Bread arrived to the table, and before I could control my wolf, she’d taken over, snatching up one of the rolls. Pushing her back down with the promise of more food soon, I dipped the bread into the stew and let it soak up the remaining broth. Sir Baladar had probably saved our lives with this aid. I was definitely getting him out of his prison now. Somehow I would find a way.
The food warmed and filled my stomach; contentment like I hadn’t felt in days flooded through my body. I would have loved to curl up and go to sleep, but there were some questions I needed answered first. Turning to Dalia – she was eating, but with far less ferocity than the rest of us – I said, “Baladar sent you?”
She nodded. “He spoke with Prince Caspien, told him that the only way to fix the mecca was to get your friend back.”
Smart of Baladar, and pretty much true. We did need Violet to fix the mecca, and it would help to motivate the Summer Court in helping us.
“Yes, we believe she’s being held by the Winter Court.”
Dalia nodded, looking less concerned than I had expected. “We can get you inside the Winter Court. Rowan here has been infiltrating their securities for many years. The prince wanted to come himself, but the king decided that with the current perilous nature of the peace talks between our courts, it was better to stage this to look like a rogue attack and not an orchestrated thing. A resurgence of the war with the Winter Court at this time would ruin our people.”
I nodded. “I understand. I’m glad to hear there is less fighting and more peace talks going on for you all.” The last time the prince was on Earth, he had spoken of the bitter war between the summer and winter courts. Something had changed in that short time.
I was so grateful to him for his help. We had learned much from the gnomes, but they did not know a lot of the inner workings of the courts. So having a chance to talk to Dalia and Rowan, who could hopefully advise us further about the terrain, dangers, races, and the safety of food, was a huge advantage. I was feeling slightly more confident in our plan already. Plus, with another magic born, we had hugely increased our odds of getting Violet back safely.
For the rest of our time at the table we made small talk, aware of the many fae around us. Winter Court spies would be everywhere. At some point a second bowl of stew was brought to our table. I picked out the chunks of meat and fed Finn under the table. My familiar required a lot more food than me, and needed the extra protein. When the darkness crossed the land, and the hour grew late, we gathered our things to leave.
Dalia waited near a wooden staircase. “We have rooms for all of you. I’ll be staying with Rowan in a room just down the hall.” Our own rooms. And hopefully a shower. I knew from the gnomes village this was a technology not widely available in the Otherworld, but there was something similar they used called a waterfall bath. I had my fingers crossed there was one in this inn.
All of us trudged up to the second floor. Dalia pointed out our rooms. “We will meet you here just after sunrise,” the summer fae said. Rowan nodded, standing cloaked at her side. “After a morning meal, we’ll set out. There’s no time to waste. The Winter Court are not known for their leniency to prisoners.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I couldn’t let myself think about what Violet might be going through. I would actually lose my mind. I kept my focus on rescuing her. Nothing more important than that.
The summer fae disappeared into their room, and I turned to my friends.
“Sleep well,” I said, giving each of them a smile, before I entered the second door along the hall. Kade was right behind me.
Blaine and Nikoli were sharing the room on our right, Monica and Victor the one on our left. It was safer to sleep in teams. That way we would not be taken unaware, and all of us being on the same floor was the best for security reasons.
You okay, buddy?
Finn was staying in the stables with Nix. They were acting as our night patrol and first line of defense. We were in Winter Court territory, so there was no way we could completely relax our guards.
All quiet out here. Get some rest, Ari.
Once we were inside the room, doors closed, we set down our packs and weapons near the entrance in case we needed to make a quick escape. Kade went over to tend to the fireplace, stoking the coals until the warmth filled the room. There was another door off to the side, so I strode over and opened it. “Yes!” I let out a low yell, and there might have even been a fist pump or two.
By the time a smiling Kade appeared in the doorway I already had the water flowing from the magically-enhanced showerhead above the wide claw-foot tub.
The bear king lazily assessed me. “You never complain, but I’m guessing her majesty has never had to rough it like this before.”
I didn’t answer straight away, I was too busy peeling off my furs. When they fell to the floor, followed by my shirt and pants, I glanced up long enough to see Kade’s eyes had flashed to molten copper, like perfectly polished pennies.
Straightening, I took one step toward him, wearing nothing but my simple black bra and underwear. “You’re right, besides a couple of training exercises, which only last a few hours, I’ve always been surrounded by luxury. What about you?”
As his gaze caressed my body, my stomach clenched with need. Without breaking our stare, he shrugged out of his furs, and I paused to enjoy his huge body being slowly revealed, piece by piece, as his clothing fell.
When he spoke, it took every ounce of my concentration to listen. “When my brother went missing, I went rogue. Took off into the world with nothing more than the clothes I wore and two knives. Had to sleep in the forest and hunt for food. I searched for him for a long time, but eventually there was nowhere else I knew to look, so I returned home.”
I took another step toward him, wanting to wrap my arms around him. I forgot at times about the brother he lost, the one who was supposed to be king. Kade had no other siblings, and I knew that if I lost Winnie I would never be the same.
Kade was bare-chested now, and the sight of all those chiseled lines had my next question coming out very breathy. “Did you ever find out what happened to him? I mean … no note? No body? Would he have just left like that?”
Kade closed the distance between us, clad only in cargo pants, top button undone. There was nothing I could have done right then to stop myself from touching him. We had barely had any privacy since being in the Otherworld, and I craved him like nothing I’d ever known before.
His skin was hard and soft at the same time, hot and silky under my touch. A low moan slipped out from between my lips as I slid my fingertips into his pants, and then slowly worked them down his huge body.