Shameless: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (The Carnal Court Book 3) Page 4

  “Okay,” I say. They’re going to ask how he got through, and I’m going to have to tell them. Because I can’t have them kill them the next time that we see each other, which might be in a week.

  Aeric’s echoes reverberate in my chest, coming into focus again and growing more powerful as he strides in from outside. Relief seeing me whole and unharmed. Anxiety over some of the things that he felt from me. Resolve that he’s going to try to keep his instincts in check. But when he comes over to me and picks me up off the floor, I don’t resist. It feels right, like a little missing piece of me is back with him touching me.

  I wonder if that’s the way I’ll feel with all of them? Like something is missing unless they’re close. I both love that and at once am terrified of it. But it’s the good kind of terrified—like standing on a cliff over a crashing sea. More awe and wonder and reverence than actual fear.

  Everyone gathers together while Aeric tucks me against his side. “Let’s start with how much you overheard,” I say.

  “Not much,” Verys says. His face isn’t happy. “And I’d rather start with why you forced us out of there.”

  I search his face, surprised that this is coming from him. “Nothing happened.” It hits me as I watch him. Kiaran is the one who almost killed him, and he swore to me that he would step in front of me as many times as he was able. I took away his option to do that, and with the person that nearly cost him his life. “I’m sorry, Verys. We needed to know what he had to say.”

  “We could have made him talk.”

  I can only imagine the ways that they would think of to do that, and I stop my horror from leaking out before Aeric can truly sense it. Not to mention the fact that I don’t want Kiaran hurt. He’s already in enough pain. “That’s not who we are.”

  Verys crosses the distance between us, kneeling in front of me. “Don’t make me do that again. Don’t make me abandon you.”

  No one else in the room speaks, and neither do I. The air is clear and still like the break of dawn in winter. This moment, between him and I, is important. I lean forward so that Aeric is no longer touching me, and take Verys’s face in my hands. “I would never ask that, Verys. You didn’t abandon me. If something had happened, you would have been by my side in a second. Trust the shield you taught me to use.”

  He presses his face into my stomach, arms coming around me to hold me close, fingers digging into my skin like the thought of letting go is unbearable. “You dropped the shield,” he murmurs, so low only I can hear.

  I didn’t realize that he would be watching for that, and now his terror makes sense. He thought I was not only alone with Kiaran, but defenseless, and I had stopped him from protecting me. I lift his face and kiss him softly. “I was safe. I promise. I’ll tell you why I dropped the shield, I swear. But we need to talk about this first.”

  Verys doesn’t move away, just to the side where his hand can curl possessively around my calf. Aeric hauls me back against him, locking his arm around my waist, and I try to suppress my grin, and fail. I and up looking at Kent, who meets me with his own barely contained smile. We both see the territorial nature of Aeric’s movement.

  I should say that I don’t like it. That I can’t believe that this many men want to be with me and have a hard time keeping their hands off me. But I can’t say that, because I love it. And after sealing my bond with Aeric, I think he’s entitled to a small dose of possessiveness.

  I clear my expression. Unfortunately, the laughter can’t be a part of this discussion. “He said that I have one week.”

  “For what?” Brae asks.

  “To surrender myself to Ariana. The meeting place is the house in the Crystal Court where we set the trap.”

  Urien laughs. “Well, clearly we’re not going to do that.”

  “It could be an opportunity to set a trap that will actually work,” Kent counters.

  “She’ll have people there now, watching and waiting in case we do exactly that,” Urien says. “She’s been one step ahead of us in every way, and if she’s setting up a meeting we can be sure that she already has about a hundred contingency plans.”

  Verys clears his throat. He doesn’t look happy, but a little calmer at least. “I heard you ask why. Did he tell you?”

  I press my lips together, anxiety bubbling in my gut. How do I tell them why he told me? “He said that she wants to remake the world. Entirely, completely, and from scratch. And that she thinks she needs my magic—which I assume means the Goddess’s magic—to do it.” No one speaks, the air heavy with sudden unspoken meaning. “Okay, I thought it was weird but clearly that means something different to you than it means to me.”

