Page 9 of Wings of Snow
I muffled a laugh, then slammed my pillow to my ears when the concubine let out another piercing sound of ecstasy. “Something tells me she won’t take kindly to that.”
Despite the humor in the situation, my heart cracked, and not for the first time since their noisy lovemaking had started, agony cut me deep. Hearing them reminded me of what I’d left behind, and the weight of what I’d lost threatened to consume me once more.
Norivun and I were supposed to be doing exactly what Drachu and his concubine were currently engaging in. If the Rising Queen Trial had gone the way it undoubtedly would have if my affinities hadn’t been suppressed, I would have won the final test and been engaged to the prince.
At this very moment, I could have been bedding Prince Norivun as the bond fully tethered itself to me. I would be feeling his emotions, would be able to detect where he was in the realm, and his scent would have collided with mine, letting all other fae know that we were mated.
The crushing realization of what I’d lost hit me all at once.
Tears filled my eyes. I hastily turned away and wiped them before Cailis could notice.
Thankfully, blessedly, Drachu’s roar broke through Sabreeny’s screams a moment later. A gigantic shudder vibrated the entire home, and then the house fell silent as their mating sessionfinallycame to an end.
“Wow,” Cailis whispered. “I definitely need to find a male who’s capable of that. I had no idea sex could last that long.”
“And to think I could have been experiencing something like that,” I whispered to myself, but Cailis still heard me.
“Ock, I’m sorry, Ilara.” My sister’s sorrowful tone cut through the shadows in the room. “But don’t lose faith. We’ll figure out a way to untrap your affinities, and then we’ll discover what it was you felt in that Isalee field. Like you said, I think that’s the key to this. And once that’s sorted perhaps the king will see that you truly are the strongest female fairy on our continent andyoushould be the one marrying the prince, not Georgyanna.”
I nodded and used that reminder to pull myself from the melancholy that was threatening to overwhelm me. Maybe my sister was right. Maybe there was still hope that I could marry the prince.
Because I was convinced that whatever netting had been buried deep within the soil was causing our crops to die. It’d felt as though it were encapsulating theorem, which meant everyone had been wrong. Theoremwasn’t vanishing. It was being contained or perhaps buried so far that it couldn’t find its way to the surface. And if I could figure out how to free it, maybe King Novakin would decide I was the better match for his son.
I nibbled on my lip as my thoughts drifted back to the field and the deeply buried veil, as a singular question probed my mind—wherehad that veil come from?
* * *
Sabreeny was standingin the kitchen when I ventured out of our guestroom the next morning. Her long brown hair hung to her waist, and her sharp green eyes darted to me the second I stepped into the room.
Bright sunlight streamed through the window overlooking the sink. The kitchen was small with only the basic necessities, pretty much the exact opposite of the Solis king’s castle.
“Good morning,” I offered.
She sneered, not gracing me with a response. She continued making tea before pouring it into a single cup. Beside the teapot was a plate of white fish with a few slices of bread and what I guessed was a fruit. The purple flesh had black seeds in the middle and was a species I didn’t recognize.
“Are you preparing breakfast?” I inched closer to her and made sure to keep my voice friendly. “I would be happy to help.”
Sabreeny whirled around. “And allow a winglessingamyto touch my king’s food?” She scoffed and grabbed the plate off the counter before carrying it along with the teacup right past me. Her shoulder knocked into me, and the movement took me so much by surprise that I slammed into the wall behind me.
“Ouch,” I muttered, rubbing my shoulder.
But Sabreeny just stalked back through the living area, passing my sister on the way, before disappearing into the hallway that led to the bedroom chambers.
“What was that all about?” Cailis asked, coming up to my side.
I rolled my eyes. “Since I’m a wingless ingamy, I guess I’m not worthy of touching anything Drachu consumes.”
“Ingamy?” Cailis went to the counter and grabbed two cups off a shelf. “What’s that?”
“I’m assuming it’s a derogatory word for Solis fae.”
“You would be right,” a deep voice said from behind me.
I whirled around, my heart thumping since I hadn’t heard anyone approach.
A male Lochen fairy stood at the kitchen’s threshold. Blond hair covered his head, and his bright green eyes assessed me. Like Drachu, his skin was brown but a shade lighter than the king’s.
“Oh, good morning,” I said, my hands fluttering self-consciously to my hair since he’d caught me so unaware.