128. Summer
Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Eight
Summer
“ W e don’t have long,” Alice says. While we’ve temporarily closed the dark fae portal, we know they will be working hard to reopen it. Though now that Dimstraeux is dead, and the pact is severed, they will have a harder time reestablishing it.
“Rafe, hold the door.” We need to prepare for an attack, and Rafe’s raw strength will buy us enough time to do whatever we need to do.
Alice hurries behind the dais, and I follow her.
She slices her palm and places it on a gold ceremonial plate, ornately decorated with deep-red rubies around the rim.
I’m not familiar with how it works, but like everything here, it seems to require blood.
With a resonant boom that I feel through my feet, a dark door appears in the wall.
Alice doesn’t hesitate to throw her diminutive weight against it, groaning with the effort of forcing it open.
The room beyond is dark, but I can see the pedestal rising in the center, supporting an intricately crafted crown.
Alice hesitates and takes a deep breath before walking into the room.
“Did you mean it?” she asks, staring at the crown, its presence weighty and oppressive. “What you said before? That I could change things?”
“I meant every fucking word.” The sound of shouting and banging echoes from the main room, and Rafe roars with the effort of trying to contain them. I know we don’t have time, but Alice needs this not to be rushed. She needs to take her time to think things through.
Alice picks up the crown with trembling hands and holds it out to me. “Will you put it on me?” she asks, and my chest swells with pride. Crowning the sovereign is such an honor, and it couldn’t be bestowed on anyone more worthy than my best friend, my sister, my savior.
My eyes burn with tears, but I nod and lift the crown as Alice bows her head. The moment I place it on her head, it begins to glow, and when Alice lifts her head, it is reflected in the red luminescence of her eyes.
“I sever the temporary agreement with the dark fae. They are banned from the realm of Dr?culea until further notice,” she says, her voice hollow and full of power as she makes the decree. Rafe bursts into the room, having been holding the door closed, stopping any more from breaching.
“What happened?” he pants, but then he sees Alice wearing the crown and bows his head deeply in respect. “Your Majesty.”
Alice blinks once and then twice. “Neither of you bows to me. Ever.” She takes a breath and then strides from the chamber.
Rafe and I follow behind her, and when she opens the door, while the corridor is in disarray, it is mostly empty apart from the servants.
Broken glass and splinters of wood crunch beneath her boots, and her filthy dress is ripped in multiple places, but the way she holds herself is every bit the queen.
She arrives at the main doors and pushes them open, fearlessly facing the sea of people standing in front of the castle. To her surprise, some cheers break the silence. She frowns and looks back at Rafe and me with confusion. I smile and nod encouragingly.
The stranger and I had started releasing our own propaganda over the past week.
He had hacked into the Dr?culean mainframe, which was not easy given how old it was, but from there he was able to donate money to people in need on behalf of HRH Elvira Legosi, of course.
We had also started spreading positive rumors about the changes Alice wants to implement in the realm, and though it is still early days, we have already received some encouraging feedback.
Alice lifts her chin and looks over her people, who have flooded the streets, the dark crown gleaming in the dull light. Rafe and I stop just behind her, flanking her, sending a clear message of support.
“Citizens of Dr?culea. This is a tumultuous time, but it is a time for change. Too long have we been held down by a government crazed with the hoarding of power. No more. I know I am unknown to most. The true me is unknown to all, but I care about this realm, this species, and I will do what I can to ensure the vampires thrive under my rule. That being said, I will defend myself, my crown, you, and this realm with all the resources I have at my disposal. If anyone thinks to take me on again, they will be sorry. I will be a just and fair ruler to those who deserve it,” she finishes, and to my surprise, most of the people in the crowd bow to her.
Alice watches them for a moment before she turns around and goes back inside. Rafe and I wait until she is through the door before we follow her. Rafe pushes the heavy doors closed, and then Alice turns to face us.
“Al, you’ll need to organize a trusted council while you’re at Avalon,” I say.
Alice nods. “I’ll have to spend the summer here doing that,” she agrees with a tone of solemnity that is foreign to my best friend, but that is part and parcel of the crown nestled on her head as if it were made to be there.
She turns her gaze to Rafe. “Lucifer does not do anything for nothing,” Alice says, quoting the stranger.
I also look at Rafe.
He lifts his chin, not paling under our scrutiny. “He doesn’t.” His voice holds no sign of regret. “I heard Mira scream, and you were both too far.” He looks between us. “So I did what I had to do.”
“And what was that?” Alice asks, the power of the queen still lining her voice.
“I made a deal,” Rafe says, still with no regret.
Alice lifts the crown from her head and places it on a cushion that appears beside her. As soon as it is in place, it disappears again.
“What was the deal, Rafe?” I ask, tension pulling my muscles tight. This could be very fucking bad. Everyone knows how badly Lucifer wants his heir at his side.
“Three months,” he says, and Alice curses.
Is that three Hell months or three normal ones?
“I had to.”
I shake my head. “Rafe?—”
“How long will that be for you?” Alice cuts me off, her own anger rising.
Rafe finally looks away, regret staining his cheeks. “A little more than two years.”
This time, it’s my turn to curse.
Alice starts to pace. “How do you know he’ll let you go at the end of the summer?” Alice asks .
“He’s bound by the same deal I am.”
“What about Mira?” I ask, and his eyes flash to meet mine.
While there is a tentative agreement between Pyrrhos and Hell, the only way for her to get there would be to actually be in Pyrrhos, and though I haven’t heard her story yet, I know the stranger liberated her from a less-than-ideal situation. “Two years without her.”
