“Lyall.” I had to be more careful with him, since he was under my geas. “I would appreciate it if you could find Nolan and have him meet us outside.”

  My consorts’ bonds all surged with excitement, making my heart pump faster. We were really going to do this. Angel and Kenji gave me confident smiles, and Kenji reached over to squeeze my hand. I was never more glad that we had done a little ‘practice’ on my birthday, enjoying my and Kenji’s first threesome out in the forest. I’d known this day would eventually arrive, and yet suddenly it seemed too soon, too sudden, even though it had been over a year in the making.

  I took a deep breath. Whether I felt ready or not… I turned to the rest of my consorts and guards. “It’s time.”

  Chapter 8

  Gloriana

  Outside the palace tree, we met Nolan, Lyall, Fen, and all of Maeve’s Duwende guards. Their excitement palpable, the Duwende stepped aside when my consorts and I passed. I smiled my thanks for their assistance, hoping it didn’t look too strained. Fen, Valente, and Erynn fanned out around us as Kenji and Angel led the way back toward where we’d celebrated my birthday. Though he’d left behind the fedora, Angel carried his guitar in one hand, and Kenji brought along our blanket, freshly washed and pressed.

  No one spoke. Everyone’s head swiveled as though expecting an Unseelie ambush at any moment. We were too close to our goal to fail now. We all remained vigilant, and I could feel the frisson of electric energy charging me from five different bonds.

  Maeve smiled up at me. “You will become queen this day.”

  I shook my head. “One step at a time.”

  Inclining her head to me, Maeve kept quiet. I didn’t want her to think ill of me, though, so I took Nolan’s hand and said, “What matters is seeing magic return to the Fae.”

  Maeve’s pleased smile pained me. She still looked rough after what the Unseelie had done to her, and here she was cheering me on and about to see yet another Elf take the throne. I pushed those thoughts away as Nolan squeezed my hand. No doubt some of my trepidation had spilled into the bond.

  In a few minutes, our retinue reached the ring of five trees. The scene immediately brought to mind the fun things Kenji, Angel, and I had done there, and how Nolan had watched. He smiled up at me and gave me a wink, showing me he remembered, too. Despite the several orgasms I’d had earlier, it was enough to send a thrill of arousal through me. This ceremony was my duty as heir and I still wasn’t comfortable with all aspects of it, but if I could ignore all of that, it would also be fun.

  This time, dozens of Will-o’-the-Wisps of every color waited within the ring of trees. Their lower limbs blocked out any view of the wider and more spread-out branches of the palace tree, giving us privacy overhead. The small balls of light bobbed around the five trees, making me nervous.

  “Do you think—” I started as Lyall shook his head.

  “I hope they’re here for the ceremony and nothing more,” Nolan’s low voice echoed my own thoughts.

  “We will keep you safe no matter what happens,” Valente reassured me. His hard gaze met Rorik’s, and he nodded to Lyall. “Nothing will prevent you from completing the ceremony.”

  Pushing aside my trepidation, I held Nolan’s hand as we approached the circle. Moss covered the ground in the ring of trees, and Kenji spread the blanket out as we’d done on my birthday. Then he stood close to one of the wider two trees, its bole thick enough to hide behind. The wisps moved restlessly, bobbing between us and rising high up into the branches overhead.

  “Shall I create the same double-sided illusion as before?” Fen asked me.

  Thankful she’d left off the ‘my lady’ this time, I nodded. Fen turned to explain how it would work to the Duwende and the rest of the Guard who hadn’t been with us on my birthday. I pulled Nolan into the ring of trees, and my other consorts followed.

  Lyall reverently carried a small bowl in his hands. This must be the tea he spoke of earlier.

  When Fen gestured, the illusion went up, as though a screen of brambles surrounded us on all sides, providing complete privacy. As a Duwende, Nolan saw through it, and he nodded to some unseen person on the other side. The wisps remained inside the illusion, the only observers of the ceremony that I could see.

  Angel took a seat on one side of the blanket, the mossy surface spongy beneath his behind. Then his deep bronze hands began strumming his guitar. Kenji approached me. I thought he meant to kiss me, but instead he put his mouth close to my ear.

