(Feyre)
I sat tucked into my mate's side with a glass of wine loose in my hand, listening to the loud laughter echoing around us and the warm crackle of the fire as it blazed in the hearth.
Today was Solstice . . . and my birthday.
Rhys pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead, tugging me even closer as he watched the heated argument between Amren and Cassian continue to escalate, the latter surprisingly holding his own despite the impressive amount of alcohol he'd consumed.
Nesta merely snorted from her perch beside him, cool face twitching in amusement.
"Such absolute nonsense from your mouth, brute—"
"You're just mad that I'm right! We could fit at least a dozen of you into a single catapult—"
"I am not useless shrapnel to be flung at the enemy! I'm not disposable like you and your brethren." Amren dug her finely manicured nails into the arm of the couch, the silky material of her long sleeve bunching. "Keep testing my patience and see where that leads you, dog."
"Wait," Mor interjected, brown eyes wild as she sat forward, a mischievous grin on her face as though a brilliant idea had just bloomed in her mind. I braced myself. "Perhaps we could stick wings on your back before we shot you out? It'd be a marvelous sight, just like the battle against Hybern again." She paused for a moment, then added, "Or I suppose we could just light you on fire."
Amren spluttered at the insult before hissing, looking as though she'd jump up at any moment to throttle them. Varian, to his credit, tried and failed to cover his laugh with a cough. Our second sent the male a withering look that even had me flinching.
The sound was echoed by a low but deep chuckle from Azriel on the couch across from me, Elain tucked against him as they too watched the exchange. I didn't miss the slight tug the male gave my sister or the way her brown eyes sparkled at the contact.
Their bond had patched itself beautifully, their hands and souls intertwined together once more. Especially with the noises that had been drifting from their side of the estate the past months had been any indication.
For as discreet as they tended to be, they certainly hadn't hidden the rekindling of their relationship.
I flicked my gaze to the sparkling pink gem shining within Elain's engagement ring, the stone flickering faintly in the firelight, thinking of the night he'd given it to her so long ago.
The wedding would no doubt be beautiful - it was more than deserved for both of them. And since it had been intentionally scheduled for the spring, Elain's garden would also be in full bloom. We'd spared no expense for the event, and I'd spent the months helping my sister design every little detail from the cutlery down to the seating charts.
It would be perfect, just as this evening was turning out to be.
I smiled at our family all gathered, save for two, one still somewhere within the expanse of the Illyrian Steppes and the other-
"I do wonder what happened with Lucien," Elain murmured as though she read my thoughts, eyes glimmering with curiosity as the others quieted their arguing at her observation. "The incident at the banquet was . . ."
"Hilarious?" Cassian offered, having directed his attention away from harassing Amren who looked more than a little disheveled. He gave a snort of amusement. "I think we should hire Fallon permanently for that little performance alone."
Nesta sent him a harsh look that had my curiosity piquing as a slight tinge raced up Cassian's cheeks.
"One fool in this court is enough, I think," Rhys replied, looking pointedly at his brother, chuckling as Cassian flipped him a vulgar gesture.
"I don't know," Mor mused, swishing the wine in her cup as she crossed one leg over the other, her red sequined dress shimmering, "she did make quite a spectacle. I'm not sure he'll ever live it down."
I wasn't sure he would either.
Of all the things I had expected, Lucien to bring home a . . . companion when escorting the orphaned children hadn't been one of them. She'd been attractive, certainly, a roguish beauty that even I hadn't seen the likes of . . . but her persona . . . something had been . . . odd.
I'm sure it wasn't the flask of alcohol she spent the evening sipping.
I nudged Rhys in the ribs.
Busybody.
She was certainly the life of the party, and trying to seduce Nesta that way-
I nearly shuddered at the thought, the fact the female had been brave enough to even imply something to my sister and her mate. I'd heard about the infamous Captain's proposition, the joking that had followed from our General . . . my sister was going to murder him. Slowly.
I took a long swing from my wine.
She considered it.
She did not.
Ask Cassian later, it's the truth.
I gawked at him, even as he played coy and directed his attention back to Elain who was speaking.
"I just hope he's all right, I feel terrible for what happened." She rubbed at the lace on the sleeve of her pink gown, a nervous human habit she'd never quite lost.
