Chapter 40
R eneah moved around my room on a mission. She’d laid out golden bangles and a golden circlet—the beautiful long lilac fabric attached to it flowed across the bed. She’d informed me that it was customary for the Fae males and females who were bonded or planned to be during Guake’te to wear ceremonial garments. The anticipation had been a low hum in my stomach all day, increasing as the hours ticked by. Only a little time remained before the ceremony, and Reneah didn’t want to be anywhere near the palace during Guake’te. She worked feverishly through the scores of sandals in the closet to find a matching pair. “It’s a good thing the Fae don’t like to dress up often. Makes my job easier,” she called from inside the closet, her voice muffled. She emerged a moment later with a pair of golden sandals, the long straps dragging across the floor. “But your closet could do with a bit of re-organizing, so when you do dress up, I’ll be able to tell where I put things. I’ll add that to my list of to-do’s.” She placed the sandals on the ground at the foot of the bed.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m in my scales more often than not these days.”
Reneah’s lips lifted in a grin as she gave the rouge on my face one last inspection. “Look at you. You’ve come a long way from the girl who first breached the gates of Atlantis in your Instant Mermaid Just Add Water tanktop.”
I shook my head. “Isn’t that the truth?”
“And about to be mated,” she said, her voice croaking slightly. “It’s enough to make a woman cry.” She fanned her big, brown eyes.
The corners of my lips tipped up. “Oh, stop, you mother hen.”
“Can’t help it. I’m just so happy for you.”
“Thank you.”
Reneah let out a breath to gather herself. “Alright. I’ll go check on your father and make sure he has everything he needs. I think you have everything you need. You’ll be okay dressing yourself?”
“I dressed myself for twenty-three years before you came along. I think I’ll be okay.”
Reneah nodded. “Very well. I’ll leave you to it. Enjoy every minute, Asherah. Despite the…you know…intensity of the ritual, it’s a special moment in a Fae’s life. Cherish it.”
“I will.”
With one last pensive look, she turned and exited the room, leaving me to stew in my nerves and thoughts.
Bonded.
I will be soon .
My hands started fidgeting. Draevyn’s note I’d received earlier in the day advised that Aurelio would escort me and that I should meet him at the steps before the temple just beyond the tents of the Guake’te festival.
Where things were said to get a little…wild.
I glanced at the wall clock; it had barely moved. I let out a sigh, not sure what to do with myself. Maybe some reading time would help calm my nerves. I sank into the cushions of my reading chair, grabbed my book from the table, and began reading.
As I’d done with most of the books I’ve read, I’d barely come up for air. It wasn’t until a knock sounded at the door that I lifted my gaze to the clock on the wall. “Shit!” I threw my book on the side table and rushed to the door, throwing it open.
There stood Aurelio, looking spectacular with his hair perfectly styled and his ceremonial bangles on his biceps. His pointer finger traveled from my head to my toes. “These don’t look like the garments you should be wearing to bond your mate.”
My brows dropped. “These are my scales.”
“Precisely. And we’ll be late to the festival if you don’t get dressed in five minutes.”
“I thought you’d be holed up in your room with Myles all evening?” I asked, closing the door behind him.
“And miss the Guake’te festival? I wouldn’t dream of it. Myles will wait in our quarters until I return. Now, shoo. Hurry up and get dressed.”
I didn’t hesitate. Delicately placing the bangles over my wrists and positioning the draped fabric that hung from the golden circlet on my head, I gave myself one last perusal in my floor-length mirror. It was odd seeing so much of my skin. I felt…exposed. A slit carried from my ankle to my upper thigh, complimenting the flowy long skirt. The sheer material rose from my hips and wrapped around my neck to cover my breasts, the cool air cresting across my bare back.
“Marvelous,” Aurelio said from behind me. “If Draevyn doesn’t faint at the sight of you, I’ll be sorely disappointed.” He turned for the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
The current of the Shingu carried us to the entrance of the temple park in no time. My heart beat so fast, I thought it would pop out of my chest. As we came to the head of the pathway leading up to the temple, my eyes went impossibly wide.
“Welcome to Guake’te, Princess,” Aurelio said, shooting me a roguish grin. He sashayed expertly through the crowd of festivalgoers. A sea of beautiful ceremonial garments of every color and blueish scales glinting against the warm faelights blanketed the park—the most sensual and erotic music filling the space. Everyone swayed to the drumbeats that thrummed through the crowd. Kissing. Touching. Feeling. It was all so…
Infectious.
