Sarcasm or Suckage

From Part 2



Jared looked down and far below them Seelie pulsed at the core. “There!” Jensen called, his word snatched by the wind and Jared followed where he was pointing.

It looked like black oil seeping across the ground. Several figures stood at the edge of the spill. Jared recognized Corin and Genevieve. The King stood slightly back, leaning against a sickly gray version of the Rokh with them. “Is that a Rach?” Jared leaned forward and shouted in Mordecai’s ear.

“It is Agamemnon’s twin, Belshazzar” Mordecai confirmed and just then, they were spotted.

Belshazzar, pale ghost of Agamemnon, sounded the alarm. The King of the Unseelie looked up and Jared could see the anger on his face.

“You're too late!” he shouted and there was something desperate in his voice.

“You know that you are not allowed to do this!” Jensen yelled back and the Rokh landed. The ground trembled beneath them.

Jensen was off and running before Agamemnon had even stopped and Jared scrambled to follow him. He was terrified and started calling his power as he raced after Jensen, towards the thick pool of black oil that oozed beneath the shimmering veil that reached from the ground to the sky.

“Jensen!” Jared called. “Wait for me!”

Jensen paid no attention as he reached the King. “This will not happen!” Jensen’s voice shook with rage and fear and the ground shook harder.

Jared realized then that Jensen was calling on the power of the land itself and that Seelie was responding. He saw Corin raise a hand, unseen by Jensen, and reacted without thought.

“No,” and Jared’s voice boomed across the space between them like a cannon. Corin was thrown off his feet and Jared understood that Seelie was amplifying his own powers.

Jensen’s startled gaze met his and Mark took that moment to strike out. A bolt of black lightning flew from his hand and punched into Jensen’s torso so hard that it hurled him back.

“No!” This time Jared screamed and the sky seemed to explode with sound and power. He threw a hand out towards Mark as he ran to where Jensen lay. Mark’s throat split open and blood the color of ash poured out. His hands came up to try and stem the tide but Jared and Seelie had struck a killing blow.

Jared barely paid attention to the screaming battle between the Rokh and the Rach as he crumpled to his knees beside Jensen.

He reached out a trembling hand and touched the spot where black lightning pulsed and scarlet blood oozed. “Jen,” he whispered and his other hand clenched into the dark, rich soil of Seelie. “Jen, please, don’t leave me.”

The pain was an inferno inside him. Where the soul-bond had burned and pulsed like a fire that would only be put out by Jensen’s touch, this pain was an agony that threatened to tear Jared apart.

Jensen remained still. Too still. His eyes were closed and his eyelashes were dark against abnormally pale cheeks. His skin began to take on a grey tinge as the blood continued to bubble out of him.

Jared pulled the edges of Jensen’s shirt away from his skin and flinched at the damage that had been done. He stopped being tentative then, firmed his resolve and put his hand to the spear of lightning that pulsed dark and wrong through Jensen’s skin.

He felt his palms tear as he pulled the weapon from Jensen’s abdomen. It came free with reluctance, sucking at the flesh, ripping Jensen apart, doing even more damage on the way out. Jensen made a small sound, a sort of gasp, and then seemed to fold in on himself.

Jared didn’t think it was possible to hurt so much. The soul-bond was shredding apart, taking small pieces of his soul with him as Jensen faded away.

Jared clenched his fist and watched his blood well up and fall onto Jensen’s wound. And Jared fell forward, his hand opened up and spread out over the bleeding mess that was Jensen’s abdomen.

This wasn’t how this story was supposed to end, he thought He heard the faintest of heartbeats as he pressed his face to Jensen’s chest.

This wasn’t how this story was going to end, he decided and called his power.

He felt it rising inside him. It was like a tsunami as it swept up and through every pore in his body. The sound was deafening as it poured out of him.

He’d never actually seen his power as a thing; manifested in any form. It had always just been there, this ability to mold the world around him into whatever he dreamed it to be. But here, in the land of the Fae, he was astounded to see that it was like a golden wind. It swirled and spun in the air, heading straight for the black oil that continued to eat at the wall between their worlds.

It blanketed the black ooze, covering and smothering it. Jared could almost hear it wailing as it was forced back into the ground. Seelie closed around it, negating its force and cutting it off from its source.

Then the bright golden ribbon of energy pulsed through the ashen Rach that were battling with Mordecai, Agamemnon and their kin. They crumpled to the ground, writhing in agony and Jared met Mordecai’s grateful eyes.

“Be blessed, Jared”

The Rokh stumbled over to where Jared was kneeling. “Seelie responds to you as though you were her own” Agamemnon’s dark voice rumbled through his head.

“I have to save him,” Jared said and he realized that he was weeping as his cheeks grew cold in the crisp air.

“Then save him” Mordecai said.

The golden stream of power came soaring back towards Jared, splitting and spreading until it was like a gilded mantle above them.

And then it dropped, enveloping Jared, Jensen and the Rokh entirely.

For one moment, Jared thought that it had a mind, a will of its own. Then he realized that it existed by his will.