Azriel snorted above his glass of spirits next to her. "I don't."
Elain sent him a stern look that had him flinching apologetically.
"I wonder if he will attend the wedding." Amren crooned from her position in Varian's lap, her previously disheveled state smoothed over as she mindlessly kneaded the male's upper thigh.
I shot her a warning look even as my sister shook her head, bronze hair curling about her shoulders. "I don't think he will, he's sent no messages regarding it."
And I'm glad for it. I could see the unspoken words on my sister's lips, the faint guilt that she had for thinking them.
Without looking I knew Azriel that he felt the same. Though perhaps without the tinge of guilt. He'd never been fond of the son of Autumn, especially not after initiating his relationship with the male's mate.
I tried not to dwell on the thought, even as my own guilt regarding the matter rose up to meet me.
I opted to change the subject instead.
Opening my mouth to do just that, I was surprised when Nesta beat me to it, her icy eyes gleaming.
"I want to know if my nephew will be attending." She sent me a look that bordered between questioning and something akin to pity. "Has anyone been able to even locate him?" Or Valka? The question hung silently in the air. She still hadn't tracked down her former lieutenant, the female having seemingly vanished into nothingness.
Months of searching had turned up nothing but dead ends.
Rhys and I shook our heads. We hadn't heard from our son in nearly four months—
"He'll be there," Azriel supplied quietly, a faint knowing smirk on his lips, "he came to Velaris a month ago to have his jacket fitted. He said he would attend."
All of the heads of the rooms snapped toward him, surprise coating everyone's expressions. Including my own.
I shoved down the shock.
"He was in the city?" The shock in my voice was poorly hidden, the fact that my son had returned without saying a word to anyone but his uncle . . . Azriel sent me a compassionate look.
I wasn't sure why I was so surprised my son had willingly visited his home.
It wasn't Velaris that he was angry with.
"He agreed to come on the condition I did not make mention of his visit," Azriel flinched slightly as he looked down into his drink, the spirit no doubt having loosened his lips.
"It's all right," I shook my head, thinking back on the resolution I'd made for myself, "he can make his own choices and return when he is ready." I blew out a breath. "I just hope he's safe and somehow enjoying his Solstice tonight."
I nodded towards the mantel, towards the painting of Celeste and Cenric that I had rendered when they were children, inseparable. ". . . And I hope wherever she is, she's at peace."
At that my family raised their glasses, a toast to those lost and a toast to brightness the future held.
It took Cenric a moment to realize that those were lips pressed against his own, warm and soft in a way that had the tension easing from his shoulders and heat racing towards his stomach.
Instinctively he kissed back, tentatively biting at the full lips that nipped at his own, sending electricity racing through him. He couldn't help the groan as the hand that had initially dug into his shoulder began making a slow trail toward the bottom of his shirt and snaked its way underneath, the roughness of Valka's calloused fingers sending goosebumps flecking down his arms.
It took him another second to realize through the haze of enticement exactly whose lips those were.
The breath hitched in his throat.
This was not what he had been expecting when he'd given Valka her gift, hadn't expected the normally stoic female to ease into his lap in such a teasing way, she'd seemed more likely to beat him black and blue before touching him in any way-
She pressed close to him, the surprising softness of her body melding so perfectly to his own, confirming his long ago guess of just how lovely she was beneath those clothes.
Feeling his sudden stillness Valka pushed away, something heavy and molten having entered her usually stony gaze. The look had his skin tightening, becoming unbearably hot despite the chill of the cave.
She nodded toward her hand now tucked beneath his shirt, trailing lazy circles down his collarbone and over his chest, scraping her nails lightly across his skin.
This female was going to be the death of him.
Especially if the tightness that was now beginning to form in his pants was any indication.
"Well?" she cooed, her warm breath heating his neck, no doubt sending color racing up his traitorous face as she gently took his hand and guided it upwards across the rough fabric of her loose shirt—
He nearly yelped.
Breasts. That was a large, soft mound of flesh pressed tauntingly against his hand, their skin separated only by her thin top and bindings. He'd never realized just how . . . endowed she was. Had always been careful to avert his gaze when she changed or he found his eyes drifting to her more womanly features . . .
Without warning she ground against him, a sharp point of friction that sent Cenric gasping.