A low buzz built in my core as my hips swayed of their own volition—the beat coursing through my body. A hand wrapped around mine. My eyes, which I hadn’t noticed were closed, snapped open to Aurelio’s face lit with amusement. He guided me further down the path. Large bright, white tents lay in perfect rows and reached two stories high. The flaps on most of them were drawn back to reveal the revelry inside. The low faelights cast light on the futons within, the bodies melding into one another. Skin to skin. Heads thrown back in various states of pleasure.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of them.
“And the ceremony hasn’t even begun yet,” Aurelio yelled above the hum of music and murmur of the crowd. “Come. Follow me. We have the tent closest to the temple.”
“We?” I asked, shifting my attention to him.
“Draevyn, Dax, Myles, and Cathan insisted on having a few Guardians present for your safety.”
Of course, they did. “Won’t the Guardians…you know,” I motioned around me, “be a little too distracted to protect me?”
“Not if they followed orders and drank the potion our very talented priestesses concocted for them. It suppresses their innermost desires. I’d bet my shoe collection that Draevyn watched as they drank it.”
I didn’t doubt that either.
Aurelio pulled back the flap of the tent erected closest to the temple. Inside, nearly two dozen Fae milled about eating, drinking, or sucking someone’s tongue down their throat. I spotted the Guardians assigned to me this evening, each in their corner with a look of pure boredom on their faces. I leaned toward Aurelio. “I thought it was just going to be you and Myles?”
His gaze snapped to mine. “Of course, it’s just going to be me and Myles.” I bit my inner cheek as he sideglanced, understanding finally dawning on his face. “Oh, you mean, are we open?”
I motioned around the room. “Fair question, given that we’re in your tent, and there’s a lot of…skin.”
He spared another glance around the room, his devilish smirk returning. “There is a lot of skin. But Myles and I are exclusive. Not that there’s anything wrong with being inclusive . It’s just that once mates bond, other partners don’t hold any sexual appeal.” His heady stare followed the very nice ass of a male who had nearly dropped all his scales. “But we can certainly watch and appreciate. Goddess. He must work out for hours.”
I couldn’t help but ogle. “Goddess, indeed.”
Aurelio broke his attention from the male and took my hand. “Let’s get a refreshment. I’m suddenly very parched.”
We ventured through the small crowd, coming to a long table against the side panel of the tent with cheeses, bread, wine, and other items to nibble on. I grabbed a cracker and tucked it into the shadows of the quiet area by the tent wall, Aurelio coming to my side. The debauchery unfolding around us was overwhelming. I didn’t consider myself a prude by any stretch, but I’d never found myself in such a provocative place.
Deliciously provocative, much to my surprise.
“So, how long do the festivities last?” I asked him, my attention drifting to a couple in the middle of the tent who’d just dropped the upper part of their scales. The male leaned down, taking her pert nipple in his mouth, and she threw her head back with obvious pleasure. A few people gathered around them with hungry eyes. I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks. My gaze remained glued on all their movements.
“Well,” Aurelio began, his gaze fixed on the couple, “for those of us who are mated, we leave when the priestesses thrum the bell. It signals the beginning of the ceremony. Oh…this is about to get very interesting.”
Another male settled behind the female, the bottom portion of his scales dropping as he pressed into her backside and licked a pathway up her neck. His hand snaked around her hips and wrapped around the other male’s hardened length. My eyes widened as I clenched my thighs. “Well, then.”
Aurelio chuckled lightly. “Welcome to Guake’te, little Princess.”
I tore my gaze away. “Who are all these people?”
“These guests here have been hand-selected for our tent. Vetted to the highest degree.” He gestured with his wine glass around the room. “Everyone you see here is a supporter of yours through and through.” He brought his glass to mine with a clang. “It’s almost time. My male awaits me at home.” He drained his cup, setting it on the table beside me. “Relax and enjoy. When you hear the bell, Draevyn will be waiting for you at the stairs.” He gave my arm a firm squeeze and exited through the tent flaps.
Despite knowing everyone in the tent had been vetted, I remained on the side of the room. My gaze landed on one of the three Guardians assigned to my tent. It mustn’t have been a very strong potion if the female riding his lap were any indication. I found the other two guards in similar states of pleasure in the throughs with a male and female.
How had the potion worn off so quickly?
I let out a wince when I felt a small prick in my foot. My gaze snapped to the floor just as a hand pulled back from outside the tent. My brows furrowed. “What the fuck?”
But the room began to spin before I could analyze who or what that was. The bell from the temple tolled, and everyone donning ceremonial garments filed for the exit.
But I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t keep myself standing.
My knees dropped to the floor. Not a single person paid any attention when a rustling sounded from behind me, the tent’s tarping lifting. A cloth came around my mouth and nose. I could do nothing to fend them off, my body completely immobile as the whole world began to fade.
“Sleep now, Princess,” I heard my assailant say before I drifted off to unconsciousness.