“Heal him,” he begged Seelie. A tendril slithered down from the canopy over them, sliding over his shoulder and down his chest and moved delicately over Jensen’s chest. It eased inside the gaping wound torn into Jensen’s flesh and vanished into blood and bone.

Jared watched as light began to glow from beneath Jensen’s skin. He saw power moving through Jensen’s body, easing and healing as it went. He felt his strength waning and called on Seelie to help him again.

The land responded with a surge of heat and color, bursting through the tips of his fingers and forming a web of magic around Jensen.

The edges of the wound started knitting together, blood slowing to a trickle until eventually there was no sign that there had even been an injury. Jensen heaved a huge breath and the lattice of magic dissipated around him.

Jared kept his hand on Jensen’s belly, blood drying between his fingers as he waited.

And Jensen opened his eyes.

Where before his green irises had been rimmed with gold, his eyes were now the darkest purple, bright and unreal and utterly beautiful.

“Jared?” his voice was hoarse and soft and Jared smiled.

“Hey,” he said and realized that his other hand was still clenched into the soil of Seelie. It was a physical pain to wrench himself free. He thought he heard the land make a protesting sound as well and he patted the ground in comfort. “Your eyes,” he murmured.



“We should take the traitor Corin back to the Queen” Agamemnon’s deep voice spoke quietly in his mind.

“Did anyone get through?” Jensen asked, allowing Jared to pull him to a sitting position.

“The wall was breached” Agamemnon’s words were sobering. “I cannot be sure if we stopped them in time”

Jensen waved Jared away when he would have helped him to his feet. “Get the mage,” he said instead, waving at a still-unconscious Corin.

Jared hovered a little as Agamemnon knelt beside Jensen, making it easier for him to climb onto his broad back.

“Place the mage on my back” Mordecai’s light voice instructed and Jared stumbled over to where the Unseelie mage lay.

He hoisted him up, feeling a little light-headed, and was grateful when Mordecai stooped to allow him to toss the mage’s unconscious body over the Rokh’s back.

“You need to help the Prince” Mordecai nosed him gently back to where Agamemnon waited. Jensen was drooping forward, obviously still not back to full strength.

Jared clambered onto Agamemnon’s back and pulled Jensen back to lean against his chest. “Let’s go,” he whispered.

“Indeed” Agamemnon said. Then they were leaping into the air, galloping up until they were high over the forest, Seelie below them like a sparkling jewel.

“You did more than save the Prince today, Jared of Padalecki” Agamemnon sounded serious. “You saved two worlds from certain war”

Jensen’s head rolled back against Jared’s shoulder and he turned his face into Jared’s neck. “I didn’t really do anything,” he admitted. “I think Seelie just used me as a conduit to protect itself.”

“Seelie has bonded with you, just like I did,” Jensen murmured into Jared’s skin. His breath was cool and Jared tightened his arms around Jensen’s waist.

“Seelie showed me power that I couldn’t even dream of,” Jared said, looking around at the clouds and then brushing his lips against Jensen’s cheek. “It was incredible. It was like I was a part of the land.”

Just then, a large bird dropped down from above them, wing-span huge and glimmering in the sunlight.

“Alona,” Jensen said and he was smiling. “Tell my aunt that we are well and that we are on our way to the Citadel.”

The bird turned its head and one dark eye met Jared’s. Then she opened her beak and cried out, so loudly that it pealed around the sky.

And the heavens were filled with birds and bird-song, wings and feathers beating soft and urgent around them. Jared flinched once and then stopped in wonder when he realized that he was being touched, stroked, welcomed to Seelie in a way that was both profound and moving.

He felt a damp warmth against his neck and looked down to see Jensen’s eyes bright with tears. “What’s wrong?” he asked, worried that he’d been squeezing too tightly and hurting still-tender flesh.

“You’ve just been crowned as King,” Jensen told him and his mouth trembled as he tried to smile.

“King of what?” Jared was completely confused. The birds numbered hundreds, possibly thousands, all shapes and colors and sounds. They dipped and swooped and flew around Jared and Jensen, between the galloping legs of the Rokh, brushing against Jared’s face and legs.

“King of Seelie,” Jensen said and his voice was tired and yet calm.

Jared felt even more confused. “But - you’re the heir!” he said and shrugged off a particularly bold bird flapping around his face that looked a little like a tiny owl. “You’re going to be the King.”

Jensen smiled into Jared’s neck, pressed a kiss there and said, “We’re soul-bonded, Jared; it means we both get to be King.”

The Rokh started descending as Jared thought about this. “Huh,” he said and asked, “Does that mean I get to order you around now?”

And Jensen laughed into Jared’s skin as they landed in front of the Citadel.



Queen Samantha took one look at them as they stumbled off the Rokh and sent them to bed.

“I need to tell you about…” Jensen began.

She pointed in the general direction of Jensen’s room. “Now,” she said, mouth firm. “I will have a little conversation with Corin in the meantime.”

Jared never, ever wanted to piss her off. She was one scary lady, he realized, as she watched Jim and Kane haul Corin from Mordecai’s back.

“But,” Jensen protested.