“I could hear her dying,” Rafe says, his eyes turning turbulent. “I could feel it.”
I shake my head again. There must have been another way out of it. We had planned for everything. Well, everything except the dark fae, and that was an oversight. I didn’t think they wanted me to the extent of liaising with another species.
“Rafe, this wasn’t . . . There was another way.”
“I didn’t know the stranger was here. He went to you first. I couldn’t?.?.?. I needed her to live,” Rafe says, and there is a deep sadness in his voice at even the thought.
“We can?.?.?. we can get you out of it. There has to be a way,” I say, pushing my sai back into my thigh sheath. “We just have to?.?.?. fuck.” I shake my head. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”
“He won’t hurt me.”
“It’s literally Hell, Rafe!” Alice says, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
“And it’ll hurt Mira.”
Rafe rubs the back of his neck. “I’ll talk to Uncle Lu about Mira?—”
“No,” Alice growls. “That will only lead to another deal.”
I nod. “Alice is right. Don’t mention her.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Take a minute to think things through before you sign a deal with the fucking devil,” I snap harshly at him.
“I didn’t have a minute.”
“Fuck.” I look at Alice. “You have loose ends to tie up?”
Alice nods. “I can come back soon.”
“I’ll deal with this,” I say, pulling her into a hug.
“Take care of our idiot demon baby,” she says, squeezing me and kissing my cheek. “Thank you for believing in me.”
“Always.” I pull back. “Call me tonight? ”
Alice nods, and I watch her for a long moment, already missing her.
She taps her chest, and a portal opens behind us.
Rafe runs through the portal and straight upstairs to see Mira, and I wave at Alice again before the portal snaps closed.
I follow him up the stairs, and my eyes go straight to the stranger.
He is still hunched over Mira, still working on her, though she looks much better than when I last saw her in the stranger’s arms. She was so weak that I couldn’t even be jealous that he was holding someone else.
“How is she?” Rafe asks, peering over the stranger’s shoulder. I stop at the bottom of the bed, and the stranger’s head lifts and turns toward me.
“Are you all right, princess?”
I nod.
“How is Mira?” Rafe asks again.
The stranger holds his hand out, and I move to his side. He presses a kiss to my temple before turning back to Mira. “She’ll be okay.” Rafe rounds the bed to get closer to her.
“It was a trap for all of you,” the stranger says, looking at Rafe. “Especially you.” Rafe’s attention is locked on Mira, and he brushes a lock of her hair from her face.
The stranger finishes another rune, and when it starts to glow, he straightens and looks down at me. I brush my fingers over his lips, and he nips at the tips with his teeth.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” His voice is low and quiet, though loud enough that Rafe would be able to hear it if he were not completely enraptured by Mira.
I place my hand on his chest, and he wraps his arms around me, pulling me against him. “I’m just grateful.” Grateful for him. He was there, and he prevented history from repeating itself.
“Grateful?”
“For you.” He wanted to be there from the outset, but I knew that would be a bad plan.
I couldn’t be distracted, and it needed to look like we were only there for a funeral, which we were.
They may have caught us off guard, but we also trapped them in kind.
The stranger’s immense power is undeniable, but in this avatar, it’s easier to evade with runes.
I have felt the vastness of his power when he is with me in person, and they would have sensed it too if he had worn a glamour.
I have no doubt they would have found a way to divide us.
We went so Alice could pay her respects, but we had contingencies in case we were crossed .
“You are the one who fought and planned. I only came when you needed,” he says, shaking his head.
“How did you know? I wasn’t able to use our signal.”
“I was within the boundary, and I sensed the dark fae. I knew you might need backup,” he says, fitting me against him.
“It seems like there were three traps set for you and your siblings. I don’t know how they all managed to work together, but this took some planning.
They knew together that you could not be stopped, so they aimed to divide you.
” I exhale, leaning into him. “Your strength is something always taken for granted, but it’s your intelligence that makes you truly dangerous to your enemies. ”
I lean in, pressing a kiss to his neck, and then I pull back and glance at Rafe. He is watching Mira carefully as her chest rises and falls. I take the stranger’s hand and pull him from the room and into my room. The moment it closes, I press his back against my door.
“Princess . . .” he groans.
“Hm?” I ask as I press into him and kiss his neck again.
“You’re riding the high from the fight. The adrenaline is in control,” he says, digging his fingers into my hips. “But you’ll crash soon, and I don’t want you to regret anything we do.”
I bite his neck, feeling the same wild desire I usually feel for him, but it’s amplified.
I pull him from the door and push him down on the bed before straddling him and bending to suck on his neck.
He moans and slides his hands up my thighs to cup my ass beneath my dress, kneading the lush flesh.
I rock my hips against his hardening cock.
I would ordinarily demand that he actually physically be here, but I just need to feel him in this moment.
“Fuck, little fae,” he groans.
I nip and kiss the strong line of his jaw to his ear. “I’m so wet?.?.?.” I whisper. He rocks his cock against the soft heat between my legs. “So hard.”
“You were so sexy killing those who threatened you. All those who came close,” he moans and pulls me down to grind against the throbbing ridge of his cock. “Fierce and sexy,” he growls. “And mine.”
“Keep talking,” I say, nipping at his earlobe.
“The way you looked at me when you saw me. Savage ferocity, ready to fight but willing to let me help,” he says, and I moan, but then a deep, gnawing fatigue falls over me, and I slump down on him before everything turns black.