Summoned and Stolen (Summoned Series Romances) (9 page)

“Aye, it was.” Kel dropped several gentle kisses to the crown of her head and simply held her, enjoying their closeness. Glancing around, Kel realized that sometime during their lovemaking Jagged had stopped moving. The horse was currently standing in the middle of a clearing not much bigger than he was, waiting for directions from his rider. Just beyond the clearing the trees began to thin. They’d reached the edge of the forest.

“It’s time to go, isn’t it?” Lily sighed as she lifted her head to kiss him one last time.

“You’re not going far. Just make yourself tiny again and tuck yourself into the hood of my cloak. We’ve a long way to go today.”

“So you’ve said. Will you tell me where we’re going?” Lily asked.

Kel nodded and released her from the shelter of his arms. “We’re going to the court of Wulfshaven to see the king.”

“Do you think he’ll help us?”

Kel knew the moment he’d been dreading had come. It was time to tell Lily the truth about who he was. It was not something he spoke of easily, but she had to know. The silence stretched out between them as he tried to come up with an elegant way to tell her, but in the end, he went with the blunt truth.

“Aye, I think he will. I doubt His Highness will stand by and let his firstborn son be executed for murdering a duke, especially when the duke in question was plotting treason.”

“Firstborn son?” Lily repeated, hovering just in front of him. “You?”

“Aye, little one. I have no last name because I my father never formally recognized me, but I’m the eldest son of the King.” Kel waited for her response, expecting her to either be angry at him for the lie of omission, or be suddenly in awe of his bloodline. Lily did neither, instead she did the last thing he expected of her. She laughed.

“Of course! All this time I have been wondering why you seem familiar to me. Now I see it. You have your father’s smile.” She tipped her head to one side and looked at him appraisingly. “Actually, you look a little bit like him in general. I’m surprised no one has ever noticed. Does this mean you’re a prince? You certainly don’t act like one.”

Kel knew he was grinning like a fool, but he couldn’t seem to help it. There were very few people in the world who knew his secret, and none of them had taken it as well as his little temptress. “I’m not a prince, Gods be praised. I’m just a bastard with a powerful father that I haven’t set eyes on in twenty years or so. And you’re telling me you’ve met him?”

“Aye, once. My master invited him to visit and see his newest acquisition. Me.”

“It’s strange to think that you’ve seen him more recently than I have. Stranger still that you see a resemblance. I never saw it. Perhaps while we ride you can tell me about your meeting with him, and I will tell you what it was like to grow up the bastard son of a man who just happens to rule kingdom.”

Lily laughed and altered form, filling the air with the soft sound of silver bells chiming as she did so.

Perhaps one day Kel would get used to her ability to change size so easily, but he doubted it would be any time soon.

***

CHAPTER 11

By the time the capital was within view, Lily was too exhausted to feel anything but grateful that their journey was over. Kel had pushed himself and his mount to their breaking points, but they had made the trip in less than three days. Every night Lily had healed both man and mount, and every morning they had set off again. They had sustained themselves on water and whatever they could forage off the land as they went, and all three were hungry, tired and disheveled.

Kel had taken the risk of slipping into a tavern last night to hear what news there might be, leaving her alone for what had felt like an eternity. When he’d returned to camp, Lily hadn’t even needed to ask what he had heard. The expression on his face had told her all she needed to know. Trouble had followed them. Worse, it had gotten ahead of them. Word of Camford’s death had spread faster than a grassland fire. Kel was now a wanted man with a price on his head. There was no way they could ride into the city openly. He’d be arrested the moment he was recognized.

They needed a new plan if they were going to survive long enough to ask for the King’s protection.

It had taken the better part of the morning for Lily to get Kel to agree to her idea, but in the end he had relented. If he couldn’t enter the city, then she had to be the one to do it. There wasn’t any other option, but he had made it clear he was far from happy about it. They made camp several miles off the main road and waited for nightfall in uneasy silence. Lily passed the time patiently heating water from a nearby stream and using it to give herself a passable washing. If she was going to meet the King, she wanted to rid herself of the road dust first.

Kel paced in ceaseless circles, growing more agitated by the minute. Finally he turned on his heel and spoke. “I don’t like it.”

“I know. I don’t either. But it’s the only way I can think of to get to your father. At least he’ll recognize me.”

“That’s the problem. He’s going to see you.
All
of you! Maybe I should cover you in mud before you go.” His features knitted into a deep frown.

“You’re unhappy because your father is going to see me naked?” Lily tried to keep from smiling, but it was impossible. Out of all the risks and problems of her plan, Kel was worried about his sire seeing her in a state of undress?

“Yes! I’m damned unhappy about it. You’re mine, little one. No one else should ever lay eyes again. Especially not my father!”

