Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
KADEN
“Relax,” I comment, brushing my lips to my mate’s exposed shoulder.
The revealing burgundy dress trails low on the floor, her back completely open. In addition to the deep scar along her throat, Max’s back hold various small, glassy burn marks from her time in the village. My eyes drink in the scars and one finger trails along a thin one against her shoulder blade.
It’s a damn miracle she’s allowed me this much. Once she understood my goal, what I’ve had to do for this world, she seemed to open up to me. Like in the forest, except without the fear, the constant threat of something attacking, she’s begun choosing me.
Make no mistake, we are not safe here. In this court the enemies are just more cunning, slicker in their assaults with vile words and hidden daggers.
She relishes this life, as much as she’d like to tell me she was never met to be a queen. My mother’s necklace—her crown—sits around her neck, the fabric draped over her slender curves. Her red lips match the blood color and her pale cheeks flush with barely controlled anxiety.
I wrap a hand around her hip, my beast completely silent in my mind. He’s been at ease since the hall with her, since we broke down walls and began to mend our forces together. It’s strange and exhilarating not hearing him in my head. Almost peaceful.
“If they smell fear, they will not leave you alone,” I remind her. Those devastating eyes look up at me, then the room, nodding once. “You may see things you’re not used to.”
She snorts. “I held high holidays with the Witch Covens. Nothing beats seeing an elderly Matron running naked over burning fires. Trust me.”
Tugging her toward the feast, I glance back with a smirk. “Did you participate in those holidays?” The idea of seeing her naked, surrounded by flames, conjures unholy visions in my head.
She rolls her eyes. “I don’t play with fire, heir.”
“Pity. I would’ve chased you.”
My words take effect and her body shivers as she remembers our time in Crow’s Feet Forest. Something I’d like to do again.
I want her feral and wanton. I want her begging, sobbing for me, clawing for some kind of mercy.
I want her soft and yielding, blazing and angry.
I want everything she’ll give me because I realize—this is a gift.
She could have easily left, not stopped to wait and play my game. She wanted to stay, she chose me.
No one has chosen me in quite some time. It makes Max that much more precious to me.
Inside, the warm dining hall is full of rambunctious Fae, dressed in gowns and suits of finery.
There is plenty of wine, nectar and blood, passed by silent servants.
The fine silver shines under the rows of candles, the room turning into a glowing golden beacon in the darkness of our palace.
I don’t let Max go as I maneuver to our places, at the corner, right by my father.
Reid and Fee are already seated with Oslo and Zeke at the back. I wouldn’t have been late if they weren’t there to watch my siblings.
I catch Zeke’s eye and nod, a silent communication of thanks.
“You trust him,” she whispers, gliding along with me. All the lords look at my mate, and the possessive side rears its head, blocking her from their hungry gazes.
“He’s loyal.” I nod a Fae elder, a friend of my uncles and someone on our side. “I respect loyal.”
“It’s more than that,” she replies, eyes bouncing between my siblings and Zeke. “He did something for them. That’s the only way to earn your respect.”
“Is it? And how did you earn mine, kitten?” I take her hand, pushing her ahead.
“Maybe when I held a knife to your throat?”
We reach our seats and I wave off a servant, pulling her chair out myself. I’m compelled to be everything Max needs and more.
“That certainly did it.” She slips past me, lowering into the seat with more grace than some Fae. My mouth meets her ear and her head tilts, a subconscious move that shows me her trust. “But maybe it was when I tasted your sweet cunt?”
Her cheeks blaze and I sit, smiling smugly. I love to get under her skin, break her cool mask, as much as she likes to ruin mine.
“Or maybe when I threatened to kill you?” She folds the napkin in her lap, the servants pouring her a healthy dose of wine. “You do tend to enjoy playing with danger.”
She has no idea.
Glancing around, she scans the crowd, eying the Woodland Fae across from us. Her anxiety is a lead ball, wedged between us. I grab her thigh, pulling her close.
“You’re uneasy.”
“It’s a lot,” she retorts, holding the chalice to her lips. There’s a breathless laugh, followed by a chorus of moans. My father’s parties always turn into orgies. “And that one won’t stop staring at me.”
My burning eyes dart from her to the other male and my lips turn into a soft sneer, holding back my contempt. Barely.
“Ignore him.” I tuck a piece of her violet-black locks behind her ear, tracing the edge of her unpointed ear. “He’s nothing.”
“Kaden,” he calls, and I growl low in my throat.
“Fenrir,” I greet, leaning back, though my grip turns firmer, bruising her leg. “You’re looking well. Seems you were able to extract yourself from the company you requested last night.”
Company he had the nerve to ask me to arrange.
I see the marks along his collarbone, the still oozing bites from the Dark Fae females he found on his own.
He smiles, pleased even as his ears turn a bright red. “Your kind is absolutely the most fun an unattached male can have. They know all best positions to try out.”
Green eyes latch on to my mate like a leech and darken. He’s shameless.
Even decades after Sose, he’s still trying to take my things, like when we were children. Toys, weapons, books. Now, my mate.
