I nod my head quietly to Keane, remembering my own thoughts and the pull of my heart heading in his direction. It was the first night he told me that he would make me his.
“My intentions with you, with us and our future, became so clear that night. Yesterday you told me that it’s me and you… I came to that conclusion in Red Falls that night on the balcony. You would be mine in every sense that the Old World allows. It was always going to be me and you, Alexis.”
DearAncients.
Red fucking Falls.
Keane was sure of the two of us as early as Red Falls.
But you were too, my heart gently reminds me. I knew my own feelings and felt the pull of his words that night but still chose to guard them, not letting myself appreciate in that moment what they could truly mean.
Keane sighs at the memory with a small smile and continues down the roads of Dalloway, both of us caught up in our own thoughts...
Hearing his desire for me, hearing his passion and the emotions that came with every one of our encounters.
Ancients.
Keane has always been so sure of himself, always moving against me with such confidence and smug arrogance, knowing exactly what he was doing to me. But to hear him tell me of all the times he held himself back for my benefit, forourbenefit…
I’m too worked up in anticipation of what will happen under the Shadow Oak now. He is going to take me, all of me, in a hundred different ways that will harness all of these instances in which we denied ourselves in the past. My heart pounds in nervousness for the first time since we’ve left, knowing that we’re one step closer to finally letting that happen.
Keane and I continue through the city of Dalloway until the afternoon, the sun dipping lower though not yet ready to make its descent into sunset. He finally leads us to the western outskirts of the city, to a decent sized building that has a swinging mahogany sign above the door.
The Twin City Inn.
The two of us lead Millie and Ash through the inn’s courtyard and towards the stable barn, walking to the end of the stalls where Desmond noted would be empty. The stall he arranged is perfect, large enough to fit both horses for the night with a water trough and plenty of hay scattered around.
Keane and I move around the horses in silence, removing our traveling packs and giving both a good water down and hefty brush, pampering them before the long and hard road tomorrow. We make our way back through the stables when they’re finally settled in, then walk past the courtyard and into the inn.
The smell of early dinner fills the main room, with many people laughing and smoking and enjoying the decent sized pub resting against the back wall. A few heads turn to the opening of the door when we walk through, but they quickly turn back around with a shrug of indifference when they don’t see anything, most likely figuring it was the wind that pulled it open.
“I’ll never get used to this,” I whisper to Keane.
He grins and takes a heavy step inside, walking towards a large staircase at the side of the inn. We make our way up the steps and move down the hall to the right, all the way to the end until we reach the door.
The moment Keane’s hand rests on the metal handle to the room, it flashes a deep black, glittering to his touch. He pushes the door open and takes a confident step inside, the two of us eyeing the room around us.
It’s a decently sized vacancy that only has one bed. The bed is smaller than my own in Bardot and doesn’t nearly provide enough room to fit Keane and I comfortably side by side, and rests against the left wall next to an armoire and a tall mirror. On the right side of the room is a table set with four chairs, the candles on top already flickering with the small fireplace and making the whole room cozy and warm.
I bring my finger up to Stormfall’s chest with a smile and rub him gently.
“You don’t need to wake up right now Storm, but I do need to transfer you to the bed.”
Stormfall takes a sleepy step off my shoulder and lands on the hand he knows is waiting for him. I walk him over to the bedpost and tap the wood there, letting him take another small step off and onto the bed. He immediately furrows his wings and head back into his body, resuming his sleep.
“I need a bath,” I tell Keane, setting my travel packs on the table in the room and eyeing the inlet in the wall that leads to the bathing chamber. I let my feet move towards that small room and peer inside, noticing a black granite tub resting in the middle already filled with steaming water and towels laid neatly on a stool next to it.
“You take the first,” Keane replies when I walk back into the main room, “I have some messages to attend to. Once we’re both done, we’ll see what we can do about stealing some dinner.”
I glance at him sharply and watch as he takes a seat at the table and pulls out his oak pen and wood slab.
“Stealing, your Highness?”
Keane’s eyes catch mine with a grin. He chuckles at my holding gaze and rolls his eyes just slightly, “I’ll leave some cinerin behind.”
“Yes, you will,” I nod with my own stern look, shaking my head as I walk to join him. I pull out my soap from my packs and take a seat across the table, working on my boots as Keane peers back down to his oak. I look at it curiously and notice too many words etched across that slab, each with different messages waiting for the Prince.
“How does that work?” I ask.
