Song of Sorrows and Fate: A Dark Fantasy Romance (The Broken Kingdoms Book 9)

“I hope she is free of the Mare demons tonight,” I said, waving as Sol, Tor, and Alek rode away on their horses. Livia rode beside them, laughing with her cousin as they tried to out-trot the other.

Valen wrapped an arm around my shoulders, holding me against his side. “She’ll be all right. I sent a draught with Sol should she need it.”

Nearly six months after the death of Davorin, Livia still had wretched nightmares. She’d scream, pleading for us to survive. She’d cry for her Uncle Tor—as if she knew what had happened, though we’d all vowed never to speak of it. How would we explain to Aleksi his father had come so near death, only to be pulled back by a boy we’d banished in the tides?

The sea fae king might feel it a sense of honor to avenge his father, but the same emotions lived in our realms. Alek would feel indebted. Truth be told, Sol and Tor did. They despised how our battle ended with the boy who’d saved Tor as a prisoner in the sea realms.

They understood. Erik Bloodsinger felt no loyalty to us. He’d healed Tor not out of love for him, but as penance to be repaid to Stieg.

To the sea king, that debt was square. Doubtless if the king faced Stieg on a battlefield now, the boy wouldn’t hesitate to attack him.

Harald was a wretched man. I was glad he was gone, but I couldn’t fathom what he’d burned into his nephew’s head about the horrid earth fae they hated so much.

I turned down a corridor, but Valen tugged me in the opposite direction, laughing. “Still forgetting the directions, Elise?”

I groaned. “Hells, I’m never going to get accustomed to the shifted walls of this bleeding castle.”

During the shift of lands, Ravenspire remained intact for the most part, but there were a few differences. Whole rooms turned in the opposite directions. Even the damn peaks were out a different window. The Ribbon Lakes were less ribbons and more ponds where we’d fish and spend warm afternoons.

The townships and docks of Mellanstrad were shifted into one flat township now. And the peaks had more caves and forests where a few of the Timoran people and Night Folk with the urge to hunt took up residence.

Our closest friends remained in the lower cottages and homes around Ravenspire. Siv and her boy were always close. She named him Mattis and often told him, even as a tiny babe, of his father who’d died to protect our world.

Halvar, Kari, and their brood lived in the eastern wings of the palace. Herja and Hagen opted for a large longhouse beyond the gardens. The same as Tor and Sol took up the longhouse nearer to the ponds since Livia and Alek had a love for swimming.

Another worry I kept hidden about my girl—she was too drawn to the water. After witnessing her draw to the sea king, it was always a concern. Likely a worthless one, since sea fae were locked away.

Valen’s grip tightened on my hand as he closed the door to our bed chamber behind us. A sly grin crossed his handsome features when he pulled me close. “Alone for the first time in a while, my love.” He pressed a kiss to my throat. “How should we spend our time?”

A grin split over my lips. “I could take something sweet. Maybe we should head to the cooking rooms and—”

“Wrong answer.” Valen’s teeth scraped against my neck. I sighed and tilted my head, giving him more access. “Anything that does not include my mouth on your skin, Elise, is the wrong answer.”

A heated tremble rippled up my arms. Since the day I fell in love with Legion Grey in that old schoolhouse, my heart had never ceased beating for this man. All the battles, the fears, the scars, the damn curses we’d survived—it was worth every step to end in Valen Ferus’s arms.

“I think I like your answer,” I whispered, tracing the point of his ear.

I kissed him, desperately. Gods, I would never tire of this man’s taste, his kiss, his passion. Sweet or greedy, it didn’t matter. A touch, a kiss, a smile from Valen sent my body aflame.

“I hope you weren’t planning on remaining clothed,” I rasped against his skin when his teeth scraped over my throat.

The glossy midnight of his eyes flashed like dark flames. “Not a chance.”

The gown I wore was simple, laces down the back, and Valen’s hand made quick work of unthreading them, baring my body to him.

He groaned and slid a rough palm between my breasts, down my belly, until his fingers teased the sensitive folds of my core. I gripped his wrist, urging those clever fingers into the slickened center.

“So wet, Kvinna,” he moaned and kissed me, grinning. “All for me.”

Valen slid his finger into my entrance. Deep, long thrusts dragged me toward a burning precipice. Slowly, he added a second finger, stretching me to the fullest.

I let my head fall back, rough gasps slid from my throat. My legs trembled. “Valen . . .” I couldn’t catch a breath. “I need you.”

“You have me.” Valen widened his fingers inside me until my knees quaked. He tightened his hold on my waist, and bit down on my shoulder. “Always, Elise. You have always owned me.”

“I need you inside me.” Three hells, I would go mad if I did not feel his body against mine soon.

A deep, growl rumbled from his throat. Valen removed his fingers, glistening with my arousal, and sucked off what was left.

His eyes rolled back in his head for a breath. “I’ll never tire of the taste of you.” With the same hand he gripped my chin, tugging my face close to his. “On our bed, on your knees, Elise.”

A rush of pleasure flooded my core at the mere tone of his demands.

In slow movements, I removed what was left of my dress and back peddled to the bed. Naked, exposed, I turned away from the king.

Valen crowded me from behind and shed his tunic. His bare chest against my spine sent intoxicating trembles up my arms. He snaked his arm around my middle, rubbing his open palm across my smooth skin. A whimper slid from my throat, and I leveraged one knee onto the furs of the bed.

Valen’s hands curled around my waist, popping my ass in the air in a tug. How the man could be forceful and gentle was a beautiful conundrum, and I could not get enough.

