Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Kole mistphased us back to Whiteolf after we’d decided to venture together to Arnel’s at midnight.
We also agreed that it would be best if I could verify if my uncle was actually home.
There was no guarantee he was in residence even though he’d summoned me a few days ago, and it would be just my luck that we showed up there, alerted Arnel’s wards to our whereabouts, and then he wasn’t even present.
Back in my chambers, I said quietly to Kole, “I’ll join my parents for breakfast and will ask them if they know where Arnel is. With any luck, they’ll be able to verify if Arnel is home.”
Kole agreed just as Betsee appeared in my bedroom chambers.
“Ah, Your Highness, would you like me to bring you a breakfast tray today?”
Since I’d eaten so many meals alone in my chambers, I wasn’t surprised by her question, but I shook my head. “No, I’ll join my parents for the meal.”
Her eyes brightened. “I’m sure they’ll be delighted to hear that.”
I bid her a good day, then left with Kole following me. In the hall, Xaven stood watch. As usual, metallic throwing stars were secured to the leather straps on his chest.
He dipped his head in greeting, and Kole and I both murmured a good morning, and then we sailed down the hall.
I took each turn readily, and just as I rounded the hall to leave the royal wings, I spotted Lillith and Koraline strolling ahead of us.
My step faltered. Worry hit me that as soon as Koraline found out I was headed in the same direction they were, that she would ignore me again, but before that thought had even formed, Lillith glanced over her shoulder and waved.
“Good morning, Prim,” she called good-naturedly. “Are you joining us for breakfast?”
Her greeting didn’t overly surprise me since we’d slowly become more friendly ever since the maze attack, but what astonished me was that Koraline had also stopped, and she wasn’t sneering at me.
I joined them, Kole staying a discreet distance behind us, and I said tentatively, “I was planning to. Is that where you’re both headed as well?”
“We are.” One of Lillith’s arms was looped through Koraline’s, and she reached her free arm out to me.
Smile blooming even broader, especially since my long-sleeved gown would hide my cool skin, I tucked my arm around hers and beamed, even more so when Koraline said stiffly, “Morning, Prim.”
Even though Koraline’s tone was anything but warm, I took hope in the fact that she’d not only greeted me, but she continued to stare at me without disdain, and I wondered if the testimonies at the last council meeting had truly begun to sway her.
Grinning, I replied, “Good morning to you, Koraline.”
Lillith fell into step again, and since she was in the middle of me and the crown princess, she pulled us along with her.
She began chatting about her plans for the weekend and how she’d hoped to join some friends for a shopping spree in Brownsand.
Their heartbeats thumped steadily in my ears, but I pushed those sounds away and asked Koraline if she was going too.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” she replied, her tone still halting, but at least she’d answered me. “Neb and I were going to visit a few floral shops tomorrow to pick out the flowers we’d like at our ceremony.”
“How exciting. Have you planned much for your upcoming nuptials?” I peeked forward to see her around Lillith as we continued arm in arm down the hall.
Koraline side-eyed me but replied, “No, not much yet. We’ve only just started to plan.”
“Well, if you would like any suggestions for what plants to use at your wedding, just let me know. There are so many species that could be used to heighten the magic and atmosphere, and if done in the right combination, they can help provide not only pleasant aromas, but they can exude magical tranquility or excitement or whatever emotion you’re going for. ”
Koraline’s eyebrows lifted. “You know how to combine plants to do that?”
I nodded. “Indeed, my particular area of expertise is of the flora of our realm.”
Her throat bobbed in a swallow, and a very small smile curved her lips. “That’s good to know. I . . . may take you up on that.”
I beamed, and Lillith squeezed my arm against her side and gave me a quick covert smile.
Joy burst through me even more, and we carried on down the hall.
At my back, Kole’s aura strummed steadily into me.
Just as fast, a push of contentment came from him along our bond, and I cradled that feeling.
Like me, Kole obviously understood just how momentous a step it was for Koraline to grudgingly converse with me and then consider involving me in her wedding planning.
