Chapter Twenty-One. Fallon
TWENTY-ONE
FALLON
The air seemed to change as we entered the haven between the mountains, Thunder’s step picking up pep as if he too could feel the change surrounding us.
I stiffened against Etan’s spine as my skin buzzed with the feeling of magic kissing along it, like tiny wisps drifting through the air that I could not see.
The Nuckelavee had remained where it had fallen, whether it was dead or merely injured to the point it could no longer follow after us.
The heat became balmy, slicking my skin with sweat until I became acutely aware of the pulsing heat that spread through me. But that heat didn’t come from the air entirely, instead forming in my core and forcing me to shift a little uncomfortably.
I hoped Etan didn’t notice the strange sensation occurring within me, the oddly timed arousal that I had no explanation for.
It was far from the first time I’d felt it, having had my share of partners in the tunnels of the Resistance.
Our public baths and limited opportunities for entertainment meant that few were unaware of the pleasures to be found in the comfort of another’s body.
“What is this place?” I asked, trying to refocus my attention on my surroundings.
“There were four Primordials who once called the Summer Court home,” Etan said, his voice sounding lower somehow, deeper than I was used to.
I couldn’t decide if it was something actually occurring or the haze in my head that made it seem real.
“When our court was new, Diell thought we should pay homage to those who had already chosen to leave the public eye. We could no longer see them, but she knew they still existed and that their magic was present around us.”
“Fascinating,” I said through gritted teeth. I forced my jaw to relax, instead chewing on the inside corner of my mouth.
“She put sanctuaries throughout the court. Places intended for the Fae of her court to go to pay their respects to the Primordials who came before all of us. Many made offerings, and it was said that the size of your offering determined the blessing they gave in return,” he explained, continuing on as he guided Thunder down a somewhat narrow pass.
It curved around the edge of a mountain, taking us away from the descent into the valley and the vague impression of the capital that I could see now in the distance to the south.
I wanted nothing more than to continue on our journey, but I kept quiet as he tugged Thunder to the side of the path, dismounted, and tied his reins to a tree branch.
Pulling an apple from the pack slung across the horse’s rump, he held it out with an open palm and patted the horse’s neck when Thunder took it happily.
A bucket of water hung from the branch as if someone had prepared for us, and Etan reached up to grasp me around the waist and pull me down.
I swung my leg over Thunder’s rear, sliding down slowly so I didn’t disturb his snack.
Etan was behind me when I landed, my back dragging over him slowly as I glided to my feet.
His broad form left nothing to the imagination, making me entirely too aware of the fact that I was not the only one so inexplicably affected.
He moved away from me finally and took an extra bucket filled with water from the tree, dumping the entirety of it over my head as I sputtered.
The water that ran down my skin was tinted with pink as it washed away most of the blood that had not yet had time to dry on me.
My clothing would remain stained, leaving me to look like a nightmare made real, but I glared up at him over the method he’d used to clean me.
He only smiled bitterly, his anger at my risking myself still palpable between us. “Don’t ever do something that reckless again,” he ordered, cupping my cheek in his hand to gentle the words.
“I survived, didn’t I?” I asked, grinning at his irritation.
“I have to wonder where you learned to use a knife that well,” he said.
“Like I said, I had a lot of free time in the tunnels.” I shrugged, wandering away from him to explore the clearing where we stood.
“What do Diell’s sanctuaries have to do with us?
” I asked to bring us back to the pertinent conversation, my own voice sounding far more husky than I could ever recall.
I spun when Etan grabbed hold of my wrist, tugging me back to him.
With Thunder’s bulky body behind me, they made me feel pinned between two dangerous creatures.
Etan hung his head, his brown eyes holding mine and making me feel as if he stared right through me.
Like he could see my arousal in the stare that held his, and his tense mouth spread into an arrogant grin.
He leaned closer, bending so his mouth was only a breath from mine and his nose brushed alongside mine. “Come with me.”
He took my hand in his, guiding me away from Thunder finally and tugging me down the narrow path.
It was just wide enough for the two of us to fit side by side, his hand too warm in mine and the calluses of his thumb rough as he rubbed the back of my hand where he gripped me.
“Just before she said goodbye to her children, Diell created a place where those who followed in her footsteps could come and make offerings to all the Summer Primordials at once. A place where they were all present, even in their absence,” he said, pushing a tree branch out of the path so that I could move without ducking past it.
The branches hung over us like a canopy, offering shade from the blazing sun of the desert where we had started our journey.
“She said it would be customary for any who wished to sit upon her throne to come and make their offering to those who came before. When it became clear that Diell had no intention of returning to reclaim her court, Rheaghan came here for the first time and made his own offering. It is believed that the greater the offering, the longer you will be allowed to reign.”
We continued along the path, and I waited for the moment that we would find an altar, that we would have to slaughter some poor, innocent animal that had been left for us.
“This path has not been traversed in some time. Are you certain the temple still stands?” I asked, glancing at him. It would be just my luck that we had wasted an entire day riding to a place that had fallen into disuse centuries prior.
He smirked, grasping hold of the tree branch that blocked both our paths.
He lifted it as he watched my face, undoubtedly seeing the moment I laid eyes upon the sanctuary before me.
I glanced at him in surprise, stepping forward on feet that moved of their own accord.
Drawn to the magical haven before me, I took in the sight of something that made no sense whatsoever.
The haven was surrounded by trees on all sides, creating a private alcove that no one would ever find by chance.
“Only Kings and Queens of Summer and their guests are allowed to step foot in this place,” he said, following after me.
“Since Rheaghan was unmarried, he often brought companions to share in the experience with him.”
Lightning cracked above us, rippling through the daylit sky with the force of a summer storm.
The light mist of summer rain fell down around us, rinsing the sweat and remaining blood from my skin as I tipped my head up to feel the moisture on my face.
The sun shone bright here, like we were at the peak of day with the sun at its apex, even though it was already dusk outside the sanctuary.
Flowers bloomed around the tree line, covering the ground in life and bursts of color as I moved to the baths carved into the earth.
I was no stranger to the concept of a communal bath, but the one in the tunnels had been far less refined work. Made out of necessity rather than from love and devotion. Four statues surrounded the bath, their forms recognizable even from a distance.
Diell, with her crown of gold as she reached up toward the sky, her eyes closed as if she were basking in the daylight.
Oshun, where she knelt at the edge of the sea, her fingers and feet covered in grains of sand, drops of water dripping down her forearm. Her hair was wet, plastered to the side of her face and neck.
Tempest, with a lightning bolt held in his palms, his chest squared as he stood upon a summer rain cloud.
Gerwyn, with her feathered wings spread out behind her, a smile on her face as she watched a couple embrace.
The four Primordials of the Summer Court sat around the small, circular bath, which was far more intimate than the one I’d spent time in since becoming an adult.
“What exactly does this offering entail?” I asked, everything in me going still as Etan’s hands went to the laces of his tunic.
He stepped away from me as he untied them slowly.
He reached over his head, grabbing the back of the shirt and tugging it over his head in that distinctly masculine move that I’d never been able to master.
His torso was broad, his chest and abs defined.
His Fae Marks curled over his collarbone and onto the left side of his chest, swirling lines of red that served as the reminder that no matter what marriage said, he would never really be mine.
There was no mate bond between us, only the simmering attraction between a man and a woman who found one another desirable on a physical level. My soul did not reach out to his as I stared at him, didn’t crave him in the way I both feared and hoped would never happen for me.