Page 90 of Winter Unleashed

“Daughter?” I mumbled instead. “You took away the male’s magic because one of them hurt someone you care about. If Astrid is your daughter…” Liam had told me that before I’d even met Astrid. “Celeste had referred to Astrid as her sister.” I was piecing it all together and a bad feeling settled in my gut.

Artemis’ smile filled me with a warmth I’d never felt before. It was maternal and comforting. “Yes. Celeste was my daughter, and Astrid still is. They were sisters.”

“And Belial is the reason you broke their magic… He hurt Astrid. That’s why you did what you did.” Artemis nodded and that bad feeling got worse. “Uh-oh…”

Liam chuckled. “It’s okay, Red, Artie already knows about Asti and Lyle. She knows everything that happens with the Fae.”

I gawked at him. “Artie? Asti? How are you on nickname terms with the two most powerful fairies?”

Artemis laughed this time. “Little Bertie, as we called him, was quite the troublemaker in his youth. With Owen and Evangeline always gallivanting around, Astrid and I had a hand in raising him.” She pursed her lips. “It didn’t always help though. A boy needs his parents.”

Liam cleared his throat. “Yes, well, what brings you here?”

From what everyone had said, Artemis had locked herself away with only Vinur for company for so many years no one remembered how long it had been. For her to come to us, it had to be important. My gut clenched again at the thought of another fight so soon after the last one. I had been looking forward to having at least a full day to relax.

“We’ve come to take you home,” Artemis said, and her voice was no longer soothing.

“Right now?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. She nodded. “Um, can’t we have one last night with our friends? Please?”

Astrid appeared beside Vinur. “Mother, we talked about this,” she said.

Artemis turned to her daughter with a frown. “Asti, you talked, I listened. I never agreed to let them wait.” She turned back to Liam and me. “But I will allow it. One more night. If you don’t come to me tomorrow before noon, I will bring you over myself.”

“Agreed,” Liam said. “Would you like to join us for dinner?”

“No. I must return home. The stink of the human world is too much to take. I’d forgotten how bad it is.”

I scrunched up my face wondering what it was she was smelling. Celeste and Astrid had also expressed disgust for the human world.

“You’ll notice it once you’ve been away for a while,” Artemis muttered, clearly understanding my confusion. “Tomorrow night you will dine with me. You can go to Ulfurjord the following morning and get settled. Your duties will begin the following day.”

I blinked and Astrid was the only one remaining. “Carry on,” she said before she disappeared as well.

There was nothing I could do about it. We had to leave. We had to go to Ulfurjord. And we had to fulfill our roles as the Vinur and Vinura. The only thing I could control was how I reacted to the situation.

I looked up at Liam. Little wrinkles had formed around his eyes, and he’d pressed his lips into a thin line. “Stop worrying,” I said as I shifted to straddle him. “You heard Astrid, we should carry on.” I leaned in to kiss him while trailing my hands over his chest.

“I wouldn’t want to disobey my fairy godmother,” he said against my lips.

“Mmm, that would be bad.”

I nibbled his bottom lip then yelped when he flipped us over and covered me with his body. He kissed his way down my neck to my breast where he took my nipple into his mouth. I slid my hand into his hair to press him closer. He brought his lips back to mine as he lowered his hand between my legs to run his fingers over his mark on my inner thigh.

I moaned when he slid those fingers inside to tease and delight me. I brought my hand between us, sliding it over his tight body to cover his shaft. He moaned into the kiss when I slid my hand over the silkiness of him.

A groan slipped from me when he moved his hand to take mine away. He lifted our hands to pin mine over my head as he sunk himself inside me. I pressed my hips upward, taking him in deeper. As I watched, his Fae disguise disappeared. He moved inside me in slow waves as his body and cock grew to his Vinur size, filling me even more.

“Well, hello, Vinur,” I said moving with him in a rhythm that had us both moaning.

Our kiss became frantic and full of need as we sought release. He rolled us over again and gripped my hips as I moved over him. He pumped up into me as I rode him faster and harder until we both cried out with ecstasy.

Breathless, I slid down his body to rest my head on his chest, and his hand trailed lightly over my back. We lay like that for a long while before Henry squawked from the trees. I smiled when I found him and Walter watching us. I’d missed my guardian. It felt like I hadn’t seen him in years.

“Will they come with us?”

“They will.”

The knot of worry loosened a little. Knowing Henry would be in Ulfurjord, made it feel like I’d be bringing a piece of home with me.