Oron looked around in a panic. "Whatever I said to upset you, I'm sorry." He wrapped an arm around her and cuddled her in a way that reminded her of her brothers. That thought brought on a fresh wave of tears.
"Shhuush honey, it's okay. Tell me what is wrong. I'll do whatever I can to help." Oron picked up his discarded shirt and started patting her face, accidentally poking her in the eye.
"Ow!" She took the shirt and dried her tears. His dejected expression made her smile. He was very bad at this.
"Excuse me while I go ask my Unit Commander to kick my ass." Oron sighed and went to walk away.
She laughed and pulled at his arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Though I find it highly amusing a few tears put you in such a tizzy."
Oron's face softened. "My mother always taught us that a woman's tears were priceless and should only be shed in times of great joy."
"Is that Darian's mother, too?"
Oron nodded. "In a way."
"Would she be able to help him? He's so very close. This morning he looked right through me." She shuddered at the memory.
Oron was suddenly all business. "I don't mean to get personal, but has he claimed you?"
She shook her head. "He won't chance turning and destroying my soul. We have been intimate though." She blushed furiously. "It seemed to help for a little while, but today it's almost as if he's worse because of it."
"There may be a way, but he won't like it," Oron hedged.
"I don't give a rat's ass if he likes it. I'll have Aiden and Colton tie his huge ass up if I have to," she fumed.
Oron chuckled. "Mother will like you." He pulled his shirt on before kneeling down to reach into his gym bag. He pulled out a small leather pouch, opened it, and turned it upside down. A large, ornate, silver ring dropped into his hand. "Normally, a fae returns to Éire Danu every thirty or forty years to replenish their light. We absorb the light and magic from the city. It's one of the main reasons the city is closed to outsiders. About six hundred years ago, Darian got into an argument with our mother. He had had a dream where he joined the Alpha Unit and supported the new Unit Commander here in Lycaonia. Our mother was furious, mostly because she was terrified. Darian was always the gentle one, the poet. He was a competent swordsman, but he didn't wasn't a warrior."
"He disobeyed her, and she banished him from Éire Danu. One of the main reasons his light is almost gone is because he hasn't been home in nearly six hundred years."
Amelia felt confused. "Then why doesn't he just go home now? Surely it's okay after all this time."
Oron shook his head. "Discounting the fact that my mother and brother are two of the most stubborn creatures on the face of this green earth, for some reason, Darian's light is dimmer than it should be. No fae has ever been so dark without having committed a great sin. If he tried to go through the portal to Éire Danu as he is, it would reject him. It's a security measure to keep ferals out of the city."
"Then what can we do?" Amelia felt as if there was no hope.
"That was before he found you. We can try something that has never been done before. Like I said, no other fae has ever become so dark without committing a sin, so we've never had this type of scenario before. But because you are his mate, if you were to go through the portal with him, it might recognize your light and see him as a mated fae, and let him through."
"And if it doesn't?" she asked quietly.
"It could kill you both."
"I'm not scared for myself, but he'll never go for it." She rubbed her face with her hands.
Oron cupped her face. "How much time does he have?"
Amelia was about to answer when she heard an inhuman roar to their right. Oron looked up and had just enough time to shove her out of the way before Darian tackled him to the ground.
"She is mine! Mine! Mine!" Darian growled and spat.
"Guess that answers that question," Oron said and grunted as Darian's fist made contact with his stomach.
"Darian, stop!" She didn't move in time and was knocked to the ground by their flailing bodies.
"Quinn! Tangled Web!" Oron yelled wrestling with Darian trying to keep him under control.
Amelia watched as a warrior ran over already reciting a spell. She felt a rush and her magic sung! He was using earth magic.
Trunculi Laqueumin!
Oron jumped out of the way as hundreds of thin tendril roots shot from the ground and wove themselves around Darian. Her mate snarled and hissed, his eyes completely black. She pulled her knees to her chest unable to face the reality that she had lost him.
