"Has anyone warned you about what the consummation ceremony involves?" asked Maeve as we sparred.

"I know there has to be proof that I've had sex with Elatha," I replied. Frankly, I'd tried not to think too hard about the ceremony itself, as an entire colony of butterflies had taken up roost within my belly every time I thought of what the specifics could entail.

She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I was afraid of that. It's more than that. You have to have sex with Elatha in front of the court, with proof that he's spent inside you."

My mouth dropped open, and I stopped moving. "Wow, that's very specific. I know you've told me nudity isn't a thing here, but public sex? Do elves just get it on wherever and whenever they want, with no regard to the presence of anyone else?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes, particularly during fertility festivals, but it's not an everyday thing. You can request to be behind screens, and they will hang white silk barriers so the court will see your shadows, but nothing more." She paused, hesitating. "If you think it's going to be too much and you won't be able to, I can ask one of the herbalists for a potion to relax your inhibitions and increase your libido," she offered.

I laughed and held up one hand in denial. "Right. I've got too much of you in me. The last thing I need is to increase my libido and relax my inhibitions. I'd end up screwing the entire court and still be looking for more."

Maeve grinned and nodded. "Okay, yeah. That's probably a bad idea."

"I like the idea of the screens, though. What did you mean by 'proof he's spent inside me'?" My suspicions had me shifting uncomfortably.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You are going to need to show the King and Queen, Prince Elada as the Atlantean representative, and your Unseelie grandparents who are insisting on the marriage, that Elatha's cum is dripping out of you."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "Jeez, you elves don't pull any punches, do you." Having my suspicions confirmed didn't make me feel any better. Still, there wasn't much I wouldn't do to protect my son. If it meant he was safe, I'd gladly suffer the embarrassment. No amount of my pride was worth my son's life. "Elves are stuck in the dark ages, like on Earth, when bloody sheets or more had to be shown after a noble marriage consummation to prove a woman had been a virgin beforehand. Wait... how old are you?"

Maeve laughed. "Old enough that I know exactly what you are talking about, since that's not that long ago for me. Barely an eye blink. Although, I have to admit that I've truly never understood that mortal male obsession with female virginity. And don't forget, you're an elf too. Where do you think your propensity for bluntness comes from?"

I shook my head, unable to disagree. It really did seem like we were alike in a lot of ways. "Another thing I've inherited from you." Hopefully, enough to get me through this. With a hand pressed to my stomach, those butterflies were in full flight.

"Indeed."

When Elatha joined me in the bathing pool while I rinsed off the sweat from my sparring session, I told him what I'd learned from my mother.

"Huh. So I have to fill you to overflowing? Damn. It's such a chore to take you multiple times in a row. The sacrifices I make for my race, plunging my cock in that wet little cunt of yours. I don't know if I'm up to the challenge. We'd better practice," he teased as his clever fingers delved into my body and teeth nipped along my neck.

He was trying to distract me from my fears about tomorrow, and gods, but I appreciated his efforts. If he'd freaked out the way I knew Loki would have, I didn't know if I could have dealt with my own fears on top of his response.

"Are you two fucking again?" Mist asked as she walked in the main door.

"Practice," I managed to moan.

She snorted. "Right. You two really need more practice. You know you are going to have an audience for the ceremony, right? Are you going to be able to deal with that?"

Gods. How did Mist expect me to carry on a rational conversation with Elatha fingering me like this?

I opened my mouth to reply, and a moan slipped out instead. I squirmed and tried again. "It's true. I'm uncomfortable with the idea." Ha. Understatement, but it's not like there is another choice. Yet the reminder pulled me from the sensual web Elatha had been casting over my senses.

"All kidding aside, do you want me to ask a few others here so you can see if you freeze in front of them?" Mist asked.

Elatha paused what he was doing, lifting his mouth from my neck. He met my gaze for a few seconds, then turned to her. "That's a good idea, Mist. I'd rather find out how Shannon and I deal with others present now, instead of waiting for the ceremony and running into issues. We only get one shot at this, and risking Aidan is not an option."

I nodded when she raised an eyebrow, waiting for my response. "Yeah, do it." I couldn't argue with the logic, and if it made me uncomfortable now, well, it would be way worse tomorrow on Samhain. Even if I had to grit my teeth and think of England, this needed to happen.

"Elatha, I want you to promise me that even if I freeze, you'll get this done for us tomorrow," I asked, both my hands on his cheeks as I looked into his silver eyes. "Please, Elatha. Even if I freak out and can't respond. Please promise me you'll accomplish this for us, for Aidan?"

He scowled, eyes flashing. "I absolutely loathe the idea of taking you unwilling. It offends me down to my soul."

I put a hand over his lips. "I'm not unwilling. Not at all. That's my point. I'm afraid my body or mind is going to freeze and betray me, but I'm telling you now, in no uncertain terms, that I want you, regardless. Please, Elatha. Please promise me that you will fuck me, regardless. Even if I'm so scared, I'm frozen. Please don't let me fail?"

He winced and looked away. After a minute, he looked back, eyes hotly intense. "Very well. I promise. But damn it, Shannon, I'm going to do everything I can to ensure you are not frozen and don't notice all the blasted barnacles observing us," he growled, before leaning forward to kiss me senseless.

