Chapter 38

I opened my eyes and looked around. I had no idea where I was. Blowing out a breath I tried again and realized it was my new room in the palace. In no hurry to move I closed them again then tried to process the last thing I remembered. My eyes popped open. Arwan and the ice cavern. Emil.

I lifted my head.

Bethany was standing beside the bed.

“Hey, take it slow.” Paisley sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’ll go get Emil.” Bethany disappeared from my sight.

“How’s Emil? Leone?” My voice throat was so dry I could barely form the words.

“They’re okay.” Paisley said.

I dropped my head back to the pillow then went to brush the hair back from my face when I noticed I had a needle sticking out of my arm. I frowned. “Was I hurt?”

“No, not that way.”

I looked at her again.

“We couldn’t get Emil to release you.” She said quietly.

“He needed it.” I said trying to clear my throat so I could talk.

“You did it purposely?”

I looked to see Emil standing in the doorway. His expression was not at all happy, but he was alive and standing there, so I felt better. “Your injury was serious enough that they couldn’t port you.” I said softly.

Paisley stood up as he came toward the bed. “I’ll go get you something from the kitchen.” She said and left the room in a hurry.

“I thought I’d almost killed you.” Emil stood looking down at me. “Have been tormented by the horror of doing so.”

“I’m fine…”

“It’s been two days.” He enunciated in a clipped way.

“We’re trained to give our life for…”

“Don’t.” He barked. “You’ve been lying here, comatose, for two days. We couldn’t even rouse you enough to give you blood.” Red eyes glared at me.

“Emil. I’m fine.” I blew out a breath, “a little light-headed and groggy, but I’m fine.”

“Emil, perhaps…”

Emil spun to look at Chase. “Out.” He said as he stomped over and grabbed the door.

Chase looked to me than bowed in a dramatic gesture, “as you wish.” He moved out of the way just before Emil slammed the door in his face.

Emil stomped in my direction, pulling his shirt off as he went. “I’m giving you blood.” He said as he reached down and pulled a blade out of his boot.

“I think…”

“Don’t,” he waved the hand holding the knife around, “think.” He glared. “Because the only thought in your head seems to be I must sacrifice myself for the good of the royals,” he knelt of the bed, his arm still going, “for the good of the realm—for the good of the people.” He pointed the knife at me, “that nonsense stops now.”

I looked at his serious expression and then to the knife tip. “Prince, lower your weapon before I stab you with it.” I said in an even tone. I couldn’t have if I wanted to, but he seemed almost incoherent in his agitation. He looked at the blade, then lowered it. “Emil…”

Reaching, he placed a finger over my mouth in a gentle touch. “Shh, just let me do this.” He nodded slowly, “I think I need to almost as much as you need it.” His look pleaded with me. “Your mother is downstairs. The women have been trying to distract her for two days, Kinsley, I can’t even describe what that’s been like.”

I scrunched up my face and looked up at him. “She’s here?”

He nodded as he moved to lay down beside me.

“Oh my god, I’m going to have to apologize to everyone.” I put my hand over my eyes. “I’m not in a frilly dress am I?” I was afraid to open my eyes and look.

He chuckled, “No, we managed to keep her out of the way while Alona and Mitz changed you.”

“Thank the gods for that.” I whispered. I opened my eyes and looked at him.

“Your mother is,” his eyes rolled as he searched for the word, “exasperating at times.”

I snorted, “you have no idea.” I whispered.

“Mitz has her helping in the kitchen right now.” He said with a smirk.

“Poor Mitz.”

He grinned, “don’t worry about Mitz, she has her in hand.” He cleared his throat, “now, let me give you some blood so your recovery moves along.”

I nodded as best I could while laying down. “Yes. We need to get my mother out of here.” I glanced at his chest as he held the blade near it. There was a faint red mark on the right side. The mark was too wide to have been made with a sword. I reached out and touched it. “What did it?” I whispered.

“Axe.” He said looking down at my hand.

With my eyes wide I met his look. “An axe? You took an axe to the chest?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes. I can honestly say I will never forget looking down and seeing it sticking out of me.”

I closed my eyes, my heart pounding too fast to speak.

“Hey,” he touched my face, “It’s fine now. The mark will always be there because the Aridon princess used heat to seal it to save me bleeding out, but I’m fine.”

I nodded. “But it’s really over, we got him.”

Emil smiled, “we did.” He tilted his head, “there’s a lot to clean up and the other realms are going to need a hand tracking down any of theirs involved, but all the realms are currently safe from the plan Arwan set in motion.”

I blew out a long breath. “Okay, let’s do this, we have work to do.”

He chuckled but said nothing more.

I watched as he cut into his own chest and then assisted me in lifting my head to take his blood into my mouth. Before I licked to clean up any trace of blood on his chest, I could feel the difference. Magic blood indeed, I thought.

“Now feed.” He said softly.

I almost attacked his neck. I hadn’t fed in two days, how was I even still here? I thought as I took his essence into my body. Licking over it I rested my head against his shoulder.

“Now we can remove that needle.” He lifted his head and reached over and pulled it from my arm. Lifting it to his mouth, he licked over the puncture from the needles. He stroked his hand down my arm then took my hand in his. “I don’t know how my brothers withstood this.” He leaned back, a pained look on his face, “watching their mates in battle and being put in so many life-threatening situations. I’ve been a raving lunatic for the past two days.” He kissed my hand, “I was banished to my room.” He frowned, “Banished.” Taking a deep breath, he blew it out, “my room is in a great state of disrepair at the moment as a result of my banishment.”