Unexpected, completely unexpected, and yet her body was pressed so close to his own, sending all of the blood that was supplying his brain quickly rushing in the opposite direction, his good sense rapidly flying out the window as he found himself whispering—
"Please."
It was all the female needed.
Valka moved so quickly he was barely able to track her as she rose from his lap and pulled him upright, her hands snaking beneath his shirt and tugging it over his head before she ran her hands experimentally down his torso, her soft palms tracing the lines of his stomach, then lower. Grinning impishly, she pushed him back, almost sending him tumbling as she herded him towards the bed.
"Such manners," she cooed, her hips swinging as she took one sensual step towards him after another, "what other tricks have they taught you?"
Where a warrior had stood before was now what could only be called a tempest of seduction, the sight of her rolling hips and molten gaze beginning to drive Cenric to madness. He'd never seen her unhinged in such a way, so openly expressing what exactly she wanted-
He felt the back of his legs come into contact with the bed. Advancing on him slowly, she ran a tentative hand across his jaw, outlining his cheekbone with her thumb. Her hand drifted down and came to rest on his chest, no doubt feeling every traitorous beat echoing beneath it.
His hands rose in kind to rest on her narrow hips, kneading the delicate flesh underneath as he truly took her in for the first time.
The dim light from the lantern illuminated her face in a way that accented every sharp, beautiful angle, casting long shadows across her features, faint embers of firelight reflecting in her narrow, heavily lidded eyes.
She was exquisite.
Rising on her toes she pressed her nose into his collarbone, her tongue outlining it as she gripped his hips and pulled him close to her. Without warning, she slipped a foot behind his ankle and with a dominance that instantly hardened him, tripped him back onto the mattress.
"Stay," she murmured, pulling the hem of her shirt free from her pants, "that's where I want you."
He watched, entranced, as Valka slowly undid the buttons of the back panel of her shirt, wings flaring as her bindings fell away, her heavy breasts freed and bouncing in a way that made his mouth dry. All of the thoughts in his head instantly drained away.
All of his fantasies couldn't compare to the real thing that stood before him.
The dip of her tiny waist as it faded into her narrow hips and shapely rear still in her leathers—she slipped them off, her scent unraveling in the room and nearly sending him over the edge.
He wasn't entirely sure he was breathing as he watched her, her lips curling up in an adder's grin.
"Cat got your tongue, prince?" Her voice was a deep husky purr as she hovered over him, eyes roving as she drank in the details of his torso before drifting toward his own leathers. He said nothing as she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his pants and yanked, instantly freeing him and sending a throbbing through him that had him gritting his teeth. The female purred as her pupils widened, a hint of surprise saturating her scent. "I knew you were bred well, pretty boy, but this . . ."
He felt the blush race up his cheeks that time.
She chuckled as she slid easily into his lap, her soft skin gliding across his own as she settled between his legs and ran a single finger down his shaft tauntingly. It twinged in response and sent static running through him. Sensing his pleasure, she wrapped her hand around him and stroked once, then twice.
He barked out in pleasure, writhing beneath her.
Knowing she had him, she began working her hands maddeningly back and forth, squeezing in a way that had a growl slipping past his lips as his hips bucked from the mattress, begging for more. Over and over again she went, tugging and pulling in a way that told him she'd done this many times before.
Had brought many males to their knees, had left them pleading for more.
Unlike someone else.
Lost in the blissful trance of her touch, Cenric thought he could find no more pleasure when she suddenly stopped, replacing her hand with a softness and warmth that amplified each granule of desire a thousand times over.
He dug his hands into the sheets, overwhelmed by the electricity coursing through him, the epicenter where her tongue now teased.
The sensation nearly made the room spin.
Cenric panted through his nose as he felt her warm mouth wholly encompass him, sending desire coursing through every inch of him, his power rolling in response. She worked slowly, dragging her tongue down the length of him, sending his eyes rolling back in his head as he fought to ground himself.
Digging his fingers into her dark locks he savored their silkiness as she worked, each stroke sending a pulse through his core, melting his desire into a hot molten mess of need. Over and over again she pleasured him, her tongue rolling over the tip and down its length, teasing and demanding.
