Haelan’s Desire (Walk Through Shadows Book Four)

It hadn’t been a dream.

Haelan opened his eyes and turned his head on the pillow. Em was still asleep and pressed so close to his side that her leg was lying on top of his. She was using his shoulder as a pillow and every time she took a breath the swell of her breast pushed against the side of his chest. His lips curved into a little smile as her hand, which had been tucked near her face, slid across his chest. He lifted his free hand and trailed his fingertips along her forearm. She sighed and swept her thumb through his chest hair. His smile grew.

“Good morning, lass,” he murmured.

She snuggled closer to his side. “Not yet,” she mumbled.

His fingers glided back up her arm. “There’s lots to do to prepare for tonight,” he said softly.

“We can’t stay in bed a little longer?”

“Sadly, no,” he said as he caught her hand and brought it to his cheek.

She rubbed his skin for a second, then lifted her hand away. “You’re prickly,” she said with a giggle.

His fingers drew a small figure eight on her forearm, which resulted in another breathy giggle. “I will shave for my lady.”

She skimmed her fingers down his scruffy chin. “Hey, none of that,” she murmured. “Not yet.”

“None of what? My lady?” He shifted onto his side. “Does it bother you for anyone to know that I’m courting you?”

“No, but we can’t say anything yet. Not till after the ceremony.” Em ran her hand down his side. “It might take attention away from the happy couple, that would be rude.”

“I can’t even tell my sons?”

“Especially them,” she mumbled. “It’s Faine and Lorakalyn’s day. Our news can wait.”

Haelan sighed, then pulled her closer. “Would you be willing to bargain for my silence?”

Em laughed. “What kind of bargain are we talking about here?”

His chin rubbed against her hair. “In return for my not flying through the countryside and declaring my love for you to every living being in the province—” Em giggled. “Once we return to my estate, we spend several days in my bed and you allow me to explore every inch of you.”

“What about your meetings with the captain?” she asked with a wide smile.

He chuckled as he rolled her onto her back and kissed her forehead lightly. “When my duties permit of course.”

She grinned up at him. “Aren’t you going to spend some time with Faerwald?”

“Lass,” he said as he drew back to consider her smiling face. “It almost sounds like you’re trying to avoid my proposition.”

She reached up and smoothed his cheek with the back of her hand. “I know how busy you are when you’re home. I’m just trying to keep my expectations where they should be.”

“I promise I will have time to spend with you.” He dipped his head to kiss her gently. “And in the meantime, I’ll keep this development to myself.”

“Thank you.” She lifted her head to give him a soft kiss. “You should let me up so I can get dressed before one of the twins starts banging on the door.”

He dropped another kiss on her lips, then rolled away to give her room. Em held the blanket to her chest as she sat up and looked around for her top. “I believe I was aiming over there,” Haelan said and pointed toward the end of the bed. Em scooted her butt along the side of the bed and peeked at the floor. She reached for her clothes, but they were just out of reach. Haelan pushed himself to his elbows and watched with a grin as she caught a hold of her shorts with her toes and dragged them close enough to snatch up with her hand. He laughed when she repeated the process with the top. “Lass, you don’t have to hide yourself away from me,” he said, then sat up and flipped the blanket from his legs. He snagged his pants from the floor and pulled them on as he stood. “I’ve seen you naked.” He looked over his shoulder to watch her pull her shirt into place, then wiggle into her shorts. “It was quite enjoyable.”

“That was at night, with romantic lighting,” she said as she stood and waved a hand at the canvas ceiling. It was glowing with sunlight. “It’s not the same.”

He turned to face her. “You’re being silly.”

The shy smile disappeared from her face as she came around the end of the bed to stand in front of him. “Turn around.”

His brows came together. “Why?”

“I just noticed something and I want a closer look.”

He turned. “What did you see?”

“This.” Her fingertips skimmed his back, right over his shoulder blades. “Your skin—it’s lighter here.”

“Where my wings belong,” he murmured.

“Is it uncomfortable? When they’re gone, I mean?” Her hands lifted away, and he turned back to face her.

“At first it felt strange, like my body was too light.” He smiled. “It took some time to learn to walk properly. I haven’t adapted to fighting without them yet, neither has Alasdair.”

Her head tilted. “If something were to happen, in my realm, you’d have to—”

“You can’t think like that,” he said. She made a little noise of distress in the back of her throat. “It’s a risk I take willingly.” His lips curved in a gentle smile as she stared up at him. “And nothing has happened.”

“But it could,” she whispered.

He pulled her forward and wrapped his arms around her. “If, in the future, something were to happen, I can always whisk you away to this realm,” he murmured as he rested his cheek on the top of her head.

She relaxed against his chest and slid her arms around his waist to hug him tightly. “That would be better than exposing yourself.”

