CHAPTER 10 #4
Dani’s vision grew hazy as he began to suck, taking from her in rough pulls. She sighed, fingers slipping under his shirt to feel his warm, bare skin. A needy ache began between her legs where he held her pressed up to the counter. Whimpering, she rotated her hips.
Alex gripped her thighs, pulling her to the edge of the counter so she had to wrap her legs around his waist to keep from falling. His thumb slid between them, finding the wet spot on the front of her jeans as she tried unsuccessfully to muffle her cries in his hoodie.
When she came with a shudder, he withdrew his still elongated fangs, thrusting between her legs one final time and holding her in place.
He lowered his mouth to hers so she could taste her blood on his tongue.
Dragging her fingers hungrily through his hair, she licked his fangs clean.
Alex vibrated softly as she did it, fingers tightening at her hips, and she knew he was aroused by the show of submissiveness when he’d just fed.
That she would not only beg for his fangs in her throat every time, but worship them with her tongue when he was done with her.
“Good girl.” Alex bent to kiss her forehead. “I am going to make love to you, Daniela, and very soon. But it will be somewhere that I can take my time and focus on your pleasure. Somewhere that I can feed from you, and make sure you’re ready to take all of me inside of you.”
“I’m ready.”
He laughed softly, kissing the tip of her nose.
“I do not doubt your willingness. But I want the first time we’re together to be as dark and decadent for you as when I suck at your throat.
An experience you’ll find so deeply pleasurable you’ll think of nothing else until the next time I come to your bed.
” He kissed the fresh puncture marks he’d left at her neck, and she trembled. “Soon.”
Dani had never traveled out of the capital city, much less the sector, and was desperately curious to see the faerie lands.
Everyone had heard the rumors when it came to dealing with the fae.
Reportedly, they could not lie.
It was best not to make any bargains, lest you found yourself magically ensnared in a trap you could not escape.
Eating and drinking anything while in their company, was likewise not recommended.
Everything they said, touched, or were forced to offer at a negotiating table, if it came down to that, would have to be carefully calculated.
She’d tried to imagine the land of faerie over the years, picturing the ancient immortals as the wise and compassionate, figures from pre-pandemic era media, saviors that on the darkest days, when wolves and vampires were fighting for the rights to control sector territory, might come to humanity’s rescue.
Now that she was older, she could recognize it as a child’s fantasy.
The fae had lived in the immortal realm for thousands of years, biding their time and growing ever more impatient as humanity overpopulated the planet, pumped toxins into the earth, depleted its resources, and drained its lakes and rivers dry.
Sometimes she wondered why they hadn’t put an end to humanity’s era of prosperity sooner, but perhaps mass annihilation was a step too far, even for them.
Alex and Sera brought her to a cold empty field. Dead cornstalks poked up out of the snow, crunching under their boots as they made their way up to an old split rail fence. As they got closer, the air around the fence began to shimmer.
“It’s warded,” Alex said. “You can’t pass through without permission. If you try, it will pack a nasty punch. Some wards can make you forget who you are and why you’re trying to breach them. The one set around the castle is set to make you sicker every time you try to enter without permission.”
Sera was studying the posts, brow furrowed in concentration. “I think it’s this one.”
“How can you tell?” Dani asked. “They all look the same.”
Her cheeks seemed faintly pink, though maybe that was just the cold.
“Before Finneas left our sector, he grabbed my wrist, and told me that if I ever needed to contact him, I could come to the edge of the fae kingdom, and this portal would open for me. He projected an image of this place into my head.”
“And you don’t think it would be better to just text him?” Alex said dryly.
Ignoring him, Sera placed her hand upon the post. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, an arched doorway shimmered open to its right. Sera took a startled step back.
“Well, I guess that answers that.” She sounded uncertain.
“We can still turn back.”
“Not if he’s the only one who can help Dani,” Sera reasoned. “I’ll go first.”
Carefully, she stepped through the portal. Alex took Dani’s hand and together, they stepped through into the faerie lands.