Heart lurching painfully in his chest as the ecstasy built, utterly unable to contain himself as he pulled her closer, desperate to touch her, to be inside of her.
She'd nearly finished him mid-stroke when he found himself unable to control it any longer and pulled himself free before grabbing her by the waist, her body soft and warm in his arms, then flipped her over onto her back so that she lay beneath him, wings sprawled across the mattress.
His chest heaved as he straddled her, aligning his hips with her narrow ones beneath him.
He'd never realized just how small she was, her femininity carefully hidden by leathers and sharp words. He watched her beneath him, drinking in every detail, suddenly aware of how every curve of her body sent his senses screaming, how the pucker of her glossy lips from where she'd just taken him made his entire being ache-
She smirked up at him ferally, reaching once more for his cock and sending his instincts into overdrive. He snatched her hand, trapping her slender wrists beneath one hand above her head and spreading her knees wide with the other, kneading the soft golden skin of her thighs.
"I think you've done enough," he managed to growl at her, watching her skin fleck up in response, goosebumps covering her.
"Have I?"
He tightened his grip around her wrists, pressing her further into the bed, emphasizing his point.
Cenric was being driven to madness, a never ending, depthless madness he'd never felt before.
Slowly he began circling his fingers gently up her thigh, trailing kisses across her breasts and collar bone, nipping as he went. Nuzzling the fullness of her breasts against his face he captured a nipple in his mouth, rolling it against his tongue as he cupped her ass in his free hand, squeezing.
A guttered grunt of enjoyment escaped her lips as he released his grip, his lips trailing down her stomach and his hand moving upwards towards her core, towards the radiating heat and wetness awaiting him.
He felt his cock twinge as she bucked beneath him, impatient for what was to come. He smirked, unwilling to give it to her so quickly.
Watching her beneath him he deftly swiped a finger up the center of her through her silkiness, eliciting a groan of delight as she squirmed against him, her heart thundering loudly. Returning his hand he gently began stroking the heart of her, teasing out each rotation of her hips.
Cenric watched in fascination at each little movement she made, each little catch of breath of her chest as he stroked her again and again, slowly then steadily faster.
She'd come nearly to growling when he finally withdrew his fingers, coated in her silken wetness, and plunged the bulk of himself against her, teasing at her entrance. The feel of her sent him over the edge, his attention so wholly focused on the point of contact between them, the tightness of her wrapped around him threatening to swallow him whole.
She was his undoing, was wrecking him a way he had never been before.
Valka quickly adjusted to him, grinding her hips agonizingly, begging for more and more, generating a friction they both craved. He obliged her, pulling them closer with each stroke until their bodies were flush against one another.
She panted as he moved in and out, again and again, each pass causing heat to build inside of him until he could take it no longer, his body quivering above her own.
Sensing his stillness, his reluctance to finish, she scraped her fingers down his back, scratching his skin in a way that demanded he come, urging him to move faster, to drive himself deeper and deeper.
Growling, he did as she bade, unable to deny what she demanded.
Powerful thrust after powerful thrust he drove into her, even as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him even closer, driving him deeper as she raked her hands through his hair.
Bracing his hand on the bed he allowed her to work beneath him, their bodies moving in time with one another, each following the cue of the other, pushing and pulling as they lost themselves in the movement.
He thought he might lose himself to bliss in their dance forever when he felt the shift, the desperation as she tightened beneath him, began moving more frantically and dug her nails painfully into his shoulders.
She came first, her hips grinding in a frenzy against own when he felt her give way, the contraction of her body sending him into his own release.
The feel of her completion unhinged him, sending sparks dancing as he came, gaining his release as ecstasy exploded in his mind, his power exploding from him and abruptly dousing the cave in darkness.
"It's all Fallon's fault," Celeste muttered, bottle of rum in hand as she sat down in the sand, her bare toes wiggling in it, the scorching grains having cooled to a pleasant warmth, a welcome alternative to the freezing waves she'd faced earlier that day. "It's always Fallon's fault."
"I don't believe anyone forced you to consume the entire bottle on your own," Avi offered with a chuckle, his own pupils dilated from the alcohol he'd consumed, his fingers toying idly with Vaerek's curls as the man slept in his lap.
The poor first mate had landed there about half an hour ago after losing a round of cards with his daughter and crew during their impromptu Solstice celebration, having been forced to partake in several large swings of faerie spirits following his defeat.