I grinned. It wasn’t funny what he’d gone through, but his reaction was.

He gave me a playful hard look, then smirked. “Now,” he sobered, “just one more thing and my heart may finally beat normally again.” He squeezed my hand in his and looked at me.

I was about to ask what when he lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me with feather-light touches. He kissed along my lips, then trailed down my jaw. When he nuzzled my neck, I didn’t even have to think to give him access.

When he bit into me, I hissed out a breath. Feeding has always been so detached for me, but with him it became something erotic, something I craved. He lifted his mouth away and hovered over my neck for a moment, his breath teasing against my skin. When he suckled the wound gently, a shiver went through my whole body.

Licking it, he lifted his head and attacked my mouth. With the arm that wasn’t crushed between us, I grabbed the back of his head and held it so he couldn’t pull away again. I craved his kisses more than anything I’d ever thought possible. He broke the kiss for a second and I tugged his hair so I could reach his mouth.

Emil had no problem complying with my silent demand and covered my mouth with his again. If my whole body felt like it was on fire just from kissing, I couldn’t even grasp what more was going to feel like.

I turned into him and tried to get closer, he wrapped his arm around me tightly, letting me know he wasn’t going to let me go. When he tore his mouth from mine, he continued to kiss my face, my neck and any other part of me he could reach in this position.

Lifting his head, his red lust filled eyes looked down at me. “I had no idea what I was doing.” He said breathlessly.

I grinned and licked over my lip, I tasted blood from a nick one of our fangs had made. “I wouldn’t say that.”

He looked at me still, then squeezed the hand that was trapped between us. He looked tentative and wary.

I felt my fangs recede and pulled my arm out of his grasp. I’m sure my eyes have never been as wide as they were now, looking at the intricate design that weaved over the whole length of my arm. “Did you just…” I looked at it again.

“I did.” He said in a confident tone. “And I’d do it again and tomorrow if that were a possibility.”

I held my arm in the air, stupefied to see the mate’s tattoo on it. “I…” Having no idea what to say. I shifted and looked at him. His blue eyes were watching me, a guarded look on his face. “I thought you wanted no part of this.”

He nodded his head slowly, “As did I.” He cleared his throat and propped himself up on his elbow, then took my hand in his. Our tattoos looked like an extended tattoo when our arms were this close. “Then I got to think about that for two days.” His eyes flicked to my face, “I don’t believe I’ve even slept.” He tilted his head, then sighed, “the thought of being mated, I believed I’d already had my fill of in this life,” he nodded, “but the thought of losing you made me feel things I’ve never felt—even in the grief when I lost my wives.” His brow creased as he paused, “I thought a mate was no different than a spouse, but I have never been so wrong about anything in my life.” Emil looked at our arms then continued speaking, “mourning a lost wife was, I thought, the hardest thing I would have to endure,” his eyes flicked to my face, “thinking I’d lost you was worse. It was as if everything inside me stopped, the only emotion I could feel was rage,” he leaned down and kissed me softly, “a mate is nothing like a spouse, a mate is a part of you that lies dormant,” a pained look filled his face, “until I met you I thought I’d lived a full life.” He shook his head slowly, “it seems I was just going through the motions until now.”

Squeezing his hand, I lifted both of our arms and looked at them. “I didn’t know we could,” I felt my cheeks heat, “that one could be marked without…”

He leaned over and kissed me hard on the mouth. “Oh, there will be that, but I couldn’t take a chance you’d say no.” He rested his lips on mine as he spoke.

I grinned against his mouth. “I wouldn’t have said no. I just didn’t want it at first.”

Moving his face away from mine, he gave me a curious look, “but then you changed your mind?”

“More like I knew I couldn’t outrun it even if I tried.”

He pouted, “that’s not an encouraging answer.” He scowled at me, “I’ve been losing my mind for two days and you just don’t want to outrun it?”

I laughed.

A loud knock on the door had us both sit up and stare at the door.

“What?” Emil barked.

The door open and Chase leaned around it and looked at us. “Ah, good. All is well.” He winked at me, “had us worried.” He gave me a hard look. “Don’t do that again.” Chase looked back as his brother. “Dinner will be served in ten minutes.”

Emil sighed, “I’ll grab a plate…”

“No. No plate. You’re both coming down for dinner.” He nodded. “That’s an order.” He looked right at me, “your mother will be there.”

I wiped my hand down my face. “My mother.” I kicked the covers off my legs and paused to make sure I had something on. Relief went through me to see I had pajamas on, “we have to get rid of my mother, Emil.”

“Now you have it.” Chase grinned, “see you down there, princess.” He closed the door.

I stood up and then looked at Emil. “I’m a princess.” I felt like someone had just hit me with something.

“Yes, you are.” He grinned, then motioned to the closet. “Get dressed.” He pulled out his phone and looked at it. “I say we eat, talk a bit and still be back up here in thirty minutes, forty tops.” With a smile, he came toward me and grabbed me around the waist and kissed me. “Then I’m declaring to all we are not to be disturbed, for the honeymoon period.”

I felt my face get hot. “The honeymoon period?”

“Yes.” He kissed me again, then stepped back. “I’ll be back in five. Be ready.” He ported out.

I stood there staring where he had been. Lifting my arm, I looked at it, a feeling of warmth and contentment moved through me. I was a princess. I laughed for a second, a princess of Alterealm. I shrugged; I could do that. My stomach rumbled, hunger hitting me. “Dinner, here I come.” I remembered my mother and jolted for the closet. We had to get her out of here.