Page 147 of Wrath of the Fae

‘I never said I loved you.’

‘You don’t have to,’ he whispers. His smiling mouth claims mine again, his tongue caressing mine as his hands slide through my hair. ‘So. About this remaking of the Bond…’

‘Even after everything I just said, you still-’’

‘I like my women dark and dirty. You know that. We stop Ivan. Destroy his machine. End the soldiers back home and drive the dark creatures back below ground. Easy.’

‘Yeah,’ I scoff. ‘Piece of cake.’

‘Any idea how we do any of that?’ Reid asks.

‘Not yet. But we’ll figure it out. First, let’s clean our queen.’ Cyrus’s lips curl upwards. ‘She’s filthy.’

The ground is uneven, and they keep my head low as we travel through the cave. A chill emanates from the rocks, but as we walk deeper, it becomes warm. We stop in humid air and they sit me down on a flat rock.

‘This is beautiful, Cyrus,’ Reid admires. I hear him crouch before me. ‘Want to see the hot spring, Little Bird?’ he asks, guiding my hand to his temple.

‘Promise you’ll only show me the spring and not me?’

‘I promise,’ he agrees.

I see his truth as he looks around. There’s a shallow pool ahead, surrounded by flat stones and boulders. The crystal clear blue water shows sleek slate on the bottom. Steam slowly rises into the air and drifts up towards the sloped and jagged ceiling above. A dull light pours in from a crack, but not enough to light up the room, so Cyrus puts a couple of electric lanterns around the pool. I watch him through Reid’s eyes, getting the space ready before facing us. His eyes are still bloodshot, and he’s badly bruised and covered in scrapes. He glances past Reid to something beyond. To me. And such a sad smile stretches over his lips as he looks me up and down.

I let go, knowing I must look like death for him to survey me like that. To look at me with such pity.

‘It’s really pretty,’ I agree. ‘Does Reid look as bad as you, Cyrus?’

‘Charming,’ Cyrus huffs from behind me. ‘On your feet.’

‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ I reply, standing. ‘It’s just you look like hell.’

‘We’re fine,’ Reid replies. ‘Arms up.’

I hesitate.

‘You know I don’t like asking twice. Arms up.’

He grips the hem of whatever remains of the dress I have on, dreading to think what I might look like underneath. He starts to lift and holds it by my hips, silently waiting for me to obey.

I raise my arms, and he slides it over my head.

‘Do you know how infuriating and confusing it is to be utterly heartbroken by you but longing for you to fix the heart you broke in the first place?’

I feel Cyrus and Reid rest a hand on my bare feet. When I reach out, my hand meets their hair. They’re kneeling before me.

‘What are you doing?’

‘I swear complete loyalty to you, my Queen,’ Cyrus says solemnly. ‘I pledge all I am to you. From this day until my last breath. You are my world. My soul. My heart. My body and all I am belongs to you. Do with it as you wish. Love it. Hate it. Kill it. Nothing you can say or do will make me turn my back on you. Give me a command, and I will obey. I am your servant, Raven Rivers.’ He leans in and kisses my knee.

‘My vow is word for word the same,’ Reid says. ‘All I am is yours. Your word is my duty. My sword. My power. My heart, body and soul are yours. My Queen, I am your servant.’

‘I see gold markings,’ I reply, utterly astounded by the beauty of the delicate gold swirls and patterns I see in the void. ‘What is that?’ I run my fingers over them and feel their forearms. They move slowly and delicately, bending around their arms and creating such a beautiful pattern.

‘We made a vow to you,’ Cyrus replies. ‘It’s marked our skin. You can see the marking?’

‘I can,’ I smile.

The markings fade, and I return to the darkness.

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