Said offending drinks were straight from the ancient 'special occasion' stash his selkie lover had apparently hidden in the depths of his daughter's ship.
The same spirits that were now making Celeste's mouth tingle and the world around her sway.
Maybe she shouldn't have had the entire bottle.
Staring at the offending dregs in the bottom of the jug in her hand, she shrugged her shoulders before lifting the remaining spirits to her mouth and draining them. She burped unceremoniously.
Avi huffed as she leisurely tossed the bottle aside and tried to focus on the campfire before her. "Need I remind you who decided whose idea it was to pull out the entire stash? Perhaps," she burped again and hiccuped, her nose tingling, "I should blame you."
"What else are we to do?" Avi nodded towards the storm still roiling on the horizon, the crashing waves that had nearly drowned them before they'd broken through the edge of the storm. "We've no way to leave until that breaks."
The lord had a point, even if it killed Celeste to know that each day wasted was a day they might not be able to intercept the next shipment. No, instead they were stranded on this tiny deserted strip of land, the only area free of the storm that brewed ominously in all directions around them, lightning illuminating the night sky in the distance. No amount of Gandriel's magic had been able to dispel it.
So they'd arrived drenched and nearly drowned, knowing their only option was to drop the anchor and wait out the storm. She'd never seen her crew, fae and human alike, so relieved to see dry land.
For a while there, she hadn't been certain they were going to.
So they'd eaten a cold, meager, and slightly damp dinner in silence, contemplating exactly what their next move would be. Anxious to keep going, she'd nearly ordered her crew to bed in hopes of an early departure when Fallon had sauntered her way on board and informed them that the storm wasn't budging thanks to information from her father's scouts.
The only open path would have been to head towards the coast of Autumn, where they certainly wouldn't receive a warm welcome. From what Celeste had gathered, the High Lord Beron hadn't even bothered assisting with the anti-slaving efforts and would be more likely to take them as prisoners than he would offer them a safe port.
So on the island they'd decided to stay, especially once Fallon's crew had begun depositing pale crates along the length of the beach, procuring bottle after bottle of spirits. When questioned, her fellow Captain had reminded her that it was Solstice, and casually stated that there was no point in wasting a perfectly good holiday.
And so the drinking had commenced.
She hadn't seen much of her sister or Gandriel since they'd had the brilliant idea to construct a skirt out of grass for the male hours ago and had disappeared into the palms, flanked by a cackling Fallon who was dragging a wide-eyed Eoin and red-faced Koda along.
She sincerely hoped the lot hadn't drowned themselves.
"They'll be fine," Avi assured, having read the thoughts clearly on her face. "If my guess is even close to correct I'm willing to bet the lot of them have already fallen asleep somewhere in the bushes."
Celeste was willing to bet he was right.
Leaning back in the sand, she observed the selkie lord next to her, his dark eyes watching the waves lapping at the shore, the light of the fire highlighting the broad scar running down the length of neck, similar to the one she'd given Lukas so many years ago.
"Is there something you'd like to ask, little star?" Avi inquired as he sensed her gaze, giving her a soft knowing look, calling her by that eerie nickname he'd given her shortly after meeting her, a nickname he now knew fit better than even he could have ever guessed.
She'd had to reveal the truth to both him and Vaerek after their return from Night Court, both having overheard her and Fallon's little exchange. Much to her surprise and relief they'd given their words and sworn secrecy, even if something like ire had boiled in Vaerek's gaze.
The human had been oddly protective of her since, his dark eyes roving to her when he thought she might not be looking. Then again, both he and Avi had always gone out of their way to ensure she and Anelisse were sought after, even before knowing the truth.
Perhaps they'd just always known orphans when they saw them.
It was certainly within their line of work.
"You're lost in that head of yours again," Avi observed, gently snapping his fingers and dragging Celeste free from her own thoughts, "though these are less frightening than your other . . . spells."
The bouts of dizziness and confusion that tended to hit her when her . . . past was mentioned. The seal lord had only witnessed one, after he'd carelessly mentioned her father's name. Her head had pulsed so terribly after her recollection that he'd had to gently carry to her bed to sleep it off.
They'd all been mindful of mentioning it since.
