Every particle of my body vibrated in awareness. The bond that tethered us surged and tightened. Now that I’d acknowledged it, I was amazed that I hadn’t recognized it sooner. Every part of me yearned to touch him. Feel him. Kiss him.
I balled my hands at my sides, and the weight of the king’s stare bore down on me as I endeavored to hide what I felt. I tried to keep my chest from rising too quickly. Tried not to let color bloom upon my cheeks like a budding rose in my garden.
But the prince’s aura called to me. I was as helpless to resist the attraction between us as the oceans were to the moons’ pulling tides.
The prince stopped only a hair’s breadth away. Eyes like diamonds glittering in the sun drank me in. His mouth tightened as that wildness slipped past his mask. Savage need etched into every line of his face.
He slowly slid one large hand around my neck, his thumb grazing my jaw as he tilted my mouth up to his.
And as he leaned down, my attention focused on his lips. The air between us warmed as his affinity wove around me. A feathery, phantom touch trailed across my neck causing a shiver to skate up my spine.
I called upon my air element to do the same to him. It stretched from me, as though ghostly fingers trailed down his chest.
A low, throaty growl was his only response before his lips met mine.
My eyes closed as the taste and scent of him spiraled through me. Snow and cedar wrapped up in heat and fire penetrated my senses. Before I could stop myself, my arms were slipping around his shoulders, tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck as cheers and roars echoed from the crowd.
But those sounds fell into a void, like a vacuum sucked all of the sound from the air, as every fiber of my being centered on the male holding me and ravishing my mouth. His tongue entwined with mine. A growl of pure possession rumbled in his chest as I moaned softly in answer.
The crown prince deepened our kiss, answering a call that fate demanded we heed, until fire raged between us. I clung to him, my entire body weakening as he bent me backward, his kiss feverish and claiming.
A desperate ache formed low in my belly as the prince’s wings snapped around us, hiding me from view. I knew my desire was so heightened that other males could scent it, but I couldn’t help my response. Norivun was my mate, and my body sang for him as though the stars had aligned our souls.
I had no idea how long we kissed. How long we hid beneath his wings. The realm had disappeared into nothing. My focus was on him and him only.
But then he was pulling back, his wings were retracting, and I whimpered softly in protest. His thumb caressed my jaw as lust coated his expression, but eventually he broke our contact and stepped back.
The other males around us murmured to one another, but my head was still so fogged with my mate that I couldn’t decipher their comments, but some were wickedly grinning. Others wore shocked expressions.
Prince Norivun’s nostrils flared, and one thunderous glare at the snickering males had them quietening.
Nuwin cleared his throat from behind me, and when the spell finally dissipated completely, I saw the tight smile plastered across the younger prince’s face.
My heart pounded as I became more aware of my surroundings. Everyone was watching us, which in itself was to be expected, but their looks and whispering told me that what had just transpired between me and the crown prince had been witnessed and understood by all.
“Interesting.” The king’s single comment had my entire body seizing.
Prince Norivun snarled quietly before Nuwin subtly kicked him from behind. The crown prince snapped upright, but even I could see that he was visibly struggling to suppress his mating instincts. Males were surrounding me. My heady scent swam through the air, and the king had just flagrantly commented on what had transpired between us.
Dread slid through my veins. King Novakin was smiling, no grinning, as he looked between me and his son. He mockingly inclined his head before a dark flash ghosted across his expression. The crowd was still cheering, although it was more jeers now than joy, and the males were loudest of all as the females tittered behind cupped hands.
But despite the chaos, it didn’t stop me from hearing what the king said next. Words like a whisper floated to me through the air, and with a start, I realized who the crown prince and Nuwin had inherited their air affinities from.
The king’s comment siphoned to me on a magical breeze meant for my ears and my ears only. “It seems as though we have more to celebrate than just your victory, Ilara Seary, daughter of Mervalee Territory. Or should I call you mate to the crown prince?”
I tried not to let the king’s comment derail me as Daiseeum dressed me for my last date of the Trial. But all day I’d been picking at my nails and biting my lip. It was impossible not to heed the king’s statement that had been subtly laced in a threat filled with deadly promise.
This was a male, after all, who had ordered the execution of dozens of Solis fae simply for voicing their concerns and causing unrest.
I hadn’t told anyone about what the king had whispered to me. Not even Norivun. I couldn’t. The mating instincts flaring from the prince every time someone threatened me would no doubt end in bloodshed with his own father if the crown prince knew of the king’s veiled threat.
And while Nuwin would probably be understanding of my worry, I couldn’t drag him into this mess. I still didn’t know if he was aware of his brother’s secret agenda.
The one fairy I wanted to confide in above all others, my sister, was nowhere to be found. After the king had witnessed my and Norivun’s mate bond, Cailis had fled with her guard. Knowing her, she was seeking more exit points in case a crisis unfolded, and the king demanded my head.
So I’d tried to distract myself by visiting another field following the first test. I was already on my tenth large field in Isalee, and the crops were slowly coming back to life. Following that, I’d spent the remainder of the day training with Matron Olsander. My magic had grown so immense that even my intense mistphasing that morning hadn’t depleted it.
Matron Olsander had gone easy on me, though. A first. But she’d been so proud of me that even her iron-willed heart had softened and allowed me a moment to relax and enjoy my victory. It was the only time today that I’d actually smiled in earnest following the king’s comment.
“This color looks lovely on you,” Daiseeum said, drawing my attention back to the present.
My lady’s servant stood just behind me, her magic brimming as she made me look more beautiful than I ought to. Jewels hung from my neck and dripped from my ears as she buttoned a deep-blue gown up my back. “And I have to say that was quite the kiss you shared with the crown prince earlier today.”
The warm memory of my trainer’s approval doused when I beheld Daiseeum’s barely suppressed smile in the mirror.