He is.
Him, and the dare of him. The dare of him exposing me to myself.
It’s the daunting way he speaks to me about things that tug on the inner heart of my being. The way he knows,somehow,that ever since I’ve stepped foot in Gaumond, I’ve been questioning everything I thought I knew about human and Discerni relations. There’s something here in the Black Capitol, something so right that it should be spread across all of Disce.
Keane’s eyes remain on mine, watching as the small realization forms in my mind.
“Say it, Alexis…” he smiles.
I bite my lip and close my eyes to his powerful gaze. Keane presses his body against mine again, pushing me back down to the dirt as the full of him surrounds me from above.
“Ancients,” I moan.
I feel the heat of his lips grazing mine, their softness tantalizing and hovering just over my own but not pressing down fully. Keane slowly brings a hand up to greet the side of my jaw, his fingers brushing away my hair so he can look at the jewel on my ear.
“Or do you want me to say it for you again,” he whispers against my lips, “as I did tonight at court?”
“No,” I reply breathlessly.
Please don’t.
“No?” he chuckles, “but I could have sworn you liked it.”
“I did.Ancients, Keane, I did. But if I hear those words come out of your mouth again, then you and I will be up all night getting to know each other in a very different way that doesn’t involve words.”
The earth below us begins to shake again,violently, the roots of the oak moving around our bodies as Keane crashes his lips onto mine. His hand leaves my jaw in an instant, his fingers relentlessly grabbing the nape of my neck as he draws me closer and clashes his tongue with mine. My lips part without hesitation, the kiss commanding and claiming all at once. Imoan into his embrace and thrust my hips against his, every part of our bodies melding together as the vibrations continue to rock the ground.
Ancients,I can feel the desire dripping off of him.
Can feel it in his lips and the steady movements of his tongue, in the way that his hand holds me against him and offers no release.
But he pulls away as quickly as he came, that same hand tilting my neck back so that I’m forced to meet his gaze.
“Say it, Alexis,” he demands again, “say that you belong in Warrior.”
I can’t.
Not when my heart still yearns for the familiar green of my home. Not when it pines for the simple walks along the Bell Grove or to the Willow, or the steady rides around Loughty and being high up in the Palisades under the sun and stars. Not even when a little voice reminds me that I found that same happiness today when I explored Gaumond, that I found myself coming alive while experiencing Warrior’s Row and the humans and Discerni who all work together. I found the same joy sitting in the Marybeth’s Tavern as I do sitting on the veranda of Sera’s café in the Palisades…
Everything I’ve found in Bardot, in Knowledge, I’ve been finding here in the Warrior capitol as well.
But this place holds a sharp edge against my easy nature that I’m not sure I can let go of yet. It takes a flame to my contentment and wills it to burn away. It’s exciting to experience, but I don’t know if that’s enough for me to simply toss aside my home of over ten years. Do I really want to replace the beautiful simplicity of Knowledge for something more daring, as Keane says? Or is this fire and call to adventure within me just a passing whim?
You know the answer.
I think Keane sees that I’m battling again. He releases my neck, fingers rubbing against my jaw in comfort as his brown eyes lose their intensity and stare back at me with the same kindness as his father’s. He lifts his body off mine and presses his lips to my forehead, releasing us both from the heavy moment.
“It will come, Alexis,” he smiles down at me, “and I am a patient man.”
CHAPTER VII
CALM CONTENT
I wake under the Shadow Oak with its black and brown arms twisting harshly above me. The early morning sunlight is reflecting gently off its black leaves, all of them shimmering in greeting and bringing one of the largest smiles to my lips.
At some point in the early morning, someone, either Keane or Golem, laid my green velvet cloak over my body for warmth. It was a nice gesture that I now pull off, my gaze instantly landing on the Prince’s body from where we fell asleep after our conversation.
Keane lays opposite me, our two heads at far ends of the other, but he’s close enough that my knees are curved into the crux of his stomach while his thighs rest against mine. He has an arm thrown over the top of my legs in a tight embrace, his brown hair looking a bit messed as if he just got back from a small ride. His brows are furrowed like he’s pondering something in his sleep, but his full red lips are soft against the sharp angles of his Discerni face.
