Elf-Shot Book 6 in The Twilight Court Series Read online

  Raza was in full dragon-djinn glory, with wings on display, and hair pulled back to show off the crimson stripes in it. The simple unseelie crown seemed to be a part of him, nearly the same color as his skin. He wore crimson; ruby velvet for his tunic, and a deeper, blood red for his leather pants. A dress sword hung from his waist, obviously for ornamentation. The Unseelie King needed no weapons. He was a weapon. Except today his dangerous beauty was tempered by emotion.

  Raza stared at me like the sun had risen in his hell and was leading him out. He swallowed hard as I made my way forward, blinking away a sheen which had appeared over his golden eyes, and every stare shifted from me to him. To see a king humbled by his bride was one thing, but to see a dragon king come close to tears at the sight of his soon-to-be queen, was probably pretty damn rare. Everyone went silent except the musicians above us, who continued to play the traditional song as I went forward to my fiancé.

  My father took me up the steps, and ceremoniously gave my hand to Raza, “Take care of my daughter, King Raza Tnyn.”

  “Her life is more important to me than my own,” Raza spoke with deep sincerity.

  My father nodded his approval and backed away. He took his seat beside Aideen's mother in the first row. My ladies in waiting had already taken up their positions on my left. Councilman Catan lifted his hands wide, to encompass me and Raza, then started the ceremony. I barely heard the words, I couldn't concentrate on anything but Raza. He squeezed my hand gently, and I tried to focus on what Catan was saying.

  “We fey live a very long time, so we do not enter the bonds of marriage lightly,” Catan seemed to be addressing the crowd. “King Raza and Princess Seren have found a love they know to be strong enough to take on the vows of marriage. They have come here today to share these vows with us, and declare their love to all of Fairy. King Raza,” Catan looked to Raza, “pull back the veil separating you from your intended.”

  Raza gently lifted my veil and placed it over my head. He smiled brighter when my face was fully revealed, and I smiled back. The crowd tittered with happiness.

  “King Raza, are you ready to take your vows?” Catan asked.

  “Yes,” Raza said firmly.

  “Then make them now.”

  Make them now? I glanced at Catan in terror. I didn't get a prompt? Was I supposed to come up with my vows on the fly? Raza gave my hand another squeeze and chuckled.

  “Just speak from your heart when the time comes,” he whispered. “Vow what you're willing to give me.”

  “Okay.”

  Then Raza made his marriage vows to me.

  “I swear that I shall love no other, but you,” Raza came out swinging.

  I may have begun to panic a little. I couldn't say that back to him, could I? He so wasn't helping me.

  “I shall be faithful to you in heart and body forever,” he said next.

  My throat went dry.

  “My body will be your shelter and your support,” Raza said. “When all falters around you, I will stand firm. I promise to listen when you need to be heard, and speak for you when you have no voice. I will value your counsel nearly as much as your heart, and I will treasure each moment we have together. Should everything fall into dust around us, I will remain at your side, I swear it. Nothing shall take you from me nor I from you. From this day until eternity ends, we are as one.”

  Dear Goddess, how did I follow that?

  “The ring?” Catan asked softly.

  I'd removed the ring Raza had given me, and I'd expected him to give it back. He didn't. Instead, he slid a thin, black, titanium band upon my finger. I blinked in surprise, then looked up to him with a question in my eyes.

  “You'll need room for two more,” he shrugged.

  I just barely held my composure.

  “King Raza,” Catan cleared his throat.

  “Be patient, Catan, I'm getting there,” Raza grinned at Catan's flushed face before turning back to me. “This ring declares my love for you and the protection that my regard entails. May all who see this know that you are mine.”

  “Um, that's not quite the vow,” Catan shriveled under Raza's glare. “Yes, it was fine, thank you, Your Majesty. Princess Seren, you may make your vows now.”

  “I'm repeating that stuff back to you,” I whispered before I started.

  Raza chuckled, and the gathering leaned forward to try and hear what was making us laugh. My thoughts raced through the brief pause I'd been given to collect them. What could I say to Raza that would encapsulate all I felt for him? All I was willing to give him. Then everything went still inside me, and I just knew.