“I cannot hear or see you, therefore you must not still be here in disobedience to a direct command of the Queen,” she said, not looking at them.

“Come on, Jen,” Jared said, curling an arm around Jensen’s shoulders. “I think she’s got this.”

With a last glare at Corin, Jensen allowed himself to be dragged away.

Jared was staggering with exhaustion by the time they reached Jensen’s quarters. They leaned against each other as Jensen fumbled the door open and both practically fell over when they stepped inside.

The bed had moved since Jared had last been here. He frowned. It looked different as well. “Okay,” he said and looked at Jensen. “Your bed is now hanging from the ceiling?”

Jensen’s smile was tired. “Seelie gets bored when things stay the same,” he said and kicked off his shoes. Jared trailed after him as he headed to the bathroom. “She likes to change things up a little.”

Jared stopped at the door to the bathroom and stared. Where the giant rain-cloud-shower-thing had been was now a huge hole in the floor, brimming with bubbling, fragrant water that filled the room with steam. “Well, that’s new,” he said.

Jensen shucked his clothes and stepped down into the water, sighing as the heat pulled him down. Jared followed suit quickly, not even slightly embarrassed at the pathetic groan of pleasure he made as he sank into the water’s warm embrace.

It was deep. Only Jared’s upper chest and shoulders were above water and Jensen was submerged up to his chin. He watched as Jensen ducked his head beneath the bubbling liquid and came back out, hair slicked dark against his skin, violet eyes bright and strange in his face.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said and Jensen smiled at him.

“I haven’t thanked you for saving my life yet, have I?”

Jared shrugged and moved back to lean against the edge of the pool. A small ledge bulged out of the walls beneath the water, bumping against Jared’s butt and he sat down with a startled laugh. “That is so cool,” he breathed.

Then Jensen was in his lap, facing him, legs on either side of his waist and hands on his face. “You saved my life,” he said again, and his face was very serious. “Do you know what that means?”

“I own you?” Jared quipped but Jensen didn’t laugh. “I own you?” And his voice broke at the surge of desire the thought created.

“You own me,” Jensen agreed and his mouth found Jared’s, soft, sweet and utterly perfect.

Jared brought his hands up and rested them on Jensen’s hips. “You know your eyes have changed color now?” he asked.

Jensen sighed into his mouth and then pulled back. “The amount of power that you and the land pumped into me was bound to leave some visible effect,” he said. “Who knows, perhaps it will fade.”

“I kind of like it,” Jared admitted. “Very exotic.” Jensen smiled.

Jared really wanted to be careful with Jensen, but he wasn’t feeling particularly gentle right now. He’d almost lost Jensen today. The bond surged inside him at the thought and his fingers tightened on Jensen.

“I was so scared,” he confessed and pressed his lips to Jensen’s shoulder.

“Me too,” Jensen said and he curled his fingers into Jared’s hair, pulling his head back. “But we made it.”

Jared felt himself harden, push urgently against Jensen, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He really wanted to take his time with Jensen. “I almost lost you,” he whispered and Jensen’s arms came around him. He turned his face into Jensen’s neck and breathed him in.

“I’m okay,” Jensen whispered back and then they were kissing. The need to wait, to go slowly, vanished beneath the taste of lips and the press of their bodies.

The water roiled around them, cooled slightly against their over-heated skin and Jared felt the seat lift and mold around them so that he no longer worried about sliding off.

Jensen’s fingers dug into his shoulders and he lifted himself up and forward so that Jared’s cock was trapped beneath the weight of Jensen’s ass.

“Jen,” Jared groaned and Jensen bit his lower lip, just short of true pain and started rocking against Jared.

“Need this,” Jensen said and his eyes were dark purple and wide. “Need you.”

Jared thrust up against Jensen, trying to gain traction in the slippery water and he was frustrated when Jensen kept slipping away.

Seelie responded before he could mutter a complaint, the water draining away into nothing and the ledge lengthening and widening until Jared was lying on his back, Jensen eager and panting above him.

With a grin, he wrapped one hand around the back of Jensen’s neck and pulled him down to him. Molded together, he kissed Jensen hard, tongue pushing in and insistent.

Jensen went pliant and loose against him, body like satin, hair falling forward around his face like silk. He was still the most beautiful thing Jared had ever seen.

“The things I feel for you,” he murmured into Jensen’s mouth and Jensen smiled against his lips.

“Want you,” Jensen breathed and Jared wanted to fuck him so hard that he’d be feeling him for the next week.

“Shouldn’t we use..?” Jared gasped as Jensen’s fingers wrapped around his cock.

Jensen’s eyes were dark and determined. “Like this, nothing between us.”

“I’ll hurt you,” Jared objected. “Need to use something.”

Jensen shrugged. “I almost died,” he said. “I need to feel you inside me.”

Jared blinked and his heart beat hard. “The things you say,” he rolled his hips and Jensen sucked in a breath.

“Oils,” Jensen said. “And you.” He lifted one of Jared’s hands and sucked two of his fingers into the hot warmth of his mouth. Jared felt himself get harder as Jensen’s fingers made slow stokes up and down his cock.

