Emori
“Brother, please.”
“She mated with him!” Astro bellows so loudly the whole palace shakes. No doubt, everyone in the kingdom felt his anger.
“Brother, you knew it would happen once she found him.”
“She wasn’t supposed to allow him to mark her! She marked him! After everything I put in place to prevent this...”
Astro’s crazy wide eyes dart all over the place. He has evil in mind, but that’s nothing new. Astro flicks his long dark hair over his shoulder, and his intricate crown glistens in the sunlight bleeding through the open window, blinding me momentarily.
I’d sigh out loud, so sick of this life if I thought, for one second, it wouldn’t get me beaten. Astro is hardly the easiest of men, and it doesn’t matter that I am his younger sister; he wouldn’t think twice about killing me. If I step out of line in any way, Astro will make me pay. He’s done it before, and being locked in chains and beaten like a criminal is not where I wish to be again.
He killed my older sisters without batting an eyelid. I had to grieve for them privately because Astro made me promise that Emily and Elena meant nothing to me. They deserved what they got for going against him. But the truth was, they meant everything to me.
There was a time when I believed Astro. I accepted his lies about Emily and Elena turning their backs on Valnor and their heritage. My sisters mated with wolves; something frowned upon in Valnor. Fairies do not mate outside their own species by order of the King. My parents were killed many years ago when I was but a small child. Astro took over the kingdom, and everything changed for the worse.
I initially tried to fight Astro, telling him that no one could resist the mate bond. It’s rare Faires even have mates, so finding one is special and should be cherished. Only a few of my kin ever leave Valnor, and it’s rare to never one finds their mate here. That’s why the Pairing System is so important in Valnor.
The Pairing System was implemented by my grandfather six thousand years ago. Once every ten months, every female fairy old enough to participate will have their name entered into a polling box. The King will pick out names and pair them with eligible males. It is none negotiable, and whoever you’re paired with, you’re stuck with, with no exceptions. I’ve never been entered, thankfully. I would never go through with it if I were; I’d run and never look back.
I believe every person has the right to choose whom to love, but Astro has other ideas. Love doesn’t come into it, so he says. He struck me to the ground for daring to speak out and told me to learn my place before it was too late.
Astro then filled my head with lies about Emily and Elena hating me. He said that’s why they left and didn’t take me with them. They had their mates now, and they had no room for me. I hated the two of them for so long. I believed what Astro told me because he’d invaded my mind, never giving me any reprieve.
Deep down, I knew Emily and Elena would never forget about me. We were always so close, even though they were many years my senior. I looked through old notes and diaries my sisters left behind and read about their love for me. It wasn’t long before the hatred dissipated, and I wanted nothing more than to find them. Astro no longer had a hold over my mind, but I couldn’t let him know that until the time was right.
I wasn’t aware of what Astro forced my sisters to promise so they could leave. But I’ve been helping him with his plans ever since. Against my will, I might add.
But I do what I do because I must protect my mate, a man I met on one of my trips to the human realm. I was there on Astro’s orders with some of our warriors. We’d been sent there to bring back a rogue fairy, wanted for crimes against the crown. I wasn’t aware of those crimes; Astro never gave much information, but as part of the Royal Guard, it was my duty to return the prisoner.
After securing the rogue fairy in magical binds, I chose to walk through the forest before leaving. Being a woodland fairy, I wanted to be close to nature in a different realm, to see green instead of multicolors.
There, I met the most beautiful man I had ever seen. He wasn’t Fairy Folk; that much was obvious. He had collar length, dark, wavy hair, a muscled physique, and eyes so light; they mesmerized me for a moment. He was wearing strange clothing, but he carried a sword, which told me he was a warrior of some sort.
He looked at me and gave me a stunning smile before he said, ‘Mate!’ He came towards me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me against his hard body. A gasp escaped me as he kissed me with a passion I didn’t know was possible.
How could it be that I should have a mate?
One who was outside of Valnor just as my sister’s mates were?
I could not help but melt into him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed myself closer still. I could feel his erection against my pubic bone, and I whimpered.