"Oron!" Aiden yelled running up to them.
"I have to take him home sir. It's his only chance."
Aiden helped her to her feet. "Don't give up yet. I don't make it a habit of losing men, and we're not going to start now." He kissed her forehead.
Oron searched the ground for the silver ring he had pulled out earlier. He picked it up and slid it on his right ring finger. He easily picked up Darian and slung him over one shoulder. He held a hand out. "Amelia, hurry!"
Startled, she took his hand.
He looked down at her. "Think of him, and in your mind, keep him in the light. "
She closed her eyes and remembered how he looked walking with her in the fae gardens. Him trying not to smile at something she said. The look on his face when he finally admitted his feelings and the way he seemed to glow as he stared down at her while they made love.
She felt her body wrench and jerk. Darkness and ice seemed to pierce her body, and just as she was about to give in to the pain, it was gone. She opened her eyes and blinked.
She looked around. They were in a large courtyard. A warm sun was overhead and hundreds of flowers bloomed around them. Sprites of every shape and size flittered around screaming their heads off.
"Halt! Who dares to trespass in Her Majesty's royal garden?"
Her Majesty?
Amelia looked at the group of very large fae warriors dressed in identical uniforms bearing down on them.
"Oron!" she whispered urgently.
Oron set a still hissing and spitting Darian down on the cobblestones and rose to his full height.
"Seize them!" The guards surrounded them. A set of hands grabbed her and pulled her away from Oron. She watched in horror as a guard lifted a radiant, silver sword over Darian's neck.
"Oron!" she screamed.
Oron grabbed the warrior by the throat and lifted him off his feet. "I know you weren't about to hurt my baby brother, were you?" He swung his eyes over to where she was being restrained by a guard. "And get your hands off my sister!" he ordered.
"You have no authority here. How dare you bring this feral filth into the Queen's gardens!" A guard said removing his helmet.
"Malcolm, you're Captain of the Guard? Mother must have been desperate after I left." Oron said, his tone insulting.
The captain stopped in his tracks. "Prince Oron?"
Prince?
Around them, the guards froze instantly. The hands holding her let go in shock. She immediately returned to Darian's side.
"What is going on here?" A soft feminine voice demanded.
"Your Majesty, Prince Oron has returned, bringing a feral and a witch with him," the captain reported.
"Oron? Feral?" A tall, willowy figure stepped into the light. Amelia had never seen a more beautiful woman in her life. She embodied every human fantasy of what the fae looked like. This woman was the Queen of the Fae and the heart of their race.
The queen looked down at Oron's feet and gave a low wail. "Darian! My son!" She hurried over and dropped to her knees.
"Prince Darian?" the men around them whispered.
Oron knelt beside the queen. "Can you help him, Mother? This is his mate, Amelia. She is the reason we were able to get him through the portal."
The queen didn't answer. She waved a hand over Darian, and he quieted instantly. Seconds later, the roots were gone and she was pulling him into her arms. She rested his head ag
ainst her breast and rocked back and forth, keening softly. "This is all my fault! I never should have said what I did. Please Goddess, do not punish my son for my foolishness. Take my light, let it pass to him." A warm light enveloped them.
Oron stood and walked over to Amelia who watched in shock. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close. "If anyone can save my brother, it's her."
Wiping her tears, she also prayed to the Goddess.
Please. Please don't take him from me. We have only just found each other, I need more time.
After a few minutes, the queen looked up confused. "I don't understand. This should be helping." She looked back at them. "Has he claimed you?"
Amelia shook her head. "He didn't dare. He knew how close he was."
The queen shook her head. "It's as if a piece of his light is missing altogether."
Amelia's heart stuttered. "What did you say?"
The queen blinked. "He has a hole in his aura, the core of his light is gone, not dim, gone. Normally, that wouldn't be so critical as fae return regularly to Éire Danu to recharge their magic, but he hasn't been home." Her voice broke.
