Sapphire Falls (The Lost Realm #2)

48. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Avery

I t was early morning and Morgan and Susan were already flying back to Nephel on their own. It was such a short trip, Avery longed for more time with her sister and Susan, but they both insisted they were needed in Nephel. She still didn’t know what Savine thought about the prospect of an alliance, but she was ready to do whatever she could to support Morgan.

She’d thought more about Kyla’s words and knew she was right. She couldn’t hold onto this anger for what Savine did to Morgan. It wasn’t fair to either of them if she continued to hold a grudge.

“Savine?” Avery asked, stepping into his office. He sat at his desk, forefinger and thumb on the bridge of nose. His essence was still and he looked as though he’d hardly slept the night before.

“Ave,” Savine said, quickly bridging the gap between them. “Did Susan and Morgan leave already?”

She gave a tiny nod, reaching out her hand to his. He took it greedily, the contact between them sending a jolt through her that she could never resist.

Savine tugged her close and knelt before her as he dropped her hand. To see this powerful, courageous man kneel before her, looking up at her with a mix of pain and longing, nearly took Avery’s breath away. The intensity in his eyes made her stomach twist as he placed his hands on her hips.

“Avery, I never want to cause you to hurt. Harming Morgan and Susan was a foolish mistake I made in fear and anger. Goddess above, last night not having you close enough to smell, to taste, to share all the happenings of the day with you has been painful enough that I’ll do anything for your forgiveness.”

Avery could feel the hard wall of her anger cracking under his words, diminishing to a pile of rubble as his hands tightened against her waist and he continued speaking.

“Not touching you almost broke me. Every piece of me is yours. Every fragile shard is yours to shatter, and that’s what you’re doing to me. You’re shattering me into fragments of myself. If that’s what it takes for you to forgive me, then I’ll let you crumble me to ruin. But just please, I beg of you, tell me that you won’t stay angry.”

With that, the wall crumbled into the dust and she placed her hands on his cheek, rubbing circles against his beard. “Savine, my love for you is strong and it’s lasting. Even when I’m mad, I still love you and that’s not going to go away.”

“Do you forgive me? I need to know you forgive me.”

Avery wrapped her hands around his broad arms and tugged him up to her. Standing there before her, she tilted her head up to look at him. His face was softer, but there was still the lingering doubt that she would continue to torture him. She didn’t want that. All she’d even wanted was for him to say he was sorry. Was that too much to ask?

“Of course I forgive you. I love you too much not to,” Avery said.

Savine let his body crash against her, pressing her back against the wall. She wanted to swallow his need, his thrumming desire for her up and never let it go. As his tongue slid against hers, Avery knew this man could do anything and if he met her on his knees she’d forgive him. She’d welcome him back to her again and again.

Savine pulled back and looked at her with darkened eyes. “I want you, Avery. I want to make you cry my name so loud that the whole city knows how forgiving you are.”

Avery rubbed her thighs together, sensation building in her core and she quirked a smile at Savine. “Is that a challenge, old man?”

The tip of Savine’s essence peeked out of his shirt and his pupils dilated so that the dusky blue of his eye was but a slit. “Do you accept the challenge?” Savine said, a wolfish smile on his face.

“Happily,” Avery said.

Before she could draw another breath, Savine’s nimble fingers were at the leather cord of her pants, unfastening them and tugging them down to her ankles. Avery gasped at the contact of his skin against hers.

Savine’s knuckles brushed against her inner thigh, the roughness of his hands scraping her sensitive flesh. He worked his way up her leg, reaching her hot center. His finger pressed inside her and she cried out from the delicious pleasure of his touch. His touch against her innermost walls was so good as his fingers glided in and out of her. She couldn’t stop her body from rocking against his fingers as tension coiled deep within her.

“Damn, Avery,” Savine growled as he pumped into her harder than she thought she could bear. His nimble thumb found her bundle of nerves as he began making stroking circles, increasing the pressure as he felt her respond to him. She needed this, this connection to him that made her wild for the fae that had stolen her heart and her soul.

Savine kissed her desperately, seeking his need to feel her release just as much as her own. “You’re going to come for me, aren’t you?”

Avery let out a whimper that was meant to be a yes, but it died on her tongue.

“Is that a yes, Little Flower?”

“Yes!” Avery gasped out as Savine flicked her clit, making her see stars as her world exploded in light and heat and need. She didn’t even notice how she screamed his name. He was wringing every bit of pleasure from her that her voice didn’t even seem real anymore.

“Good girl,” Savine said, pulling his fingers away, leaving her empty. “Now I want to be so lost in you that I can’t remember my own damn name.” Her pants were still tight around her ankles as he positioned her against his desk, ass in the air.

He tugged his pants down, exposing the thick, hard ridge of his cock, letting his leathers slide down to his feet. She could feel his erection rubbing against her entrance. She wanted him inside her. Needed to feel him stretch her and take her so deeply against his desk.

“I want you hard and fast, Savine,” Avery said, her voice husky with desire.

He gave her exactly what she’d asked for. He didn’t press into her gently or slowly. With both his hands on her hips, Savine slammed into her, filling her to the hilt. He stretched her, fitting so deeply, so tight at this angle, that Avery didn’t know if she wanted to cry out in pain or bliss. She bit down on her lower lip, as he began moving in and out of her, the slap of their skin filling the room.

“There will never be anything that prevents us from being together. You know that, don’t you? Not some fucking fae who wants to steal you from me, not a prophecy, not even our pants will stop me from being with you, Ave.”