  “How would she do that?” Aeric asks. “Could she do it?”

  Brae shakes his head. “I have no idea. With enough power, maybe it’s possible? But the magic that guards Allwyn is incredibly powerful. It’s a long shot if anything.”

  “What are you talking about?” I ask.

  “What you just said,” Verys answers, “is what Cerys did when she sacrificed herself to remake Allwyn and free it from the old gods.”

  I rub my hands over my face before pressing my temples to alleviate the oncoming headache from trying to wrap my head around this. “You’re saying she wants to destroy Allwyn and put it back together? Why would she want that?”

  “Maybe that’s not what she meant,” Aeric says, rubbing a hand on my back.

  “I don’t know. He did not explain.” He didn’t have time to explain.

  Brae stands. “Maybe it’s not quite literal. But I agree with Urien, we shouldn’t go.”

  “We have to go,” I say, holding up a hand before they can say anything. “Obviously I’m not going to surrender—we’ll figure that part out. But she threatened to kill every one of you if I don’t do this.”

  “I’d like to see her try,” Aeric says in a low voice.

  I spin to look at him. “I wouldn’t. Ariana has stolen magic before, obviously. We have no idea how much she’s taken and who from. It’s clear she can control fae, so let’s not pretend this isn’t a real threat.”

  Aeric pulls me back against his chest, closer. The fierceness of emotion I feel through our bond takes my breath away. He doesn’t say anything, just places his lips on my skin and it’s enough. They know it’s a threat—or course they do—and they’ll fight like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen.

  Urien clears his throat. “Should we tell the Rialoi? Or the Crystal Court. It’s on their territory.”

  “Maybe,” Brae admits. “But we should come up with a plan of action first. Assess everything. We don’t want them sending fae into a situation we don’t understand.”

  Kent crosses his arms. “Any ideas on a plan?”

  “I wish I could say yes.” Brae shakes his head. “But right now? No.”

  “We should go back and see if she’s already laid traps,” Verys says.

  “It’s a good idea.” I’m not even sure who says it, because I feel that same simple touch of magic that I felt this morning. Blue like the depths of the sea—fingers grazing down my cheek. I don’t feel like I can sit here and figure out this plan. Restlessness itches under the surface of my skin and something pulling me away.

  I stand. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. I need a minute.”

  As I follow the tug in my gut I note that I need to stop walking away from them in the middle of important conversations. But I’ve never felt this kind of draw before, and it doesn’t feel like it’s from the Goddess or even Kiaran. This is subtle. Almost like a faint breeze or following a scent.

  All of our rooms are on the second floor, branching off of the balcony that surrounds the mansion’s central courtyard. My room is on the left at the top of the stairs, large enough that it’s the only entrance on that side of the rectangle. And the other five rooms are arrayed around the rest of it. But something looks different, like the dimensions have shifted a bit.

  My gut drops when I see it.

 
There are now seven doors on this floor instead of six. On the far side, where there were only two rooms, there are now three. And I realize that it’s the house that’s guiding me, pulling me towards the room in the middle.

  I’ve never seen this room before. In fact, I doubt that it existed before now. But even though I’ve never seen it before, I recognize it. As if I needed another confirmation, the house has made it real. This is where the magic of this home has chosen to house my mates, and this room belongs to Kiaran.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ________

  KARI

  The room in front of me is beautiful. Somehow walking the line between stark and delicate. The walls are the pale grey of a sunrise shrouded in mist, and furnishings that don’t match. Almost as if the things had washed up on the shore of a beach and been rescued. These rooms reflect the deepest desires of those they provide for—to provide the sense of peace and safety that we subconsciously crave.

  Though Kiaran has been here before, this is the first time he set foot in the house. And the magic sensed what none of the others have been able to. There will be no hiding it now, and they need to know.