“Not going to last if you keep that up,” he warned. Jensen reached around him and brought a small bottle back. He opened it and held it to Jared’s nose. The oil smelled like spice and sandalwood and Jared dipped his fingers into it. It felt thicker than oil and then Jensen was taking Jared’s hand and pressing his fingers to his hole.

“Open me up and make me feel every bit of it,” Jensen ordered. Jared shuddered but obeyed, helpless under Jensen’s intent gaze.

One finger slid in to the knuckle. Jensen was tight and unprepared. Jared wasn’t happy at the thought of Jensen being uncomfortable in any way. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said again.

Jensen’s jaw set firmly. “Stop telling me what you don’t want to do and do what you really want,” he said.

Jared pressed in deeper and felt Jensen clench around his finger. It was glorious and terrifying and wonderful and he thought that that top of his head might actually blow off if he kept doing this.

“Two,” Jensen said and Jared obeyed. Jensen felt looser, wetter and he leaned down to kiss Jared, changing the angle of Jared’s fingers so that Jensen hissed a little in approval. “More,” he said and his mouth was soft against Jared’s, split tongue darting in and tangling with Jared’s.

Jared pulled back. “Already?” he asked and Jensen grinned.

“Almost died,” Jensen reminded him. “It sort of changes priorities, you know?” Jensen wriggled his ass to get Jared moving again. “Now, how about you get back to what you were doing, hmm?”

Jared pulled his fingers out and Jensen gave a whine of protest. “I’m not doing this on the floor of the bathroom, no matter how eager Seelie is to help me out,” he said and rolled over so that he could clamber to his feet. He held out a hand to Jensen. “Let’s take this to the bed, shall we?”

Jensen scrambled up and grabbed Jared’s hand. “That sounds like a plan,” he agreed and towed Jared to the bed.

Jensen pushed Jared down and followed him to the soft downy bed. They kissed for a bit, enjoying the taste of each other, reaffirming texture and touch.

Jared felt Jensen’s mouth around his cock, hot wet suction that made him arch up and cry out. That fucking forked tongue found the slit and dipped delicately in, licking up salt and slick until Jared thought he was going to go crazy.

“Enough!” he growled and tugged Jensen up towards him, kissed him hard and tasted himself on Jensen’s tongue.

He rolled them over so that Jensen was trapped beneath him. Violet eyes sparkled up at him and Jensen’s mouth was red and swollen. “I wondered how long it would take,” Jensen said and the almost smug tone made Jared go a little wild.

Before he was aware of it, he’d pushed into Jensen, sliding into him as though his cock had been created specifically to fill this opening in Jensen’s body. He dropped his head forward, his face pressed into Jensen’s throat as he felt Jensen around him, holding him inside his body and arms wrapped around his shoulders.

“Sorry, sorry,” he gasped against Jensen’s skin, feeling Jensen tense around him.

“It’s okay,” Jensen assured him and swiveled his hips a bit, changing the angle and sucking in a breath. “That’s just perfect.”

Jared gulped in air as he felt Jensen contract around him. He was surrounded by Jensen - his scent, his body, his breath. It felt like finally finding that one piece that had been missing. A piece that he hadn’t been aware had been missing until just this precise moment.

“Jensen,” he lifted his head and stared into Jensen’s eyes. And then he was falling, falling into an ocean of purple and starlight and his body no longer was his own.



He woke up to someone clearing their throat. He cracked one eye open and saw Danneel standing at the foot of the bed with a grin on her face.

“Not that I’m not appreciating the view, but maybe you could do something about all that…” she waved a hand, “nakedness?”

Jared felt his cheeks heat up and he scrabbled at the sheets, pulling them up over himself and Jensen.

“You came into the bedroom without knocking,” Jensen said into his pillow. “What you see is your own fault.”

Danni laughed. “Why do you think I did it?” she asked.

Jared glared at her but it had absolutely no effect.

Jensen rolled over and sat up with a groan. Jared blushed even harder. It still felt unreal to be in bed with this man. Fae. He sighed and Jensen kissed his shoulder. “Morning,” he said.

Jared smiled at him. “Morning,” he replied, and despite his most likely rank morning breath, he kissed Jensen’s sleep swollen mouth.

“I don’t mean to interrupt what is sure to be a wonderful show, but the Queen has requested to see you in her chambers,” Danni said with a smirk.

“Fuck off,” Jensen said but he grinned as he said it. “You’re such a perv.”

Danni waggled her eyebrows. “You know it, baby,” she agreed and sauntered out of the room.

“She’s evil,” Jared noted.

“My own personal devil on my shoulder,” Jensen nodded and headed for the bathroom. “We’d better go and see what my aunt wants.”

The rain-cloud shower was back and Jared managed to get himself clean with a minimum of groping by Jensen.

Jensen took Jared’s hand as they headed to the Queen’s rooms. Jared wasn’t used to guys being so openly affectionate. He liked the sense of possession and belonging it gave him.

“The Fae like to touch,” he noted.

