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Maybe I wasn’t as alone as my thoughts led me to believe.
The High Lords watched us as we mounted our horses, joining Kaztar and Domi in a survey of the courtyard quickly filling with more males and horses. Digging my heels into Fek’s sides, he jolted forward, trotting toward the open gate leading into Vaenor. Kaztar and Domi, then Viktor and Endre, and lastly Liliana and Vadim trailed me out the gate and onto the main thoroughfare lined with excited Fae. We hadn’t had a war in centuries, and the people were eager for a victory for the Night Realm.
Flowers of all colors rained on the stone-paved street in front of us, males, females, and children cheering on all sides as we wound through Vaenor. Only a week and half before, we’d ridden this course in reverse with the same reception.
How long would it be until my boots pounded the streets of Vaenor again? And would our people have the same reaction when I returned?
The stone bridge that separated Vaenor from the rest of the Night Realm waited for us, the bubbling creek’s cheery tone too pleasant for my dark thoughts. Kicking Fek into a gallop, I charged away from the city in a race that was far too familiar,and I fucking hoped it was the last time I’d ever have to make this journey. Fek’s black mane whipped my face, and I chose to remain low on his neck, accepting the stings as punishment for losing her. “I’m coming, Izidora,” I vowed into the wind, hoping the Goddess would carry my words to her, wherever she may be.
10
My mate rode in front of me again, and I much preferred this, with her petite frame pressed against me, to the swaying of the wagon where we were forced to sit opposite each other. As we entered the pass, the wind died down, and she no longer shivered with each gust. My chest loosened as her shaking ceased, and I breathed easier knowing she was comfortable. I’d never been the type of male who cared for the comfort of his females; yet with Izidora, the ice encasing my heart melted with each passing day. Her fire was fucking brilliant, and baiting her into flashing it was my new favorite hobby. How the two power-hungry kings thought they could break her was beyond my comprehension.
No, I don’t think I would have enjoyed her nearly as much as I had since I took her from Este Castle if she did not have a bite to her words, and if she didn’t look at me like she wished her magic could kill me on the spot. But with each clop of my mount’s heavy hooves, we drew closer to the Iron Realm, and my heart both leaped and sank.
One step closer to showing Izidora everything I had prepared for her, yet one step away from my favorite place inÉszaki.
The lonely mountains called to my kindred spirit, and it was the one place in the whole continent I could truly be myself. There was no pretending to be the ruthless, uncaring prince, the weapon molded from birth to bring glory to the Iron Realm. There was only me, a book, and the haunting song of the wind as it caressed the mountains.
The jagged peaks gave me peace when nothing else could – not drink, not drugs, not females, and not fighting. I often escaped to them when I was younger, finding the solitude more bearable than the tunnels beneath the Iron Realm’s citadel, where so many Félvér children ran wild. That was another reason I loved the mountains – the fresh air and open space contrasted the dank and narrow tunnels dug into the ground. I’d spent too many years of my life there, too many years fighting for my place among the Félvér.
My father, King Azim, sired a dozen children of every mix, experimenting with Rares to find the best combination. My mother died giving birth to me, bleeding out after a difficult delivery. I never knew her, or much about her. My father didn’t love her, and I knew he didn’t love me. He saw me as a tool, and I took advantage of that, training my mind and body to withstand all types of torture.
One day, I would be king, and not only of the Iron Realm, but of all Északi. Izidora would be my queen, my mate, and we would rule from the highest peak in Északi, Vasvain, where I could gaze down on every Fae still breathing on the continent while I basked in my glory.
Those blood purists would learn that the Félvér were superior and here to rule over them.
Shaking myself from my bloodthirsty thoughts, I returned my attention to Izidora, whose nose was glued to the book I had given her. The way she’d reacted to that book of poetry…
I needed to know everything that had happened to her. Itwould only serve to fuel my rage against my father, and after hearing what little she had already told me, I was ready to kill him the moment I laid eyes on him.
The prophecy stated that ‘kings will fall,’ and fuck if I didn’t find joy in knowing that my father would be the next to die. King Zalan was lucky he was already dead, and if I had known when I burst into the ballroom that he and King Azim had conspired to abuse and break Izidora, I would have killed him too.
Izidora’s attention to the book would have pleased me if I didn’t know she was hunting for words to ignore my presence. Every night, I scented her fear and arousal as I lay beside her. She had yet to touch me, but she was close to cracking – and we both knew it. The passion with which we argued should lead to amazing sex when she finally gave in to what I knew she wanted. This thread humming between us only intensified with each passing day, and fuck, I never knew it would be like this. It was getting harder and harder to maintain this facade of indifference toward her in front of my soldiers. If my father and Rares saw it, they would exploit it without hesitation. I had to protect her from them as much as I could.
She still clung to the ridiculous notion that that Night Fae male was her mate. I cursed myself for not killing him when I had the chance. Then she would have no doubt, for if the Goddess allowed him to die, then they were not meant to be together. He was already after her, of that I had no doubt.
The sun’s angry glare burned into my scalp, the altitude bringing us closer to the light-giving orb. Not a shadow remained as we wound our way through the most harrowing section of Zherza Pass. On one side, a sharply sloped mountain was covered in large boulders that frequently tumbled toward the ground, flattening everything in their wake, while the otherside held a sheer dropoff into a raging river that meant certain death if one went over the edge.
The middle ground between the two was the safest route, and we scanned the icy ridge above us for any sign of an impending rockslide. Snow dusted the highest reaches, and it wouldn’t be long before the entirety of Zherza Pass was covered in ice thick enough to prevent any unwanted visitors to the Iron Realm.
In the distance, the path began its steady slope upward. Soon, the final hill before we broke through the last of the Agrenak Mountains and all of the Iron Realm would be laid bare to see. My spine tingled in anticipation of the view and of finally sharing it with my mate. The soldiers I had taken with me to the Night Realm plodded along behind us, the steady beat of hooves on earth the only sound bouncing between the sides of the mountains.
As the incline steepened, I leaned into it, relieving the pressure on my horse to carry us upward. Izidora remained unflinchingly focused on the book, though she stiffened slightly as my body pressed hers into the neck of my stallion. I growled, deciding I’d had enough of her ignoring me, and snatched it from her hands.
She exclaimed, “Hey! I was working on my words.”
“You’ll have more time for that later,” I scowled. “We’re about to exit the mountains. Look ahead and you’ll see all of the Iron Realm in a moment.”
Her sigh was grumpy but held an undercurrent of excitement. I had learned over the past few days that she had a near insatiable curiosity, which I was most happy to oblige. She watched and listened to every explanation with rapt interest that made me weak at the knees. Fucking Fates, if only she knew what her undivided attention did to me.
“I don’t see anything other than rocks,” she pointed out.
I tried to keep the irritation from my voice when I replied, “That’s because we haven’t crested the hill yet. Just wait.”
The rocky top of the hill came into view, and moments later a flat overlook appeared a few paces off the main path, pointing us in the direction of the capital of the Iron Realm.
“Wow,” she breathed, sitting taller against me, craning her neck over the pointed ears that blocked her view. I released the reins, allowing my horse to drop his head and provide Izidora unparalleled views across the Iron Realm.