He growled lowly, and like ice water dropping on my head, I pushed him away from me. The man was a wolf, and I knew I could not mate with him. Interspecies mating is not allowed in Valnor, but not much is. I knew Astro would never let me leave Valnor permanently, and a wolf in our realm wouldn’t survive long.
How could Fate be so cruel as to hand me a mate I could never be with?
The man before me stole my first kiss, but nothing more could come of that. The man whose name I never got, nor did I give him mine, tried to persuade me to stay with him. I wanted to take his hand and let him lead me to safety. But I knew it could never be, for we would never be safe. Astro would find me and kill my mate when he did.
The man tried to stop me from leaving, and I did the only thing I knew would push him away. I attacked him, leaving him passed out on the ground, before fleeing the scene.
I don’t know what became of my mate, but I like to believe he still lives. I like to think he’s still out there somewhere. I pray that he moved on and found love. One hundred and twenty years is a long time to be without one’s mate, and he wouldn’t have waited for me because we could never be together. I want him to be loved; he deserves that much.
I never told anybody about him because I was scared of what Astro would have done had he found out. My mate was the only thing that was truly mine, even though he never has been. I had to and still have to protect him from my brother. That’s why I hide my emotions from Astro, never letting him know I even have a heart.
The truth is, I resented my sisters when they left because they did what I could not so many years previously. I became harder-hearted, learned to hide my emotions from people, and did whatever Astro told me. I did not wish to anger him, though he usually takes his anger out on me. Sometimes, I wonder, even pray, that he’ll kill me and I’ll be free from this miserable life.
My brother went postal when Astro’s spy sent word today that Lyric had mated with the Lycan King. His plans to mate with our niece went up in smoke. All the times he tried to force Lyric’s hand so she’d return willingly backfired. He killed our sisters, believing Lyric would be so grief-stricken she’d follow him back to Valnor.
That didn’t happen, and Astro has been planning his next move for six years. With Lyric mated to the King, there’s no way Astro will ever get her here, never mind make her his bride.
I don’t know what will happen next, but it won’t be anything good. Astro being angry is never a good thing, and I wish there were some way I could help my niece. Somewhere inside of me, there is love for my brother. But Emily and Elena were my world, and I will if I can protect my nieces.
“I thought twisting that stupid Alpha’s mind would be enough!”
I step closer to his throne, which he’s now sitting on, biting his fist. “What are you talking about, Astro? What did you do to Lennix?”
Astro looks at me and laughs hysterically. I hate when he does that because what he has to tell me will make my stomach turn.
“I made that useless b.astard use those girls for his own sick pleasure. I put thoughts in his mind that they were to blame for Emily’s death. Though, I made sure he wouldn’t hurt Lyric as much as Harmony. He could do what he wanted with the spare.”
Spare, that’s what he’s always called Harmony.
My stomach turns over at Astro’s confession. I should have known he’d done something to Lennix. He wouldn’t have been a man I’d choose to spend my life with, but he loved Emily and wouldn’t have done the things he did without influence.
I must make Astro believe I don’t care what happened to Lyric and Harmony. If he thinks that I do, it won’t be good for me. My brother is a deranged monster, but I never thought he’d use his magic to corrupt a man into rape and torture.
“I thought all the torture and abuse would be enough to scare Lyric into rejecting her mate. I didn’t think she’d even find him, but some idiot sent for the Lycan King, and here we are.
“How did I not foresee this? If I had, I would have ended the b.astard before he ever set eyes on what’s mine!”
Astro huffs and rolls his eyes.
“I underestimated that girl, but then I hadn’t banked on her being rescued from that place. After everything that happened to her, she jumped right into bed with that dog! But,” He claps his hands, his demeanor changing suddenly. He stands and swishes his robe behind him. “No matter. You’re going to fix everything, Emori.”
“And how am I meant to do that?”
What the hell does Astro have in mind this time?
“You’re going to the human realm. You’ll parade as a maid, gain entrance to the castle, and do it by any means possible. Hide what you are with one of those potions of yours, and then...”
I swallow hard because I don’t like where this is going.
“And then?”
“You’re going to kill the King.”