  “Forever is a long time,” I began, and Raza lifted a brow. “But it's a mere heartbeat if I spend it with you. I swear that I will love you the entirety of that heartbeat, that pulse of life we'll share. I will open my arms to you when all others turn away in fear. I will offer you calm and solace when you feel savage. I will accept all of you, take you into my heart, and make you feel at home there. I will never reject you, or hurt you knowingly. I will fight for you, and hopefully not with you... though that one I can't promise.”

  The gathering laughed at that. Raza just nodded in acceptance. He swallowed hard, going still as I continued.

  “But I will promise to have your back, dragon,” I vowed. “I will stand up for you, and I will lay down beside you, with equal amounts of passion. You are my wild heart, and I cannot live free without being bound to you.”

  “Dear Danu,” Raza whispered and pulled me against him.

  He kissed me to the applause of the crowd.

  “Well, we seem to have skipped ahead,” Catan said indulgently. “Shall we backtrack to the ring, Your Highness?”

  “Ring?” I blinked.

  “Princess,” Gradh whispered and handed me a black, titanium band.

  “Thank you,” I whispered back in relief.

  Everyone pretended not to notice. Because that's what you did when royalty screwed up.

  I slid the band on Raza's finger, and repeated his words, as I promised, “This ring declares my love for you and the protection that my regard entails. May all who see this know that you are mine.”

  Catan sighed, but Raza beamed at me.

  “So be it,” Raza agreed.

  “May all behold the newly bonded couple before you,” Catan declared. “King Raza Tnyn and Princess Seren Firethorn.”

  The gathering cheered. When the applause finally died down, Catan eased to the side.

  “King Raza, would you like to crown your bride?” Catan asked.

  “I would indeed,” Raza said.

  Raza removed my twilight crown, and Gradh came forward to take it. Then he picked up the sleek, onyx, unseelie crown from the table. It matched his crown perfectly but was a bit more dainty. The onyx band wasn't as thick, and the crescent, silver moon at its center was a tad bit smaller. It fit my head perfectly.

  “I, King Raza Tnyn II, crown you, Seren Firethorn, as Queen of Unseelie,” he declared. So simple, and yet, so powerful.

  Magic shivered over my skin and the crowd went quiet. I looked up to see Danu standing before us. She didn't speak, simply laid her hands on our heads, as if in blessing. Danu smiled to Raza, nodding as if they'd accomplished something great together, then she gentled her smile upon me. That was it. Danu faded away. But her message was clear, and the room was impressed. They surged to their feet and shouted in joy.

  I pulled my husband to me and kissed him again. For as long as I wanted to. And when Councilman Catan cleared his throat discreetly, Raza wrapped his wings around us and kept on kissing me. It's good to have wings.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  The feast was spectacular. The entertainment was provided by several of our guests as wedding gifts. And, by the way, what a wonderful idea for a gift to royalty. It wasn't like we needed a Cuisinart. We had fire dancers who flew, pixie acrobats, elven musicians, and pukas who stood in piles on top of each other's shoulders. The food was mostly fey, but the cake was made in
the human style; three-tiered and covered in sugar roses. Oh, and crowned with a dragon embracing a star. It was beautiful, and I smashed a piece of it in Raza's face.

  The look on his cake-covered face was priceless. Of course, he had no idea about the human tradition of cake smashing, but after I told him (as he was shaking frosting off his face like a wet dog shakes off water), he gleefully took part. And I laughed while I blew cake out of my nose. It may sound strange, but that was one of the happiest moments of the night for me. Raza was generally a serious man. So making him laugh was my favorite pastime. Well, second favorite. Seeing him so blissfully happy, made me blissfully happy.

  Unfortunately, our cake feeding episode was misinterpreted by the fey, and several couples proceeded to smash cake into each other's faces. When royalty did something in Fairy, it was often imitated, if for no other reason than politeness. You couldn't have your king starting a fad that never took off. That just wouldn't do. I had to send servants around the room to quietly explain why cake smashing wasn't necessary. And that made Raza laugh even harder.

