Euphoria: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (The Carnal Court Book 2) Read online

  VERYS

  I wake up before Kari, when the bright is just beginning to lighten the sky. She’s draped across my chest, and I love feeling her naked against me. I love feeling her breathe and the way her fingers curl against my skin even in sleep. The last thing I want to do is leave her and this bed. I’d much rather continue the exploration from last night. But this morning will be one of the few times I get to speak to my mother freely.

  Darran sleeps later, and my mother does not. But I have a feeling the longer I’m here, the less inclined he’ll be to let us have an open conversation.

  Gently, I roll Kari over to her own pillow. She stirs but doesn’t wake, and I can’t help but smile. Her hair is wild, the vibrant red spread across the bed like a flame. Everything about the image is careless beauty. For as long as I live, I’ll thank the Goddess and Allwyn for letting me be her mate. I’ll never deserve it. And I can hardly believe that it’s real.

  I kiss her forehead before I leave, even though my cock is far more interested in staying. Last night was incredible. Part of me thinks that if I’d known that sex was like that, I would have never stayed away. And the rest of me knows that it would have never been like that with anyone else. The magic we created is more than us just being new to our respective power. It’s about connection, and I could swear I felt what it might be like to have our mating bond sealed when I was inside her. Felt her longing for me as strongly as my own.

  I feel strong today. The magic that crashed into me is still lingering. Like it suddenly realizes that it is welcome after all these years. I was perfectly content with the magic available to me, but this torrent makes it seem like the world is limitless. And it’s all because of Kari sharing her body with me. I would not have chosen another way for this to happen. Because now this magic does not feel like poison and loss. It feels like vibrant love and acceptance. It feels like mine in a way that it never has before—Carnal magic has always felt alien to me. Like it didn’t fit inside my skin. But now with Kari it feels the way I remember Lunar magic feeling. Like an extension of myself.

  I feel whole, and I know that I’m still not as full of this magic as I could be. It sprung up between us so easily—I want to do it again. I wasn’t lying last night. I could taste her forever. Bury myself in her forever. I’ll never have enough of her sweetness and the look on her face when she’s lost in the frenzy of her own climax.

  If I keep reliving the things that we did together, I’m never going to leave this room. I find my clothes where I dropped them and dress quickly. Silently. If I’m right, my mother will be out on the hill, watching the bright arrive over the valley. She’s always said she was lucky to have her favorite view in Allwyn right outside her back door. But I think that maybe that’s not true, and she’s made her peace with it.

  The one time she went exploring, and reached beyond her limitations for something she wanted, she was punished. She knew she would be, and she did it anyway. That takes a unique kind of strength, and I’ve always admired her for chasing her happiness even though it’s caused her near immeasurable pain.

  She is where I thought she’d be, sitting on a bench on the edge of the hill, watching the bright rise over the city of the Lunar Court. It’s chilly here—it nearly always is. There are few trees in the Lunar Court and the wind slices across the pale landscape. It can be sharp, and harsh. But this stark beauty is so much a part of my soul. As much as I enjoy my life in the Carnal Court now, after years, I miss it.

  “You have embraced your magic,” she says as I sit down beside her. “It’s lovely.”

  Kari would likely be embarrassed to know that everyone in the house felt the magic that we created together, but there was so much of it I would not be surprised if people in the city felt traces.

  “It is a recent change,” I say. “Until I met Kari, I had no interest.”

  She doesn’t look at me, but I see her hands tighten together. “I’m sorry that you have borne that pain.”

  The sky lightens, and I sigh, watching the city sparkle in the pale shine. “I have never blamed you. I hope you know that.”

  “I do. Though you have every reason to.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t blame people for the actions of others.”

  “I’m sorry about Darran,” she says quietly. “I had hoped that after all this time he would have softened in his feelings. That maybe it was just you showing up unexpectedly.”

  “I knew the risk when we came here,” I say, reaching out and putting my hand on her shoulder. “The fact that he has separated himself from me so thoroughly is the one thing protecting us. No one would think to look for us here, though that didn’t seem to matter in New York.”

  My mother smiles. “Tell me about your mate. She’s human?”

  “She is,” I say, and I can’t keep my own smile off my face. “And I am not her only mate.”

  “That explains that kiss last night,” she says, raising an eyebrow.

  I laugh. “Yes. It’s been an adjustment for all of us.”

  “All of you?”

  “Four fae males and a human male.”

  She freezes. “Five mates? That is…rare to say the least.”

  “Yes, and it’s new enough that we’re still figuring it all out.” I give her a condensed version of how we met Kari and how we ended up here in the Lunar Court. “I am happy to see you,” I say. “But I would not have come if we felt we had another choice. I don’t want to cause any trouble for you with Darran.”

  “You are my son. You are welcome here any time you wish, regardless of his feelings. He has done enough.”

  I let my face drop into my hands. “You don’t have to pretend with me. I know this will make your life more difficult. And if there were ever a way that you could visit us in the Carnal Court, then you would be more than welcome.”

  “I would like that,” she says, voice wistful. We both know that it will never happen. Siona will never set foot in the Carnal Court again.