Lily just managed to swallow a giggle at his expression and deliberately hid her elation at his possessive words. She rose from the log she’d claimed as a seat and crossed the clearing to stand before him. “I promise I will cover myself with my wings.”

“One day, you are going to explain to me how that works.” Kel ran a finger down the edge of one wing, making her gasp. He had followed through on his threat to learn her body’s secrets, and now he could bring her to the brink of pleasure with breathtaking speed.

“I told you, my wings are imbued with magic. They are what I need them to be. They allow me to fly, but that’s the magic, not because I have to flap them like a bird would.”

“Well
I
need them to be opaque for the next few hours,” Kel grumbled and Lily floated up to kiss him. In the last few days, she’d come to care for him deeply. If they survived this misadventure, it was her hope that he would invite her to come back to Viren Hold with him. Even if she could find a way back to her world, Lily wasn’t sure that was what she wanted. Not anymore.

“Nudity is not so taboo for my people as it is for yours. I will make you a promise though. Others might see me tonight, but no one else will touch me but you.”

“If anyone lays a hand on you, I’ll break it off,” he declared and hauled her into his arms for a dizzying kiss.

Kel didn’t want to let her go. This plan was reckless and foolhardy, and if he’d been able to come up with anything better then he wouldn’t have agreed to it at all. The trouble was, they were out of time. They had put a price on his head so high that he couldn’t trust anyone. Every day more people joined the hunt for the murderous mercenary who had dared to kill a nobleman in his own bed. He had to let the truth be known before they came after his men and made them pay for his actions.

“It’s dark, Kel. It’s time for me to go,” she whispered the words against his lips, but her arms stayed fastened around his neck.

“You need my signet ring first. Are you certain it’s not too heavy for you to carry?”

“I’ll manage. Just keep yourself safe. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I’m going to count every heartbeat until you’re back here,” he told her, lifting his head so he could look into her beautiful eyes. “I need you to come back to me, Lily.”

She answered with a smile that filled his heart and a flicker of light that danced joyfully over her wings before winking out again. “I will always come back to you.”

If they survived the next few hours, Kel knew he’d have to tell her the truth. The full truth.

Gods help them both, he loved her.

She didn’t bother leaving his arms before transforming. One moment he was holding an armful of soft, sweet-smelling fae, and the next his arms were empty and she was hovering near his shoulder, her tiny arms outstretched and waiting. The ring was large enough she slipped an arm through it and settled it on her shoulder the same way a man might carry a coil of rope.

“Be careful, little one.”

Lily nodded and blew him a kiss before rising up and away, swiftly vanishing into the night sky above. Once she was gone, Kel began to pace again.

It was going to be a very long wait.

****

Lily flew straight up until she could see the distant flicker of lamps and torches that marked the capital city. At its center she would find a castle, and within its heavily fortified walls would be the man she had to find, the King. Kel had sketched out the layout of city and castle in the dirt, but they both knew that memories were imperfect, and too much time had passed for his recollections to be more than a starting point. She was going to have to find her way as best she could, without being seen.

There were patrols on the roads and a few small camps of men scattered along her path, and Lily was grateful that she had chosen to make the journey in her smaller form. It might take longer and require more effort, but there was far less chance she would be seen. The ones hunting for them were looking for a renegade and an exotic pleasure slave, and no one expected either of those to be flying over their heads. It was one of the few advantages they had. Well, that and the fact that no one knew that Kel was the son of the King. That would certainly help to protect them both.

If she could get to him in time.

The Hunter’s moon was well past its zenith by the time she flew over the city walls and it had been joined by the smaller, red moon known as the Hare. Fortunately the red moon was barely more than a crescent, leaving enough darkness and shadow for her to hide in. The city was still well lit and even better guarded, despite the lateness of the hour.

It was nothing at all like the city she had lived in before. The former earl’s home had been a place of scholars and order, where bells marked the passing of the hours and the inhabitants worked in diligent silence to create more art and beauty for their master.

The city she saw laid out before her was bustling with activity. The wind was heavy with the scent of wood smoke, baking bread and other, less pleasant aromas.
Patrols walked the streets with their swords at the ready, though the few dubious citizens she spotted skulking in the shadows and alleyways always managed to slip away at the first sign of the King’s men.

The castle was just as Kel said it would be—a large, thick-walled colossus that loomed high above the rest of the city. Taking no chances, Lily soared higher, until the wind bit into her bare skin and the castle was so small she could blot it out with her hand. She came down slowly, directly over the rooftops where there would be fewer eyes to see her. Kel had been certain of one thing, and that was the location of the King’s private chambers. He was in the northern wing, in a set of rooms that would be marked by a circular window crafted of stained glass.