  At the back of the room is a pool that spills out and leads to the garden, just as it does in my room. But this pool is bigger and deeper, the blue disappearing down into depths that I can’t see. How much can magic play with the laws of space and physics here? I’m not sure. But I’m willing to bet that if I went below this room downstairs there would be no sign of a pool that reaches infinite depths.

  There are also small foundations and one of the walls has water trickling down it one smooth curtain, nearly silent and beautifully smooth. The air in the room is rich with moisture, but not overpowering. Feels like being at the beach. I wonder what the beaches of Allwyn are like. Are they packed with souls looking for an escape too, like they are in the human world?

  I sit down at the end and put my feet in, the temperature cool and perfect. If only this were simple. Kiaran has attacked me multiple times. Attacked my other mates. I shouldn’t want him the way I do. And yet…I can’t imagine abandoning him any more than the others. He’s a part of me already.

  Swirling my feet in the water, I sigh. I need to tell them, and I need to do it now. I can’t let them find this room on their own. It will hurt enough without that.

  I reach out through my bond with Aeric. Come. Everyone.

  Not totally sure that exact words will go through, but I hope that he understands the shape of it. It’s only a few minutes until I hear the sounds of footsteps on the stairs, and I resist turning around until I hear them at the door.

  If the looks on all of their faces didn’t tell me that they understood, then the pang of pain and panic that I feel from Aeric would have told me. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

  “How long have you known?” It’s Kent’s question as he steps through the door. The rest of them spread out, looking a bit uncomfortable, but taking it in stride. Aeric is the one that won’t step through.

  Until he looks at me. I smile, trying to tell him that I’m sorry and that I love him with a look. Finally, he walks forward and sits beside me. Nobody comments on his hesitation, which I’ll have to thank them for later.

  “Since after the first attack. When I was outside in the gardens before he appeared, I got sick enough that I thought I was going to throw up. And then everything happened. I didn’t realize what it meant until later, and when I went to see the Goddess, she confirmed that the number was six. Not five.”

  “Six,” Kent murmurs. “That means—”

  “Yeah.” I reach out for his hand, and he takes it. “You’re meant to be here too.”

  Urien is the first one to question. “If he’s your mate too, then why is he still with Ariana?”

  “He’s under her control,” I explain. “Though I’m not exactly sure how. He can break free for moments at a time, which is why I dropped my shield when he was here. It was only the free Kiaran that told me that she wants to remake the world. When she’s in control he can’t say it, and he doesn’t always remember who I am.”

  Brae still looks stunned. “This explains why you didn’t want me to kill him.”

  “And why he left without taking you from the trap,” Verys adds. “This changes everything.”

  I cover my face with my hands. “I know, and I know it was wrong not to tell you but I didn’t know how. After what happened to you,” I gesture at Verys, “and at the house. Everything. I just—I’m sorry. I’ll say it as many times as you need me to, and I’ll take what you throw at me.”

  Kent rolls his eyes.

  “What?”

  “Sure, you should have told us, Kari. But it’s not like you asked for another mate any more than you asked for the first four. I wish I’d known, but I’m not angry at you.”

  “You should be,” I say softly.

  Brae raises an eyebrow. “Would that make you feel better? For us to berate you for not telling us something because you were afraid of our reaction to the news? If anything we should be apologizing to you for feeling that you had to keep anything from us.”

  There’re murmurs of agreement from everyone. “Especially me,” Aeric whispers.

  “You all are too nice,” I say, tucking my head into Aeric’s shoulder, and Verys laughs. “We’ll keep it in mind to be meaner to you.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Urien clears his throat and his eyes are hard. “We do. And I don’t want to be the one to say it, but I will. Mate or not, if he tries to kill you, we will defend you. If he tries to kill us, we will defend ourselves.”

  I nod, pulling my feet out of the seemingly infinite pool and standing. “I want a way to free him.”