Jensen nodded. “We try to be a little more careful around you humans,” he said. “But yeah, we like physical contact.”

Jared squeezed his fingers. “I like it,” he assured him. “I’m sort of a handsy guy myself.”

“Well, then I’d say we’re pretty well matched,” Jensen said and added, “Soul-bond aside, of course.”

Jared snorted and they entered Queen Samantha’s chambers a moment later. The atmosphere was somber and Jensen dropped Jared’s hand when he saw his aunt’s face.

“What happened?” he asked, rushing forward and grabbing her outstretched hand. “What’s wrong?”

Her sigh was heavy as she replied, “We’ve finished interrogating Corin and the news is not good.”

Just then, Jared noticed JD standing off to one side, watching them. “What are you doing here?” he asked and then flushed when JD raised an eyebrow. “Sir,” he amended.

“The Queen asked me to come by,” he said and she waved him forward. “It seems that we may have a bit of a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Jensen asked and Jared moved quickly to his side, standing next to him with a hand on Jensen’s shoulder as silent show of support.

“Corin confessed that several of the Unseelie managed to get through the hole between our worlds before you got there to stop them.” The Queen looked angry, sad and a little helpless.

“Do we know who?” Jensen asked.

She nodded. “Genevieve, Rick and several of the Rach as well as some of the,” she hesitated, “undesirables.”

“Undesirables?” Jared looked at Jensen who’d gone so pale that the freckles on his skin stood out in sharp contrast.

“The nightmares that we prefer to admit don’t exist,” Queen Samantha said and she bit her lip. “I don’t understand how Mark could have done this.”

“He wanted a kingdom of his own,” Jensen said, sounding slightly bitter. “A throne over an empty realm is no throne at all.”

The Queen’s eyes flashed. “Are you saying that this is my fault?” she demanded and rose to her feet.

Jensen stood his ground. “I’ve warned you that this was coming,” he said. “I told you that Mark wouldn’t be content with his lot forever.”

Jim stepped between them. “We didn’t know that it would come to this,” he placated and Jensen made a scoffing noise.

“I said to kill him or give him a place of his own, not an empty title,” Jensen shook Jared’s hand off and faced his Queen. “I told you that he would try something.”

“He is my family!” Queen Samantha stepped closer so that she was almost chest to breast with Jensen.

“Was,” Jared pointed out and instantly regretted it when her gaze flashed to his.

“Best you remain silent, bonded of my heir,” she warned. “I have not forgotten that you killed my kin.”

“Because he tried to kill Jensen!” Jared said and almost backed away from her angry face.

“That is the only reason you are still alive,” she told him. “But I wish to hear nothing more from you.”

“He has every right to defend me,” Jensen said. “He’s the reason Unseelie has not overrun the human realm.”

JD moved up next to Jared. “Instead of wringing our hands and wailing at the situation, how about we make a plan to fix it?” he asked.

His blunt suggestion seemed to deflate the furious monarch. “I don’t…” she went back to her seat, helped carefully by Jim.

“Why don’t Jen and I take care of whatever crossed over?” Jared suggested. “I mean, I’ve got my abilities and Jensen knows who the bad guys are so it makes sense.” He looked over at Jensen who was already nodding.

“I have my guard, we’re already known to the humans, it would be the best way to handle it.” Jensen smiled at Jared. “You’re not just a pretty face then?”

Jared flipped him off with a small smile.

“But we don’t know where they are,” JD said.

Jensen shrugged. “Kane is pretty handy with location charms and the Unseelie aren’t exactly subtle.” He looked at the Queen. “They will not blend in,” he explained.

She nodded. “That does make sense,” she admitted. She glanced at JD. “Your government would allow a hunter to search them out?”

“I’m guessing they’d rather we go looking for your escaped crazies than wait for them to do any damage.” Jared flinched at the Queen’s glare at his words.

“They are still my people,” she said. “Even more so now that their king is dead.”

Jensen squared his shoulders. “We should leave then. Begin the hunt.”

JD held up a hand. “Not so fast,” he cautioned. “I still have to break the news to the President.”

Jared flinched again.

JD turned his gaze on Jared. “I’m thinking you should come with me to explain whatever the fuck is going on between you and the heir to the throne of Seelie.”

Jared took a step back. “Uh, I think I’d rather explain how the moon is actually made from green cheese,” he said. His parents had been okay with him being gay. They had been unhappy but had accepted his decision to work for the NHA. Telling them that he’d managed to get himself hitched to the heir to the throne of Seelie…well, that wasn’t a conversation he was keen on having anytime soon.

“I’ll come with you,” Jensen offered and Jared couldn’t stop himself from smiling at him. “We’re in this together, you know?”

Jared bumped his shoulder. “I know,” he said.

“As Jensen is to be the hunter then it would be best that he accompany you anyway,” Queen Samantha said, looking between them. “I will arrange transport and weapons so that you can be on your way.”

Misha held up a hand. “We have a tour?” he asked.

Jensen looked at Jared. “I forgot all about that,” he admitted.

“Seriously?” Jared stared at Misha and Jensen. “The Unseelie are going to wreak havoc on earth and you’re worried about your tour?”

