“It is my duty and my need as your mate,” he told her. When she parted her lips to speak, he said hurriedly, “And I know that you do not accept it.Yet. But I have accepted it and I take that responsibility seriously.”
Her mouth closed. She couldn’t argue with him. Not about that. Not when she suspected, deep down, that he was right, despite what she wished.
“You are hesitant with me because you are wary of me,” he said, though it was obvious by his tone that he hated that truth. “But I give you my vow, female, not only as a warrior of Luxiria, not only as the Ambassador ofOtala, as an Ambassador to the Prime Leader, but asyour male, asyour mate, that I willneverhurt you. I will never touch you if you do not wish to be touched. I will never give you reason to mistrust my intentions. Over time, I hope that you will come to trust me, that you will come to trust my promises.”
His words brought something roaring to life in her, but she swallowed it down and asked, with a shaking voice, “And what is your second request?”
“That you allow me to call youluxiva.”
She blinked.
“You asked me not to,” he murmured, running another hand over his horn, his expression almostsheepish. “But I fear that sometimes, I will let it slip.”
Crystal let out a shaky breath. She didn’t know why, but that request tore at her heart, at the barriers that surrounded it.
It’s just a word, she thought.
What harm could it do? And it was obviously important to him.
“I agree,” she murmured. “Do you agree to mine?”
“Tev,” he rasped.
“Then let’s start over,” she said, though she didn’t truthfully know how she would go about it. Even though it was cheesy and ridiculous, she extended her hand out towards him and said, “My name is Crystal.”
His brow furrowed. He looked at her outstretched and took it, though not in a handshake. His fingers were warm, reminding her of last night.
“I know,” he said slowly, perplexed.
She couldn’t help but give a small, embarrassed smile at his reaction. “Never mind. It’s a silly human thing. A joke.”
“Oh,” he said, frowning. Then he hesitated, saying, “I am called Cruxan.”
He was playing along. Her smile widened a little. “Nice to meet you, Cruxan,” she said quietly.
“It is nice to meet you,luxiva.”
Chapter Fourteen
“We’re making camp already?” Crystal asked, furrowing her brow, perplexed. She glanced at the sky, though who was she kidding? She couldn’t see anything past the thick, dense fog that still permeated the air. “We’ve only been walking for a few hours.”
The landscape didn’t change during those few hours. Or, if it did, Crystal didn’t notice. They were still surrounded by the white trees and the storm from last night had littered the forest floor with their bark and branches and pods. It had also brought out long, swaying stalks from the ground, stalks that wereblue, that she didn’t dare to touch though Cruxan had told her they were harmless.
Cruxan was looking at something in the distance. “I see a cave up ahead. We will be leaving thefacevrange soon and I fear there will be more rain tonight. I will not risk it. Not again.” He turned to regard her and for once, Crystal didn’t have the impulse to shy away from his gaze. “Besides, your coverings need drying.”
She nodded, in agreement. If there was a cave, it meant they could stay dry for the night. And if they somehow managed to get a fire going, despite the dampness of the materials around them, that would be a small miracle, one she hoped for.
It certainly didn’t help that her cold skin had already begun to chafe, despite the softness of her own tunic. Her skin was still damp, unable to dry, and her inner thighs were rubbed red from where they touched and her inner arms were beginning to throb.
“Okay,” she said, though she was torn. Another full day lost because of the storm. Another full day further from finding Erin.
But then she remembered the aching cold that had clung to her very bones the night before. She remembered how her thighs couldn’t seem to get warm, even pressed against Cruxan’s body. It only served to remind her that this wasn’t some kind of recreational camping trip. Being out in the wild lands, without proper supplies and clothing, was dangerous…especially for a human like her. Cruxan could easily survive, but not her.
If he hadn’t found her, if she’d been left alone in that place….would she have even survived until now?
That thought frightened and humbled her. She looked at Cruxan out of the corner of her eye as they made their way to the cave he spied.
When they reached it, Crystal saw it was a respectable size.
