“You did,” I smile, “trust me.”
I reach again to my neck, feeling how sensitive it is. He kisses my fingers through my hair and rests his head against mine, the two of us taking a deep breath together. I will my thoughts to abandon Red Falls and find some sleep, but they immediately roam back to Fumagalli and all of the many bows and arrows that line every tree corner.
“What are you preparing for at Fumagalli?” I whisper, not even knowing if Keane is awake.
He is.
I feel his own body stiffen for a small moment before he replies. “What do you mean?”
“I mean what I said last night,” I sigh, “that I know there’s more to your Hidden City.”
Keane’s hand across my waist dips to my hip, his fingers moving in small, comforting circles as he thinks on his answer.
“My father believes that the forests surrounding our lands offers all the protection we need from any outsiders, and while I agree that the woods are foreboding in themselves and can stall off most foreigners, I also know that they are not enough.”
“So a precaution, then?” I keep my eyes closed, relaxing against his small movements.
“Yes,” he breathes into my hair and he kisses my neck again.
“From who?”
“The Leviathans have been inching closer to our borders over the last five years. They send riding scouts near the entry to the Great Road and to our southern border at Varon.”
“Why?”
His head gives a small shake behind me, “I’m working with Desmond to find that out.”
“Is that why you were upset this morning? The three of you?”
Keane chuckles and grabs a hold of my hip, his own pressing into my rear.
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I do,” I smile, “must be the curious Knowledge in me.”
“Or the bold Warrior,” he whispers into my ear.
I close my eyes with a grin and lean back into his body. We remain quiet for a long time before my mind gets the better of me yet again.
“Have you visited the library at Red Falls?”
Keane sighs into my hair and moves his hand up the bedroll. He snakes it under the covers and brushes his fingers against my breasts.
“I will wear you out, Alexis,” he promises, “find your sleep in the next turn or I will find it for you. I’ll make sure you drift off with my fingers still inside you.”
My eyes snap open at the comment, my body tensing in anticipation as his fingers brush against my nipple in soft warning. I consider letting him, Ancients know I would enjoy nothing more, but I decide to opt for something else…
“Just tell me about it,” I close my eyes with a small shake of my head, “tell me what you’ve seen in the city.”
Keane’s fingers move gently over my chest in a caress.
“The fortress and the library are built into the Charred Mountains. There’s a large waterfall in the middle that falls down into the main town and feeds into the River Livyatan, and the library is larger than any we have in the Court of Warriors. It has a great many steps leading up to it, with the entry seeming to be swallowed into the mountain behind it. I will be with you when you arrive, but I’ve never been inside...”
“There’s snow there, covering the full of the mountain and the city below. Have you ever seen snow, Alexis? I’m going to watch you when you see it falling over the city for the first time. Prince McQuoid will meet us when we arrive at the fortress. He’s a close friend of mine, though his snow tiger takes some getting used to. Him and his wife both command the royal creatures. The city itself is best to look at in the late day, when the sun sets on the mountain and falls in a deep red hue that reflects against the waterfall. It makes it look like fire is pouring out of the mountain…”
I fall asleep to the sound of his voice and a vision of Red Falls in my mind.
CHAPTER IX
