Mates and bonds mists of.., p.1
Mates and Bonds (Mists of the Fae Book 11), page 1
Mates and Bonds
Mists of the Fae
Book 11
by
Jaime Marks
Mist of the Fae Series
Revelations
Secrets Past
Shades of Redemption
Protectors and Kings
Connections
Choices
Dynamics
Bound in Blood
Shattered Trust
Manipulations
Mates and Bonds
Hidden Lineage (Coming February 2017)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in, or introduced to any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without the express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are fictitiously used. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. On a side note if you happen to be a Fae and think you have a claim that you have been portrayed in this book by all means feel free to contact me in writing so we can debate the semantics of your existence ;)
Certain content and scenes may not be suitable for readers under the age of 18.
This is an adult paranormal romance novel and recommended for an adult audience.
First Kindle Edition, October 2016
Text copyright © 2015 Jaime Marks
All rights reserved.
Dedication
To J., for having faith in me and lifting me up when I feel like I’m falling down.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
About the Author
Chapter 1
Lord Cymeryn looked up from his desk as he entered the study. The King of the Night Throne of Balance was still every bit as intimidating as he had been the night he’d met him. Of course, then Lord Cymeryn had been Supryn of the Shade, and Cavayn had been his prisoner. So much had changed since he’d been brought to that dungeon as an unawakened that it literally felt like a different life. Many would claim that it was.
The awakening granted a rebirth of sorts. His hadn’t been an exception, but the changes in his life had started before his awakening ever took him. They began in that dungeon, at the hands of this male. That night, he never would have imagined that he’d be standing here addressing the Fae as his King and Praefect. Never could he have even fathomed that there would be a world where he not only no longer feared Cymeryn, but considered him a mentor and stand loyally at his side protecting the Kingdoms.
No, he no longer feared the King. He could still be harsh and demanding at times, but Cymeryn had also shown himself to be a male of honor, one that Cavayn had grown to respect greatly in the past few months. That was aside from when it came to the one issue he could no longer ignore. Which was why he found Lord Cymeryn intimidating for an entirely different reason. This Fae was the only male that could grant him what he needed.
His Praefect stood measuring him as he approached, unable to find words to handle this situation appropriately.
“Did you wish to speak with me, Cavayn?” Cymeryn prompted when he only stared.
Cavayn nodded bracing himself. The King would be skeptical, but this had to happen. It had been all he’d thought about the last three days and he was no longer willing to take no for an answer.
“My lord, I, Cavayn a Cavarion, of the Fire Fae, Head of the Light Branch of the Securine, request the Right of Courting for the hand of the Lady Tatyna a Cymeryn, your progeny and ward.”
He watched as the King drew a ragged breath. It was only during these face to face conversations that he could tell this situation actually weighed him down. It gave him hope that Lord Cymeryn would hear him.
“State plainly exactly what you are requesting, Cavayn.”
“It’s been nearly two weeks. I am requesting that the Lady Tatyna be released into my care.”
“Yet you are not requesting the rights to her Bonding?” He prodded, gaging the situation with those critical eyes that Cavayn knew were always assessing and strategizing.
He sighed trying to figure out how to explain this without hindering his purpose. “I’ll be honest with you. I don’t think that Tatyna would accept me if I asked for her hand just yet. She’s still struggling and she needs more than you offer her with that cell. You want her to choose Redemption, yet you haven’t given her any reason to embrace this life. She sees nothing of our world. In her mind, there is nothing here for her.
“You were her world in the Shade, and forgive me my lord, but you have all but abandoned her. She’s out of sight and out of mind. I am the only one who has made the effort to help her find her way,” he argued trying to keep the edge from his voice and the flame from his skin. When his emotions flared like this it was extremely difficult. He was furious that she was still stuck in that cell, but attacking his Praefect wouldn’t exactly gain his favor.
Lord Cymeryn ran a hand through his hair as Lord Marcus appeared by his side. He measured him as he clasped his brother on the shoulder. “Are you claiming the Lady Tatyna is your mate, Cavayn?”
This was the part that would be difficult. He might believe there was a strong chance it was true, but he honestly didn’t know and there was no way for him to prove it. “There is something between us. I feel drawn to her, but I can’t claim to know if she’s my mate yet. Our time together has been limited, and as often as she responds, she just as often pushes me away.”
The King of Night shook his head and turned away to look out the window.
Lord Marcus sighed, “The issue here, Cavayn, is how do you intend to control her in the event that she is manipulating you?”
Anger surged in him and he knew his flame danced as he braced himself to challenge his Kings. “How did you choose to control Lord Cymeryn when he was first transitioning into this world?”
“To be frank, I already knew of my twin’s love for my mate when he began to travel this path. When we allowed Cymeryn to enter here, the Queen already carried both our young through a union blessed by the Divine Being. He was well on his path to Redemption through his own means,” the King of Light offered shocking him slightly.