It didn’t take her long to find the window, though it did take her some time to find a way inside. After long minutes of searching, she spotted a window with an unlatched shutter that swayed in the night wind, attracting her attention. Once she was past the shutter, Lily stopped to rest on the window ledge, setting the signet ring on the ledge beside her. A heavy curtain hung across the window, hiding her from anyone who might be within. The stone was cold and hard, but she needed to catch her breath before going any farther. They had all been surviving on meager rations for the last few days, and it was taking a toll on her strength. If Kel had known how weakened she was, he would never had let her do this, which was why she had hidden it from him. He had risked his life to free her, and now it was her turn to try and save them both.

As soon as her breathing slowed and the chill left her limbs, Lily got to her feet and crept to the edge of the curtain. She needed to know where she was and if anyone was in the room beyond. The moment she peeked past the curtain, she knew the Gods of this world had taken pity on her. She’d managed to find a way into the King’s bedchamber. She’d made it.

He was asleep in an ornate bed in the center of the room, surrounded by the trappings of his rank. Elegantly carved furniture, richly upholstered in plush fabrics filled much of the space, though she did note that the colors were subdued. Everything she saw was composed of dark blues and grays, from the bedclothes to the rugs that lined the floor. It was far more tasteful than the garish crimson and gold she’d seen in Camford’s tent. A single lamp burned low, casting a subtle, yellow glow across the room.

The King himself was snoring, his dark hair peppered with far more gray than Lily recalled from his visit when she had previously met him. She stared for a time, struck by how much Kel resembled him. Their hair color was different, and she recalled that Bern had brown eyes, nothing like Kel’s brilliant blue. Still, there were similarities. If Kel had stayed in Wulfshaven, people would have certainly noticed. That Camford and all the other nobles Kel had contracted to over the years had never seen it only proved what Kel had told her the night they met. He gave them what they expected to see, and none of them had ever looked any closer.

Lily scanned the room again, ensuring they were alone. If she were caught now, they’d likely kill her before she could even explain what she was doing in the King’s bedroom. There was no one else to be seen. She flew into the room and altered form once more, alighting at full size so that her feet sank into the soft furs that covered much of the stone floor. Remembering her promise to Kel, she gracefully draped her wings around her body like a gossamer gown before retrieving Kel’s ring from the window sill. He’d said that it was the only thing of his father’s he had taken the day he’d left, and that the King would recognize it.

It was time to test that theory.

Staying where she was, Lily shook out her hair and allowed her natural aura to glow once more, filling the room with light. “Majesty? I am sorry to wake you, but I bring news of your son. Please, wake up.”

The King sat up, a dagger in his hand before she had a chance to even blink. It would seem that Kel had inherited his father’s reflexes as well as some of his features. “Who are you and what do you know of the Prince’s wellbeing?” he demanded.

“We’ve met before, Majesty. My name is Lily. And I am not referring to the Prince. I have news of your
eldest
son.”

“Kel?” Bern queried, his voice suddenly sharp with worry. “Where is he? Tell me, woman! He’s in a great deal of trouble.”

“He’s safe. At least he was when I left him.” Lily opened her hand to show the King the ring. “He told me to bring this to you, and to tell you that the Duke’s death was a matter of treason, not murder.”

“Bring that here,” he ordered, setting the dagger aside and holding out his hand.

Bern’s tone brooked no argument, so Lily crossed the room and handed him the ring. He gave it a cursory glance and then settled the full weight of his gaze on Lily. “I remember you. Rockland’s favorite acquisition. He was so very proud of you. I take it you were the reason two of my men are now dead?”

“The Duke of Camford desired to possess me. When my master said no, he took me by force.”

“And who is your master now?”

“No one, Majesty. Kel possesses the ring that controls me, but he does not wear it.”

Bern gave a very unroyal snort of amusement. “Of course he wouldn’t. He doesn’t approve of slavery, nor does he approve of the fact I haven’t put a stop to it. One of the many poor decisions he pointed out to me before refusing an appointment to my court and storming out to find his own path in life.”

Lily relaxed a little as she heard the note of paternal pride in the King’s words. “He told me about that, your Majesty. The night he saved me from Camford, I asked him why he would risk his life for mine. He told me that he promised you that he would try to be someone you would be proud to call his son, even though you would never claim him as such.”

“Aye, he did. And he has. I’ve always been proud of him. Did he also tell you I wanted to claim him, but he refused? Damned stubborn fool that he is. Now, you best take me to him so I can fix the mess he’s made of my realm.” Bern let his gaze wander over her near naked form. “And then you can explain to me how you got into my room unseen, young lady. Right after we find you some clothing. You’d think my son could have found you something to wear.”