he growled, his thumb running a line over the top of my hand.
My teeth pressed into my lower lip to hide my smile, an intense urge to cackle rising in my chest.
“Why did they try to cut your hair?” I asked, my cheeks puckering.
He arched a dark brow. “They said the ends were burnt,” he explained, shaking his head, the braids of his disheveled, pirate hair swaying.
My eyes cut to the frayed ends, looking more like the tips of an old, forgotten broom than the clean bristles of a paintbrush.
I snapped my gaze back to his, and he shook his head, his own lips pursing to keep from smiling. He pinched my side as he pulled me from the Lotrennian castle, and I threw my head back and laughed.
A knock rapped at the smooth wooden door of Isla’s townhome the next morning, Kellan’s fingertips already pulling me awake as they ran through my hair in long, soothing lines.
I nuzzled into his neck, my thigh draped between his legs and my hand hiding the gruesome Marisarma brand at the center of his chest.
“I never want you to stop touching my hair,” I mumbled sleepily.
Kellan’s chest bounced as he chuckled, the sound pebbling my skin.
“I seem to recall you telling me not to touch it,” he countered, his fingers tugging gently through a snarl.
“The Lyvia last year didn’t know any better. She had a lot going on,” I replied, my lips tugging at the memory.
The rapping continued downstairs, and Kellan shifted his weight.
“Isla will get it,” I groaned into his neck.
“I think Isla and Drystan left this morning,” he murmured. “It’s almost midday.”
I lifted my head and wiped the sleep crumbs from the corners of my eyes. Kellan smirked as he took me in. His thumb moved to my face, wiping the long line of drool from my chin.
“I love you,” he said softly, his dark eyes pinned to my own.
My heart swelled, and I melted against his lips.
“I love you more,” I murmured after pulling away.
A loud bang followed the rapping at the front door, and I sat up.
“For fuck’s sake,” I growled.
“I’ll get it.” His hand reached for my arm, but I shook my head.
“It’s fine,” I muttered, snatching a robe off the hook of the tree and stone door to Isla’s guestroom. “You stay right there, and don’t you dare put your clothes back on.”
I winked, and his lips cocked up in a rogue grin as he slipped his hands behind his head and fell back into the downy bed.
Rap.
“I’m coming!” I shouted, a tight burn racing between my legs, the delicious, overworked sensation anchoring my thoughts to the pirate upstairs.
I hopped the last few steps before I flung the door open, my eyes straining against the blazing midday sunshine that gilded the outline of its Bellator king.