All Avery could do was whimper, “Never, nothing,” as Savine crashed into her. He moved in a way that was meant to sear, to reclaim her as his own, as his mate, and she wanted him to. She wanted him to make her scream in pleasure and pain, to skirt the edge of that balance. Avery arched her back, letting him drive into her even deeper, harder as he drove her to the edge of her pleasure.

Savine sensed her spiraling closer to the edge of her release, and drove into her in a frantic rhythm, desperate to fall with her. The world around her ceased to exist. Nothing else mattered than their plunge into ecstasy together.

Avery gasped, leaning her head against the desk as Savine slid out of her and helped her find her balance.

“That was—“ Savine didn’t finish his thought as he kissed her neck and shoulders tenderly before he pulled up his pants. Moments later, he returned to her, kissing down her spine.

Avery smiled through the kisses. “That was some hot make up sex.” Savine helped her stand as he knelt before her, resecuring her pants.

Savine wrapped his arm around Avery’s waist and began guiding her to the chairs.

As he sat down, he pulled her into his lap, resting his head against her shoulder. “Avery, I needed you. Not just physically, but I need to know I have your support with the decision I come to concerning allying with Nephel. There are so many factors to consider, and I can’t be impartial when it comes to Rylo.”

“Tell me what’s on your mind.”

He shook his head, before running his free hand through his tangled hair, the crown not visible. “I just got Latiah out of a war. We haven’t even begun to recover, and pushing my folk into a conflict that is not ours is wrong. Yet, I also know if we do not accept this alliance and act early, we will face the war on our own borders, and there are the relics to consider. What does it mean if Kyla doesn’t follow the will of the Premier Goddess? If Morgan and Rylo gained one then that makes three relics found, only two left. It would be worth it to ally with Nephel just to find the relics.”

Avery thought carefully about what Savine was saying. She understood how he would feel so conflicted, and yet, in her mind, there was only one path. Even if she hated Rylo for what he did to her, even if she never forgave him for the hurt he’d caused Savine, she couldn’t imagine abandoning Morgan to a war against a more powerful enemy. But she didn’t want to blurt that out. It was her natural instinct to say what was on her mind right away, but she was trying to change, trying to be a better listener.

“You’re taking the right steps by considering the different possibilities that could happen before making a decision to ally with Nephel. Why don’t we go to the trees for your answers?”

Savine nodded. “Thank you for listening to me, Little Flower. I think you’re right.” He stood, pulling her up to her feet. They went to their rooms and changed into thick winter clothing before venturing into the forests.

Savine

The horror that Morgan had shared with his council was nothing Savine expected, and it left him reeling with concern for his own folk’s safety. If what Morgan said was true, Goldoth could travel up river from Nephel and be at Orofine’s doorstep by midwinter. His newly reunited kingdom could be under siege by an outside nation before the Long Night.

“You believe Morgan, don’t you?” Avery asked as they walked into the still and silent forest.

Savine knew he’d made a terrible mistake when he didn’t trust Morgan upon her arrival at Orofine. “I have no doubt in my mind that Morgan is telling the truth. I was wrong when I doubted her loyalty to you, and that won’t happen again. She may choose to take a different path from yours, but she would never try to harm you.”

Avery smiled up at him. “Thank you for believing her.”

The day was sunny and cold, the sun’s reflection on the snow stung his eyes as he looked toward the forest nearby. Avery covered her arm across her face. “I’m adding sunglasses to my list,” she muttered to herself.

“Sunglasses?” Savine asked. Another human contraption, he supposed. Humans seemed to have an endless supply of gadgets to make their life more comfortable.

“Yeah, they block out the sun’s rays. They’re going on my list for when I figure out how to travel safely between our realms.”

Savine chuckled. “What else do you plan to bring back with you?”

“More like what am I not bringing. But really, my winter gear. I’m tired of wearing a dead animal to keep warm. Toothpaste, a fresh toothbrush, human birth control-—that tea Hyacinth brews me tastes like dirt—tampons, and a ton of food. You’re going to love coffee. Oh, and beer. Plenty of beer. It would be fun to bring my bike too, and skis of course.”

He loved hearing her daydream of how to blend their cultures. He hoped her dreams came true and he could see her homeland, as well as bring back anything that she lacked in the fae realm. “I think I will need to start expanding our rooms sooner than I anticipated, just to accommodate all your human items.” Savine pointed to a copse of pines and firs nearby. “We’ll go to the pines there. They can begin relaying our message south.”

Savine approached a tall ponderosa pine. He’d often come here when he needed to check on news quickly since coming into his throne. Using mycillious, he said, “Hello friend, tell me of the stirrings beyond our borders. Send messages south toward the borders of Goldoth and the Wastewater.”

The tree began to slowly shake, stirring its high branches. “What you ask will be long in coming.”

“How long?” Savine asked.

“ Not until the sun sinks below the mountains.”

Savine looked at the sky. It was still early morning.

“ Very well. I specifically need to know what the Goldoth army is doing. If their warriors are on the move, what direction?”

“War stirs too soon on the throne of so young a ruler.”

“Rulers often do not have the luxury to know when their rule will be tested. It appears the time is now.” Savine said before he turned from the tree and walked to find Avery watching from a distance. She looked anxious as she eyed the tree, still stirring from his conversation.

“What did it say?” she asked.

“We should return home. It will be a long time before the trees have answers to what I seek.” He slid his arm over her shoulder, thankful that he was once again touching her as they made their way back to the King’s Residence.