Page 154 of Their Wicked Cage
Even Riven’s love bites disappear from my skin.
Their absence cuts deeper than any wound.
My heart aches for him.
“Should I drink from the stream too?” Lyrielle asks, voice small and unsure, as she pulls my thoughts away from my mate.
“Yes,” I tell her, and she does.
The area around us shimmers with a goddess-given blessing as her body heals, as her legs merge from two scale-ridden things into one glimmering tail with wispy, iridescent fins.
Lyrielle sinks beneath the water and resurfaces, a song pouring from her lips. It’s a song of gratitude, of longing, of freedom. It’s haunting and beautiful, and I cannot stop myself from throwing my arms around her, joyous laughter replacing the magical sound of her voice.
“I never thought I’d feel Vale’s blessing again,” she cries. When she pulls back, fresh tears streak down her face. “How can I ever repay you?”
“I need help getting to Riven.”
There’s a tinkling of laughter as a dark-haired female splashes in the water upstream.
A selkie.
She grins at me, curling her finger to beckon me closer.
“Come now, goddess-blessed,” she purrs. “Kindness begets kindness.” Several more selkies rise from the waters, as does the shape of a beast—half shadow, half scale, all magic. In perfect synchronicity, the selkies bow their heads and say, “It will be our honor to escort you to the king.”
Chapter 40
GWYN
The selkies say nothing as they carry me along their currents, swiftly but gently, toward the Viretree. I am a tempest on the back of something almighty, ancient magic purring beneath my skin.
Aislinn… she came to me. She—
She blessed me.
I can hardly wrap my mind around it, and yet, I will not let that blessing go to waste.
Lyrielle and I said our goodbyes, and I vowed I’d send word to her supreme, Nerissa, after Riven and I are wed.
If I arrive in time.
No, not if.
When I arrive in time.
Salt water sprinkles my skin and clings to my hair as I’m brought closer to shore.
The moment my feet touch solid ground, I race across the rocky beach and into the forest, calling out a brief “Thank you!” over my shoulder as I leave my escort behind.
Trees twist out of my way, clearing a path forward.
Boughs lift so I don’t have to slow myself to duck beneath them.
The Fae Isles are desperate for me to save our king.
Magic pulses through me as the lands guide me to Riven, breath ragged as I run, faster and faster, until finally, I can see him in the distance. So tall and powerfully built and unmistakably him. The dwindling sunlight glints off his laurel leaf crown, sending sparks of light around him, making my already ragged breath catch in my throat.
And beside him is a female.
