Shimmer

  Summer’s Harem Book 1

  Maggie Alabaster

  Copyright © 2023 by Maggie Alabaster

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover by Ravenborn designs

  Edited by Lily Luchesi

  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

  About the Author

  Also by Maggie Alabaster

  Chapter One

  "For the millionth fucking time, don't call me Gardenia." What did I want to do more right now, slap him or screw him silly?

  "It's your name, isn't it?" Huon smirked like the smug prick he was.

  "Not for the last hundred years." I crossed my arms over my chest to keep myself from trying to wipe the expression off his face.

  The door opened beside us and Sorrel peered out. "Keep it down." She glared at us both, then sighed deeply. "It won't be long now."

  I dropped my hands to my sides. "Sorry." I glanced at Huon, but he was looking toward his feet.

  He was a pain in my ass, but I understood his reluctance to face the situation. Sooner or later, he’d have to.

  "Summer, the king wants to see you." At least Sorrel used the name I chose for myself. She shot Huon an apologetic glance and waved me inside.

  King Birch was an uncle to me in every way but by blood. Huon, his oldest son, would be king after him, but Birch always had a soft spot for me.

  "Hey," I said softly.

  The room was dark. Only a sliver of late afternoon sun dared to slip between the curtains and slant across the bed. The faint light was barely enough to illuminate the shell of the Fae who led us for the last two hundred years.

  He smiled at me. In spite of the sickness, his expression was warm.

  "Has Huon been calling you Gardenia again?" Of course he would think of anyone but himself in his final hours. That was just like him.

  I flushed, embarrassed. "You heard?" He didn't need our childish arguments now. Okay, ever, but especially now.

  "Yes." His voice was soft, laboured, but clear. Anyone else would have succumbed by now, let the sickness take them. Not Birch. He would fight until the last. "But I could tell by the look on your face." His eyes smiled as they did whenever he teased me.

  I lightly touched my heated cheek. "He knows I hate it."

  Birch chuckled, but it turned into a wheeze. He was too proud for me to fuss, so I stayed near the door.

  "Huon can be a handful," he said finally. "As can you." His white teeth flashed.

  "No Fae is perfect," I replied tartly. That was followed by a grimace. "Except Zinnia." My eldest sister was the epitome of grace and elegance, all the things I didn't give a shit about.

  "It's you I've asked for, not her," Birch replied.

  I knew that tone. It put me immediately on my guard. "What?"

  "I want to ask one last thing," he said, totally guileless as always.

  I resisted the urge to fly the hell out the window. For the second time in a handful of minutes, I crossed my arms over my chest.

  "I'm not marrying Huon—"

  "While I would like it if you did, it's not that." Birch paused. "I have another task for you. I want you to restore lesser magic to the Fae realm."

  Yep, I should have left when I got the chance.

  "Are you . . . Out. Of. Your. Fucking. Mind?" I asked.

  He smiled again, tired, but full of charm. "I've never been more in my right mind."

  "That's debatable." I moved over to perch on the side of his bed. The breeze from the open window caressed my wings. It tickled. I shifted position, turned my back away from the draught.

  "All right, assuming I plan to buy into this crazy plan, where would I even start.?"

  "Summer, Summer, Summer," he said slowly, "if anyone would know such a thing, it would be you."

  "And yet," I said, "here I sit, lacking a clue. No one knows why lesser magic failed in the first place." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Right?"

  When he didn't respond, I sighed. "I know you like puzzles, but if you know something, now is the time to say so." Or he could be infuriating, die and leave me with no answers and an impossible task. Fae aren't immortal, but we’re stubborn and we live long enough to spend a few decades on a problem and get nowhere.

  "Better yet, give this task to Huon. He could use something to pass the time for a century or so."

  "His isn't the right magic for this, but combined—"

  What?

  "What?" I stared at him. "Combined how?"

  "I'm not certain," he admitted. "I know there's an answer to this. Somehow. If you don't find it, Fae kind will die out."

  There it was, he dumped the whole thing—guilt trip and all—on me.

  "There might be no way to fix it. If higher magic can't do it, maybe nothing can," I pointed out.

  "I'm certain there's a way. Higher and lesser magic aren't that different."

  Truthfully, calling them that is a misnomer. What we call higher magic comes from us Fae. Lesser magic comes from the Earth itself. Whoever coined the terms was arrogant to decide our magic was more than that of the whole fucking planet, but it caught on. The distinction isn't relevant, as much as the fact there is one. The failure of natural magic was always going to be a disaster.

  The problem was, in spite of what he said, I had no idea how to fix it.

  "I need you to work with Huon." His voice was weaker now.

  "Is the pain that bad?" I asked gently.

  "Because it's making me delusional?" He gave me a faint smile.