  “Everyone, may I have your attention?” Killian stood in front of the high table, holding a glass of champagne (Councilman Murdock had brought ten cases as a wedding gift). “There's a few things humans traditionally do at weddings which I'd like to insist on happening tonight, in honor of Princess -excuse me- Queen Seren's mother. We'll start with a toast. You may call it a blessing here, but in HR well-wishers lift their glasses, declare their hopes for the bride and groom, and then drink, which we call toasting. So I'll go first, since I'm standing here and all.” Killian paused to let the laughter die down. “To King Raza and Queen Seren, may you live long and prosper!”

  Killian lifted his hand, separating the fingers into groups of two, to give us a Vulcan salute, before he raised his glass, winked at my eye-roll, and took a sip. The room cheered, followed his lead, and drank. The humans present chuckled into their drinks. Before the toasting could be picked up by the rest of the guests, Killian went on.

  “Now, I know you're all eager to look as awesome as I do, and make your own toasts, but they'll have to wait,” he grinned broadly. “The musicians are ready to play again, and now that we've all dined, there shall be dancing. Another human tradition is for the bride and groom to get the first song all to themselves, as it is their first dance as a married couple. So,” he glanced back at the musicians in the alcove behind him, and they began to play, “Mr. and Mrs. Unseelie, if you would please take your places?” Killian waved to the space before him, the clearing between dining tables.

  I looked to Raza and he stood, offered me his hand, and escorted me to the dancing area. Applause began as we started to move through a fairy waltz. It was very regal, very pretty, and very boring. Not nearly romantic enough for me. So I pulled my hand from Raza's, and slid in closer, draping my arms around his shoulders. Murmurs of delight floated around the room as the Unseelie King clutched his new bride even closer, and then opened his wings.

  “Raza,” my eyes went wide and my mouth fell open.

  “Hold on, mo shíorghrá.”

  It was a good thing I'd removed my train and veil before we attended the feast. Otherwise, it would have dangled over the guests, probably slapping a few of them in the face. Wouldn't that have been perfect? As it was, I only had to worry about people looking up my dress as Raza flew us above the assemblage, dancing in the way of dragons. Perhaps that's why he hadn't chosen a dress with a full skirt.

  “Your vows,” Raza whispered, “no one has ever said such beautiful things to me.”

  “You did pretty well yourself,” I smirked. “Though a little warning would have been nice.”

  “I didn't want you to be worried about what was proper to say,” he shrugged. “I needed you to tell me how you truly felt. About me and us. What you hoped for our future.”

  “For our future?” I glanced down at the delighted crowd. “This. I want to dance in the sky with you. I want to love you without worrying about silly things like gravity.”

  “For a heartbeat?”

  “For our heartbeat.”

  “Then that is what you shall have,” Raza flew us higher as he kissed me, and I knew our love would climb just as steadily. This was only the beginning.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Several winged couples joined us in our aerial dance after the first song ended, but Raza brought us back down to solid ground. He had plans, you see. My husbands seemed to like planning.

  “Killian told me of another human tradition,” Raza purred.

  “Oh?” I glanced at Killian and found him smirking.

  “The honey moon.”

  “Yes, well, we're royalty, we can't take a honeymoon,” I said.

  “Why not?” Raza asked. “Rayetayah is here and shall look after Unseelie in our absence. I've prepared everything. Our bags are packed. We leave whenever you are ready.”

  “What?” I gaped at him. “Where are we going?”

  “It's a surprise,” he smiled. “But I'd like to leave soon, so we still have some of the evening to ourselves.”

  “But our guests,” I looked around the hall and saw that our guests were having a fabulous time. No doubt that would continue long after we left.

  “They'll be fine,” Raza chuckled. “Are you nervous to be alone with me?”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “Then?”

  “Alright, Mr. Unseelie, let's go.”

  “Mr. Unseelie,” Raza rolled his eyes. “Where does that man come up with such things?”

  “He's brilliant, isn't he?”

