This is book two. You can find Book one, Faethfully Yours: Awakening in my profile under Collection of Older Works or Wattcode 571288. I hope you enjoy it!
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Book Two
Faethfully Yours: Unbound
Lightning clawed the dense gray that veiled the sky. Ivan Stokaya looked to the ice-covered waters stretching into the horizon, knowing that his love was out there, somewhere. He closed his eyes, and whispered secret words into the passing wind, hoping that though he didn’t know where she was, the wind would find her, and caress his words against her skin when she needed them most.
Stepping back, Ivan closed the balcony doors, still able to hear the resounding waves crashing against the shores of Tarshish. Violent gusts rattled the doors, as if begging him to join them, to fly out to sea…to freedom. Ivan’s hands fell from the door knob. There was no freedom. And as open as the lands may seem, there were eyes watching him, everywhere.
“Your Grace,” a voice cut in from behind. Cold. Hard. Fae. “Your Domis has arrived. Shall I have her pass?”
Though fire coursed through his veins, the room grew icy around Ivan, cold sweat clinging to his pores. He didn’t answer, and walked to the sidebar of his room, no longer able to swallow through the guilt induced knot in his throat. Pouring himself a glass of water, he stared down at his rippling reflection, the cup trembling in his hands.
“Let her pass,” he answered firmly, his voice a rusted whisper.
A steady rhythm of footfalls hissed across the marble floor, coming to a stop in the middle of the large room. Ivan didn’t turn around. It was clear who was there to see him, and what had to be done. It wasn’t the first time. But whether the second, or the fifth, it never got easier, nor lessened the guilt. Not by a long shot. A frustrated Ivan slammed the cup down, and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Gwin,” he said, and nothing further.
“Your Grace,” replied the timid girl, falling into equal silence. A tense quiet settled over the room, the only sound that of crackling fire, freezing rains and howling winds grating at the window. Ivan was slow to turn to the young blond he'd chosen as his Domis—his slave.
“You may begin,” he started, but trailed off in catching sight of his guard by the door. Ivan held a staying hand to Gwin, and regarded the watchman, that though Seelie, wore the color of betrayal.
“Your services are no longer needed.” Ivan snipped brusquely.
The guard’s face twisted to a smirk. An inhuman smile. “Kala’el has instructed I stay and watch, just to be sure you do what you are meant to do, and nothing more.” Ivan was not surprised. After all, in having his choice at any Domis in the land, he’d called on the same one four times. And after all four visits, Gwin had yet to bear his marks. Kala’el was bound to take notice.
Ivan blew out a breath, and walked through the sheer curtains to his bed. Feeling the mattress give beneath him as he sat down, his stomach plummeted. Gwin followed, and stopped before him on the large starred emblem on the floor. From the corner of his eye, Ivan watched in dread as she loosened the buckle of her cloak with little hesitation, and slid it off her shoulders. With a gentle hush, it landed bunched around her feet, her sheer white gown transparent before the flames.
“Your Grace,” she spoke the rehearsed words. “Is there anything you would like of me?”
Ivan swallowed, and lifted his eyes. Trailing them the course of her body, guilt rolled through him. Nothing would ever take away from what he was about to do. He hesitated.
“Now, please. You must do this,” Gwin whispered. Lifting blue eyes darkened with desire and fear, she tilted her neck. Ivan could see the constant melody of her life beneath her skin, there for his taking. Because he knew all that was at stake, Ivan swallowed all memory of the one woman who owned his body, and soul. He would never forgive himself, but hoped that Charlotte would understand he did it all for her.
A rough, primal growl escaping him, Ivan misted across the room and crashed against Gwin, pinning her against the wall, desperately, indelicately, disgusted. A soft, pitched cry filled the room as Ivan sunk his teeth into Gwin’s flesh, the taste of copper and life-force invading his mouth. Gwin’s body writhed, spasms wracking her frame against him as a map of veins twisted beneath her skin, running the course of her pale body. The poison of his marks branded her body with little mercy. Imagining it were Charlotte’s body he claimed, Ivan banded his arms around Gwin. But the taste of her wasn’t Charlotte, and the battle to keep from tearing Gwin away cut him deep.
Instead, he held Gwin tighter, not letting her go, even though he knew it hurt her. Drinking her life as her hands clawed at his chest, Ivan lifted his eyes in time to see the guard smirk and step back, the door closing behind him.
Abruptly, he released Gwin to the floor. Fisting his hands in his hair, he stumbled back against the wall, trembling with restrained fury as hot tears seared his skin on their descent. Before him, Gwin panted, her body recovering from the shock of his branding. Slowly, she found the rhythm of her breaths, and sat up.
There was a moment of silence.
“My father dedicated his life to freeing all Domis…yet, here I am.” Ivan shook his head in disgust. “I not only betray his memory, but I break every vow I ever made to Charlotte by enslaving you.”
“It had to be done,” Gwin rasped, stumbling to her feet. There was pain in her voice. “How else could you continue communications with the Resistance? Kala’el will not let anyone else in, much less allow you any privacy if not with a Domis. There was no way I could keep walking out of here not wearing your marks. Kala’el already suspects something.”
Ivan reached for his cup of water, cradling it in his hands tightly. Tossing it back, he swallowed down the bitter, metallic taste. “Regardless of my reasons, I betray her.”
Gwin rested a hand gently on Ivan’s shoulder. “We are all being forced into undesirable positions for the sake of saving our worlds. Charlotte will understand why you have branded me. And, if the problem is your conscience, then forgive me for reminding you, but you are unbound.”