  "I don't want to be horrible, but I'm not ruling it out." The smile I gave back was watery. "Huon has never taken anything seriously in his life." I regarded Birch for a while. "That's the point, isn't it? You think whatever this task involves, it might make him grow up. Do you really think we have a chance?"

  I might be difficult in many ways myself, but I was not a rehabilitation centre for wayward Fae. If that was what Birch was after, I was out.

  "I know you can do this," he replied. "It's too late for me, but the rest of the Fae need you to do this, before it's too late for them."

  "No pressure." I sighed. I wished he hadn't fallen sick with the wasting disease not even high magic could remedy. Birch could have gone on being king. Huon could take another few hundred years to mature.

  It's true what they say, sometimes life makes you grow up too fast.

  "I wish I didn't have to pressure you," Birch replied. "Give Huon a chance." He glanced toward the door. "I know he's been difficult—"

  I snorted but didn't bother to disagree.

  "He's also trying to find his place in the worlds," Birch finished.

  I frowned. "He's a prince. The heir." I didn't add that he would be king soon, the words hung in the air.

  "That's a role," Birch said patiently, "it doesn't define him. What kind of king will he be? How will he rule? Those are things he has yet to work out."

  "He needs more time," I whispered. A tear trickled down my cheek.

  "There is no more time," Birch replied. "Like it or not, he will need your help. I wish…"

  "Don't say it," I urged. "I wouldn't have wanted to be queen, even if I was related to you by blood."

  He smiled wanly. "Of course not. The best monarchs are ones who didn't want the job."

  "In that case, Huon will exceed all expectations," I said dryly.

  "Perhaps, but I still need you to do this task for me. For Huon, for all the Fae."

  I sighed again. "You know I will, even if it's against my better judgement to keep trying."

  He reached for my hand and squeezed it. "I knew you would. You might not think you can do this, but you can. You won't be alone. There are others who will help you."

  He exhaled and his hand relaxed. For a moment I thought he'd gone, but then he asked, "Can you tell Huon to come in now? It's time to say goodbye to him."

  "Of course." I leaned over to kiss his cheek. His skin was cool. Not quite icy, but not the warmth I was used to from him. "Safe travels through the seven hells." I didn't know whether or not there was such a thing, but I would have preferred him to stay in this life.

  Birch nodded. "I'll see you again some day, if the gods allow."

  I sniffed and hurried out the door. I only glanced back once, but it was through a sheen of tears.

  "He wants to see you."

  Huon nodded. His face was wet too, but he turned away as I appeared in the doorwa

y. Any other time, I would have called him out on his pride. Today, I put a hand on his arm, patted it with my fingertips and moved away.

  I had no more words to say, not yet.

  Chapter Two

  "You think he was crazy, don't you?" Huon asked.

  I reclined on an oversized leaf. My glistening wings stretched out under me to catch the rays of sun which peeked through the canopy of fragrant flowers over my head.

  Huon flopped down beside me and made the leaf rock.

  I put out a hand to steady myself. His use of ‘was’ left me breathless for a moment. Birch died peacefully four days ago, but it still hurt like a punch to my heart.

  "No," I replied finally. "I think he was hopeful, optimistic and wanted the best for us all." Crazy? Maybe a little bit, but that was beside the point now.

  "You know what he wanted for us," Huon said softly. "Apart from looking for lesser magic."

  I looked into his eyes of brilliant blue. He had long lashes, even for a Fae, a broad mouth and strong chin. Most of that was from his mother. His nose was definitely from Birch.

  "We fight like siblings," I pointed out.

  "When we don't fuck like trolls," he added. Given the rate trolls bred, it was fortunate they only lived for a handful of years—just seventy or eighty or so.

  He ran the tip of his finger down the side of my wing. One of the most sensitive places, as he well knew.

  I shivered.

  "Fucking doesn't make us suitable spouses." My mouth went dry.

  "Why not?" He stroked his finger back up my wing.

  "I can think of a dozen reasons." I should probably push him away, but I didn't want to. "What do you think of trying to get lesser magic back? Seriously."

  He paused mid-stroke and looked me in the eyes. "If he thought it was possible, then I guess it is. It's worth a try anyway, right?"

  I narrowed my eyes at him. "How many lovers did you have in the human realm?"

  He laughed softly. "Probably as many as you. Why? Are you jealous?"

  I snorted. "Hardly." Fae weren't given to jealousy when it came to our mates. Huon's mother, Aster, had three husbands and I never saw Birch bothered by it for a moment.

  "Good. Father seemed to think you're the key to bringing back lesser magic."

  I nodded. "Something about combining magic. We never figured out what caused it to fail in the first place, so I have no idea what we'd try, combined or not."

  "If you did know, would you do it?" he asked. "No matter what it was?"

