Betrothed (26 page)

‘That’s not snow, Marla. It’s the colour of the rock.’

‘What kind of rock is that?’

‘It’s called willa, it’s similar to the Earth stone marble, I think.’

We flew closer still and I was captivated by the amazing sight before me.

‘What do you see now?’ Leif asked.

‘An enormous castle built onto the tallest mountain.’

‘Close,’ Leif replied. ‘It has been carved from the mountain itself.’

‘It’s so beautiful—look how it sparkles!’

‘When the willa is cut, the fragments inside catch the sun—do you see? The other mountains do not sparkle so, because they remain intact.’

We flew nearer still and when we were close enough to make out the detail of Leif’s home, I was stunned. It was magnificent, a pure white fantasy crafted to utilise the shape of the mountain. There were several round towers, each carved with images of Fae—some dancing, some playing musical instruments and still others engaging with nature. The towers were topped with spires, each reaching its pinnacle at a height unique from the next, the topmost two fading into a wisp of cloud. The castle was immense, dwarfing the surrounding mountains and various dwellings cut into the base of them. To add to the grandeur of the sight, if that was possible, it appeared to double in size as the image was captured in reverse, reflected perfectly on the glass-clear lake that lay at the base of the mountains.

Leif carried me up through the haze and we landed on the balcony that wrapped around the tallest tower. He held me close, my back pressed against his chest and said, ‘Look around you, Marla. All that your eyes behold, and then far beyond, lies
the Kingdom of Telophy.’ As we walked around the tower, he gestured to the landscape below, pointing out this feature and that—a panorama of forest, lakes, rocky places and open spaces.

‘It’s enormous.’

‘My father rules all of this, but beyond this land are a multitude of other Faeran kingdoms, each ruled by one of my grandfathers.’

‘Faera must be enormous.’

‘Enormous yes, but finite—where the sun shines, the Fae thrive, though there is a place where it is too bright even for us and another where it is too dark. But come, Marla, let me show you inside my home.’

He turned towards the tower and walked the few paces to the arched door. I was entranced when I saw the effect of the sun on the rock. Thousands of tiny rainbows danced as each fleck within the willa captured the light making prisms of gorgeous colour trapped beneath the surface. I ran my hand across the polished rock. It felt like warm glass beneath my fingers.

‘Do you like it?’ Leif asked.

‘Oh yes, it’s incredible!’

He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door, then taking my hand, brought me inside.

‘This is the watch tower. There are always at least two of my father’s guard present.’

I could see the room would be effective: enormous windows displayed the view in every direction. The guards had it good too—the decor was amazing; the furniture crafted from rich dark wood and upholstered in velvets and silks the colours of jewels. As Leif led me through, I discovered the ornately carved furniture and dazzling gemstone colours were typical of the castle, coordinated perfectly with captivating artworks and an abundance of flowers. Sparkling chandeliers were suspended from the ceilings in every
room. They were powered by sunstones, Leif told me, a type of rock capable of capturing and holding the sun and used for every one of Faera’s energy needs. I was blown away by the implications of such a thing—free power for everyone, with none of the desperate measures to which humans go to feed their power-hungry technologies.

‘That’s so amazing,’ I said, peering at the sparkling cluster high above the centre of the ballroom. ‘But how do you get the sunlight into the stones?’

‘Come, I will show you,’ Leif said, and lifting me into his arms, he flew up to the ceiling, and hovered beside the chandelier. He caught my eyes as he touched a finger to one of the stones. ‘How bright do you wish the light—just enough for romance?’

I smiled in response.

‘Watch.’ A slight radiance came to his fingertip as he filled the stone to a soft yellow glow.

‘Wow . . . ’

He kept his finger on the stone. ‘Or perhaps you wish a light to eat your dinner by?’ He released a little more of his sun so that the stone shone brighter still.

‘I kind of liked the romance.’

Leif chuckled and said, ‘As do I, my love, but what if you must read or study?’ He filled the stone until it shone like daylight. Then he removed his finger and touched it to my lips.