They all knew the Queen carried twins, but it was assumed in the Kingdoms that only one of the Kings had sired them and the other merely Claimed them equally. He’d heard otherwise, but that was considered to be a rumor. Though in truth it didn’t really surprise him. He had caught the three of them in many intimate embraces. They made no effort to hide the truth of their union, and they were bound as one. It wasn’t his place to judge them for it. Keeping that female locked in that cage, however, was another matter.
“Cavayn, the nature of your position requires you to travel between this realm and the Realm of Light consistently. You spend four days per week out of realm. If we grant what you request, you will only be here to see to her three days each week and she is a security risk,” Lord Marcus continued.
“Then allow me to keep her at my side,” he countered. “I have appropriate quarters in the Realm of Light to make a home for her, and I can put in for a suite here to meet our needs.”
Her sire turned facing him. “And when she leaves you in the Realm of Light and returns to the Shade, only to end up back in the hell we saved her from? Or when Pravyous senses her essence and comes for her, deciding to use her to draw me out? You claim she is unstable, that she is emotionally broken. Do you honestly believe that she will stay with you and seek this life that she feels gifts her nothing?”
Cavayn rubbed his brow as he stared at his feet trying to reign in his anger, but it was impossible. As he spoke it surged forth stronger and his words became more clipped and biting. “I realize there is a risk to this, but it’s better than locking her in a cage, throwing her away as if she’s worthless. Are you even aware that I placed her on suicide watch? That I caught her with a fashioned noose and had to remove her sheets and replace them with a sleep pack? Do you even care enough about her to pay attention to the reports that I have sent you about her wellbeing? Or sense her for yourself?” He demanded knowing his fire shown freely in his eyes. He couldn’t help it. It enraged him that she suffered in pain while the King, her own sire, ignored it. “Do you even care that she almost died?”
Cymeryn hissed in a breath, stumbling back as if Cavayn had smacked him. As he gaped at him, he knew he’d been correct. The King had yet to even read the reports of the issues his own progeny faced. He doused his flames and lifted the file detailing the situation which he’d noticed sitting on the corner of his desk. Cavayn thrust it towards the King in demand, but Lord Cymeryn shook his head, letting it fall to the floor as he scrubbed his face.
“When did this occur?”
“Three days ago,” he replied flatly.
There was much he respected about the King. He’d proven to be a Fae of honor in every other situation, or Cavayn would have never accepted his post. In this situation, however, he couldn’t hide his contempt. He didn’t understand it enough yet, but Tatyna was special to him. The thought of the great Cymeryn a Cymarcion sitting up in his suite, sipping his wine with his mate and his lines while she continued to spiral into a Dark abyss was despicable to him. Lord Cymeryn knew Cavayn was right here, begging to be able to help her, and still he ignored the situation.
“Tell me exactly what occurred,” Lord Cymeryn demanded.
Cavayn met his eyes unforgivingly. “I was held up in the Realm of Light most of the week, as you know. It was late. Most were sleeping in the Kingdom when I arrived and she was not expecting me until the morn. I went to relieve her guard, thinking I could spend time with her until she fell asleep.” He looked away, unwilling to see any judgment on their faces. “She likes when I read to her at night sometimes…my voice soothes her…” He drew a breath as he trailed off.
It was difficult to relay the events that occurred. Thank Lucerna he’d decided he needed to see her that night. “She wasn’t in her cell. She’d requested to freshen up before bed, but of course without her guard there to inform me I had no way of knowing. I immediately searched for her. I found Trycen standing outside the showers waiting, but something felt off and he seemed uncertain of the situation. When I asked him how long she’d been in there he said more than half an hour. It was strange that she’d requested to shower in the first place, but even the few times that she did on her own, Tatyna rarely took more than ten minutes. I made a judgment call and entered the showers.”
Cavayn grimaced recalling the scene that had stopped his heart. “She was fully clothed, slumped forward under the water with one end of the sheet tied to the shower head and the other to her neck, knotted in a noose around her throat. She was unconscious, my lord,” he choked as he turned from him, unwilling to let them see how much it affected him. “I revived her, carried her back to her bed, and stayed while they treated her. If she had been human, or even unawakened, she’d be dead. Even still it was close. I sat with her until morn to ensure she was alright. She admitted to me that she’d tied the sheet around her body when granted privacy to change so she could smuggle it into the showers. She said she couldn’t go on anymore. You were out of the realm in the Sacred Grove or you would’ve been notified immediately.”
The King looked almost as pale as when he’d been Shade. Good, he should feel some shame and guilt in this. There was part of him that felt the king should suffer as badly as Tatyna, but the truth was the situation was a complicated mess. He understood some of the Fae’s reasoning, but if he’d just spend five minutes with her, he’d see his concerns were severely misplaced.