JD was already shaking his head. “We’re going to have to cancel it,” he insisted.

“Hell no!” Kane exploded. “We’ve worked fucking hard to get as far as we have. No fucking way!”

“Kane!” Queen Samantha’s voice was sharp. “Control yourself!”

Kane’s mouth went tight and he allowed Steve to pull him back. Danni was also looking a little upset.

“We could combine the tour with the hunt?” Jared suggested. “Keep a lookout for any of the Unseelie and then set up a gig wherever they are?”

JD tapped a finger against his chin. “That could work,” he admitted and looked to the Queen for confirmation.

“We have the carriage, the pegasii,” Jensen said. “We could always go hunting before or after the show. They move quickly.”

“I cannot allow the pegasii to spend too much time out of Seelie,” Queen Samantha sounded rueful. “They do not flourish in the world of men.”

“We shall come with you, Jared of Padalecki” Agamemnon’s deep voice sounded in Jared’s head and he started visibly enough that everyone looked at him.

“What is it?” Jensen asked, watching him closely.

“The Rokh,” Jared said, lifting a hand to his temple. “Agamemnon says that they’ll come with us.” He looked at them and they were all staring at him in shock, apart from JD who was utterly clueless.

“The Rokh wish to leave Seelie?” Queen Samantha came towards him quickly. “You are sure of this?”

“Tell the Queen that we are pledged to you and to the Prince” Agamemnon said. “From now, our fate is tied to yours”

Jared gulped. “Whoa,” he looked to Jensen. “He said that they’re loyal to you and me now and that we’re kind of stuck with them.”

Agamemnon snorted a chuckle in his mind. “Impudent!”

Queen Samantha put a hand on Jared’s arm. “Agamemnon is talking with you right now?” She sounded disbelieving.

Jared nodded, confused. “Yeah, he and Mordecai talked to me a lot while we were trying to stop Mark.” He frowned. “Don’t they talk to everyone?”

The Queen shook her head. “Only to the ruler of Seelie and their heir.” She arched an eyebrow at Jensen. “Was there something that you neglected to tell me, nephew?”

Jensen flushed a little and hunched his shoulders. “Yeah, about that,” he said and just then, the huge bird that Jensen had greeted on their race back to the Citadel, came flying into the room.



Pandemonium ensued for a few minutes as Danni squeaked and ducked behind Kane and Steve. Alona’s huge wingspan made the room seem tiny and Jared and Jensen both dropped to the floor. Queen Samantha, Jim and JD took cover behind her throne, eyes wide.

When Jared looked up, Alona was perched on Misha’s shoulder, tipping him slightly over at her weight.

“Well, this is unexpected,” Misha said.

Jared snorted a laugh and met Jensen’s bright gaze. “This place is fucking insane!” he said.

Queen Samantha appeared a little flustered as she was helped to her feet by Jim and JD. “Alona,” she greeted. “This is most unusual. The Soron have not graced my home with their presence in many years.”

Jared saw the great bird’s eyes turn to him and she gave a short, sweet burst of sound that felt like a punch to Jared’s heart. “Hi,” he managed to wave at her and he could have sword that she was laughing at him.

“Yeah,” Jensen stepped forward and looked apologetically at his aunt. “About Alona.”

Queen Samantha held up a hand. “Thank you, Jensen, I am perfectly aware of what this all means now. It would have been appreciated if you had advised me of the blessing of the Soron before now.” She sounded pissed off.

Alona vanished in a fall of feathers and when Jared blinked, there was a lovely blond woman standing next to Misha. He recognized her from when he’d first arrived here in Seelie. It felt like decades ago.

“My Queen,” she bowed and Jared tried to ignore the fact that she was naked. Misha shrugged off his coat and handed it to her. She took it with a smile. “I apologize for my unorthodox entrance, but I wanted to get here as quickly as I could.”

The Queen sighed. “The Soron have pledged allegiance to Jensen and Jared?” she asked.

“We have, my Queen,” Alona smiled at Jared. “Jensen’s soul-bonded is most suitable. Seelie approves of him and so do we.”

“As have the Rokh” Agamemnon added and it was obvious that this time he was speaking in all of their minds.

“Well,” Queen Samantha’s face was a little strained. “Does this mean that Seelie wishes for them to take the throne immediately.”

Jared suddenly understood what was happening and he blurted, “No fucking way!” And then flushed when Jensen frowned at him. “I mean,” he stammered and then shut up at Jensen’s hand on his arm. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

The Queen appeared a little happier at his outburst but she kept her gaze on Alona.

“Seelie and her people wish nothing to change yet, my Queen,” Alona’s face was kind. “We are very happy with our Queen.” She looked over at Jared. “The Prince and his bonded have work to do in bringing the Unseelie who have escaped to justice.”

The Queen nodded and Jared felt his shoulders droop with sudden relief. “Jensen has not had much training yet,” she added. “I assumed that I had much time still to prepare him for his duties before he took the throne.”

