He positioned himself atop her once more; this time the weight of his body pressed her into the sand. His warmth overwhelmed her senses, easing away all remaining vestiges of chill that had settled into her bones.
“I just want you to enjoy yourself,” he whispered against the shell of her ear. “And I want to enjoy myself, with you. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll have years ahead of us to continue doing so. But if it’s not meant to be, then we will always look back on this moment with a satisfied little smirk.”
He returned his mouth to hers. A deep, slow kiss. The world narrowed onto him. All thoughts vanished.
Every ache was smoothed away as he ran his hands over her. The wet fabric of her shirt clung to her breasts. His hot fingertips rumpling the liquid cotton made her whole body ache, tensing to attention.
Cullen kissed down her neck, to her collarbone. He kissed over her chest, his breath hot through the fabric. A whimper escaped her lips. It felt so good to be touched like this. To bewanted and needed. To not worry about the rest of the world for just a little while and lose herself in a moment.
Tension was already arching her lower back as he reached her bare abdomen. His fingers dug into her hips as his mouth continued trailing down. Fire erupted in her.
“Cullen,” Eira said breathlessly. Everything else was vanishing from her mind. The only thing she could think was his name. “I…you…”
“If you want me to stop, I will. Say the word,” he murmured across her flesh, kissing around and beneath her bellybutton. “But, if not…just relax and enjoy, Eira.”
She did as she was told. She stopped fighting the worry and concern that threatened to pull her mind back to reality and force her to overthink the moment. It all faded away as he reached his goal. She let out a sharp gasp, eyes snapping open. Everything was so vivid and bright. So beautiful.
His mouth and fingers drove her to new heights that Eira had never known. There were parts of her body that tingled and shuddered that she didn’t even know existed. Her core had turned to churning molten, ripe with desire as he lavished his affections upon her.
Curling her toes, Eira pressed her eyes closed. She was a bow. Arching. Taut. Ready to snap and spring loose. The sweet, sweet release of breaking was so close. Cullen seemed to know it, too. Everything he was doing remained consistent and yet was somehow more.
Just when it was all about to snap, an unfamiliar voice echoed in to them, “You’re sure they’ll be here this time?”
31
Cullen stopped his attentions instantly, sitting upright. Eira scrambled to get her clothes back in place. They both looked to the opening of the cavern, and then to each other.
“They won’t miss another meeting. They’re as invested as we are,” the voice continued.
Eira grabbed Cullen’s hand, pulling him with her into the water. She used her magic to allow them to sink in silently. There wasn’t so much as a splash or a wave. Cullen followed, his trust implicit. Just as she was about to go under, she heard:
“How much is His Holiness demanding this time?”
“More than ever before, the heretics on Meru need a demonstration of his might. They still resist, eager to regroup around the tattered remains of their leadership. I hear he is asking for flashfires to help drive them out from underneath Risen and continue showing the city his domination over it.”
Flashfires?Eira had yet to hear of such a thing.
“That would surely give our cause even more momentum—to think, arming those without magic. Putting power in their hands that is as mighty as the average sorcerer.”
Eira slowed, staring at the opening to the cavern that led toward the sea beyond, rather than back to the beach they had come from. She glanced back to Cullen. He nodded, as if he could read her mind. Eira swam to the farthest point of the cavern, pressing into one of the craggy walls. Cullen stayed close behind her as Eira clung to the wet stone to keep an eye on the narrow beach they had just been lying on. With a wave of her hand, she sent the water onto the sand, smoothing away the indent their bodies had left.
Then she drew her magic around them. Between the sea, the moisture in the air, and the training with Adela, Eira had little issue crafting an illusion for her and Cullen. If anyone looked in their direction, they would just see stone and water. It was easier than she expected; even as they bobbed slightly, she was certain the illusion never wavered. Easy enough that she could also simultaneously adjust the ripples in the water coming from them to give nothing away. Turned out she didn’t need Olivin’s illusionary training, after all.
In the few seconds of waiting, it struck Eira how calm she was. During the tournament, when she had been sneaking around Pillars, her heart had pounded. She’d had her stomach in her throat. Anxiety would make her ready to fight or flee, like little more than an animal.
Fear is just inexperience manifesting in the unknown. It is little more than nightmares. What scares it away is experience, knowledge, and power. You do yourself a disservice by giving in to fear, for it denies you the strength you possess, Adela had said to her during one of their many nights of working together. The words had imprinted themselves upon her.
Eira wasn’t afraid, because she knew she had the means to defend herself. To escape or to fight, no matter what it came to, she had the tools and strength to do what must be done. Thatmeant there was nothing to worry about and she could focus with a clear head, ready for whatever came next.
Two men rounded the corner. There was nothing special about the way they were dressed. They looked like any of the other pirates she’d seen—a little rough around the edges. But nothing particularly alarming.
Except…
When one of them turned to face the opening of the cavern they’d just walked around, she noticed three vertical lines scarred into the back of his hand. There was no question as to what it meant: They were Pillars.
The urge to charge them ripped through her. She had the element of surprise. With a twitch of her fingers, she could skewer them on ice before they even had a chance to look her way. But Eira remained still, thinking rather than acting.
Why were they here? Who were they waiting for? And what did they want—flashfires? She wouldn’t get her answers by killing them. Eira continued to wait, keeping her magic firmly in hand and her breathing shallow.
