Into the Fire (The Unseelie Court Book 4) by Gwen Rivers (latest ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“I’ll be right here with you.”

“Okay.” I take one more hit of his fortifying scent and then turn to face her.

She scrutinizes my expression and then breaks into a sunny smile.

My guts clench as she ascends the stairs and turns to face the gathered room. There are no words, no speeches for the crowning of a new ruler.

She sits. We all wait. One heartbeat. Two.

Lightning cracks down through the ceiling.

The throne ignites and the dais turns molten.

Addison’s green eyes reflect the flames which do not touch her. Wisps of darkness curl up over her shoulders and snake around her waist.

My gaze is locked on her, my heart pounding against my ribs.

The Shadow Throne is…changing. The legs melt into the flow of lava which circles the throne like a moat. The shadows grow thicker until I can barely see her face.

“Addison,” I breathe.

She rises from the darkness and walks through the lava as though walking across grass. From one hand a jet of fire flickers. She opens her other hand and a ball of ice forms.

“She’s magnificent,” Aiden’s green eyes shine with pride.

“Long live the One True Queen,” Harmony calls.

All in attendance fall to their knees. All except for me and Chloe. As a Fate, she bows to no one. And I am Underhill. She who can rearrange the world.

And will gladly do so for the ones she loves.

“Long live the One True Queen,” I say and put a hand on Aiden’s head.

Epilogue

“We need to get out of this bed eventually,” I snuggle closer to Aiden’s warmth. “We have company coming for Yule.”

“Cold, love?” He snaps his fingers and a fire blazes in the hearth.

There is a knock at the chamber door and Agent Hanson, eyes still glazed in her thrall, moves forward bearing two goblets full of mulled wine. A snarl rips from Aiden’s lips, but the mortal ignores us as she heads back to her kitchen duties.

“You need to relax,” I told him. “You know she’s locked down tight.”

“Doesn’t change what she did to you.”

I swallow. “No, but I landed the first blow,” I tell him about her husband and how his death had set her on my trail.

Aiden’s thumb traces along the contour of my cheek. “Still, she was the one who married a monster. Yet she focused all her vengeance on you.”

The stone floors have warmed enough that I chance stepping out of the comfort of our bed. Aiden makes a disappointed noise when I pull on a robe. He teases me about my mortal modesty, even when the two of us are alone.

I pad over to the table and pick up both cups of wine. It’s been warmed and smells of cinnamon and cloves. I take a sip before bringing Aiden his cup. “Have I mentioned how glad I am that I can still taste things?”

He takes his own cup but then sets it on the bedside table. Then he plucks my goblet from my hand and lands it next to his.

“Hey, I was enjoying that.”

“I’ll give you something to enjoy.” He snags me around the waist and pulls me down onto his lap.

“You’re insatiable.” And I love that even with the two of us being together day and night, it hasn’t dulled the edge of his desire for me. Or mine for him. “About Hanson and the others. She’s going to have missed seventeen years in Midgard. No one will believe her stories. Isn’t that punishment enough?”

“Maybe one of these centuries I’ll master the art of forgiveness the way you have.”

“Forgiveness is for quitters.” I cup his face in my hands “And I’m officially out of the game.”

Sometime later, I finally convince Aiden to leave so I can focus on getting dressed. He does so with great reluctance. I have just finished pinning my hair atop my head when I sense another presence in the room.

“I was wondering when you would show up.” My gaze locks on her reflection in the mirror.

“So sure of me…Underhill.” There’s a smugness to her tone.

I take my time with the clip before turning to face the goddess. “I knew you’d want to gloat.”

“I wanted to catch you alone. And since the wolf rarely leaves your side, our girl talk had to wait.” I detect the note of bitterness in her words.

“Can’t say his name?” I raise a brow.

“He isn’t my Váli any longer.”

“You’re right, he isn’t.” If the goddess needs to refer to my mate as the wolf in order to assuage her pride over his rejection, so be it. Let her have what she views as a win.

“So what’s it like, knowing you’ll spend the rest of your existence imprisoned here?”

I take a moment to look around the massive chamber that has become our temporary home. It’s filled with stuff Chloe, Addison, Sophie and Harmony have brought from the farm or purchased as mating gifts. Blankets and books, candles, an iPod, even a laptop, though I haven’t figured out how to charge it on this side. Clothing, both his and mine. A painting of the farm and another portrait of our beloved daughter flanks the fireplace. Aiden plans to build us a cabin overlooking a lake. The same one he had designed and intended to build near the farm.

Does knowing I can never leave bother me? Maybe it would if I didn’t have such a loyal pack of werewolves that hunt in the forest. If the Wild Hunt didn’t swing by a few times a week to raise hell. If I had to do without regular visits from Addison and Chloe, Sophie, Garret and Tate, Fern and Laufey, Soladin and Taj. If Aiden wasn’t with me, helping me figure out how to work my powers, this might be a hellish fate.

“I miss Gretchen,” I say at length. With her forced to stay in Midgard to keep Fenrir chained and me bound to this land, we couldn’t do more than wave at one another through gaps in the Veil. She’s