  I ran a hand over my hair and tugged lightly at the ends. That seemed like a simple question, but the gods only knew what sacrifice we might have to make.

  "Yes, I would," I said finally. "We've both seen what's happening in the Fae realm. The plants are starting to die, the weather is different." At first the change was slow, barely noticeable, but now— I saw it more and more. Never without a shiver of fear.

  Huon nodded. "We need to find the source of the problem first. At my father's suggestion, I asked a couple of my friends to help." He looked as though he had more to say, but didn't.

  "You have friends who have time to do more than laze about drinking elderberry wine?" I teased.

  He laughed softly. "The lifestyles of the bored and idle Fae. I certainly need to find more things for us to do." He cocked his head at me. "For example, what are you doing right now?"

  I smiled. "Taking a break from picking berries." I showed him my hands, stained with juice.

  His eyes on mine, he leaned to run his tongue up between two fingers before he took one between his lips and sucked gently. "Delicious. Just like the rest of you."

  I looked at him through my lashes. "We really should be trying to find a solution to the problem of how to bring back lesser magic."

  He smiled at me. "Afterward." He let go of my finger and leaned further over to tickle my neck with the tip of his tongue. His touch was barely more than a brush of a dragonfly wing, but it sent heat right to my core.

  I swallowed, breathless already. "I guess it's waited for this long, it can wait a little while longer."

  "Mmmhmm," he murmured. His breath brushed my neck. He slipped a hand down my leg and under my skirt, then back up my thigh. A light brush back and forth, he ghosted his fingers over the front of my panties, teasing my already aching pussy.

  A huffed out a breath of need and felt him smile against my neck. He might be a prick, but he knew how to get me going.

  “So hot for me already,” he whispered.

  Asshole.

  He tugged my panties aside and slid a finger across my pussy. Then two, sliding over my already damp folds and around my needy clit. He teased like that for a while, his hard cock pressed against the side of my leg.

  “Tell me you want me,” he whispered insistently.

  I wanted to tell him to fuck off, that I wouldn’t beg. My pussy had other ideas. She wanted him right fucking now.

  “I want you.” I closed my eyes. “Please.”

  “Good girl,” he soothed.

  Gods, I should have hated that, but I didn’t. Those words from between his lips were like a burst of fire right through me. The prick knew it too.

  He found my clit and started to rub softly, gently. His skin barely touched mine, but it was enough to make me drenched and panting.

  I hadn’t even started to move against him when he withdrew his hand.

  “Take your panties off. They’re in the way.”

  I glanced at him, frowning lightly, but raised my hips, pulled off my panties and tossed them aside.

  “Skirt too,” he added. “Off.”

  I undid my skirt and threw it in roughly the same direction as my panties.

  “Now your top.” He watched me through half-lidded eyes. “Now.”

  I drew my top over my head, careful not to pull my wings up with it. and it joined the small pile.

  He smiled and sat back to admire my bared breasts. "I always forget how lovely you are," he said, his voice low and husky. "I could gobble you up." Instead, he lowered his mouth to one of my pert nipples. He traced circles around it with his tongue, then drew it between his lips and started to suckle, just hard enough to hurt. His teeth grazed my sensitive flesh, leaving red marks behind.

  He cupped my ass and pulled me closer to him, before pressing his other hand back between my legs. He pushed my thighs apart and slid a finger inside me, then two. He stroked me from the inside, while the heel of his hand rubbed my clit.

  “Free my cock,” he said softly. “I want to feel your hand on me.”

  I only hesitated for a moment before I let my hand wander down to the hard bulge in his pants. I rubbed my palms across it once, twice, until he grunted.

  “My cock in your hand, now.”

  Rough, like his tone, I tugged the laces of his pants undone and pulled them down to free his thick erection.

  I wrapped my fingers around his length and slid them up and down in rhythm with my rocking against his hand.

  "Fucking gods, Sum," he breathed.

  "Now you remember to call me that," I teased.

  He chuckled. The sound and his touch drove me closer to the edge. I bucked harder, needing release.

  "That feels so good."

  Underneath us, the leaf rocked with our movement, threatening to toss us off.

  “Of course it does,” he said, expertly working my g-spot and clit, while his hips thrust him harder into my hand. “Do you want to come?”

  I could barely do words right now, so I murmured my agreement.

  His hand stilled. “You know what I need to hear.”

  I growled softly in frustration, but all he did was laugh.

  “Not until you ask.”

  I gritted my teeth and said nothing until he started to pull his hand away.

  “Please,” I said quickly. “I want to come.” Asshole loved it when I begged. Secretly, so did I. This thing between us, this game, it made us both hot.

  “Good girl,” he said approvingly. He went back to working me, harder than before. Hard enough to blur the line between pleasure and pain. Maybe they were the same thing.

 

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