  “How long?” I ask. “Do you think he will tolerate before we should leave?”

  Her pale silver eyes—so much like mine—go hard. “You are under hospitality. Stay as long as you like.”

  “We will stay as long as our welcome does not cause you harm,” I say. Darran hates me, and the longer I stay in his home the more that hatred will bleed over into his relationship with my mother. He does not harm her, and they have found a kind of peace after all these years, but it is not the life my mother wished for herself.

  She smiles. “Your mate is awake.”

  I turn and find Kari watching us from the house, and I wave her out. I want her to meet Siona in a less hostile environment. Her eyes are still dazed with barely-shaken sleep, and I take the opportunity to pull her onto my lap—she doesn’t resist. The way she fits against me is so tempting that I want to steal her away back to that bedroom and spend the day ignoring the rest of the world. I settle for a kiss that makes her blush.

  “Morning,” she says.

  “Good morning. How did you sleep?”

  Pink tinges her cheeks again. “It was wonderful. Thank you,” she directs the words at my mother. “You have a very comfortable home.”

  “You’re quite welcome, Kari,” she says. “I’m glad that we can be a place of safety for you.”

  “I appreciate it,” Kari says quietly.

  “Hopefully we will know more today. Once the others arrive.”

  Kari nods firmly. “Good. I could use some answers.”

  “How long until the rest of your mates arrive?” My mother stands gracefully. “You should eat something while you wait. And perhaps I can get to know you better.”

  “I would love that,” Kari says, standing.

  My mother loops her arms through Kari’s and pulls her into the house. I don’t move to follow immediately, instead taking in the view that I’ve missed. Plains of pure white dust marred only by the walls of the city. Rolling hills in the distance with ruins of pale stone and the few trees casting
long shadows across the land. I love that I can breathe here. I’ve always loved the wide open spaces of the Lunar Court. The Carnal Court can feel so close and crowded. But with Kari, it feels less oppressive.

  And perhaps, after all this time, some of the damage that was done can heal.

  Standing to follow Kari and my mother into the manor, I see Darran watching me from an upper window, face locked in anger. I very much hope the others have insight or answers. Because no matter what Siona insists, our welcome here will not remain solid for long.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ________

  KARI

  Verys’s mother is lovely. Her scars took me by surprise last night. I’ve never seen a fae with scars. And they’re not faded either. They’re red and angry, like whatever drew the intricate patterns on her face happened just yesterday. But I can tell that they’re not fresh. She moves with them as if they’re a part of her, not wincing or being careful the way you would if you had just been injured. But I can’t imagine what would cause a scar like that, and one that doesn’t seem to heal.

  As we ate, she asked me about my past, and how I’m recovering. I’m not surprised that Verys told her a little about how we met, and what happened. Since it’s why we’re here. And it feels nice to talk honestly with someone about it. I’m recovering, but I keep getting knocked back. I’m angrier than I’ve ever felt in my life and I have no outlet for it. And of course I’m sad.

  But if there’s one thing that talking with Siona makes me realize, it’s that I’m ready to fight back. I’m not just going to keep running and hiding. We have to make some kind of move, even if I’m not sure what that is yet.

  “I want you to know that you are welcome here,” Siona says. “No matter what anyone else says.”

  “Thank you.”

  She smiles warmly. “I have an appointment in the city, but I look forward to talking again soon.”

  Verys appears by my side as she leaves. “Your mother is wonderful.”

  “Yes, she is.”

  Nervousness wells in my stomach. “I was going to ask last night—”

  “About the scars? I figured as much. It’s not something you see often.”

  “What happened?”

  Verys sighs and sits down at the table across from me. “Do you remember when I told you that Brae and I are half-brothers?”

  I do, and I nod, though I’ve rarely seen any similarities between them.

  “The parts of Allwyn you have seen are very open. Not all places are like the Carnal Court. Not all relationships are open, and if you take vows they are a serious matter. If you break them, there are consequences.”

  He said something about that when we were traveling. My mother broke her vows to her husband. “What kind of vow?”

  “Both Darran and Siona are from powerful families here in the Lunar Court. Their marriage was an alliance for power. Darran loved her, I think, but my mother married him because she felt it was the right thing to do at the time. There was political pressure, and they both agreed. Marriages in Allwyn can take different forms, and not all of them have vows. But because of the reason for the marriage in the first place vows were required, and vows in Allwyn are not like vows in the human world. When you make a vow here, you bind a piece of yourself to it.”

  “What happened?”

  Verys smiles a little sadly. “She fell in love. Deeply. With someone else. My father. Brae’s father. And she broke her vow to be with him. She knew that there would be scars, and she knew that she would be in pain for the rest of her life, but she did it anyway, because she loved him.”

  Pain every day. Now that I know what it’s like to live in excruciating pain, I would never wish that on anyone. To know the consequences and do it anyway—that’s a special kind of love. The kind I feel for Verys and the others.

  “For obvious reasons, she wasn’t able to hide what happened. Darran could have appealed to the Court and to Allwyn to have her punished and stripped of her vow—which would have killed her—but he didn’t. He forgave her, and let her see her lover because he knew it made Siona happy, and he loved her. Until it was discovered that his only son was not his, but a son of the Carnal Court.”