Ivan ignored her words, and turned, thrusting open the balcony doors. Anger roiled in his veins, the cold winds howling over the ocean offering little comfort. He gripped the veranda severely, knuckles white with guilt…and regret. The memory of Charlotte asking him to brand her played readily in his mind, as did his foolish, pride-driven refusal. But, bound or unbound, Charlotte was his soul mate.
“You must tell us where she is." Gwin appeared beside him. "The Resistance can keep Charlotte safe.”
“Charlotte is safest if no one knows who, or where she is. The Resistance’s main concern should be getting word to Queen Alistrina that Xanthus is here in Tarshish. She must be told that Kala’el aids him—”
“It will do us no good.” Gwin blew out a breath, defeated. “Kala’el has called for a meeting between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Queen Alistrina thinks she is coming to Tarshish to hear a message of peace from the Elders when in fact she will be walking into an ambush. With Kala’el’s help, Xanthus is going to kill Alistrina. We need to protect Charlotte. Tell us where she is.”
Ivan shook his head. “I can’t—“
“If Alistrina is killed, Kala’el is will inherit the Seelie kingdom. That cannot happen. With him and Xanthus over both courts, the human realm stands little chance. You must trust us. Your father put his full faith in us, and helped the Resistance become who we are today. You need to do the same.”
“I already told you everything I know. She crossed into our realm two weeks past. For now, that is enough.”
“Your Grace—”
“Did you bring what I asked of you?” Ivan cut her off, his eyes turning steely.
With a sigh, Gwin reached around her neck, retrieving a thin vial of blood. “The Great Mother was reluctant in giving us her blood. She wants your word that this potion will repel Maris’ life-force without killing Charlotte.”
“If the Great Mother is who she says she is, then this should empower Charlotte’s human half--” Ivan stopped abruptly, a curdling roar rattling his door. Kala’el’s angry voice then bled through the seams.
“Hurry, your arm!” Gwin gasped. She knelt in front of Ivan, taking his wrist in her hands. Sinking her teeth into his flesh, Ivan flinched, and watched in horror as his marks twisted beneath her skin. He looped the vial around his neck, and hid it inside of his shirt, just as the door burst open.
Kala’el’ stood perfectly still, the icy remnants of the guard scattered around his feet. His eyes narrowed keenly on Ivan. Shifting his gaze to Gwin, Kala’el smirked. Ivan’s stomach twisted, the twinkle in Kala’el’s eyes the culprit.
“Enough!” Ivan tore his hand from Gwin’s mouth. “You may go.”
Gwin wiped her lips with her back hand, Ivan’s branding marks settling in her skin. The two men stared at one another, as she crawled to her cloak. Kala’el’s grin deepend, sharp fangs slowly appearing. Before a blink, he misted across the room, to Gwin. Simultaneously, Ivan lunged, crashing into the night table. He turned, just as Kala’el fisted his fingers into Gwin’s hair, and dragged her to standing.
“Tell me, Domis,” he purred into Gwin's ear, pulling her back against him. “What messages have you from the Resistance?”
Gwin’s eyes met Ivan’s, both knowing of her fate.
I’m sorry, he whispered into her thoughts. A tear fell from her eyes.
Kala’el spun Gwin to him, yanking her head back unnaturally. “It is most unwise to shield your thoughts from me, human. I will ask you one last time. What does the Resistance have planned?”
Despite her contorted angle, Gwin’s words were clear. “Go to hell.”
Kala’el slid his gaze to Ivan and chuckled. It was a cold, sadistic laugh leaving room for only one interpretation. In one fluid move, Kala’el savagely buried his teeth in her neck. Gwin hooked an arm around his neck, struggling to pry him away, but he kept on, until her lifeless vessel hung from his arms. Brushing a finger down her cheek, a sick lover’s caress, Kala’el dropped her to the floor, the loud thud drowning out the silent blessing Ivan uttered for Gwin’s departed life.
Lifting his lids, Kala’el ran his tongue along his lips with an amused smile. “I promise to be gentler with Charlotte.”
Ivan remained still.
Kala’el’s smile withered, and he canted his head, setting off on a slow stroll around a deadened Ivan. “You know I will find Charlotte. When I do, I intend to mate with her until I strip away every ounce of her humanity, bringing her to within an inch of her life.”
Ivan clenched his fists, and drove his nails into his skin, blood seeping through his fingers.
The taps of Kala’el’s steps stopped beside Ivan, as he drew close to Ivan’s ear. “There, at the edge of her death, I will make her beg for her life—no. I will make her beg for you. Only then will I tear into her flesh, slowly, savoring every moment, until my marks burn into her skin.”
One minute, Kala’el chuckled lowly. The next, he struggled, pressed against the wall by his neck, Ivan squeezing tighter with each breath. Kala’el just smiled, his fangs glistening in the fire light. Ice cold hands clamped down on Ivan, two guards jerking him away.
“You think Xanthus will let you near her, much less to brand her?” he roared.
Kala’el adjusted his cloak with a shrug, and smiled. “Xanthus is a fool. Once I find Charlotte, he will be...disposable. With Charlotte as Unseelie Queen, bearing my marks—as my common, I will unite all of Faerie, and every knee will bow to me.” With a dismissive wave of his hands, the guards thrust Ivan aside, and followed Kala’el from the room, dragging Gwin’s body behind them.
The door closed, and Ivan fell onto his bed. Trailing the path of Gwin's blood with his eyes, he realized that in Kala’el, he’d just gained a valuable ally.
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