Page 115 of Beyond the Faerie Gate

“It might just be how shiny you are,” Lorcan suggests, unhelpfully.

“It will show itself in time,” Jaro insists, rolling his eyes at the redcap. “When you’re ready for it.”

“And you won’t keep it from me when it does?” Rose presses.

“No,” the others promise in unison.

At the same time I say. “Not unless it’s necessary.”

Every single pair of eyes turns to glare at me, but it’s true. If her seelie magic is somehow more of a shock than necromancy—and I’m not putting anything past Danu at this point—it might not be safe for her to know. Or for anyone to know.

Given the fact that she has already destroyed the convention of the Nicnevin only having high fae mates and gained a power which gives her access to the gifts of three past queens at will, I can’t rule out anything at this point.

After all, her mother, Diana, was legendary for her unseelie gift of foresight, but her empathy was just as formidable. What person could hope to come out on top in negotiations with a queen who saw straight into your heart?

In the corner of my eye, I see Rose’s posture slump. The silence which descends upon all of us grows so heavy that Florian clears his throat and gives me a glaring look.

Thankfully, our Nicnevin breaks the silent stalemate before the wolf prowling in Jaro’s aura can break free.

“And what about Caed?” she asks. “You imprisoned him, but he’s part of my Guard. Surely what Kitarni said about it being illegal to imprison my mates applies to him too?”

All of us stiffen. I’m pretty sure Florian has a small aneurysm. For the first time since I first met him, his aura turns a sickly orange with panic, and he glances my way.

Great. They’ve decided to let the winter bastard be the one to piss her off. Fine. If none of them have the guts to do it, I—

A branch of the tree next to me catches fire. I hurriedly extinguish it, but the damage is done. A blackened, smoking branch protrudes obviously from amongst the lush green foliage.

Goddess, this is getting out of hand.

Fae magic is famous for going haywire once we meet our mates, but fire is not a power anyone wants to lose control of. And if I shift…

No.

That won’t happen.

I can keep control of myself.

Rose is not ready to be claimed. She isn’t a Nicnevin raised with the expectations of what fae sexuality is. Unlike all of her predecessors, she hasn’t grown up knowing one day she’d be the centre of a relationship with multiple partners. She’s… innocent. Shockingly so.

Jaro told us that the humans in the realm she lived in were monogamous and so repressed that their sex was considered purely for procreation. I doubt they taught her anything about pleasure. She probably doesn’t even know how to bring herself to climax.

Great.

Now my mind is pushing image after image of what Rose will look like as she reaches that peak at me. A dozen visions flash behind my eyelids, taunting me with fantasies of her pretty hair wrapped around my fist as I take her against a wall. Or, her on her knees with one hand buried between her legs as she sucks me off, staring at me with those bright purple eyes.

Damn. Now I’m hard, and there’s no possibility of relief until this meeting is over. Even then, it’ll be with my hand.

Lorcan is pushing her enough for all five of us as it is.

Ugh, now is not the time to be thinking of this. Not when she’s clearly about to use her wiles to wheedle her Fomorian free of his cell.

“He stays where he is,” I snap.

“He’s a Fomorian, Rose. He was probably trying to kidnap you.” Jaro somehow retains a level head, which stuns me.

His aura is pulsing with the wildness of his animal side, and I thought for certain that he’d do anything just to appease her.

“But why?” Rose presses. “You all act like Fomorians are so bad—and yes, I get they attacked us—but why are we at war with them? They don’t seem so different from the other—”

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