It was such a huge step up from her betrothed ball, in which she’d chosen to have the official announcement outdoors, a place I’d been forbidden to attend.
For the briefest moment, I was able to forget about my uncle, his evil plans, the fact that my heart no longer beat, and what tonight could bring if Kole and I were successful in ambushing Arnel.
For that one moment, I reveled in the fact that I was with my sisters, and for the first time since meeting them, I truly felt like a part of their family.
Surprisingly, the breakfast with my parents also went well. Koraline remained aloof, but she did speak with me each time I addressed her, and such a small feat had my mother grinning from ear to ear.
It was only near the end of the meal that I finally found an unsuspicious time to ask my parents about Arnel. My father had brought up the tile maker my uncle had met with, opening the perfect opportunity for me.
“Did Arnel go home after he met with him?” I brought my tea to my lips and took a sip. “I was hoping to discuss his book with him, but I’m unsure where he currently is.”
My father inclined his head, and a smile curved his lips. “I spoke with him last night via my looking glass. He’s back at home, staying there for the foreseeable future as far as I’m aware. Would you like to borrow my looking glass so you may contact him?”
Since I didn’t know how to get out of that offer without raising any eyebrows or reminding him that my magic could connect mentally with others, which kind of felt like I was bragging, I nodded. “That would be wonderful, thank you, Father.”
My parents stood at the end of the meal, not even trying to hide how pleased they were that we’d all just enjoyed breakfast together, and it hadn’t been filled with tension or strife.
Standing, my father pushed in his chair just as a few servants entered the room to begin clearing the dishes. “I’ll have one of my attendants drop my looking glass off at your chambers this morning, Primelle.”
“Thank you.” I picked up my skirts, planning to head out, but my mother stopped me.
“Prim? I believe your sisters were heading to the stables to enjoy a ride. Perhaps you’d like to join them?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her, and them, that I didn’t need to force my company upon them, but before I could, Lillith agreed.
“I was just going to extend the invite, Mother.” She elbowed the queen teasingly, then turned to me.
“Are you busy today, Prim? Koraline and I planned to ride for a few hours, taking our mounts out of the palace grounds to the Wood. A few others were going to join us too. Do you want to come along?”
I looked from her to Koraline, but since the crown princess didn’t object, I couldn’t contain my elation. “I would love that. Shall I meet you at the stables after we’ve all had a chance to change?”
Lillith nodded, her brown curls springing up and down along her shoulders with the movement. “That would be lovely. We’ll meet you there.”
Since Kole and I weren’t planning to leave until midnight, spending the rest of the morning and afternoon with my sisters was the perfect distraction.
Throughout it, Kole followed closely on his own mount, his attention never leaving my surroundings even though we both knew it was all for show. It was daytime, which meant it was safe, and no further vamfeers had been spotted anywhere.
By the time evening arrived and the sun began to set, I was brimming with happiness that my sisters had included me in their activities.
“You seemed to enjoy yourself,” Kole said softly after he closed my bedroom chambers door behind us.
I swirled to face him, not trying to hide my vampire speed. “I did. Immensely. And did you see that Koraline actually initiated a conversation with me three times this afternoon?”
He chuckled lightly. “I noticed that as well.”
“I don’t think she hates me as much as she used to. I think those testimonials are really helping her to see me differently.”
He pulled me closer and kissed me soundly. “She would be a fool not to see how perfect you are.”
I snorted quietly, but I couldn’t stop my urges from honing in on the sound of his heartbeat. The steady lub-dub in his chest flooded my ears.
I’d managed to keep myself from focusing exclusively on everyone’s pounding hearts throughout the day, and I kept reminding myself of what Nicholas had told me.
That as I aged, my vampiric nature and urges would become easier to control.
I took heart in knowing that. With any luck, in a few hundred summers, heartbeats wouldn’t command my attention so viscerally anymore, and even better, hopefully I wouldn’t react so sexually to others either.
Although twice today, my unwanted sexual impulses had reared.
