Note: This is an explicit scene. Tread carefully.
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Flying lessons with Lucien went surprisingly well. Violet wasn’t an expert yet, but she could flap her wings with enough control to stay airborne and even fly a mile without completely exhausting herself.
Up there in the sky, the feeling had been exhilarating.
The wind rushed past her, cool against her skin, her wings catching the currents as if they had always known what to do. For the first time in a long while, Violet felt light.
Free.
From that height, the palace, the grounds, everything that once felt so large and overwhelming suddenly looked small and insignificant.
She understood then, why creatures of the sky carried themselves with such arrogance. If everything beneath you looked that small, then of course you’d believe you were the bigger predator.
Their lessons were set to continue the next day, much to Asher’s visible displeasure.
Because it turned out, flying wasn’t just about staying in the air. There were techniques. Angles. Trick. And more importantly—combat.
Violet was not the only Fae with wings. And those Fae fought midair. Which meant Violet had to learn how to maneuver, strike, and defend herself while airborne if the situation demanded it. Just the thought of it made her wings twitch.
Eventually, Lucien dismissed them. Annequin followed him immediately, practically glued to his side, trailing after him like a lovestruck teenager who had just discovered her first obsession.
Violet watched them go, equal parts amused and disturbed. Better it be Lucien than Asher. And if she had to admit it, they would make a cute couple—even if they’d probably be absolutely insufferable together.
Night fell soon after. The two of them had dinner, the atmosphere calmer now—without Roman and Griffin—before finally retreating to their quarters.
Alaric returned to their room eventually and went straight to bed, collapsing onto it. Violet had no idea whether he had even eaten dinner. Knowing Alaric, his own well-being usually came last whenever he slipped into work mode.
So, with Asher’s help—who had gone to get them soup—she ended up propping him up against her body and feeding him. Even with his eyes closed, he accepted each spoonful, which was honestly kind of amusing.
It was in the middle of his half-asleep feeding that he managed to blurt out that he and Zuru were building some sort of tracker—a combination of technology and magic—to locate a suitable body for the queen.
If everything went according to plan, it would be ready by tomorrow. And by the day of the trial, they would have the body.
It was a close call. But it was something.
Violet felt both relieved and grateful at the same time. The way her mates were working so hard to save her mother filled her chest with something heavy and overwhelming.
And in that moment, she made a quiet vow to herself. She would protect them. Lay down her life for them. There was nothing she wouldn’t do.
Eventually, Alaric drifted off to sleep. Then it was just her and Asher.
She lay down between them, her body nestled in the middle, her head resting on Asher’s chest while he absentmindedly played with the purple tips of her hair.
"You should sleep. You have a long day tomorrow," he murmured, his voice raspy in a way that did dangerous things to her body.
"I can’t." Violet sighed.
Maybe it was Griffin and Roman’s absence. Either way, sleep wasn’t coming.
"Is that so?" Asher rumbled.
There was a dark note beneath the words—something amused, something daring—that made Violet pause, her brows knitting slightly.
"We’ll see about that."
Violet stilled. Yeah, he was definitely up to something.
Before Violet knew it, he gathered her hair off her shoulder, his touch so gentle it gave nothing away until his hand slipped beneath her nightwear and closed over her breast.
Her breath stuttered.
Her wolf stirred at the same time heat pooled low in her belly.
Asher’s hand moved slowly, deliberately, massaging the soft mound of her chest while Violet sighed, shivers trailing down her spine.
"What were you saying again?" he murmured, amusement lacing his tone. "Ah... not able to sleep."
A pause.
"Oh yes. That’s a problem, isn’t it?"
His fingers tightened, tugging at her pebbled nipple as he continued, "We should remedy that, don’t you think?"
"Yes..." Violet groaned, her senses beginning to swim. The thing about Asher was that his control extended even into lovemaking, and it was always torture for her.
She wanted him. Badly. Her hand moved on instinct, reaching for him, but Asher caught her wrist before she could touch him. His grip was firm.
Asher looked at her, something dark gleaming in his eyes as he said, almost lazily, "You’re the one I’m sending to sleep, not me."
He turned her around once again, so her back was pressed against him. This time, his hand slipped beneath her shorts and Violet forgot how to breathe.
"My love," Asher groaned, the sound rumbling deep through her. "You are so wet. What dirty, dirty things have you been thinking about?"
His finger slid through her, stroking up and down, coating himself in her slick heat.
Violet gasped.
She was already so wet, so overwhelmed by the roaring need building inside her that she began to move against his hand, riding his finger, soft whimpers spilling from her lips at the sensation tearing through her.
Goddess... it felt too good.
Asher groaned again.
Her scent filled the air, thick and intoxicating, stirring his wolf. The restraint he prided himself on was slipping, inch by inch. He needed to end this.
Violet cried out as his fingers shifted, brushing, then circling her clit. Her head lolled to the side and her heart skipped. Alaric was watching. Not just watching—
Watching her.
His gaze was fixed, unblinking, pinned on her face as if he was committing every of her pleasure to memory.
Heat rushed through Violet all over again, and when Asher added a second finger to her entrance, beginning to fuck her, she knew it was over.
Alaric never took her eyes off her, enamored at the sight. Violet gasped, her body going taut as the sensation crested, too fast, too strong.
She clenched around Asher’s fingers, her breath catching as the wave hit. And then, she broke completely.
A soft cry escaped her as everything crashed over her at once, her body trembling, her mind blanking under the force of it.
Then Alaric’s eyes closed, and he drifted back to sleep as though nothing had happened at all.
The pull of sleep followed soon after, heavy and irresistible, and Violet felt her own eyes flutter shut.

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