Chapter 58
“Adinner? Really?” Solveig complained as she informed her mothers of her decision to not mate with West right away.
“Fully bonded or not, you found your mate, Solveig. That should be celebrated!” Koa exclaimed animatedly as she helped Solveig into a gown. It was green to match Westley’s eyes, and it hugged every curve, pooling on the ground at her feet.
A second skirt was placed around her waist, creating a train. The long sleeves held tight to her wrists before flaring out into draping points that reached her knees. She hated it.
The damn thing restricted her movements. The sleeves were going to get into her food when she tried to eat, and she was going to trip over all the fabric. There wasn’t even a slit in the side to free her legs or give her access to the daggers strapped to her thighs.
But apparently this was Idavoll’s style, and she was supposed to be showing honour to her mate’s realm.
The corset of her dress cinched her waist so tight she could hardly breathe. Her breasts were pushed up, bulging from the low neckline. The lengths of her hair had been curled and pinned up high, her neck exposed, displaying Westley’s bite marks.
She took a deep breath as she looked in the mirror.
One, two, three.
It was one night to show she wasn’t a complete asshole. Or Idavoll’s enemy. She could do this.
Steeling herself, she accepted Koa and Aelfsi’s escort to the dining hall.
She’d have rather had Westley at her side, but she hadn’t been allowed to get ready with him. This dinner was beginning to resemble a wedding ceremony rather than a simple celebration.
All eyes turned towards them when she entered the hall. Of course they were the last to arrive, and everyone stood to greet them, bowing low. Solveig caught Westley’s eyes, seeing mirth there.
Do not laugh, she ordered.
I wouldn’t dream of it.
She took her place beside Westley at the head of the table, and he took her hand in his, bringing it up to place a gentle kiss on her palm, her fingers stroking the side of his face.
His eyes were glittering emeralds, stealing her breath and making her feel like they were the only two in the room. She wished that was the case.
She also wished they were both naked.
Let me guess, he said as they took their seats, the sound of scraping chairs echoing in the dark hall as everyone else followed suit, my mother had the dress brought to you?
That would be correct, and her maidservants insisted on doing my hair.
At least your breasts look great, he said with a wicked smile.
Right? Though I’m worried they are going to spill right out if I bend over.
You’ll have to bend over for me later then.
Solveig choked on a sip of wine, and he rubbed her back innocently. She glared at him but there was no malice behind it—his eyes continued to smoulder.
“Hate to break whatever silent conversation you’re clearly having about how much you wish you were back in your rooms, but I’d love to make a toast,” Viggo said, standing.
Westley dragged Solveig’s chair closer to him, slinging an arm around her shoulders.
“I have known Westley since he was a youngling and have seen him with countless women and females,” he said, eliciting cheering from Westley’s friends and uncomfortable looks from his parents. Others outside their close group of families and friends were gathered at the table.
Idavoll leaders and highborn families sat along the long dark table—they did not look impressed.
Viggo continued without missing a beat. “But never have I seen him so absolutely wrecked, so completely destroyed in the best way possible, than when he fell in love with Solveig.”
Was that before or after the cave? Solveig asked with a squeeze of her hand on his thigh.
Is it too dark to say that I think I fell in love with you in the cave?
We all have darkness, West, and though fate was cruel in how it brought us together, this is our story.
Westley placed a kiss on her forehead as Viggo raised his glass. “To the not-yet-mated mates, may you screw each other’s brains out and put us all out of our misery!” Laughs mingled with uncomfortable looks as the guests either toasted to their sex life or blatantly did not raise their glasses.
“I’ll cheers to that,” Westley said out loud, raising his glass and clinking it with Viggo’s.
The meal began as servants brought in dish after dish. When Solveig cocked a brow at Westley, he explained that in the royal family, mates were married immediately. His parents wanted their people to assume this was a wedding.
Solveig hated the entire charade, though she understood the pageantry. And the only reason she was putting up with it was because Westley was trying to make peace with his parents. They had been deceived just as he had, and he was convinced he could get them on their side. It was improbable.
A table with broken legs cannot support a bowl atop it, no matter how much you try to balance it.
The food was delicious—she had to give that to Idavoll.
Even in the dead of their eternal winter, the meal featured rich vegetables and meats, the stew thick and hearty, the bread fluffy, and the wine flowing.
She frowned at her bowl, knowing that the other Fae of Idavoll were struggling with resources.
She would speak to her mothers about sending more aid from Asgard.
Westley kissed her any chance he got—any time she was not in conversation with another, his mouth found hers. He whispered things into her ear and mind that made her blush.
As a four-hundred-and-twenty-six-year-old war general, it took a lot to elicit that kind of reaction.
Somehow, he managed.
“Just think”—his breath tickled her ear—“soon we’ll be able to sneak to our room and I can tear that horrible dress right off you, bend you over the end of the bed, and sink so deep inside you that you won’t even remember your own name .
. . That is, if you could take all of me.
” His whispered voice was husky and deep, sending chills down her spine and blood throbbing between her legs.
He scraped her ear with his teeth and she leaned back into him.
Two could play at that game.
She swung her legs over his, making sure to rub against the bulge in his pants. He took it one step further. He gripped her waist and brought her to sit on his lap, their guests be damned. She grazed her nose up the column of his neck.
“Now what fun would doing that in our room be? You’re Fae, I know the kinds of parties your lot have once the king and queen are away.
I’ve been to a few of them myself.” Westley growled as she ground against the hard length of his cock.
“You could bend me over this table right now and start the real party,” she whispered.
“Fuck, Solveig. If I wasn’t a greedy asshole I’d let everyone see how pretty you’d moan for me.” His hand searched her legs, though he couldn’t get under all the swaths of fabric.
The cool feel of his magic compensated for the lack of accessible skin. His magic reached the tops of her thighs, and she inhaled. He swallowed the sound as he claimed her mouth.
You’re lucky I want to keep you all to myself.
That’s a pity. I would’ve broken my eighty-nine-day rule if you were up for it.
Fuck you.
She laughed, cutting off their kiss. When they broke apart, Solveig still atop Westley’s lap, they noticed the room had gone quiet and a majority of the table were staring at them—a mixture of humour, hunger, and horror plastered on their faces.
“Can you blame me?” Westley joked, bringing her back into a deep kiss as the tension broke.
Smooth, Solveig told him.
Thank you.
Westley reluctantly placed Solveig back onto her chair. He got to his feet, clinking his glass.
“As you can see, it’s time for the evening to end,” he said in his most princely voice.
Laughs skittered around the table. “Thank you all for coming. I thought the gods had not given me a mate—that my soul was broken, not worthy to be bound to another. So I locked my heart away. No matter how many times someone tried to break it, I kept it strong. I was invincible. And then I met Solveig.”
Emotion brimmed in his eyes. “Take care of my heart, elska. It belongs to you,” he said only to her. He raised his glass, and the rest of their guests followed suit, drinking to the happy couple and the beautiful words.
Elska.
His love, his heart, his soul. They shared an intense look, full of hope and promise.
And then the coughing began.