“Yes, lass.” He pressed a kiss to her hair, then gave her a little squeeze. “Now, we should start our day. I want to make sure I have time to go to the village.” Em’s cheeks flushed as she ducked her head.

Em gazed at her reflection and turned her head slowly. She smiled and decided her work was completed. She’d only used a light application of makeup, then pinned her hair into a loose bun. Several tendrils of hair hung down in wispy waves to frame her face. She gave her image in the mirror a nod, then pulled a small blue box that contained her earrings from her make-up bag and opened it. Once the fake sapphire solitaires were in place, she gathered everything into the bag and set it aside.

She glanced at the door leading to Haelan’s room. There was a muffled sound of a door closing. She waited a few moments, but there was no knock on the door between their rooms.

She’d spent most of the day, along with the faerie guards and a dozen neighbours, helping Lorakalyn’s family decorate the clearing where the ceremony would be held. While she returned to the Wynbell home with Caernach, Haelan had stayed behind to await the arrival of Prince Aglanthol.

Em went to the closet to retrieve her dress and shoes. She looked at the door again, then unwrapped her towel and stepped into the dress. She could do the zipper halfway up her back, but she would need help to get it all the way up. She slipped on the silver sandals Isabelle had insisted on buying for her, then went to the door to Haelan’s room and knocked.

“Come in, lass,” he called out.

Em opened the door and peeked inside. He was standing near the bed doing up the buttons on his shirt. “Can you help me?”

“With what?”

She stepped inside and looked him over. He was dressed in tailored grey trousers and a deep blue long-sleeved tunic that was gathered at his wrists. His unbound hair was brushed away from his face except for a small braid near his right temple. The golden rope was held together by a pair of dark grey beads.

Em blinked a few times. “Huh?”

Haelan smiled. “What do you need help with?”

Her gaze snapped up from his legs to his face. “Sorry.” She spun around with a soft rustle of fabric to present her back to him. “Can you finish zipping me?”

“I’d be happy to,” he said as he moved behind her.

Once the zipper was up, she turned around and waved at herself. “Do I look okay?” Haelan was quiet as his gaze ran over her face, then dropped lower. “Is it too much?” He took a step back with a little shake of his head. “Dammit. I told Isabelle it should be something—” She waved her hands for a second. “Demure.” She clasped her hands together against her chest, covering the area of see through fabric stretched across her cleavage.

“Lass, you misunderstand—”

“Maybe I should stay here or I could borrow a dress from Lorakalyn. It’d be too short, but who cares, right? I just don’t want to embarrass you—”

“Em, stop,” he said with a laugh. She frowned at him. He reached out to take her hands. “Since we’ve met, there has not been a day that I have found you to be anything but utterly beautiful.” He lifted one of her hands and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Except in this moment.” His gaze swept down her body, taking in the elegant vision before him. The entire dress was made with a lightweight fabric the colour of the sky on a very sunny day. Thick gathered straps widened toward the belt that rode above her waist, leaving just the barest hint of cleavage above the small patch of her stomach that was visible. The full skirt seemed to float around her as she moved. “You are breathtaking and I will be the envy of every male in attendance tonight, save Faine of course.” Em smiled shyly. “But there is one thing missing.” He let go of her hands and took a step back to scoop up a small leather bag that was lying on the bed. “I saw this while I was in the village this morning.” He opened the bag and turned to her. “On special occasions female moon elves decorate their hair with elaborate braids and jewelry.” Em gasped as he dumped the sparkling contents of the bag into his palm. “Since star elves often pass themselves off as moon elves, I thought you might like to take part in that tradition.” He held his hand out to her. “When the two are put together it resembles a moon.”

Em lifted one piece and her eyes went wide. It was a hair comb made from half of a silver disc. Along the bottom, several thin gem encrusted chains dangled. “Are those—?”

“Diamonds,” Haelan said. “The maker intended them to represent stars.”

“It’s gorgeous,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

“Would you like help to put them in?”

“You know how?” she asked with a little smile.

He tossed the bag on the bed, then moved around her. “How difficult can it be?” He eyed the bun for a moment. “Just one on either side.” He slid the first comb in next to the edge of the bun, then held his hand out for her to give him the other one. Once it was in place, he leaned closer and kissed the back of her neck. Her breath caught, and she shivered.

“Thank you,” she whispered. He reached down and caught her hand, then moved in front of her. “How does it look?”

He smiled slowly and squeezed her hand. “You look perfect.”

As her cheeks flushed, she could hear a chorus of sighs in her head. And rather than rebuke her inner self, she had to agree.

He really was swoon worthy.

Sunset had fallen an hour before they left for the clearing. Em smiled and leaned into Haelan’s arm as they walked through the Wynbell orchard. Ahead of them the twins were leading the way, and for once there was no pushing or shoving between them.