  “Well, this definitely gives more of a reason to go to the meeting. If he’s present maybe I can get more of an idea of how the magic is affecting him.”

  “Did you guys have any other ideas?”

  They shake their heads. “Not unless you count ‘under no circumstances are you surrendering yourself,’” Kent says.

  “Right.”

  “I’m going to the Crystal Court to check out the spot,” Brae says.

  “We’re going to check everywhere,” Kent says. “Over the next few days. Everywhere we’ve been to see if she’s been following. New York, checking on Emma and Odette. Lunar Court. Everywhere in Carnal.”

  “If we feel even a shred of her magic, it might give us more insight.”

  I could easily argue against it, but they’re right, but I don’t feel like pressing them right now. “Be careful, please. All of you.”

  Brae smirks as he pulls me close to kiss me. “I’m always careful.”

  “People in the human world say that just before bad things happen.”

  “I will be back before you know it,” he whispers in my ear.

  Kent salutes me before he leaves the room, and Verys kisses my forehead quickly. I’m left with Urien and Aeric, unsure about what to do. Now there’s a ticking clock hanging over us, but I can’t take any action. I hate that.

  When I look up from where I’ve been staring at the marble tiles, Urien has faded away, and Aeric is looking at me with some of that fire from earlier. I can feel the intensity of his desire in my chest, and it kindles my own.

  He steps to me, raising my eyes to his. “You’re frustrated,” he says.

  “Yes.”

  “You want to do something?”

  I sigh. “Of course. I’m fucking tired of being in limbo. Why a week? Why does she want to wait? Let’s do it now, get it out of the way. Maybe that’s the element of surprise we need. Have Brae track Kiaran through the portal and lets just show up.”

  He raises a dark eyebrow. “And what would we do when we got there?”

  “I don’t know.” The need to move and break and do something slithers under my skin like a menace.

  Aeric does what he did earlier, slipping his hand behind my neck and gripping just hard enough to get my atte
ntion—just hard enough to send liquid heat sliding down my spine where it gathers low in my belly.

  “I know you want to do something. I do too. But diving in without a plan is dangerous. For everyone. In the meantime, I’m sure we can find something to occupy your…interests.”

  I have an idea of what he’s thinking, and right now I’m very much on board with this distraction. “What did you have in mind?”

  Aeric’s eyes are hard with dominance and command. “You will come to my room when fade begins. Do what you need to do before then, because you will be mine—and no one else’s—until bright comes again.”

  Mating night. That’s only fair. “Okay. Should I…do anything special to get ready?”

  “Don’t wear anything that you don’t want destroyed,” he says.

  I can do that.

  ***

  Excited, fizzy, nerves sparkle in my stomach as I stand in front of the door to Aeric’s bedroom. It’s shut, and I haven’t seen him since he left me standing in Kiaran’s room, staring after him and impossibly aroused. But his command did exactly what he intended. It turned me on while giving me something to focus on besides the fact that an evil fae wants to steal my goddess-given magic to destroy the world.

  It’s a hard thing not to think about, but I wasn’t able to sink into a spiral of worry and despair while I was going through the immense amount of lingerie in my closet. Kaya has given me way too much, but if my mates are going to be in the habit of tearing it off me, maybe it’s a good amount. Next time I see her I’m going to have to ask her if she foresaw a lot of her creations ending up in tatters.

  In the end I selected red. A dark one that’s almost crimson. I think it will go well with Aeric’s red walls, and the almost see-through, silky material of the bra and panties makes my skin pop. I feel good in this, and if he does in fact destroy it, I can ask Kaya for more like it. Hell, she’d probably make me one in every color if I asked her.

  I don’t exactly know what to expect from Aeric, other than sex. This powerful side of him is new, and exploring it makes me as jittery and timid as it does hot and bothered. But from Aeric—in that place that’s now reserved only for him—I’ve felt only calm and contentment. Even now, that’s all I feel.