Once, when one of Lillith’s female friends had ridden closer to me, and the other to a young lordling from House Ginella.
Both times, I’d managed to subdue the unwanted thoughts that had run through my head, but my body had still responded.
Thankfully, the wind had been blowing, making it harder to detect scents from my nether regions, and neither seemed to have sensory magic, so my arousal had stayed hidden.
Kole placed a finger beneath my chin and tilted my head up. “What’s wrong?”
I brushed my thoughts off. “Nothing. I was just thinking that I managed to go most of the day without thinking too sharply about anyone’s blood, and I only thought of sex with two of the fae twice.” I winced, realizing how horrible that sounded.
Kole’s nostrils flared, but despite the ire that strummed from him to me along our bond—something I knew he would always feel when I desired another—he nodded understandably. “Did you need to feed again? Or sate any other urges?” he asked in a slightly husky tone.
My chest tightened at how easily and readily he offered both. No judgment. No hesitation. Love unfurled inside me anew for this male who accepted me without question, even though I was bound to hurt him inadvertently many times over in the coming seasons due to my stupid vampire wants.
I laid a palm on his chest. “I’m still okay from feeding from you yesterday.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up, and he leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I quite enjoyed the feeling of feeding you. Your body responded in a rather enticing way.”
I giggled softly, and his grin increased.
“But I can’t feed from you too regularly,” I countered. “You need your blood too.”
He shrugged. “Like I said before, when you need to feed, I want it to be from me. No one else.”
I leaned up on my tiptoes and brought my mouth to his. “It’ll always be from you, my love. I promise.”
He pulled me to him and kissed me deeply. Despite what lay ahead of us and what we’d planned to do tonight, my vampiric nature responded. A low moan left me, even more so when his hands dipped and cupped my arse.
“Is a distraction in order before we murder your uncle, Princess?” He nipped at my ear and began to lift my skirt, his palm sliding up my thigh.
The casualness of his question and what he was offering to do beforehand had me laughing. But then his fingers wandered farther up my leg, my skirt entirely hiked up. And when he tapped against the bundle of nerves in my core, I cried out.
His voice deepened. “Something tells me a distraction would be very much accepted.”
Lust began to fill me, both mine and that of my nature. But as before, Kole didn’t comment, and I could sense through our bond that he only strove to please me regardless of what drove my impulses.
I was panting by the time he had my back against the bedpost, my body dripping for him. And when he freed himself and slid inside me, my body and mate bond hummed to life.
“You like that, Princess?” he whispered into my ear as he began to thrust. “You like it when your warrior pleasures you?”
My head tilted back, and I let myself get caught up in our game, even though it wasn’t a game we needed to play anymore. Lips curving, I didn’t even try to hide when my fangs lengthened. Just as fast, he offered me his neck.
“I’ll always love when my warrior fucks me,” I breathed, and then I sliced into his skin.
Kole and I spent the evening tangled together.
After he took me against my bedpost, we moved to the library, and he took me from behind as I leaned over the couch.
Following that, he carried me to each room, and our need for one another only spiraled higher as the effects of our newly forged bond commanded us both.
I’d heard that newly mated couples had an insatiable need for one another, and given how easily Kole grew hard for me each time and how readily my body opened to him, I knew it wasn’t all due to my vampiric lust.
I took some heart in that, that at the end of the day, I was still me beneath all of the vampire magic, but as the night wore on, and the end of Kole’s shift came, my focus drifted elsewhere, to what we’d planned to do tonight.
Kole kissed me one last time as his replacement waited in the hallway. “Do you remember where we’re meeting at midnight?”
I nodded, and I had no doubt if I’d still been fae, my breaths would have been thready at what was to come. “Near the clock tower in the Baefim District.”
“Yes.” He gave me one last kiss, but I was reluctant to let him go.
“Are you sure we can get away with this?” I whispered. “And that he won’t somehow escape?”
His sword gleamed in the fairy lights. “Definitely, Princess. Your uncle’s life ends tonight, and if it’s not by my bare hands, it’ll be by my blade.”