Lord Cymeryn breathed deeply and Lord Marcus shook his head rubbing his brow. Neither of them wanted her hurt, but they hadn’t lifted a finger to help her either. He wasn’t about to let them continue to ignore her.
“Does Demytria know what occurred?” Cymeryn demanded in frustration.
“Not in exact details, no. I informed her that I was placing her on suicide watch and would ensure you received a report of the reason. There’s enough tension and strain between the two of them and Tatyna made me promise I wouldn’t tell her. I restricted her to fifteen minutes for her showers. She is to be searched before she leaves her cell. She is to be observed while eating and her silverware is accounted for after every meal. I also receive regular reports on her wellbeing throughout the day when I’m out of the realm now.”
The Kings stood in silence as he measured them. He could only hope he was making some amount of headway. He knew they feared what Tatyna would do to the Queen, but the truth was that female was only a danger to herself at the moment.
Everything she knew had been lost. She’d even lost herself. Tatyna needed him and he wouldn’t abandon her. He was so fed up with this situation he was ready to pull her from that cell and take her with him to the Realm of Light even if they didn’t grant this. He wouldn’t lose her before he even had a chance to understand what was happening between them.
Cymeryn measured Cavayn’s resolve, watching the flame dance along his skin and Light his eyes. The male was set on this course and it was clear to see how much he cared for Tatyna. He had caught them in several intimate interactions; Cavayn feeding her from his hand, holding her in his lap as he quietly sang to her, lying in bed as he read to her from the legends of their history. Cymeryn did not begrudge the Fae his anger. He had been ignoring this situation for far too long. It was unforgivable.
He had sensed something wrong, sensed Tatyna fade briefly, but as there had been no pain he had dismissed it. If she were any of the young, or even Demytria, he would have gone to check on them in an instant. He was disgusted with himself that he had not.
It was true that Tatyna was capable of being manipulative and using threats to her wellbeing to gain his affection, but he had known from both Demytria and Cavayn how much she struggled. He had seen it with his own eyes when he had gone to see her.
The truth was facing her meant facing how much wrong he had done the female. It was more difficult than he cared to admit. That neither absolved him of his responsibility to her nor excused his lack of attention in this matter. He was her sire.
It may be protocol that any Shade that entered the realm either begin seeking Redemption openly or remain under guard. There might be others in the dungeon who had refused to so much as discuss Redemption, but Tatyna was his. Her situation was far different than the others. She may have been brought in as a prisoner at first, but the moment she fought at their side, sacrificing herself to give them a chance to defeat Alayne, her path had altered. When he had rescued her from the Dark Domain, he had known she had changed. He could sense how weakened she was, how fragile in so many ways. There was very little fight left in his proud little Warrior, his little rose. The trauma she had endured had irreparably altered her. Yet he continued to treat her as the Shade she had been. This could go on no longer.
Turning to Marcus he met his twin in the eye, allowing him to feel the pain this caused him. “I cannot allow this to continue. Cavayn is right. We have given her nothing to hold on to and I have ignored this far too long hoping that she would come around on her own.”
“Yes, but if she is truly suicidal, is it really a good idea to allow her into a less restrictive environment?” His brother questioned with concern.
“She’s suicidal because she has nothing. Let me show her there’s more to offer her here than she believes,” Cavayn pleaded. “I know you want us to share duties. My place is technically in the Realm of Light, but perhaps Demytria would be willing to oversee things there for a little while so that I could get Tatyna settled and used to a routine.”
“Get her,” Cymeryn commanded as he considered it.
Marcus looked to him warily, but misted to retrieve Demytria. His twin was unsure what the right course in this was. He knew how difficult it was for Cymeryn to deal with, but his main focus as always was Reyana’s safety. It had been one of his own concerns when they had first brought Tatyna here as well, however he did not believe that was actually an issue. If it had been Tatyna would have been trying to escape, not take her own life. He would need to sense her for himself, but he had no doubt that she was no longer a threat to Reyana, or even Demytria.
He turned back to Cavayn. “I need to ensure you have what you need in place to manage her before I can grant your request to free her. It is not that I believe that she is truly a security risk, Cavayn, but knowing her as well as I do it would be foolish to discount the possibility completely.” Besides, if she truly meant to end her life this would allow Cavayn the support necessary to ensure her safety and wellbeing until he could reach her.
“And the Request of Courting?” The male demanded.
Cymeryn smirked mildly amused. “I had expected you to ask sooner. Yes, Cavayn a Cavarion, of the Fire Fae, my Head of the Light Branch of the Securine; I, Lord Cymeryn a Cymarcion, of the Lucerna Lines, King of the Night Throne of Balance, do so grant your request to court my progeny, the Lady Tatyna a Cymeryn.”
