Page 107 of The Witch Queen

“That’s a very real possibility,” Nemesia murmurs, lost in her own thoughts.

“And it explains the reaction to your magic,” I whisper softly as I squeeze Thorne’s hand, but Nemesia overhears.

“His magic?” she asks. I quickly explain what happened earlier, leaving out the more intimate details. Halfway through recounting the story, I realize I probably shouldn’t be trusting her with this information. But old habits die hard, and for over three hundred years, I told her most things, if not everything. “The greenhouse must be reacting to Andomer light after centuries or even millennia of it missing,” Nemesia offers, expression thoughtful, like there’s more she isn’t saying. “I’ll keep reading the books. I can make you a translated copy of the section on mates. I haven’t even read through two of them yet.” I nod, then stand to leave, but Nemesia’s expression goes hard, and I pause. “Laurel, you should make the Council believe I’m still a prisoner.” Her voice is steely.

“Youarestill a prisoner,” I add, eyes narrowed, though the words don’t come out with the intensity I had hoped for. Nemesia only rolls her eyes, and I have to stifle the smirk that rises to my lips at seeing my old friend before me.

“There’s still someone on the Council who betrayed you out there. Even if you don’t believe me, for the sake of Thayaria, proceed as if there could still be another mole. Let them think your suspicions lie fully with me.”

I nod, then leave, unsure who is friend and foe in this palace.

Hawthorne

Some mated pairs have reported being able to use their mate’s power after accepting the mating bond. These reports typically align with powerful fae pairs. Scholars disagree whether this phenomenon is real or whether the presence of one’s mate simply unlocks additional conduit affinities in a fae.

The Traditions of the Fae

“I still don’t know what to believe. My heart tells me to trust her, but I fear that’s exactly what she’s hoping for,” Laurel confesses after our discussion with Nemesia. We’re in my mate’s rooms tonight, and I watch her with focused intent as she undresses and pulls the plait from her hair.

Unable to keep my hands off her, I quickly appear behind her with barely any memory of taking the ten or so steps between us to reach her. Taking the braid from her hands, I slowly unwind her silken hair, breathing in her addictive scent as it washes over me. When her hair falls down around her shoulders, she turns in my embrace, pressing her body against mine. I’m instantly hard, though that isn’t surprising. The slightest touch or graze of skin from her turns me on these days. And when we aren’t together, I’m on edge, needing to get back to her as soon as possible.

She pries herself from my embrace, hips swaying as she walks naked to the bathing chamber. My gaze trails after her, hungrily drinking in the curves I’ve come to know so intimately the last few weeks. From the doorway, she pauses and looks at me over her shoulder with mirth, knowing the effect she has on me as she stands there in the nude. Her full body and wide hips are hypnotic, and I lose all sense of reason or conscious thought when she’s undressed. A low, needy groan escapes me, but Laurel only winks and turns back to resume her nighttime routine. I love the bathing chamber she washes her face in now, and we’ve had countless couplings in her massive bathtub, modeled after the one in the Eless estate. When she returns from her closest, she’s clad in a nearly transparent lilac chemise, and I hum in appreciation of the sexy garment, then wash my own face before changing into a pair of soft sleep pants and turn back to the bedroom.

Laurel and Lunaria are snuggled up together on Laurel’s massive bed, and I grin at the pair. The giant cat’s purring is so loud I can hear it from where I stand across the room. I crawl into bed beside them, stroking Lunaria’s sleek body.

“Of all the surprising things that have occurred between us, Lunaria allowing you to touch her might be the most surprising of all,” Laurel teases.

“I think she liked me before you even did.” The cat slowly closes her eyes before opening them again in acknowledgement. Laurel laughs, and the sound lights up what I now know is my aether-heart. The laugh jostles Lunaria, and the cat jumps from the bed in protest of our movement. With a look back at us, she disappears through the cracked patio door. “Wehaveto build some kind of cat door for her before next winter. I cannot stay in here with that door open.” Laurel lets out a low chuckle, but I see through it to the emotion she tries so hard to keep hidden. There’s a nervousness to her at my statement, like she isn’t sure whether she’s afraid or excited by the prospect of me still being here next winter. I wrap her in my arms and haul her body close to mine, her backside pressed against me, then place a kiss on top of her head and inhale her scent. Laurel needs to beshownthat I’ll be here, not told. All I can do is hold her close and breathe my intention into every exhale. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re making the right choice moving Nemesia out of the cells and trusting her to translate the book for us,” I murmur gently, returning to our conversation about the best friend, turned traitor, turned potential friend again. Laurel sighs.

“I hope I don’t regret it. This whole situation has been confusing. I think your father’s planning something massive, but I have no idea what it is,” she says ruefully. I turn her to face me and thread our fingers together.

“Iknowhe’s planning something. Giving Nemesia those books, sending me here knowing that we’re mates… and if Nemesia is to be believed, working with the rebels—none of it makes sense, but we’re going to figure it out together. We haven’t even put Silene on the case yet. Give her a few days and she’ll have it all uncovered.”

Laurel smiles. “I feel guilty. I haven’t been spending as much alone time with Silene since we bonded. We need a girl’s day.”

“Silene understands.” I stroke her thumb with mine, the incessant desire to touch her, to soothe her, even stronger than before the mating bond clicked into place.

“To be honest, I think I’ve pulled away from Silene since we found that letter. I think—I think a part of me is afraid of being betrayed again.” I study her closely. Long auburn hair flowing freely, face free of makeup, vulnerable emotions raw and exposed—she’s never looked more beautiful to me. If I could have her just like this every day, I would. But that would mean we aren’t the people we are, and I also wouldn’t change one thing about my mate.