‘Oh, it’s still warm!’ I clutched his hand in both of mine and pressed his finger to my lips, drawing his zinging heat into me. Then unable to resist, I took his finger between my teeth and bit gently. He watched me, his eyes going all soft and dreamy for a little while. Then he appeared to shake himself back to normal before reclaiming his finger. A smile came unbidden to my lips. He wasn’t so immune to me after all. ‘So how do you turn the light off again?’

‘Just take the sun back.’ He reached for the stone.

I grabbed his finger. ‘Let me.’ I touched the stone and drew the sun in through my finger, just as though I was soaking up a sunbeam. ‘There, now I’ve got some of your sun.’

He laughed. ‘Take all that you wish. It is yours.’

We continued our tour of the castle. Leif showed me music rooms, dining rooms, sitting rooms, conference rooms, libraries and studies. He stopped at one of the smaller dining rooms—the morning room apparently—and pointed out his father and mother. They were each sitting at one end of a long table.

King Telophy was stunning. As bare chested and well built as his son, he wore loose-fitting pants in what looked like pale cream silk, edged at the hips and ankles with gold. I could not drag my eyes from him. His features were more angular than Leif’s—harder, but apart from that he might have been Leif’s twin. Physically he looked no older than his son but his whole presence belied his youthful looks. He oozed strength and power.

‘He’s quite a vision, is he not?’ Leif said, noticing how enthralled I was.

‘He looks . . . mighty.’

Leif smiled. ‘He is mighty, Marla. He is king. What do you think of my mother?’

I dragged my eyes from his father to look at the woman sitting opposite him. She was soft and lovely and wore a floor-length dress in some diaphanous fabric in the same cream with gold accents as her husband. It flowed close to her curves, the back plunging low. Her hair, pulled from her face with a jewelled tiara, was glossy and dark and cascaded down her back in loose ringlets.

‘She’s beautiful.’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you sure they can’t see us?’ I whispered.

‘How could they? You are inside my mind.’

I wanted to linger, but time was limited.

Quickly, Leif showed me the rooms where the castle’s staff lived—almost as luxurious as those of the royal family—then we flew back upstairs to see his suite. We walked down a wide hallway, carpeted in the blues of sapphire and aquamarine and accented with gold curls at the edges. To the right was an enormous music room equipped with a multitude of instruments, some familiar to me, others not. A stage was set on one side of the room, and opposite that, an area that could easily accommodate at least fifty people.

‘Do you have musicians come and play here?’ I asked.

‘Often—or my friends and I perform for others.’

‘You play well, Leif?’

‘I am told so.’ He smiled. ‘One doesn’t like to boast.’

‘Of course not,’ I laughed. ‘What do you play?’

‘Those,’ he answered, gesturing to the instruments displayed on and around the walls.

‘All of them!’

‘Not at the same time.’ He grinned.

‘Well, duh,’ I said, poking him in the belly. He chuckled as he caught my hand and trapped it in his. ‘Play something for me, Leif?’

‘We’re running out of time, but . . . your choice, I can play for you, or I can show you my other rooms.’

I hadn’t seen his bedroom yet. ‘Lead the way,’ I told him. Leif laughed. I was sure he could read my mind and wasn’t telling me.

We left the music room and walked through a doorway on the other side of the hall. ‘I come here to read and learn,’ he explained. The study was round, the furniture made of the dark wood Leif told me was called emba. A full bookshelf curved around the wall, and a large desk was set beneath a low wide window. I peered through the window to the lake below and the forest beyond.

‘Oh Leif, this is stunning. You’re so lucky. How can you concentrate on learning when you have all this right in front of you?’

‘I’m used to it, but learning is not so formal here. If I want to, I just open the window and fly away.’

‘And I’m stuck in a stuffy classroom, coughing and sneezing all day.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said softly. He brushed the side of my face with his fingers. I looked up and saw sorrow in his eyes and felt bad for putting it there.

‘Geez, it’s not your fault.’

‘No, but it is my father’s.’ Ugh, now he was feeling guilty.

‘What’s that?’ I asked, pointing to a map that filled the wall above a luxuriously cushioned seat.

‘That is a map of Faera.’ He put his arm around my waist and led me to it. He indicated an area close to the sun with his hand. ‘Here is too hot, even for the Fae, but here,’ he said, moving his hand lower, ‘is where the Fae thrive. And this,’ he placed a finger on the map, ‘is the Kingdom of Telophy.’