A short time later, we had an audience of Mist, Manannan, Math, Taliesin, Maeve with several of her current consorts, and Prince Elada, Elatha's older brother.

It was awkward. Oh my god. Insanely, uncomfortably awkward. Elatha and I were still in the bathing pool when everyone arrived, but having the observers instantly killed the mood between us.

"Do you need pointers?" Maeve asked.

I groaned in embarrassment and covered my flaming face. Stomach churning, I shifted nervously even with the water up to my neck. Yes, this was why we needed the trial run. Trying to do this in front of the entire court was going to be excruciating. But I absolutely could not fail at this. Even with Elatha's promise, I needed to do my best to not put it all on him. That wasn't fair to ask of him when I knew it would go against his every instinct.

"Both of you focus on each other. Tune out everyone else, their chatter, their presence. Stare into each other's eyes and start with the easy caresses you know the other likes," Maeve advised.

Arms around his neck, one hand buried in his soft black hair, I looked into Elatha's distinctive silver eyes. With deliberation, I drew in a long inhale, only to let it out slowly, trying to force myself to see only him and relax.

He held me in his arms, one hand stroking up and down my back, the other lightly caressing my cheek, jawline, ear and neck. Leaning towards me, he flicked his tongue along my lower lip before retreating to gently press our lips together.

Again, he teased my lower lip with the glide of his tongue before another soft kiss.

The third time, I opened my mouth when he went to stroke his tongue lightly over my mouth, instead meeting my own with a curled flick. Deepening the kiss, his hand found its way into the hair at the back of my neck, tilting my head to fit against him.

Restlessly, my hips writhed against his, finding him hard against my stomach. A hand reached down to pinch and tug on a peaked nipple, drawing a moan from my throat. Breaking our kiss, he explored my neck, letting me feel his teeth at the fluttering pulse that beat there.

Reaching down between us, I gripped his rigid length, making him groan. He pulled my hand away, only to lift me up and tease me with the broad head at my entrance. I squirmed.

"Elatha! Stop teasing," I complained, trying to lower my hips.

He grinned against my neck, tugged on my earlobe. "Impatient, are we?" Still, he held me just poised above him, teasing me with his fingers circling my clit. In a quiet murmur against my ear, he demanded, "Cum for me first, Princess, if you want my cock stretching that needy little cunt of yours."

I writhed as he teased my aching bud, drawing little whimpers from my throat. Continuing in a low voice pitched just for my ears, he told me all the dirty, erotic things he'd been thinking of doing to me. His voice was all I could hear, and it had me trembling, right on the cusp of orgasm.

With his thumb rubbing back and forth, he stretched his fingers back, dipping his fingertips into my ass as he whispered how he couldn't wait to fuck me there, with Loki buried in my pussy. I detonated, the sensations and erotic whispers too much to hold back.

As I cried out my release, he thrust up with his hips, pumping hard and fast into me. It had my arousal spiking anew.

Keening with the intensity of it, my thighs trembled, rapidly climbing to climax again. As my walls clenched around him, spasming in orgasm, he followed, shouting his own release.

No sooner had he finished, than he was growling, demanding I cum again as he pistoned in and out of my soaked, throbbing core.

Moaning, head spinning, he drove me hard and fast until we both writhed, bodies bucking at the strength of the orgasm. Still, he demanded more, not slowing his intensity until with a starburst of explosions in my mind, I collapsed, limp in his arms.

He held me to his chest as our breath sawed in and out, gradually slowing.

Eventually, I became aware of our surroundings again, blinking as I realized we'd actually managed to do that in front of an audience. Looking around, I almost snorted out a laugh.

Our room had turned into a giant orgy.

Maeve was in a pile of writhing and moaning limbs, with her consorts on one of the couches.

Manannan had Mist pinned hard up against a wall, with her wrapped around him. My eyes widened. Damn. He was railing the shit out of her, and from the sounds coming from her, she was loving every hard inch of it.

Math was stroking his own cock and sucking Taliesin's with long slurping sounds. Taliesin caught my eye and winked, even as he stiffened and groaned his release.

The only one not having sex was Elada, but his eyes glittered with lust as he looked over Elatha and I.

"Damn, Shannon. Are you sure you don't want both brothers?" he asked. "I'm happy to help out."

I shook my head, tired but with a smile. "Nope, thanks. I'm good."

Elatha stood, lifting me out of the water, still wrapped around him. "I'm taking her to our room. Thank everyone for us when they've recovered. We needed that experiment to get over our jitters for tomorrow."

"You're a lucky bastard, Elatha. I will," Elada said, grinning.

His gaze wandered over my body as we disappeared into our room. It made me uncomfortable, and the butterflies I'd temporarily managed to still took flight again in my belly as I recalled what would be required of me tomorrow.

As much as I knew Loki wouldn't be able to handle what the ceremony entailed, I wished he would be there for the emotional support. Unfair, as it would be a disaster to have him there, given his temperament. He'd probably try to kill all the observers for seeing me like that, but gods, I wanted him there.

Tears filled my eyes as Elatha tucked us into the bed, pulling my head into his shoulder. When they began to fall, soaking his skin, he held me and stroked soothing hands over my hair and back until I fell into a fitful sleep.