Alona shook her head. “Jensen and Jared have many years to grow as strong and as wise as you, my Queen.” Her eyes twinkled. “They are very young, after all.”

“Hey, not so much with the young,” Jensen protested.

“How old are you?” Jared asked, realizing that he’d actually never asked this before.

Jensen’s face went blank. “What?” he asked after a moment.

Jared repeated his question and the pause was even longer this time. “Jen?” Jared was starting to get a little worried.

“Fommmmgggh,” Jensen said behind his hand. Jared stared at him and Jensen sighed. “I’m four hundred and three,” he said and it sounded almost challenging.

“Four hundred…” Jared knew that his mouth was hanging open. “You’re four hundred years old?” Only dolphins could hear his squeak.

“But a babe,” Queen Samantha said with a wave of her hand. “The Fae live thousands of years.”

“Thousands…” Jared sputtered and his brain to mouth filter was obviously not working all that well because he said, “Holy shit, you’re ancient!”

Jensen’s eyes narrowed and Jared took a step back. “Ancient?” he purred and it made the hair stand up on Jared’s neck. “I’m ancient?”

“Um,” Jared hedged and the Queen thankfully interjected.

“You will grow old with Jensen now, Jared,” she told him.



He stared at her, uncomprehending. “What?”

“I’m sure I mentioned this,” she frowned. “As long as Jensen is alive then you will live. But, if you die, then Jensen dies. And vice versa. It is how the soul-bond works.”

Jared looked over at Jensen who still seemed slightly pissed off. He’d have to do some groveling later, he thought. He was looking forward to it. “So basically, we can’t live without each other now?”

The Queen nodded. “It can be most inconvenient, but we’ve had so few soul-bonds formed in the past several centuries that we cannot be unhappy about it.” She gestured at Kane and Steve. “The last one was formed about a hundred years ago and nothing since.”

“But what’s so special about it?” Jared was wondering why he hadn’t asked these questions before. Then he realized that getting Jensen into bed and being able to put his hands all over him had more or less fried his brain.

He thought that maybe he should focus a little more on the things going on around him and less on thinking about Jensen. That wasn’t likely to happen. It had been two years and Jensen was still the first person he thought about in the morning. It made a weird sort of sense now.

“The soul-bond is the most profound of joinings,” the Queen glanced over at Jim. “It is for life and ends only in death and limits those involved with what they can do without each other.”

Jim motioned to Steve and Kane. “It’s why they can’t be separated for longer than a couple of days.”

Jared looked at Kane. “So that’s where you go every few days,” he observed. He waggled his eyebrows.

Kane nodded, eyes narrowed, and Jared lost the eyebrow waggle. “Our bond is a hundred years old but it still fucking hurts when Steve’s not around.” He nudged Steve. “He tries to come to your world every so often but it doesn’t agree with him.”

Steve snorted. “Your air is poor, your food tasteless and your alcohol is like piss.” He wasn’t the most vocal of Fae but what he said usually had impact.

“Steve!” Jim remonstrated. “Remember that we now have a human among us. Jared will need to get accustomed to our ways before we make him want to kill every one of us.”

Kane laughed. “If Jensen didn’t manage to turn Jared off the Fae completely with all the shit he's pulled, then we’re fine.”

Jared saw that Jensen was determinedly not looking at him. “You behaved like an asshole to me on purpose?” he demanded.

Jensen hunched his shoulders a little. “I felt that I needed to keep you at arm’s length,” he explained.

“You were a complete dickhead!” Jared reminded him.

Color rose on Jensen’s cheeks. “I’m the heir to the throne of Seelie,” he told Jared. “I was having a bit of a problem not jumping your bones and couldn’t understand why.”

“Jen had a lot of cold showers, jerking off and crying about how hot you were,” Kane offered and dodged Jensen’s flailing fist.

“Bastard,” Jensen told him without too much heat and Kane flipped him off.

“It made for entertaining conversations,” Misha noted. “I did offer to assist Jensen with any needs he might want fulfilled.”

Jared was growling before Misha had even finished his sentence. “Over my fucking dead body,” he assured Misha, barely aware of his arm dropping over Jensen’s shoulder and tugging him close.

“I said offered,” Misha replied mildly. “Jensen never actually accepted my proposition.”

“Would’ve been like fucking my brother,” Jensen said with a little shiver. “Not cool, man.”

Jared wasn’t quite sure how he should be reacting to this conversation, but the caveman feelings weren’t ones he was accustomed to. “Nobody touches Jensen,” he insisted.

Jensen rolled his eyes. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he said, shoving at Jared. “You can’t put a moratorium on touching me.”

“Watch me,” Jared snarled and hauled him back against him. Jensen’s eyes were practically rolling out of his head but the side of his mouth was tilted in a slight curve.

“This is all very interesting, boys,” the Queen sounded like she was about to burst out laughing. “But could we perhaps get back to the discussion at hand?”

They all flushed and went silent.

“Oh my god,” JD was staring at them. “It's like a fucking three-ring circus here!”

Queen Samantha shrugged. “The Fae are not a folk to hold things back. We speak openly when we feel strongly about something,” she said and nodded at Jared with approval. “Jared will fit in well.”