Haelan saw the light of the torches in the clearing and tilted his head toward Em. “Lass, I should warn you, Mornan was right about Prince Aglanthol.”

She looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“He wears his arrogance like a cloak,” he whispered. “I regret having to inflict him on you.”

She patted his arm. “It’s just one night. It’ll be fine.”

“I’ll make it up to you later,” he murmured.

Em’s hand tightened around his forearm as she grinned. “Totally worth it.”

Faine looked over his shoulder at the pair with a radiant smile. Faerwald reached over, clapped a hand on his brother’s shoulder with a chuckle, and pulled him forward into the clearing.

Em looked around as they came out of the trees. She’d seen the area in the daylight and found it to be lovely, but in the torchlight it was beyond romantic. It was situated at the base of the nearest mountain. The trees on either side had been decorated with little silver bells that chimed faintly in the breeze, their delicate music adding just the right touch to the atmosphere. The perimeter of the space had been lined with torches in front of which two rows of low tables had been set. There were no chairs, instead cushions had been placed at each place setting. The air was filled with the scent of the tiny pink apple blossoms that covered all the trees. Em closed her eyes as she drew in a deep breath.

Haelan led her forward between the tables to a small group of people. The conversation stopped as they got close. Em’s gaze landed on the male in the centre of the semicircle. He was a couple of inches shorter than Mornan, who was standing to his left, but his posture held the impression that he was looking down his nose at everyone around him.

He was a typical-looking elf, albeit a very well-dressed one. His outfit was a pair of dark trousers and a black tunic with a wide diamond pattern created by silver thread. His long dark hair was stick straight and parted in the middle. Across his forehead a band of braided silver rested, a round blue stone sparkled from the centre.

Haelan stopped at the edge of the semicircle. “Prince Aglanthol, may I present my ward, Emmeline Carter.”

Prince Aglanthol’s gaze swept over Em, and his lips curved in the barest trace of a smile. Haelan nudged her with his arm. She looked down, then bent her knees in a slow curtsy.

“Well met mistress Carter,” Prince Aglanthol said in a lofty tone. His head tilted to the side as Em straightened. “I’m curious. Is it common for humans to assume another culture’s customs?”

From next to her, Em heard Faerwald’s quick in drawn breath and reached over to slide her hand along the back of his forearm. He looked down at her with a frown. She gave him a disarming smile, then turned to Prince Aglanthol. “Well,” she said. “I can’t speak for other humans that have visited this realm—“

“Em isn’t entirely human,” Faerwald said with a touch of a growl in his voice.

Prince Aglanthol’s nostrils flared as his gaze shifted to Faerwald’s face for a moment. “Oh?” He looked at Em. “You’re a mixed breed?”

“Yes,” Haelan said. “We discovered, after she first came to our realm, that her great grandfather was a star elf.” Prince Aglanthol’s eyebrows rose.

Mornan cleared his throat as he looked toward the other end of the celebration area. He smiled as he caught his daughter’s eye. “My lords, I believe it’s time to start.” Prince Aglanthol turned away from the group without a word and took a seat at the head of one table.

“Faerwald,” Haelan said. “Will you see Em to her seat?”

“Of course,” he said and held his arm out for her to take. He led her to the other table and the first seat to the right of the head of the table, which would be Haelan’s place. He knelt down on the cushion next to her, then reached for a bottle of wine that had been placed in the centre of the table. Em leaned forward to watch all the other people in the clearing take seats at the tables. Once everyone was seated, Mornan escorted Lorakalyn to where Haelan and Faine were standing. The fathers stepped back to let their children seat themselves at a smaller table at the front of the two rows, then separated to take their own seats.

“So lass,” Faerwald said as he leaned close to her shoulder. “Is this much different from human bonding ceremonies?”

Em nodded. “Humans do it the other way around.”

“How so?” he asked.

“The ceremony is first,” she said.

“The feast is served after the couple is pledged,” Haelan said.

Em turned to him with a little frown. “I forgot you were at Alasdair and Isabelle’s wedding.”

“It was wonderful to be included even with the circumstances we were dealing with,” he said.

Em looked down for a second, then peeked up at him through her lashes. “It’s nice that things have changed,” she murmured.

Faerwald bumped her shoulder with a friendly grin. “You have seemed happier this visit lass.” He picked up his wineglass and waved it toward the clearing. “Perhaps you’ll find your own mate soon.”

Em laughed. “Maybe.” She glanced at Haelan and felt a flush creep across her cheeks as their eyes met. It took every scrap of willpower she had to keep from moving around the table and kissing him senseless. Instead, she picked up her wineglass and took a hasty sip.

The revelers lingered over dinner, with the servants that Prince Aglanthol had brought with him attending to their every need, until the moon rose above the peak of the mountain. Haelan set his wineglass down then leaned over to Em. “It’s time lass.”