"Ah, sorry," she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, "I was just thinking . . ." She thought for a moment, wondering if she should ask, should bring it up. "I know you've been part of the alliance for a long time and I . . ." she considered her phrasing, ". . . do you know my . . . father?" She flinched. "My mother?"
Only the alcohol would make her so foolish as to mention it.
The lord paused for a moment, dark eyes considering.
"No," he admitted, shaking his head as he looked off into the distance, "I've never met him in person, I only ever saw him from a distance. There is a lot of secrecy associated with the Night Court, even if they have opened their borders more." He paused for a moment, his eyes shadowed, before continuing. "But I did know your grandfather."
The information had Celeste's spine straightening, her eyes widening slightly. The male had died well over five hundred years ago.
"Are you that surprised?" Avi ask with a small smile. "I've fought on the front lines of many wars, pup, seen many kingdoms rise and fall. Our kind are even more long lived than your own."
She looked towards the smooth, youthful face, the lips that usually tilted in flirtatious grins. Older then than even her own father and his court.
"How did you know him?" A tentative question she wasn't certain she wanted the answer to.
Avi sighed, his eyes darkening as the fire before them crackled. "It was during the first war against Hybern, he and several other Lords called a meeting with my people to petition for our support." The war to defend the humans who once lived on the other side of the wall. "He was a pretentious bastard if I've ever met one, demanding and arrogant. And when I didn't bend to his will . . ." a quirk of the lips, "the daemati think they're all powerful, woefully unaware that there are those of us who have developed skills against their powers."
The word, daemati, rang through her mind with clarity.
She'd never once forgotten to keep the walls in her own mind high.
He looked fully at her with sadness, as though he understood something she had not grasped quite yet. ". . . If his son is anything like him, you'd be wise to stay right where you are."
Celeste didn't bother to tell him that she fully agreed with the statement, and that confirmation . . . she knew her decision to remain anonymous was the only thing keeping her from their clutches, even if it did beg the question-
"You didn't help them. With the war, that is."
A war meant to protect the human lives on the southern edges of the continent.
"No, I did not." He huffed a bitter laugh, a sound she'd never heard from the usually sunny male. "No one gives my people orders, not even cruel monsters of the night. We may be a small race but we are by no means helpless, our warriors are more deadly than any soldier of Prythian."
Fallon had once told her as much. She'd heard the stories about the seal lord's warriors, a unit as fast as and deadly on land as they were at sea. "You'll never see them fight, though," Fallon had added, eyes twinkling. "They will only come to arms when the rightful queen calls for their aid."
She'd asked which Queen that was but had only gotten a half-hearted shrug in return.
Instead, they'd served as scouts, never taking to arms.
But the fact that Prythian had called for their aid in the war against Hybern, against slavery . . .
"I had no interest in helping a male who felt making demands would gain him what he wanted," Avi continued as a particularly cold breeze fanned the flames. "I also refused to protect the humans, as far as I was concerned Hybern could have their fill and my people could rest in peace. We owed them nothing."
Something sharp crept into Celeste's stomach.
"Why?"
"Because faeries aren't the only monsters this world has to offer."
She knew that from first hand experience, knew of the cruelty that both man and fae could carry. But for a male who was so dedicated to the cause now to have just ignored such an issue . . .
"That's vague."
"It's all you need to know."
Point taken, she thought a bit sourly, settling further into the sand that had now turned chilly.
They sat in silence for a long while, only broken by the occasional pop of the fire and sizzle of sparks.
Celeste nodded towards the man asleep in Avi's lap. "What changed?"
The selkie stopped for a long moment, his previously sharp look softening to a small smile as he ran a gentle hand through Vaerek's long locks as they escaped from the band holding them, toying with the strands. "Everything."
Celeste thought of her sister, of the way she had so radically changed even her own skeptical views of the world. She nodded, understanding.
He locked gazes with her before blowing out a long breath.
"For being the least chatty of your crew, you're certainly talented at trying to get people to reveal their truths."
She gave him a tentative grin. "It's part of my charm."
"You're remarkably less talkative than your sister when you've been drinking, and certainly less so than your first mate."
Everyone was less chatty than Gandriel, inebriated or otherwise.
She didn't bother voicing that fact.