His fingertips traced every divot of my spine. “You’re beautiful, Elise Ferus.”

His tongue slicked between my shoulders. I shuddered. There was a delirious need for more the longer he spoke, a need to forget hesitation, any modesty. There was a need to have him inside. Now.

I rocked my hips back, the cleft of my ass rubbing along the stretched length of his shaft under his trousers.

“Why are these not gone,” I said with a bit of desperation.

Valen cursed and fumbled with the laces on his trousers, stripping them off his legs, until the hot skin of his length finally touched me. His fingers stroked my slit, the sound of my need coating the tips added to my own desperation for more.

My thighs trembled. “Valen . . .”

His finger curled inside me again. Valen leaned over my back until his lips were beside my ear. “What do you want, my love? Want to come on my fingers, my tongue, or do you want all of me? I plan to give you all tell me which goes first.”

A choked sob burst from my throat when his thumb circled the swollen apex of my core.

“You. I want you.”

“Hmm. I need the particulars. Details, Elise. Speak plainly.”

“You bastard.”

He chuckled. “Play my games, Kvinna, and I swear to you it will be worth it.”

My skin was heated the more his hand tormented my slit. Sometimes a second finger, sometimes his thumb. He was a damn villain, always bringing me to the edge, then retreating before I could spill over.

With my face pressed into the bed, my hips up, I widened my thighs, offering more of myself.

“You. I want you inside me. Now.”

“Excellent choice.” Valen’s mouth kissed down my spine. I moaned into the soft furs. He aligned the tip of his length to my entrance. Little by little, my husband slid inside, stretching me. Filling me.

“Gods, Elise,” he groaned. His arm wrapped around me again, holding my body to his. One palm slid up and pinched my nipple as his hips rocked. “You are bleeding made for me.”

I let out a gasp when he shifted and felt so beautifully deep.

Valen dug his fingernails into my hips, pounding into me. Hells, the angle, the depth, there was nothing like it. With every thrust, Valen tugged on my nipple. He pinched and flicked. Then, slowly worked his hand down my body again until his fingers found my throbbing core.

I cried out, muffled in the furs and mattress. My hips rolled. The wooden posts on the bed slammed against the wall as the king quickened his movements. I was weightless.

“You’ve always been made for me,” Valen grunted through a deep thrust. “From the first night I saw you, I knew you were mine. And this.” His hand gently swatted my dripping slit. “Is mine.”

My body spasmed. “Valen . . . gods, yes!”

Valen drove against me deeper. The bed sounded like it might crack at any moment. My body split into a thousand pieces. A beautiful collision of passion, pleasure, and untamed love.

He pumped his hips once more, and the heat of his release spilled inside. His length twitched, and I felt the slick warmth drip down my inner thighs.

“So good,” he gasped, pressing a kiss between my shoulders again. “So damn good, Elise.”

I collapsed onto my stomach. Valen slumped over the top of me for a few moments before he slid out and propped his head onto his palm. I rolled onto my shoulder and slung a leg over his hips, grinning.

Valen closed his eyes when I traced the curve of his lips, his jaw, as though memorizing my husband all over again. From the lower pit of my belly, nerves took hold. We’d only settled into our new world. We were adjusting and finding peace. There were so many wonderful new things—like nearness to our neighboring kingdoms. We saw Alvers, a raven, and the mouthy king who came with her, more than we ever had before. We’d already visited Calista and Silas twice since leaving Raven Row.

I think both the fate king and queen found a great deal of solace in their own walls. They didn’t make many plans to leave them. For now, we’d visit them.

Life was settling, and it felt like for the first time since I collided with the handsome dowry negotiator outside of that game hall that life was truly calm.

Now, I was going to rock everything all over again.

“I will miss these easy nights,” I said, threading my fingers through his hair.

Valen cracked an eye. “Are they going somewhere?”

“Well, I suspect we’ll be rather tired again.”

He nuzzled the side of my throat. “Because of this.” His tricky fingers brushed over one breast again. “We get Liv’s nightmares under control, and I plan to love this body frequently. Make up for all those tense turns with battles and such.”

I snickered and kissed his temple. “No, I’m afraid even you might be too tired, my love. Well, perhaps not. I am irresistible.”

Valen lifted his head. “That you are, but what are you talking about?”

I bit down on my bottom lip and guided his hand over my belly. “Confirmed it with the healer yesterday.”

It took a breath or two, but soon Valen’s eyes went wide with a bit of stun. “Elise, are you certain?”

I nodded, grinning and clinging to his hand on my stomach.

“Another . . . another child?” Valen’s voice grew rough. He tugged me against his chest, legs, arms, his body swallowed me. “Really?”

I nodded, stroking my fingers through his hair. I didn’t know if it was Night Folk and Timoran blood, but like Lilianna fought for turns to have her half-fae littles, the same could be said for me and Valen.

It seemed Halvar and Kari were the only fae and mortal pair that could breed without trouble, but after Livia it had seemed like there would only be one child in our household.

Valen kissed me sweetly, resting his head against mine. “I love you, Elise Ferus. You’ve given me . . . everything. My freedom, my home, my life. But your heart, this family you’ve given me, it is the greatest gift I could ever want.”

From the Negotiator to the Blood Wraith, to My King, to my husband, Valen Ferus had been mine. In all his forms, I loved him. The darker pieces, the soft, tender moments such as this. I’d take him all.

There were no threats at our gates. No threats at the gates of others.

For the first time, we could simply . . . live.