Amelia stepped forward. "I have it! He gave it to me when I was a child, so he could find me." She clutched at her chest.
"Come here!" The queen ordered.
Amelia knelt down beside Darian.
The queen hesitated. "This may hurt."
"I don't care, help him!"
The queen nodded and lifted a pale, slender hand. Amelia looked down as a small sphere of golden light was lifted from her chest. She felt its loss, but knew she could live without it, Darian couldn't.
Amelia watched as the queen gently pushed the sphere into Darian's chest. His body jerked once and slammed back down. He gave a shuddering sigh of relief, and his face became peaceful.
"Thank the Goddess! It's working!" The queen continued to bathe Darian in light. Amelia felt a wave of dizziness. Oron was at her side immediately helping her to lie flat.
"Amelia, Amelia can you hear me?" A soft voice called.
Amelia nodded with great effort.
"You need to stop fighting and let your body rest. It has to adjust to the absence of Darian's light. Sleep daughter of mine, and when you wake, your mate will be waiting for you."
"Promise?" Amelia asked.
"I promise, dear one, now sleep."
Amelia learned that when the Queen of all the Fae tells you to sleep, you sleep.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Amelia woke slowly and instinctively turned toward the beautiful masculine voice. The words were familiar; she had heard them before. Soft words sang of a candle's flame and a love that would endure wind and rain. Stepping from his dreams and into his life. When she opened her eyes, the singing stopped.
"How do you feel?" Darian asked, his voice soft and gentle.
She looked into his enchanting lavender eyes and began to cry. He was the prince from so long ago. She must be dreaming.
"Oh, my love, don't cry. I can withstand anything except the sight of your tears. Why are you so distraught?" He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back.
"You're my dream prince, which means I must be dreaming." She sniffed. "You're probably really dead, and I've snapped, and this is a hallucination!"
"You really are related to Meryn, aren't you?" he asked before tilting her head back. Slowly and deliberately he began to kiss her face--her forehead, between her brows, each eyelid, her nose, and finally, her lips.
She blinked up at him. "This is real?"
He propped himself up, resting on his hand, and grinned. "You and my brother managed to achieve the impossible by bringing me home. Mother returned the light I gave you, and by being in Éire Danu, I was able to restore my inner light." He smiled. "I remember now, that dream from so long ago. After I gave you my light, I woke up, and the memory of you and the dream were gone. I thought I was turning feral, but in reality, I was adjusting to the loss of my light."
Amelia gasped and sat up in bed. "Oh my Goddess, this is all my fault! If I hadn't..."
Darian quieted her by placing a finger over her lips. "I remember feeling completely panicked as you stared up at me, so tiny and innocent. When I saw the fear in your eyes at the idea of being forgotten, I didn't even stop to think, I gave you my light. If we're placing blame, it should be placed solely at my feet. But in my defense, I had no idea that losing my light for such a short amount of time while I was unable to visit Éire Danu would almost turn me feral. "
Amelia couldn't believe the difference in him. He was smiling and joking; he seemed to exude congeniality. She didn't like it. She had dreamed of her prince and thought he was the one she longed for, but she had fallen in love with her dark and surly warrior.
"You're frowning." He sat up and the sheet pooled at his waist.
Blushing, she realized that she had been stripped, too. She turned away, embarrassed.
"Hey, what's this? Why are you turning from me?"
She couldn't meet his eyes. It felt like she was in bed with a stranger.
"Amelia?" Darian's voice was no longer so affable. It held an edge of concern.
When she looked up, his brows were knitted together, and he was frowning. She threw her arms around his neck. "You're you!" she cried out.
"Of course I am." His arms went around her, and he pulled her into his lap to sit between his legs. "What's going on?"
"I feel like I don't know you when you're smiling. I like your frowny face better." She sniffed and used the sheet to wipe her nose.