  “Verys…” I say. That’s him.

  “I was their only child, and the fact that not even that belonged to him was one betrayal too far. He made Siona swear new vows to him that bound her to the Lunar Court, and to him more tightly. If she wants to leave, he must grant her permission, otherwise she will die. Her life is very limited now, but even she is not foolish enough to break a second vow. That kind of magic takes a toll on you, and she would not survive it.”

  My heart aches for her and the pain she lives with. Not only is she trapped here, she’s separated from both her lover and her son. I’ve already made the connection that it was Darran that kicked Verys out of the Lunar Court. “I’m sorry.”

  “It is what it is,” Verys says, though his casual tone doesn’t match his expression. “This all happened a long time ago.”

  “That doesn’t make it easier.”

  “I suppose not.”

  We hang in silence for a moment.

  “If I seal the mating bond with any of you, is that a vow?”

  Verys shakes his head. “Sealing a bond that Allwyn wove between two people, and voluntarily taking a vow are different. You cannot choose a mate. But you can choose not to make a vow.”

  “Unless you’re forced,” I say quietly.

  “Siona has found her own kind of happiness,” Verys says, reaching across the table and taking my hand. “It is not the life she imagined, but she’s making the best of it.”

  That sounds like me, in a way. This is not the life that I imagined at all, but I’m figuring it out. And I’m going to take it a step further. “I want you to teach me to use the magic.”

  He smiles, eyes suddenly bright with interest. “I’d be happy to.”

  “I’m done being helpless. If—when Ariana comes for me again, I’m not going to hide behind someone else. I’m not going to run. I need to be able to fight her.”

  “It will take practice. You won’t be brilliant overnight—though I don’t doubt you’ll pick it up quickly.”

  I smirk, standing and assuming what might be a ready stance. “I seem to have a lot of time on my hands.”

  “And you’re going to need every second of it if that’s the way you make yourself ready,” Aeric says from behind me. I whirl and find him standing in the door to the kitchen, my other mates behind him. “You can do better?” I ask, intentionally teasing him. “Prove it.”

  He strides across the room and kicks my feet wider apart, gently pressing my shoulders so that my knees bend, and position my hands more defensively. “It’s a start.”

  “A good start,” Kent says from behind as he pulls me into a hug that’s full of relief. “But don’t forget that I’ve still got moves that can take him down.”

  “Not for long.” Aeric says smugly. “I’m going to learn it.”

  Urien leans between them and kisses me softly. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m ready for answers,” I say. “Did you find anything? Anything?”

  “Yes and no.” Brae slides into a chair near Verys, and he looks exhausted. “I tracked the source of the magic as far as I could. They used their own series of decoys. It wasn’t Ariana who set the fire, it was someone she was controlling. They were already dead when I found them.”

  “She killed them?”

  Brae scrubs a hand across his face. “She knew that we would find him. Covering her tracks.”

  Frustration grows in my chest. “But that tells us nothing.”

  “Not necessarily,” Urien says. “It tells us that she doesn’t trust her people. Or her control over them. It tells us that she’s being careful for a reason, which means she probably has some kind of long-term plan.”

  “How does that help if we have no idea what the plan is?”

  “It’s a start,” Brae says. �
�Because we know that whatever the plan is involves you.”

  I sit down again, my resolve waning. “She’s just trying to kill me.”

  “Is she?” Aeric says, leaning against the doorframe. He’s back in fae clothing and I’m distracted by the tightness of his shirt. I wonder if he heard Verys and I last night. I wonder what he thought and if he considered joining us.

  In this exact moment I’m glad that none of our bonds are sealed. Because they would have felt the echo of that thought, and I don’t think that we’d be talking about strategy anymore. In any case I have to make an effort to keep my eyes from drifting to Aeric’s body. “She knew we were there. Either she had a spy, or she left magical traces in the store to tell her when we were there. We were in the store for at least an hour. Why not burn it then? Burning a store that she knows is empty doesn’t benefit her.”

  Kent wraps his arms around my shoulders and presses a kiss to my neck as I try to put the pieces together. “So you think she knew we weren’t there. If she knew, then why do it?”

  “Exactly,” Urien says. “Why burn down an empty building? Unless you’re trying to send a message.”

  “Or get us to move where she wants us,” Kent says. “Which she clearly wanted us to go home to her trap.”

  “It wasn’t a very good trap,” I say lightly. But nobody takes the bait. It could have gone very differently. They did take us by surprise. “If she doesn’t want to kill me,” I say. “Then what does she want?”

  “No idea,” Brae says. “But I think that’s the right question to be asking.”

  There’s something nagging at the edges of my mind, but it’s not clear enough to see what it is yet. “She told me my magic was rare. That she needed it. And the Goddess said that she was stripped of her magic. Maybe since I didn’t die, she wants more?”

  Urien shrugs. “That’s possible.”

  “That’s what we need to know,” I say. “What the hell is her goal and why does she need me to do it. Just going after doesn’t solve anything—we already know that she isn’t working alone.”