"I don't see the use in mindlessly talking," she admitted after a moment, dusting the sand off her palms and running her hand over her face, suddenly more sober than she'd been the entire evening, "better to observe and listen than to speak needlessly."
"A good trait to have." Avi ran his free hand through his dark locks, loose about his shoulders. A trait she wasn't certain where she'd learned.
A murmur slipped past Vaerek's lips as he snuggled closer to Avi, his normally sharp features softened by sleep and the firelight. She'd never realized until that moment just how much smaller the first mate looked compared to his lover. How much older.
A pang of sadness weaved through her stomach.
Celeste tried not to watch too closely as the selkie's face softened, his hand coming to rest in the human's dark hair again, the lines of silver flashing in the firelight.
They're fleeting, she realized sadly, thinking of her own sister, Bright lights that burn out too quickly-
"Captain."
Celeste jumped as a woman materialized out of the shadows, her long wind-swept hair loose about her shoulders, features sharp in the firelight.
"Nima," she greeted, running hand through her hair to calm her nerves, "what is it?"
Nima had been one of the sole adults on the shipment of children they'd freed, and having nowhere else to go had accepted Celeste's offer to join the crew.
Even if she was a bit . . . odd.
The woman cast her gaze downward as she rubbed her arm nervously, ever subservient. "I apologize for the interruption, but there is a woman here to see-"
Celeste straightened. In the middle of the ocean, surrounded by an impenetrable storm?
"Who—"
"There you are, you little cow." And there behind Nima, Ithaca materialized from the darkness, her appearance immaculate as ever as she crossed her arms over her chest, grinning like the cat that had finally caught the canary. "I found your ships."
This was dangerous.
This breed of male was beyond anything Valka had ever experienced and the further she delved into him . . . he would be the death of her.
Though considering the way he'd just pleasured her . . . she wasn't sure it was the worst way to go.
Even if her desire had driven her to make a foolish mistake, to open herself to him in such a way.
Cenric was still above her, heaving after his completion, his dark locks soaked with sweat as he leaned forward, the warmth of his breath warming her chest. Glancing up through his dark bangs she realized he had completely lost himself to the act, reality slowly beginning to bleed back into his gaze.
He looked down at her body before flushing red and immediately rolling off of her, grappling for the blankets to cover himself.
She nearly snorted, as though the male hadn't just blown his load in her.
Sensing his uneasiness she leaned back casually on the bed, twirling a piece of her dark hair.
"Well I must say, you're certainly not the worst I've ever had." Far from it, actually, the males she'd bedded previously had come nowhere near the performance of the little lord, though that didn't mean much for the females . . . "And for you? How did that compare to your city girls?" She rolled over and smirked at the male, who was studiously avoiding her gaze. "Can they please you in such a way?"
So stupid for flirting with him, goading him for a response as though she had some feeling for him.
She heard his heart stutter and the blush race clean up his back even as he remained silent. Damning herself she inched closer to him, ready to heckle the answer out of just how she'd performed out of him.
"Well, Cenric?" She poked him gently in his spine, trailing her fingers up and over the tattoos swirling over his shoulders.
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Valka, I . . ." He turned to look at her, something sheepish entering his gaze. "I've . . . ah . . . never been with anyone before. You're the first."
Her entire world froze.
No.
"What."
"I mean . . . I'm sorry." He flushed again, awkwardly ruffling his fingers through his hair. "I just . . . never got around to it? I mean after Celeste died . . ." he flinched, "I spent my time training, focusing on taking out the Illyrians. I felt like I couldn't really get close to someone—"
She tuned him out, her brain filling with static.
Stupid. So fucking stupid. How could she have done this? How could she have not realized the idiot boy was a virgin?
And she, SHE'D just bedded him, had allowed him to ride her like some prized pony for shits simply because he was so stupid and beautiful-
Dead, she deserved to be dead for her foolishness. Allowing him to continue his rambling, she quickly stood, numbness filling her as she strode away from the bed and out towards the cave entrance.
She heard Cenric tentatively call her name after her, muttering something about contraceptives, as she made her way up the winding path of the cave out into the brisk night. Striding slowly, she made it all of three steps before she felt herself crack, the energy overwhelming her as she screamed into the quiet night.
"FUCK!"