  His breath teased my neck as he whispered, “The illusion is sound. No one knows we’re here. We’re safe. We can take all the time we want.”

  I smiled and kissed Kenji as Angel strummed his guitar strings, seeming to strum my heartstrings along with it. Five consort bonds filled me, making me feel connected and grounded in what could’ve been a moment more awkward than my birthday. Behind them all was the quiet presence of the Tree of Life.

  “Too bad we have no liquid courage this time.” Kenji grinned at me as he took a step toward the blanket, beckoning me forward.

  On my birthday, Angel had brought along his last few cans of beer and spiked seltzer from the Upslope Brewing Company. He’d smuggled them into the Encante from Boulder for such an occasion.

  As soon as Kenji pulled away from me, I agreed with his statement. Awkwardness blossomed, making me feel naked even though I still stood clothed. Five sets of eyes looked to me for direction.

  I’d known this day was coming for a long time, and yet I’d pushed the thought away whenever it surfaced, hating the idea of having an audience. With said audience out of sight, I could easily forget anyone else existed but the six of us. A future queen and her consorts.

  Angel’s song hummed along, vibrating the air and pulling apart my apprehensions. The music bolstered my sense of self-confidence, and I looked down as Nolan took my hand again. Might as well get this show on the road.

  “What do I need to know about this ceremony? Is there a certain order to things? Special words that need to be spoken?”

  “We must drink of the Tree of Life,” Lyall intoned, raising the bowl in his hands to me.

  I glanced down to see a bag resting at the bottom of the dark liquid, much like how tea steeped in the human realm. “This is made from the leaves of the Tree of Life?” I asked.

  Lyall, Nolan, and Rorik nodded, and I closed my eyes to take a sip. Instantly, I felt my bond to the Tree of Life growing. Where before it had receded to the quiet recesses of my mind, it blazed forward now. Its impatience stronger than ever before, it seemed as though the great Tree held its breath. And through my connection with it, I sensed its pain, like pinpricks from a thousand small needles.

  I gasped. “The Unseelie are taking its sap.”

  Rorik let out a growl, and my eyes flew open. The world looked livelier somehow… brighter, the colors more vibrant. Were the Unseelie trying to take its energy? I could sense how drained the Tree felt, even worse than back when I’d touched its bark.

  “Why are they doing that?” I asked as I handed the bowl to Nolan.

  He took a sip as Lyall answered. “The tea is made from the Tree’s leaves, but also its sap. Perhaps they are preparing for their own ceremony.”

  I gasped as Nolan passed the bowl to Angel. His music continued echoing through the forest thanks to his Nixie magic, even as he took his fingers from the strings.

  Suddenly more anxious to finish, I asked, “Is there anything else I need to know about the ceremony before we begin?”

  Nolan shook his head. “We must all simply give life energy to the Tree.”

  As Kenji sipped the tea, I steeled myself for my next question by reminding myself the Fae weren’t squeamish about sex. They could talk about it openly, even watch others having sex, without objectifying others or dismissing their desires as perversion.

  “Any specific… positions or…” I blinked as the thought occurred to me. “Do we all… must it be simultaneous?”

  Angel chuckled, somehow in time to the music, but without malice. The bond revealed his curiosity. He’d clearly been wondering the same things.

  Nolan let out a breath and smiled up at me, pouring reassurances through the bond at me. “No, nothing like that. Remember, past queens had diverse consorts of all races and genders. Some more than five consorts, even. No particular type of sex or timing is required.”

  Kenji handed the bowl up to Lyall, who took his own sip, his eyes never leaving my face.

  I sensed a hint of doubt coming through Nolan’s reassuring bond, however. “What is it? I need to know.”

  “It’s just that… I haven’t ever seen the ceremony performed. There may be elements left undocumented, things I wouldn’t know.”

  “I see.” I frowned. “We don’t know what we don’t know.”

  My heart sank as I looked at Rorik and Lyall, the two oldest among us. Lyall shook his head as he passed the bowl to Rorik at last. Even they hadn’t been present to see it.

