He raised a dark brow at that, his expression entirely cocky and so sexy that my cock gave an eager twitch.
“Alright, I can tell you’re eager to begin.” Fioda laughed. “But first, your crowns.”
She produced two crowns from the satchel on Mol’s back. They looked similar to the ones we’d worn on the Winter Solstice, but I knew these weren’t the same. Ours were waiting in the cottage on unseelie land.
“Our king already has his crown of oak leaves.” Fioda smiled at me before turning to give Lonan a shallow bow. “If you’ll allow me, Holly King.”
He lowered his chin so she could place the crown of holly leaves on his head. A crowd had already gathered, the Folk who’d been in the meadow taking an interest as Fioda set the crown on Lonan’s head. I tensed up, anticipating at least one of them would call out that this wasn’t tradition, that an unseelie couldn’t take part in the Summer Solstice’s battle of the kings.
But none of them did. I still caught some Folk giving us disgusted looks when we were outside of the palace, but none commented on my relationship with Lonan. It seemed promising to stop slaughtering random Folk gave a king a fair amount of leeway.
“So,” I said with a sly grin as we walked over to the clearing. “The holly king wins on the Summer Solstice, right? You’ll get to put me on my back this time.”
Lonan shot me a tiny smirk. “I put you on your back every night, seelie.”
I laughed, my gut clenching with lust. “We’ll see.”
“We will.”
We took our places at either end of the small clearing. My stomach twisted with arousal again when Lonan swung his sword around in a loose, easy arc, the blade already looking at home in his hand.
I readied my bow, nocking an arrow and aiming it at him. I wasn’t worried about hurting him. Even though I was good with my bow, my branch arm moving effortlessly, I knew Lonan was still better with a blade. Faster, more agile, with years of training over me.
“Begin,” Fioda called, sounding delighted to witness our “battle”.
Lonan dipped his head in a little bow, shooting me another teasing smirk when he looked up. I returned it as my fingers loosened on the bow string. His eyes flashed as the arrow shot towards him, sword coming up. He sliced it cleanly in half when it was just a foot away.
But I was already shooting another. He dodged it, moving fluidly out of the way, and cut another arrow in half as he started striding towards me with purpose.
I laughed, hoping my half-hard cock wasn’t visible to all the watching Folk, and lowered my aim to his branch leg. If he didn’t deflect in time, I knew it wouldn’t hurt all that much.
But he did. Of course he did. The arrowhead hit the blade of his sword with a sharp sound, and as he continued prowling towards me without slowing, I realised maybe a swordwouldhave been better than my bow.
I darted to the side when he was close, firing off another arrow that he dodged. His black eyes gleamed with hunger in the dying sunlight, and I saw his muscles tighten before he lunged.
Shit, I was fully hard at this point, but at least my shirttails covered it. I scrambled to the side, almost tripping as I fumbled to nock another arrow. But before I could whirl round, I felt the sharp tip of a sword biting gently under my chin.
Lonan’s scent surrounded me as he pressed himself against my back. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from groaning when I felt the hard length of his cock rubbing against my ass.
“Can’t shoot me from this close, hunter,” he rasped in my ear, making my cock lurch.
I swallowed. “And you can’t get me on my back when you’re pressed up against it.” My voice was hoarse with lust, and I knew he noticed.
He let out a low huff of amusement. As my throat bobbed again, the sharp point of that sword making me nervous and excited all at once, I felt a foot hook around my ankle—and tug.
Lonan sidestepped as I flew back, thudding to the grass with a grunt. Faster than I could blink, he stepped over my prone form, boots either side of my waist, and tucked the tip of his sword back under my chin.
“Better this time,” he noted dryly. “But I’ll teach you how to use a sword so you can give me a real fight.”
I shot him a mock glare even as my cock throbbed in my trousers. Lonan stepped back and held out his hand, stroking the inside of my wrist when I grasped it and let him pull me up.
I tugged nervously on my shirt, making sure it covered my groin. The gathered Folk cheered, many already heading with purpose towards the wine and ale stands to begin the Solstice festivities properly.
“Wonderful!” Fioda exclaimed as she approached. She fanned her face with one hand. “Mol told me there were parts where she wished she could cover my eyes.”
I chuckled, face going red. But her words made me wonder—could shereallytalk to Mol? Fioda was fae, so surely she couldn’t lie.
I supposed it wouldn’t be too outlandish if Mol the cow could talk. I’d witnessed the Brid conversing with the King of Boars. I’d had a long, confusing discussion with a giant serpent on the Isle of Hybra.