‘What’s the place at the edge?’

‘That is Dark Faera.’

‘The sun doesn’t shine there?’

‘No.’

‘What’s it like?’

‘I have never been—smart people stay well clear of there.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s unsafe,’ he answered, then without pausing, indicated another section of the map. ‘Look, my grandfather Aren’s kingdom.’

I allowed myself to be distracted. ‘Telophy is a lot bigger.’

‘Telophy is one of the largest kingdoms, which makes my father one of the most powerful kings.’

I was about to ask why that should be so, but he was already pulling me away. We left his study and ventured further down the hall, passing four more doorways. He explained the purpose of each—two guest rooms, a dining room and a sitting room—but he didn’t take me inside any of them. The final room was his bedroom. It was magnificent, an oasis of blues with touches of silver and gold, at the centre of which was an enormous four-poster bed of emba resting on a dais of gold and draped in sheer fabric the colour of silver-edged midnight. I threw myself into the middle of it, laughing, sinking into silk and pillows.

‘This is outrageous, Leif.’ I reached for him, my arms stretched wide. ‘We could have some fun in this.’

‘We could,’ he agreed, the beginning of a smile at the corners of his lips. ‘And we will.’

‘Now?’

‘Maybe not now,’ he replied, but came to me anyway. I wrapped my arms tight around him, shivering with excitement.

‘We’re asleep, Leif, it doesn’t count.’

‘We are
not
asleep, and it does count.’ He chuckled.

‘This is
so
gorgeous. You must be very rich.’

‘Well, I am prince,’ he said, rolling onto his back and bringing me on top of him. ‘But I don’t know that rich is the right word. We don’t have money in Faera.’

‘No money! So how did you get all these beautiful things?’

‘They are the work of the Fae, Marla.’

‘They just give them to you?’

‘It is considered the highest honour to provide for the king and his family.’

‘Your father must be loved.’

‘Yes.’ He trailed his fingers up and down my spine, making it difficult to concentrate.

I was unable to form words. I nestled my face into his neck and let him do the talking.

‘Kings are powerful, strong and gifted.’

You’re already gifted and you’re not even king yet.

Leif laughed softly, and continued caressing my back in long slow movements. ‘A king provides protection to his subjects, who in return desire to please him. A king and his family are showered with many gifts—too many gifts. Most are given away.’

Lucky you,
I said, without interest though. I was too focused on his big warm hands and how they were making me feel.

‘Yes,’ he murmured and together we lost all interest in conversation.

We kissed for a while, cuddled and drove each other completely crazy—teasing and tormenting each other with lips and fingers, until with a deep groan, Leif cried, ‘Enough!’ He dragged himself from me and sat on the edge of his bed, head bowed and arms stretched taut to his sides, hands clenching the fabric of his bedcovers.

I reached up and ran my fingernails down his back. ‘You don’t like kissing me?’

He lifted his head, turned to look at me, and with one eyebrow cocked, said, ‘You are enjoying your power over me a little too much, my love.’

‘As if you don’t like teasing me, Leif.’ I held my arms out to him again. ‘Come back to me.’

‘Tempting,’ he said, slowly looking me up and down. ‘Very, very tempting, but I think not.’

‘Am I so easy to resist?’ I asked, opening my eyes wide in fake sorrow.

‘Ah, Marla,’ he groaned, coming back into my arms, ‘you’re not easy to resist at all.’

‘Then don’t.’

But he did, and after a few more moments of exquisite torture, he whispered into my ear, ‘It’s time to wake up now.’ I was startled awake with shivers running through my body and the sensation of his warm breath against my ear.

Leif,
I called.

Yes, Marla?
he answered from the unit downstairs.

I love you.

I love you also.

Thanks for taking me to Faera.

I enjoyed showing it to you.

I especially liked your bed.

Mmm, me too.
I could hear the echo of his laughter.

I have to get ready for school.

I would walk with you, but I don’t want to risk being seen
.

His words brought me back to reality with a jolt.
Jack’s picking me up, anyway.