  “Not the word I would have used.”

  “Come on, Cat,” I stood.

  “Cat is staying here, with Tiernan,” Raza insisted.

  Cat whined.

  “But...”

  “It's our honeymoon, mo shíorghrá,” Raza said gently, “do you truly wish to bring her?”

  “Oh fine, you're right,” I grimaced at Cat. “Sorry, girl, I gotta leave you behind again.”

  She gave me her sad, puppy dog face.

  “It shall only be a few days,” Raza promised her. “And Rayetayah is here for you to play with.”

  Cat perked up.

  “I love you,” I hugged her, then I stood, and took Raza's hand. “And I love you too.”

  “Every heartbeat is yours, mo shíorghrá,” Raza kissed me tenderly.

  “You're such a romantic,” I teased.

  “For the next few days at least,” he teased me back.

  Then Raza nodded to Mufasa, our djinn steward. Mufasa went to stand before the high table.

  “The King and Queen of Unseelie shall now depart for their harmonious moon!” Mufasa declared.

  Raza cleared his throat, and Mufasa looked back to him.

  “It's called a honey moon,” Raza corrected him.

  “Your pardon,” Mufasa said to the crowd. “They depart for their honey moon. Please follow us outside, to the courtyard, where they shall take their leave.”

  “Our leave?” I asked as I stood with Raza. “Carriage?”

  “Dragon Airlines,” he grinned.

  “Perfect.”

  The whole party trooped out with us, and Raza stripped before everyone. The man had no shame.

  “Dear God,” Karmen cried, “I can die happy now!”

  Raza seemed to ignore the comment, but I saw him smirk before he shifted into his dragon form. Servants came forward to hand him our bags, wrapped in a heavy, rope net. Aideen brought me a fur-lined cloak and helped me into it. I hugged her goodbye, then the rest of my family and close friends. Karmen was crying, and I wasn't sure if it was because he was happy for me, or because Raza was leaving. Raza took the net in one claw and me in the other. Then, as I waved to the shouting well-wishers, Raza leapt off the ledge, into the open air.

  I snuggled within the cage of his claws and watched the fairy world pass beneath me. I had never felt safer. My loved ones were all together, celebrating my happiness, and I was on my way
to do a little more intimate celebrating with the dragon I loved. Bliss.

  Fairy was quiet beneath us. Lights sparkled here and there, but mostly, the land was bathed in shadows. Nocturnal birds cried to each other, fey creatures prowled the thick forests, and the scent of night-blooming flowers drifted up to us. A gibbous moon hung overhead, it's mostly-full face illuminating our kingdom softly. A lake came into view, a mirrored surface reflecting my dragon husband in sinister shades. His shadow self. I loved that part of him too. The darkness and the light. Like the elves, they were the same to me.

  After an hour or so, Raza started to circle downward. I glanced over the rim of his massive, scaled claw, and saw nothing but rock. I had no idea where we were, but I was certain I'd never seen this part of Unseelie. Raza landed carefully, dropping our baggage first, then placing his back feet upon the ground before he released me. I strode forward, stretching my limbs as I took a look around. There was a cave just ahead.

  “We're going underground?” I asked him.

  He'd transformed back into his human form and was untying the baggage. He nodded casually, then slung the bags over his shoulder.

  “This is where I come to be alone,” he said. “I've never shared it with anyone.”

  “Thank you for sharing it with me.”

  “Everything I have is now yours, mo shíorghrá,” Raza smiled as if that was the best thing in the world. “I needed you to see this.”

  “Then show it to me, dragon,” I teased. “It's cold out here.”

  Raza led me into the modest opening. It didn't look like much. In fact, you wouldn't have even known it was there unless someone pointed it out to you. There were no plants to lighten the gray, or even dirt to soil the stones. Only rock. But that lasted just about four feet. Then the pebbled floor began to change. Raza blew a stream of fire ahead of us, lighting torches set into the walls, and the ground sparkled in the firelight. I peered at the smooth surfaces and caught the gleam of glassy ribbons of crystal.