Page 24 of Fae's Mate
My sister should be out of bed by then.
Rising from my seat, I leave the humans to further discuss what has been decided. As I pass the threshold, I risk a final glance back and find Seki’s dark-eyed gaze on me. I almost stumble. She is so breath-taking, but when I see the uncertainty in her eyes, it cracks my heart, and I continue my departure.
She doesn’t know she’s my mate; she doesn’t even know what being a mate means, I remind myself as I march down the hallways towards my study. Although all I really want to do is return to the human group and steal Seki away, so I have her to myself. Even if it is only to talk. Though I would rather kiss her again. I groan, remembering the feel of her lips against mine, her fingers in my hair, her body pressed against me. My cock hardens, again, at the thought as I burst into my study. Sitting behind my desk, I lean back in my seat and huff. I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know of a single fae who has been blessed by the fates. There hasn’t been a mating bond in centuries, and as far as I know, never between a fae and a human.
I know I should tell her, but how? Would it even make a difference? She has a life, a family. She will never choose to stay here. I cannot expect her to give everything up for a mating bond… for me.
Chapter 17
Seki
“How about this one?” I ask, holding up a small leather-bound journal.
“Nope, we checked that one,” Riley informs me.
Alana, Amber, Riley and I sit in a circle in the library, continuing our research. We have all returned to our ‘human’ clothing, which miraculously got washed, dried and returned to us overnight. The only one who chose to stay in their ‘fae’ attire is Willow, who has been swishing about in her golden-ochre gown all morning, and was last seen practically skipping into the garden, clutching a small bag of herbs and a wooden pipe.
“Here, try this one.” Alana suggests, handing me a hefty volume.
I flick through the pages, scanning the words for something useful, my eyes now trained to look for words like ‘mate’, ‘fate’ and ‘magic’. But nothing jumps out at me. I haven’t told anyone what happened last night. No one knows I kissed the High Lord. I keep trying to think of ways to admit it, because I need to tell the group what I learnt in the conversation beforehand. But every time I cast my mind back, I feel his lips running down my neck, and his warm, firm hand on my back, and I get all hot and bothered again, squirming in my jeans, trying to relieve the throbbing ache between my legs.
“Oh, guys, listen to this,” Alana says, scooting further towards us, “Court magic… A court’s magic is fuelled by the ruling fae family. Each High Lord or Lady that is chosen to rule a court usually has the aid of multiple siblings, to ensure the magic is sufficient tomaintaintheir court, especially in a time of deficiency.”
“Deficiency?” Amber asks.
“I haven’t seen any magic since we have been here,” Riley admits. “Have you?”
“No,” Alana answers.
I just shake my head. I don’t want to admit that I have seen the High Lord manipulate water twice.
“Maybe the fae are currently in some sort of magical drought. Didn’t the High Lord say that Autumn Court’s resources were limited?”
I think back to the conversation I had with him last night, when he said ‘the magic was dying’, that it was somehow fading with each generation. Maybe they’re right, and it’s some sort of drought, but the way he said it made it feel… bigger… he’d said it had been going on for generations, and that the magic of all of Ethea was almost gone.
I hear Willow before I see her, the sound of her jangling bangles precedes her. A second later she glides into the room, a bag crossed over her body, with an excited gleam in her eyes. As she gets closer, an earthy scent fills the air, and when I look up at her, I notice her dilated pupils.
“We’re leaving for Summer Court,” she informs us.
We rise from our scatter cushions and follow her out into the lobby, where the other four are waiting. They are all dressed in their ‘human’ clothes, apart from Willow, of course, and each carries a small bag, supplies for the journey, I assume.
Goodbyes make me uncomfortable, even when Iknowthe person I am saying it to. I have only known this group for three days, so making a fuss feels odd for me. Amber, however, sniffs beside me, even as Riley wraps a comforting arm around her shoulder.
“I’ve never ridden a horse before,” Charlotte says, her voice full of uncertainty.
“Oh, it’s easy!” Willow tells her. “I learned how to ride a horse when I was volunteering at a ranch in the mid-west one summer. I’ll help you!”
We follow the group out into the courtyard where a dozen guards wait, along with a female fae, the High Lords sister I assume, who doesn’t even glance in our direction, boredom clear on her elegant face, and a small wagon laden with supplies. Glancing to my right, I spot the High Lord discussing something with the guard, and as if sensing my presence, his head turns and his eyes find me instantly, pinning me to the spot. My breath shudders and I glance away.
“I can do it myself!” Mollie snaps as a guard tries to assist her into a saddle.
The guard backs away with a nod of his head, while Mollie grabs the pommel and, rather unceremoniously, hoists herself up onto the horse. She turns and gives Sascha, who sits atop the next horse along, a satisfied smirk. Sascha just giggles.
Unease gnaws in my gut as the group begins toward the gate. I don’t like the idea of us being separated. What if the High Lord amasses enough magic to send us home? We will have to wait days for the rest of the group to return.
Once the convoy snakes through the gate and disappears, I turn to what remains of our group. Riley is still comforting a sniffing Amber. Yasmin is signing quickly to Alexis, who looks confused, and keeps glancing back towards the gate, while Alana is already making her way back into the palace, no doubt heading back to the library. I decide to follow her.
Amber and Riley don’t return to the library, it is just Alana and I for the rest of the afternoon as we sift through mountains of books, looking for any clues that might help us get home. Hours drag by, as we seem to find everything but. We find books on botanicals listing the plant life that grows in each court, a guide to ‘creatures of the courts’ which lists a variety of animals, some of which are terrifying, that live in each court and how to manage them. We also find a bunch of cookbooks, which spark my interest for a moment, until I force myself to refocus. I find a history of each court, with its ruling families, that one at least listed mates but specified little about them.