JD threw himself into a chair and looked at Jared. “What the fuck are we going to tell your father?” he asked.

Shit. Jared had forgotten about that.

“Well, technically, you're his advisor,” Jared began.

“Oh no you don't!” JD pointed at him. “You will be coming with me to face the music, Padalecki!”

“You realize that means that I have to come as well?” Jensen asked. “The soul-bond is still too new for us to be separated for any time.” JD went a little pale. President Padalecki was not a fan of Jensen or his band or the fact that his son was their human babysitter.

“Yeah, can we maybe talk about that?” JD asked. “I think you should probably stay out of range of a nuclear weapon until he gets used to the idea that his baby boy has been imprinted on by the poster child for Fae Gone Wild.”

Jared snorted a laugh. “Jensen has worked really hard to develop the reputation of being a badass.” He looked at Jensen. “My dad thinks you’re a bad influence.”

Jensen glared at him. “You’re a big boy,” he muttered. “Your father needs to understand that some things don’t always go as planned.”

The Queen raised an eyebrow. “This will be a problem?” she asked JD.

JD sighed. “Probably a little bit, initially, until the President settles into the fact that Jared’s found his perfect match.” The last bit was said with so much sarcasm that Jared could practically see it.

“My dad will be okay,” Jared said, sounding a lot more certain than he actually felt. “Eventually,” he added, casting an apologetic glance at Jensen who shrugged.

“So, the first bit of business will be to tell President Padalecki of the Unseelie and their escape into the human realm,” the Queen ticked off. “Then explain that Jensen will be responsible for bringing them to justice.”

JD nodded. “Bad news, good news scenario. I like it.”

“Perhaps slip in the soul-bonding after that,” the Queen suggested. “It may be the lesser piece of news.”

JD’s laugh was sardonic. “Sure, that’s going to be the bit he doesn’t pay attention to.”

Jared felt Jensen’s fingers wrap around his. “I’m not going to hide Jensen like a dirty little secret,” he said.

“I wouldn’t let you,” Jensen said and Jared grinned.

“So, we break everything at once and hope that the Unseelie invasion is the lesser of all evils?” JD asked skeptically.

When he put it that way…

“Yes,” Jared said and just prayed that his father had no access to a weapon when he told him about Jensen.

“It isn’t exactly an invasion,” the Queen said. “There are perhaps ten Unseelie in the mortal realm at most.”

That was way less than Jared had expected. “Only ten?” he looked at JD. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

Kane shook his head. “Dude, you have no idea of what these freaks are capable of.”

“Kane!” Queen Samantha’s face was hard. “I will not remind you again that the Unseelie are family and are my subjects as well.”

Kane’s expression remained defiant. “They won’t hesitate to kill us,” he said.

“Your orders are to detain and not to kill,” the Queen said.

“I’m not going to just let them attack me and not do anything about it,” Jensen protested.

“Yeah, no touching isn’t really practical, your Majesty,” Jared added.

Her gaze whipped to his. “You have no say in this!” she said.

“Actually,” Alona’s quiet voice made them all look at her. “That’s not quite true now, your Majesty.” She sounded almost apologetic.

Queen Samantha looked at her and Jared had a moment’s worry for Alona’s safety. “You wish to challenge me?” she asked.

Alona shook her head, face very pale. “Not at all,” she said. “But the heir to Seelie has more authority than you do in this.”

“Truth” Agamemnon’s deep rumble echoed through their minds. “Jensen has the Hunter’s mark and is authorized to act on behalf of all of Seelie where danger presents itself” He sounded very sure. “In this he has superior power to the Queen.” He paused. “Seelie has granted Jared the powers of a mage so he is a fitting consort to the prince”

Jared watched as the Queen’s mouth worked silently, trying to contain her obvious frustration.

Jensen stepped forward and touched her arm. “I will do what I can to avoid killing them,” he promised. “But I cannot allow them to remain in the human world.”

She started at him and Jared could see the depth of sadness in her eyes. “Do what you must,” she said eventually, shoulders drooping.

Jensen bowed his head. “My Queen,” he said and he grabbed Jared’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Misha, Kane, Steve and Danneel followed them from the Queen’s chambers and hurried outside. Five of the Rokh were waiting for them, Agamemnon and Mordecai among them.

“It’s better that we leave now,” Jensen explained as he placed a hand on Agamemnon’s broad flank. “She’s not going to be calm about this for too long.”

JD and Alona came out of the Citadel just then. “Go!” Alona urged. “She already wants to give Jensen more orders.”

Jensen swung himself up onto Agamemnon’s back and held out a hand to Jared. “Coming?” he asked.

Jared watched as Steve and Kane clambered onto Mordecai’s back. JD, Misha and Danni climbed onto the other three Rokh. Alona vanished in a swirl of feathers and her bird form made lazy circles higher and higher into the sky.

“Jared?” Jensen’s voice brought Jared’s gaze back to him.

“Yeah,” he said and took Jensen’s hand, pulling himself up behind him. “Let’s go hunt some monsters.”