“It’s normal to feel that fear. You just have to recognize it and not let it control you. Spend some quality time with Silene tomorrow at the Spring Festival.” We’re attending the traditional Thayarian event that marks the beginning of Spring tomorrow, at my own insistence. I want to do things with Laurel that aren’t plotting and scheming and worrying. “She was made for dancing in fields of flowers with children running around her.” Laurel chuckles warmly, and it shoots pleasure through me.

“That’s an understatement,” she says, placing a delicate kiss on my lips before staring up at me with those bright green eyes from under dark lashes, snuggling her body closer to mine. Her pink lips pull into a shy smile, and the freckles that dot her cheeks stretch with the movement. I see the smallest lines of wrinkles at the edges of her eyes. There’s no sign of the Witch Queen here, or even the serious but caring Queen of Thayaria. In this moment, the only person with me is Laurel—myLaurel—my mate, the other half of my whole.

“You’re so beautiful,” I whisper, tracing my fingers across her cheekbones and over her lips, wanting to study every inch of her face and commit it to memory. She blushes, lowering her eyes, afraid of the emotions I wear so openly. But how could I not? How could I be anything but completely besotted with this incredible female? Even before I knew she was my mate, Laurel saw me in ways no one else ever could. She enabled a version of me I’m proud of—the kind of male who fights back against injustice, who protects the innocent, who helpsleadchange instead of hiding in the shadows hoping things will get better. I may have talked about resistance in Velmara, but it was Laurel who showed me what effective action looks like. We challenge one another, take delight in the delicious tension that comes between two evenly matched powers. She’s stronger than me, but just barely, and neither of us gets to experience the thrill of knowing another person can match us blow for blow very often, both physically and intellectually. She cares so deeply, even as she locks her true self away. I want to spend every waking moment inhaling whatever parts of her she trusts to give me.

Before I know what I’m doing, I take her face in my hands, placing kisses atop her nose, her cheeks, and her lips in reverent worship. It matches my response the night she accepted the mating bond, and that feels fitting for what I’m about to blurt out.

“I love you, Laurel Elestren,” I say on an exhale, surprised by my confession but knowing the truth of it. “Youaremy aether-heart, the air that I breathe and the magic coursing through my veins. Without you, I’d still pretend to be the Shining Prince, charming and flirtatious, unserious and unbothered by anything or anyone. You unmasked me, allowed me to be the male I always believed myself to be, always wanted to be, but feared revealing. You light up my entire world, witchling.” I place a kiss on her forehead as she stares at me with a shocked stare. “I also want you to know that I love theWitch Queentoo, because she’s a part of you. I love your soft parts, but I also love all those hard angles and vicious barbs. I love watching you take control of a situation, love you seeing you claim your power and show your strength. I love you when you show your enemies mercy, and I love you even more when you don't. There isno part of youthat I don’t love.” Her mouth parts slightly, and she takes a deep swallow. She starts to say something, but I place a finger over her lips.

“I know you aren’t ready to say it, my love.My Queen. You’ve experienced so much loss, cut yourself off fromfeelingfor so long. I will spend every day I’m at your side working to pay back to you everything you endured at the hands of my father.Iwill break the cycle of violence and hatred my father and all of Velmara have created for you. I know how challenging it is for you to access emotion. Everyone you’ve ever loved has died, betrayed you, or been afraid of you.I know you, Laurel. If you take a week, a decade, or a century, I’ll be by your side, loving you. Even if you can never say it, I’ll still love you. You are my home and my purpose, the person I want to wake up with every morning and hold in my arms every night. I love you, and I need you to know that, can’t go another moment without telling you.” The smile on my face stings my cheeks, but I ignore the feeling, too happy to care.

Laurel’s eyes are wide with emotion, delicate tears gliding down her rosy cheeks. I pull her to my chest, stroking her hair, the joy I feel unmatched by any other happy moment in my life. We lie down together, Laurel wrapped tightly in my arms and her scent surrounding me. As we drift off to sleep, I try again to commit her to memory—the feel of her pressed against me, the way her smell mingles with mine, the small noises she makes as she drifts into unconsciousness. I dream of her, knowing that even in my sleep I’ll love this female in this life and the next.

“Laurel, my love, wake up,” I whisper in her ear when the sun breaks the horizon. She murmurs something incoherent, then snuggles farther down into the blankets, pressing her body closer to mine. I moan at the feel of her ass firm against me. “Witchling, you have a girl’s day to get to, and if you don’t stop tormenting me with that delicious backside of yours, you’ll never make it,” I growl as I kiss up the column of her neck. She wakes, and the scent of her arousal hits me immediately. Another growl lets out from low in my throat, and she wiggles her hips against me again. “You’re torturing me,” I complain.

She turns in my arms, breasts pressing into my chest, and I squeeze her waist tightly. Green eyes light up with delight as she looks at me, and that’s the only sign I need to ravish her. In a blink, she’s under me, breasts flat and nipples peaking through her sheer nightdress.

“Thorne,” she murmurs. Her clothes disappear, and she lets out a surprised gasp before I silence her with my mouth on hers. I run my hands up the curves of her body until they cup those irresistible tits, fingers pinching her nipples as she moans into my mouth. “I lose control of my magic around you,” she breathes out. “I don’t even remember willing my nightdress to disappear.”

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