"My frowny face? Gods above, what a mangled mating I have given you where you don't recognize me unless I'm a sullen bastard." Darian cradled her head to his chest.
"I like you grumpy," she mumbled.
He pulled back and glared at her. "How's this?"
She giggled. "Much better."
His features softened. "I'll have to introduce you to my smiling face so you recognize both."
Amelia shrugged. "You seem shifty when you're smiling."
His eyebrows shot up. "Shifty? Shifty! I'll give you shifty!" He started tickling her mercilessly.
"I give! I give!" she shouted.
"I even serenaded you," he grumbled, pulling her down to lie beside him.
"It was Michael Bolton."
"I won't begrudge a fellow bard who happened to have written the words to describe my feelings perfectly." He turned on his side and slowly began to trace his finger down her body. "How are you doing, really?"
Her breath caught in her throat, and all of her attention was on the tip of his finger making lazy circles around her breast. "Fine," she managed to squeak out. She felt moisture begin to pool between her legs. He was barely touching her and she could barely think.
"Amelia, I'd like to claim you, if you're willing," he said, laying his hand flat over her heart.
"There's nothing I'd like more!" She had been dreaming of this moment all her life. She was finally going to be claimed.
His fingers trailed down her body until they brushed her opening. He teased her while his mouth suckled and nipped at her breast.
When he moved over her, she smiled up at him. He reached down and eased himself forward. She gasped and threw her head back. There was no pain, just the pleasurable sensation of being full and complete.
"For every tear I made you shed, I promise you a million smiles," he whispered, thrusting deep.
"For every moment of doubt and pain, I will give you hours of pleasure." He kept eye contact as their bodies merged.
"I cannot change the past, but I give you my future." Slowly, he sunk himself to her very core. He was stringing out each moment until it collided with the next, each wave of pleasure unending.
"I promise to be your best friend, your lover, and the father of your children, placing your needs and their needs above my own." He stopped, now completely inside of her, and leaned down to kiss her gently.
Just when she thought she couldn't take the slow pace anymore, he began to glow.
He threw his head back, the muscles in his neck pulled tight. When the sphere of light widened to include her, her body detonated. Small explosions of pleasure ran down her spine causing her to scream her satisfaction.
She felt her soul lift up and merge with his. Where they had been two incomplete pieces, they were now whole. When they separated, the light that was the piece of their combined souls drifted back into her chest, carrying a piece of him with it.
Breathing heavily, Darian withdrew from her body and collapsed to one side. "Thank you, my love."
Amelia couldn't quite catch her breath. She lay on her back staring up at the plant-covered ceiling. "Anytime."
He chuckled once then groaned as he sat up in bed. On unsteady legs, he wobbled to what she assumed was the bathroom. She was sure when he came back a few minutes later with a cream-colored linen cloth.
He stood at the foot of the bed, a smug expression on his face as he stared down at her body. "Gods, you are beautiful."
"So are you." She smiled at him.
He gently cleaned her up and returned to the bathroom with the cloth. He sat on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair away from her face.
Amelia looked around the room. It reminded her of his room back in the Alpha estate only fancier. All the furniture here was white with accents in silver and gold.
"Where are we?"
"My quarters in the palace."
"Didn't you leave almost six hundred years ago?"
He nodded, a sad look on his face. "My mother must have kept this room up all this time."
"She was very distraught earlier when she thought you were dying."
He nodded. "I can't wait to meet with her. We've been invited to an early dinner."
"Dinner? What time is it?" She blinked and looked around for a clock.
He grimaced. "I think you mean, what day?"
"Get the fuck outta here."
Darian laughed. "It's the day after you brought me here. I woke up a couple of hours ago. Someone was kind enough to leave a tray of food by the door so I ate while I sat with you. If you didn't wake up in time for dinner, I was going to send for a healer."
"How soon before we have to go meet your mother?" she asked, sitting up.