Em took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he stood and held out his hand to her. Faerwald looked up at her as she got to her feet. “Good luck,” he said as he lifted his wineglass in a little salute. Em winked at him as she smoothed her skirt.

Haelan led her to the head table, gave her hand an encouraging squeeze, then stood back as she approached Lorakalyn’s aunt, Keyfina, in front of the table. Keyfina smiled at her niece, then turned to Em and handed her one end of the intricately woven blanket she was holding. The two of them unfurled the blanket in front of the table and moved back to let the couple kneel on it, facing each other.

Em smiled at Lorakalyn from her spot behind Faine. Lorakalyn was a vision straight out of a fairytale in her deep green dress. The fitted sleeves widened into a bell shape near her wrists, the snug bodice outlined her lithe curves to perfection. Around her waist was a wide belt made from squares of silver that had been molded into detailed designs. Her hair was done in the style Haelan had described, the dozens of braids that had been pinned to her head had strands of silver chain twisted through them.

Lorakalyn didn’t see Em’s smile though, she only had eyes for Faine. And no one could blame her. He was devastatingly handsome in his emerald green tunic and black trousers. The gold streaks in his feathers reflected the torchlight, making it seem like his wings had been decorated for the occasion.

A hush fell over the clearing as everyone focused on the couple. Even the bells stopped ringing as the breeze suddenly faded. Lorakalyn spoke her vows. Her voice was soft, and it wavered slightly. When she stumbled over her words, Faine reached out and took her hand. She paused as he gave her fingers an encouraging squeeze. Em pressed her hands against her stomach and blinked back happy tears as Lorakalyn finished speaking. Keyfina moved to Lorakalyn’s side and gave her blessing. When she was finished, she stepped back to stand at Mornan’s side. Then it was Faine and Em’s turn. Em dabbed at her eyes as he spoke.

“I, Faine Swiftwing, by the life that courses within my blood and the love that resides within my heart, take you, Lorakalyn of House Wynbell to my hand and heart as my true mate. To desire you and be desired by you, without hesitation or shame, for none can exist in the purity of my love for you. I promise to love you wholly and completely without restraint, in this life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again. I will not seek to change you in any way. I will respect you, your beliefs, your people, and your ways as I respect my own.”

Em took another deep breath, then moved to Faine’s side and smiled at him, then Lorakalyn. “May mother moon bless you with many children and have them grow healthy. May father sun give them strength, bravery, and willpower in the years to come.” She lifted her hand and rested it on Faine’s shoulder with a little squeeze. Keyfina’s head tilted when Em took a breath to continue. “Under the light of the stars, I welcome you into our house. We are stronger by your union.” Keyfina’s face broke into a brilliant smile. Em’s hand slid from Faine’s shoulder as she moved away from the couple to stand next to Haelan. Faine took his mate’s hands, and they stood together. Then, in a very faerie display of affection, his wings wrapped around her. It was several heartbeats until he released her and they turned to face the guests.

Em glanced at Faerwald and saw him give Taveon, who was standing on the other side of the clearing, a little nod. She looked at the guard with a confused smile and saw him melt into the shadows between the trees. So did the other guards. As a low, restrained sound of applause moved through the clearing, the bells rang under the rush of air provided by the faeries wings.

Beside her, Haelan chuckled under his breath. “Why are they doing that?” she asked in a whisper.

“Every elf maiden should have her bonding heralded by bells lass,” he murmured. “It’s their tradition.”

“That was sweet of you to arrange that,” she said as she wrapped her hand around his arm.

“It wasn’t me,” he said, and looked over at Faerwald. Em turned to watch Faerwald. He had gotten up from the table and was moving to join the rest of the well-wishers that had surrounded the newly mated couple in the middle of the clearing. She leaned her head on Haelan’s shoulder with a little sigh. He reached up with his free hand and patted hers gently. “What is it, lass?”

“Nothing,” she said with a smile. She looked up in surprise as he pulled her back towards the trees, then wrapped his wings around her.

“Liar,” he said murmured then dipped his head to brush his lips against hers.

She swallowed a giggle as his wings pulled her closer. “I was just thinking that they’re a lot more like you than you realize.” She pushed herself onto her toes to kiss him. “And you should be very proud.”

He peeked over his wings, then looked down at her with a smile. “I am proud of my sons, lass and—” He slid his arm around her waist and used that hold to pull her closer. “Of my lady.” She laughed softly. “You represented our family very well tonight.” At the other end of the clearing, a pair of violins began to play. “Will you dance with me?”

“I didn’t realize there’d be dancing,” she said.

“Normally there isn’t but Lorakalyn arranged for this for Faine,” he said. “It’s just for a few hours, then we can take our leave.”

Em smiled as his wings opened and he took her hand to lead her to the centre of the clearing. In her head, the chorus twittered excitedly.

Just a few short hours until she’d have him all to herself