Page 49 of The Rebel Seer

Sasha hasn’t checked all the rooms yet, and I worry that the butterflies I see all around are actually pixies, and I know how we use them as spies.

Rhys stops in the middle of the hall and turns my way. “I have a charm my sister gave me. When I activate it no one I’m not making eye contact with will be able to hear us. Are you worried about the pixies?”

There are several on him right now—a brilliant blue one on his shoulder and a couple more clinging to his arms. “Sasha uses them as spies. It occurs to me the king might do the same.”

Rhys’s head shakes. “They hate the king. They followed Papa and I in and they are trying to ensure no one from the king’s council sees them. Apparently they have not been welcome in the palace for a long time.”

“How are you hearing them? You used to require a wolf or vampire to tell you what they…” It hits me. “You are more attuned to them since your ascension.”

He gestures to his shoulder. “This one is called Hallow. He’s mated to the queen. She sensed our presence the minute we walked into the sithein. They are well aware we aren’t who we look like. They are begging us to save Ostara. They think the king is going to kill her. Papa is not well liked here.” He stops for a moment, listening, and then his face falls. “Seriously? Ugh. I will never hear the end of it.” He looks my way. “Also, they work for the rebellion which is led by the king’s actual bastard son who is a famous thief.”

Despite our precarious situation, I snort. “Lee’s here, then.”

Rhys huffs and continues toward the rooms we were given. “Yes, and I’m sure he’ll cause an enormous amount of trouble. My brother as a full Fae is likely as annoying as he is as a vampire king. Come along. We have things to talk about.”

Yes, we do. “I’m not staying with you in that room, Rhys.”

He opens the door and invites me inside. “Where else would you stay, wife?”

He put me in that corner, though the way some of these males look at me, I find a bit of comfort in it. When we entered the palace, the staff was surprised and obviously terrified. But the courtiers seemed delighted their decadent king returned so soon. They looked all the women in our party up and down like they were sizing up how much fun they could have with us. I noted a few high Fae women, but they mostly ignored us.

I also noticed they whispered about Zoey. Almost like they knew her, too, but when Dev introduced her, they seemed like it was the first time meeting her. Something is off, but before I could try to figure it out Rhys put an arm around me and declared me his wife.

I hate it when the only way I can feel safe is to be connected to some powerful man.

“I can stay with Cassie.”

His head shakes. “Cassie is with her brother and father. Neil doesn’t want to split them up. She has two men watching over her, and Mom has Papa and Dad. Sasha is next to us, and I assure you he’ll be listening. Now tell me what I can do to make up for being a massive ass.” He reaches for my hand and takes it between both of his. “Shy, I’m not handling this well. I’m on edge, and I’m not even sure why. The minute I walked into this sithein…”

His hand feels restless on mine, and my heart rate ticks up because I have a good inkling of why he’s on edge.

Whether or not this is his timeline, the land is the same. It pulses with Fae energy in a way the Earth plane does not. Rhys vowed to reside on the Earth plane, the priest to all the Earthly Fae left behind long ago, but that doesn’t mean his body fails to receive the energy this plane has for a fertility god.

And it certainly doesn’t mean his body doesn’t need a place to send the energy pouring through him.

See, it sounds like a good idea to date a fertility god. Especially one who isn’t a player. One would suspect an actual sex god would screw his way around the world, but when his papa met his mother and took the ancient god Bris into his body and ascended, he took a vow of monogamy. I suspect it got easier for him because Zoey is his true goddess, and Bris is known for loving one woman at a time. I heard stories of what Dev Quinn was like before he met the queen. Rhys was never like that. Not even once. I suspect the desire to find his goddess and be true to her was written into his DNA.

Sounds lovely, right? But what happens when you really want to fight and he’s a whirling ball of anxiety and confusion because he’s being bombarded by energy he doesn’t truly understand since he wasn’t raised here? His papa was gone before he reached puberty, and while Sasha and Trent did a great job, they couldn’t possibly understand a young fertility god. Or what he needs.

Which is to get laid.

The trouble is I’m pissed off with him right now. The other trouble is I’m kind of turned on and it’s all about that energy that’s pouring off him. I can feel energy from living beings, but normally it’s a nice hum from Rhys. Here in this place it’s like wave after wave battering me. That sounds violent and it’s not. What it’s really doing is tempting me, and I have to wonder if this is about what I want or what he needs.

I don’t know that it matters anymore. Rhys and I feel inevitable. So much of my fear seems ridiculous. I know why we waited, but there’s no reason to wait anymore.

Maybe I’m being affected by this place, too, but I feel freer here. I haven’t seen the Drowning Woman at all, and my power has me thinking I can handle him. Even if it’s not forever.

I drag his hand up to my chest, placing his palm against my breast. That feels right, too. “You know why.”

He pales and pulls away from me. “Shy, don’t do that. Not now. I can’t control myself.”

“That’s what I’m telling you, Rhys. I don’t want you to control yourself. It’s time. You can’t think properly, and it’s only going to get worse. You need sex. You need a release for all the energy inside you. Tell me you don’t feel it. I’m not a fertility god and I feel it. Do you remember what Fenrir was talking about before he and Evan left for the Hell plane?”

Rhys nods. “Yes. His papa’s seat of power is a moonlight kingdom. Trent mentioned it would be harder to ignore his wolf instincts there. It’s one of the reasons I released him from his promise to wait until Evan is eighteen.”

“I’m an adult, Rhys. You’re an adult. I no longer house your grandfather’s soul. You need this.”

His jaw tightens. “And that is precisely why I won’t take it from you. This cannot be about my need. I won’t use you. I love you, Shahidi. I will wait until you’re ready.”

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