  “Don’t worry, my love,” Angel said. “If it doesn’t work this time, we’ll try again. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”

  His song beckoned me forward, called upon me to dance, to give into my carnal desires. He was right. I met his seductive gaze, his sapphire eyes piercing my inner fears and obliterating them.

  Rorik tilted his head back, taking the last of the tea. Then he set the bowl aside at the foot of one of the trees. Our consort bonds blazed within me, all connected together through me. And through me, to the Tree of Life. Or at least, that was how it was supposed to work.

  I didn’t doubt my link to the Tree. How had I known it was being drained of its sap? Only my bond to the Tree could have shown me that. Its lingering strength filled me, urging me on.

  Yet even as Angel’s song made my heart start pounding and made my body heat with desire, something seemed off. I searched within and isolated the bond, noticing it was not Lyall’s but Rorik’s that held so much uncertainty… but also determination to see this through. Perhaps Rorik had never shown the others how much he enjoyed submitting to his lovers’ desires. Maybe that was where his discomfort originated.

  There was nothing for it. We had to do this together for it to work. I sensed a loosening in all five bonds as Angel’s song took hold. Everyone seemed to relax. As the strings hummed with vibration, it felt as though we were in a dream, lost in a maze of tree-height brambles, imprisoned here until we could fulfill our sacred duties.

  I bowed my head and closed my eyes, reaching out with my internal senses, feeling the five bonds within me. Yet I did not feel complete, and I had to believe it was because I needed the ceremony to fully link me to the Tree of Life, which felt more distant in my mind once again. I decided to clarify my intentions with the hope that maybe the Tree would approve of our plans, despite being so far from its massive trunk.

  “Oh, great Tree of Life,” I said quietly, focusing the words inward instead of outward. “The Fae seek to be reunited with you today. Please accept our offering.”

  When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see my consorts had all kneeled down before me as I directed my intentions toward the Tree of Life, far away in the distance but still present here, its root system connected to the entire forest, to the trees in our small clearing. The five of them now rose to their feet, all of them facing me, and leaving me a little shy. Angel’s fingers still strummed his guitar, making me wish for those fingers on me. I knew I had only to ask, and he would do so, but I also wasn’t sure how to do this without anyone feeling left out.

  I didn’t even know where to begin, but as usual, Angel put my fears to rest. “What if we started this five-course meal with a little appetizer?” he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively at me.

  “What did you have in mind?” I returned.

  His gaze slid from me to Lyall. His seductive stare slipped up and down Lyall’s lithe form. “I wonder if the rest of you are pansexual as well?”

  Lyall inclined his head slightly, though his face remained impassive. “I am.”

  “As am I,” Rorik added.

  Nolan said nothing, and I already knew Kenji’s orientation.

  Rorik glanced between Angel and me. Then he went down on one knee before me again. “I will do anything you command of me, my queen, to you or to the Nixie.”

  I didn’t have to see Angel’s eyes light up to know Rorik’s words excited him. His bond practically quivered with it. Angel’s idea seemed like as good a place as any to begin. And as I had just finished learning Rorik’s preferences, I knew exactly what to do next.

  With Rorik still kneeling before me, I raised my chin and stared down at him. “Rorik… I command you to strip Angel.”

  Angel set aside his guitar, but the spell wasn’t broken. His music echoed within the walls of the brambles, keeping my blood alight with desire. As Rorik advanced on the Nixie, and the tension between them grew, I found Lyall’s arms encircling me from behind.

  “Let’s get you undressed as well,” he whispered. He ran his tongue all the way up to the tip of my ear as his fingers sought out the ties binding my fabrics around me.

  As Rorik untied the first of Angel’s and revealed more of his beautiful, deep bronze skin, Lyall did the same for me. Nolan stayed back, his fiery eyes locked on Lyall’s fingers as they relieved me of my clothing. It reminded me of my birthday, when Nolan had stepped inside the illusion long enough for me to erupt in orgasm at the thought of him watching.

  Mine and Angel’s clothes both dropped to the mossy forest floor at the same moment. Rorik and Angel both turned to me for instruction as I greedily took in the sight. My playful rockstar’s cock bobbed with excitement as he stood beside my clothed Veela warrior, whose lavender eyes challenged me to give the next command. It was the desire pouring from both their bonds that convinced me this was okay — that anything I ordered would be enjoyed.