The change in temperature hit her immediately. On the other side of the portal, the snow was gone, the air slightly crisp, but not cold. The trees around them bore red and gold leaves.
It was autumn.
She’d learned in school that the fae could control the seasons, that this was why they were able to produce as much food as they wanted.
Stepping from the barren, snow-covered landscape of the vampire-controlled sector into a lush meadow where the leaves were just beginning to change at the start of autumn felt surreal.
Down in the valley below them, workers were busy up in the trees harvesting apples, heavy bags slung over their shoulders as they worked. Dani took note of the collars around their necks, marking them as thralls. None of them had the telltale pointed ears of the fae.
“They’re all human,” she said. “Slaves.”
“The thralls’ position in fae society is complicated,” Sera said tightly. “Many are refugees who have fled our sector and applied for asylum. They’re free to return at any time, or to go to the wolves, if they choose.”
“Those aren’t exactly appealing choices.”
“No. And you’re right that there are problems with their treatment here.
They can’t vote, any more than humans can in our sector.
The laws here are very strict, and anyone who is a problem is taken back to their sector and not allowed to return.
” She paused. “Even if that means leaving family behind.”
“That’s cruel.”
“In that respect, fae law is no less an oppressive system than our own. But I will admit that their people seem to be given adequate food. Their housing is spartan, which is typical of fae culture, but it is comfortable and warm.”
“You know so much about them,” Dani said. “I suppose all the royals must be educated in such things in order to understand the politics between realms.”
“Yes, and—” Sera hesitated. “When I believed I was to be forced into a marriage contract, I did extra reading on my own. I wasn’t going to walk into any situation unprepared.”
Sera fell silent as a fae male approached them. He wore a gray tunic and robe. His dark hair was long and swept partially back, revealing pointed ears. When he smiled, Dani could see he had rather formidable teeth.
“Princess Serafina, welcome. I’m Killian. Finneas has been expecting you.”
Sera rolled her eyes. “Of course he has.”
Dani was almost sure the cough that followed was smothering a laugh.
“If you’ll please follow me.”
They made their way down a winding forest path, through trees that had grown twisted and wilder than any she’d ever seen. Several times, she paused to stare, only to have Alex gently tug at her hand, silently reminding her it wasn’t safe to fall behind, not in this place.
“It’s so beautiful,” Dani said. And so deadly, she suspected, shivering as the woods grew colder and darker. “How long has Finneas been king?”
“Not long,” Sera said shortly. “After claiming their share of the human lands, Finneas’ parents, the former fae king and queen, quickly grew tired of life among mortals, and returned to the immortal realm. But before they left, they had a fervent desire to see their children settled.”
“That was where you came in.”
“Finneas was given control of half the fae lands and his sister, Niamh, the other half.” Sera’s tone turned cold.
“Finneas is a manwhore who cares for no one but himself. He has a reputation for indulging in faerie revels, reportedly sleeps around, and has no desire to settle down. His parents desperately wished for him to find a mate who would ground him. Hence the treaty with my father.”
“Oh, please.” Dani made a sound under her breath. “I can’t imagine they really thought that would work.”
Serafina snorted. “He had no more interest in getting mated than I did, except perhaps for a good roll in the hay.” She glanced ahead to where Killian was walking, and lowered her voice.
“He came up to me at the party where we were to be formally introduced, murmured something crude about having never been with a vampire and asked if I would prefer to suck his neck first or his cock.”
Dani gasped. “The bastard. I hope you slapped him.”
“I shoved him into the fine crystal punch bowl his parents had brought as an engagement gift.”
Dani couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw Killian discreetly muffle another cough.
“Well done. I hope he was picking slivers of glass out of his hands for a week.”
They’d reached a darker part of the forest. All around them, delicate rivers cascaded down the mountainside, spilling over rocky outcroppings to form tiny waterfalls.
They pooled in a shimmering silver lake she could see off in the distance, obscured by fog.
A stone walkway seemed to be carved out of the mountain itself, crossing the water in ornate arched bridges and fanciful overlooks that could only have been created by magic.
The air was cool, and faintly scented of pine and the damp loamy earth.