“I didn’t.Theydid.” She stepped over a charred log before turning to look at him. “But, fortunately for you, it seems that they like you.”
“How do you know that?” He asked.
Kaya surveyed him, her eyes lingering on his tunic that was now stained pink and clinging to him in the most horrible way possible. She could see every muscle—every dip and groove of his form. So well, in fact, that there was no point in him even wearing the damned thing anymore. He may as well have been naked. She wouldn’t hate it.
She shook the thought from her mind, but the thundering in her chest would take longer to shake. Especially with the feeling of him still on her lips. She licked them, drawing in a sharp breath before she spoke. “They listened to you.”
Before he could muster a response, Kaya was already walking towards the location they’d stopped to rest all those days ago. Ilias stayed back a few paces from her and waited—watched as she looked under fallen logs, lifted rocks, and sifted through bushes and foliage in search of her book. He was reluctant in helping, but he did it anyhow. And after two hours of scouring every single inch of that plateau, Kaya turned to Ilias and sighed.
“It’s not here.”
Ilias huffed, wiping the rain and sweat from his brow. “Gods-willing, it’ll show up somewhere.”
He eyed her for a moment, watching as she brushed loose strands of hair away from her face. She stared out at the ruins of Drikiera, an unreadable expression taking over her features. Her lips had always been plump, but now, with the lower jutting out relatively farther than the top, Ilias couldn’t tear his eyes from them.
Her brow crumpled, chin quivering just slightly as she turned to look at him again. “What now?” She asked, voice thick with emotion.
“Well,” he took a daring step closer to her and despite every rational thought telling him not to, he extended his hand and rested it on the small of her back. “I suggest we take a little trip to the Borderlands. There’s an old friend I’ve been meaning to pay a visit to.”
?????????
Kaya tried to make herself believe that the kiss was all just good acting—that she was playing a part in order to save them from the threat of death. But she hadn’t been acting, at all.
Her skin still tingled where he’d touched her. Her lips still burned with a warmth that was unnatural. Or maybe it was natural.
When he held her, there was a tenderness to his touch that ached in the most deliciously overwhelming way. And when he called herhis wife, something inside her reacted. Like her body approved of his and welcomed his claim.
She pondered this for the greater part of the evening and well into the bright morning hours, following behind him as he led her down the dangerous rocky path. Kaya hadn’t the slightest idea as to where they were going, but she did trust him enough to let him be a guide. He knew these mountains. He knew them well enough that he warned her of difficulties before they crossed paths with them.
They walked well into the night, stopping every few miles sip from streams or to take bites of the bread that Kaya had packed. And jam. He’d laughedwhen she’d pulled it from her pack and when he expected a scowl in return for his amusement, he was surprised to be met with a soft smile and a shrug.
“May I ask you something, princess?” Ilias’s face was emotionless once again, but there was still a glint of affection in his eyes as he watched her eat. Kaya did not look at him, but merely grunted her acceptance. Ilias watched her for a moment longer, eyes lingering on the plump lips that now turned down at each corner, her eyes solemn as she dusted crumbs from her clothing. “What happened that night?” He asked. “The night your mother got her scar.”
Tell him. Tell him we are sorry.
She froze. As if the icy chill that accompanied her shadowy friends had consumed her whole, her body went utterly still. Ilias stared at her, and watched as she lifted her eyes to peer at the sun that was now descending just below the mountainous horizon. “He had been hurting me for a long time.” She began. “That night was the first night that I fought back. I screamed and everything just went…dark. Moryna told me that when the shadows came out, they ripped him to pieces. And then my parents and the guards broke down the door. My mother just so happened to be in the direct line of one of my shadows, but I couldn’t control it. I didn’t even know it was happening. They said that the shadows had formed this…veilaround me. A shield. And anytime anyone got too close to it, the shadows attacked. It took three days for the veil to dissipate.”
She looked at him, finally. She expected to see disgust or horror etched into his features, but he was calm.
“It wasn’t your fault that your mother got hurt, Kaya.” For a moment, Ilias’s stomach sank at his usage of her name. He winced, brows drawing together as he turned to look… anywhere else.
Silence returned between the two of them. Ilias took to busying his hands, rolling up his sleeves before gathering the supplies she’d brought and placing them back in her pack. He could feel her watching—could feel her eyes lingering on the very specific scar on his wrist. It made him itch deep beneath the surface of his skin and when he reached up to scrub at the hair along his jaw, Kaya grabbed his arm.
“What happened?” She asked. Ilias hesitated, beggingto the gods that she couldn’t sense the fear and humiliation that bloomed to life in his chest. “I told you about my biggest hurt, now you have to tell me about yours.”
His eyes dropped to the raised and puckered flesh—a line that marred the expanse of his forearm. He wasn’t ashamed of the scar. It told a story of a lost and terrified boy who was so alone and so empty that it nearly killed him. It told the story of someone who faced their hardest battle and won. “I told you, Kaya. I was a very,verylonely child.” He watched her face change. He watched all of the harsh, bold lines of her features soften. For a moment, he thought it was pity. But then she smiled.
Hundreds of women and females had smiled at him, but none of them stole his breath away quite like this. It wasn’t the first time he’d recognized her beauty, but this moment struck him to his Core. As if someone pulled on two ends of a string and jerkedhardto secure a knot.
“Let’s go. I still have somewhere I want to take you.” Ilias slung her pack over his shoulder and rose to his feet. He tried his best to force away that feeling in his chest, but the harder he pushed against it, the tighter the knot became. Kaya followed behind him, glancing around at the surroundings as they continued their descent into the Borderlands.
Chapter 4
“I’m not going in there.”
When he suggested they take a trip to the Borderlands, she hadn’t expected for it to behere.
Ilias stood, hands in tight fists, at the entrance to the prison in the Borderlands. There were warriors stationed there as guards, Credulan warriors at that. He wasn’t particularly fond of leaving her there all by herself, but Kaya seemed to have a tendency of letting her fears control her more often than not. And asking her to do anything once she’d made up her mind proved just as useful as commanding a mountain to do a cartwheel.