My beast rages as I refrain from yanking his heart from his chest and crushing it before his eyes.
“Avert your eyes or I will pluck them from your face and serve them to you for dinner,” I command, grin easygoing. Max clears her throat, but not because she’s uncomfortable, no. She’s trying to hide her laugh.
It’s toxic, this relationship, and yet Fate deemed it worthy to give it to us.
“Such possessiveness.” He tsks. “I heard great tales about the Dark Fae and their base instincts when their mate is concerned.” He shrugs, sipping his golden nectar. “When will that calm down?”
“Never.” I grin, fangs glinting menacingly. “I’ll always protect my mate from those who are less than deserving of her time.”
“He’s very possessive. Even of those things that wish to not be his,” Max quips, eyes brightened from wine. “He takes what he likes.”
“Careful, kitten.” I tsk, the hand on her knee gripping her tight. “I have it on good authority, that my things like to belong to me. In fact, they practically scream my name with delight.”
She looks ethereal, face bright with a teasing smile and I sink into the love growing in my chest. I may still want to wring her neck, but I also want to kiss away all her fears.
There’s a twitch of her lips and I steel myself for her retort. “They must be faking it.”
Fenrir barks out a surprised laugh and I chuckle, delighted. She’s full of spite and fire tonight, and I lap it up, dying for more.
This is the woman who I saw under that scared kitten in the forest—a hellcat, ready to own her power. It’s amazing to see how she thrives when she’s supported and safe, not feared like in that backwards Coven.
“Gods, Max,” I comment, vulnerability coloring my words as I lean close, mouth to her ear. “Bel knows, I would’ve waited decades for you, but I’m glad I didn’t have to. You are more than I ever thought I’d have in this life.”
Her eyes flutter as the bond burns softly between us. No longer a searing pain, but a warmth like one would want after a long day in the snow. “Do you regret stealing me away? Claiming me?”
Licking my lips, I smile. “Not at all. If I knew this would be the outcome, I would have claimed you the first minute I saw you in the throne room. Would have forsaken the raid, taken you and never looked back.”
She opens her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by the squealing of a heavy chair moving over the tiles.
We turn to watch my father stand, depositing the barely clothed female from his lap with nary a glance. “My brothers in arms, listen to me well.”
I catch Fee’s eyes. Our father has always loved the dramatics. But what is he planning now?
She glances to Max, eyes tracking her weaponry on her hips, her leg in my hand. She wrinkles her nose, but I don’t miss the soft flash of affection in her eyes.
My sister likes to appear cold and heartless, but Max has wormed her way into her heart as much as mine. They’ve become fast friends.
Everyone stops in what they’re doing to look at my father. He stands tall, an emperor among his people, a picture of strength. He wears long black robes, his silver crown as polished as his boots. Nothing is out of place.
“News has come to us, of our enemies, the Humans, in the south.”
Murmurs fill the hall as glasses drop. My father has their undivided attention now.
“They prepare for war,” he declares, eyes sweeping the room. “Griffin, the man who would take my heir’s mate, knows his time is limited, so he mobilizes.”
I glare across the table to Fenrir as he watches my father with furrowed brows.
“Did more intelligence come in?” I whisper. Not as if anyone can hear over the shouts of alarm.
Fenrir shakes his head. “We were waiting for your spies intel.” Spies my uncle and I just dispatched after our meeting in Zelos office. They wouldn’t have returned yet.
Fiery Bel’s Balls, something is going on. He’s must be making a big play, gaining the last needed Lords to push his cause by using fear to motivate them.
And judging by their wary faces, it’s working.
Godsdammit.
I shoot Fenrir a dark look. “Find Mal.” His brother is better informed with these types of situations. Another reason Aoife should have entrusted her kingdom to him.
Fenrir looks to argue, maybe realizes it’d be futile, before leaving his seat to search. Either way, I need to know what is really happening and not what my father wants us to think is happening. He has a bad habit of hiding the truth.
A few Fae call out to my father. They wish to know what’s going to happen, how do they prepare. My father holds up his hands, comforting the masses.
It’s such shit.
“Fear not. We have a weapon that will level the battlefield.”
My blood runs cold, but my mask doesn’t break. Max’s good mood and love vanishes under a cloud of worry. Her blue eyes turn guarded, body tense. Both of us don’t know what weapon he speaks of, but it doesn’t bode well for either of us.
I glance to Oslo, who nods his head at Reid and Fee. Both scrap their chairs back, preparing to fight.
It’ll be hard, impossible even. We have some of the guards on our side, but not enough to take the entire dining hall.
Regardless, we will defend Max, to keep her at my side and not a pawn for my father. He cannot be trusted with someone of her strength. With her magic.
“Kaden,” he calls my name, and I jolt. Gesturing for me to rise, and I do so, unsure.
When I stand, he smiles, pleased. I am his well-trained dog, being summoned to attack.
“My heir, the prince with a beast for a soul, will go into the enemy’s territory, figure out their plans, and with his keen insight, we will be able to plan an attack. With the might of our combined forces, with our special weapon, we shall defeat our enemy. Once and for all.”