  My voice was unusually husky. “Rorik, get on your knees and suck Angel’s cock.” Angel gasped in response, his eager eyes snapping to watch Rorik as if he couldn’t believe it was actually happening.

  As Rorik dropped gracefully before Angel, Lyall gestured at Kenji, who came to kneel in front of me. Kenji swept his long, silver-blond hair back, tying it into a loose bun. He stared up at me as he did so, taking in my nakedness from below. His hands traveled up my ribs and then back down to my hips as he brought his face closer. Kenji’s breath tickled between my legs, and I saw Rorik take Angel firmly in hand as his tongue swirled around Angel’s head.

  My Nixie consort let out a groan of pleasure just as Kenji’s tongue lapped at my folds. I found myself widening my stance to give him greater access as Lyall supported me from behind and levitated us to the right height for Kenji. Lyall’s dark cobalt hands gathered my pale breasts. I caught Nolan’s appreciative stare as he slowly began stripping.

  My eyes darted back and forth between the delights before me — Angel’s head thrown back as he leaned against a tree for support while Rorik pleasured him, and Nolan’s powerful build being revealed to me bit by bit, building my anticipation for seeing him fully naked again, his sizable cock on display for me. The last of his clothing dropped to the ground as Kenji’s tongue dipped inside me, and I let out a moan of pleasure. Lyall nibbled the tip of my ear as his fingers tweaked my nipples, and I nearly lost it already.

  But there was something I needed to do first.

  “Rorik,” I called across the mossy clearing to him. His head didn’t stop bobbing, but I sensed his attention in the bond. “Make Angel come for me.”

  Rorik grabbed Angel’s hips and pulled Angel against him, his lips reaching all the way to Angel’s base. My Nixie clutched at Rorik’s shoulders and let out a raw sound of sheer pleasure, his hips trying to buck as Rorik had his way with him — rather, as Rorik served as a conduit of my will, driving Angel mad with desire. He threw his head back once more, his bronze abs and pecs displayed for my enjoyment, and I wished he was close enough for me to run my fingertips through the light sprinkling of his chest hair.

  The ecstasy on Angel’s face got me hot. And wet, as we discovered when Kenji pushed his fingers inside me, his tongue easily finding just the right spot on my clit to make me see stars. My moan echoed Angel’s as Lyall pinched my nipples and nibbled the side of my neck as he held my hips in place for Kenji, the two of us levitating above him.

  My eyes darted to Nolan’s sturdy form, over to Rorik supporting Angel as his knees went weak, down to Lyall’s hands on my breasts, just above Kenji, gazing up at me. The orgasm ripped through me, shocking me with its intensity.

  In that moment, my awareness expanded, my eyes no longer seeing my consorts enjoying themselves. Instead, my view was replaced with an inner sight, a vision of the great Tree of Life. All at once, its brown leaves fell from every thick branch, covering the forest floor. Its old and gray trunk, dry and cracking, rejuvenated at last, turning into a fresh, green-tinged off-white color, healing itself of the wounds the Unseelie had inflicted. Its thick but stubby limbs soon grew new leaves in dark cobalt and deep greens, reminding me of Lyall’s cobalt skin and forest-green eyes.

  My link to the infinitely more ancient Tree of Life grew stronger, overpowering my bonds with my consorts. Through this bond, I sensed… everything. I felt the great Tree’s roots stretching throughout the Encante, supporting it all from below. And above, on the surface, I perceived life in all its forms. And yet, only the Elves seemed clear to me, the rest hazy silhouettes.

  When my consciousness returned to my body, I still noticed the Tree of Life joined to everything in the Encante. And now, I was tied in with it, all through the strange bond I’d forged with the great Tree itself. Like closing my eyes after lightning and still seeing its jagged lines, I could sense the Tree’s powerful magic even after I opened my eyes.

  Wisps of every color circled us. Throwing our shadows into chaos, the orbs of light whirled energetically, as if they were aware the Tree of Life had linked with the Fae once more.