"I deserve someone who loves me for who I am and sees all of me and chooses me anyway." Her blue eyes held mine. "As long as I have that, everything else is just decoration."
My throat tightened. "You have that."
She suddenly blushed, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "Dear Elu, what are we doing? We have known each other for a month and a half. We shouldn't be talking about a wedding."
I nodded, relieved that she was not in a rush to make anything official and that a grand ceremony wasn't important to her. "We know that we belong together and that is enough."
"It is." Something determined flashed in her eyes. "You, Alar Tekum, also known as Prince Alaranthus Tekumuton the Fifth, are mine…"
"I am yours," I breathed. "And you, Kailin Strom, also known as the Hero of Elucia, are mine."
She grimaced. "You know how much I hate that title."
"You shouldn't." I cupped her face in my hands. "You are a hero in so many ways, Kailin. You have no idea how much I admire you, and how awed I am by what you can do." I leaned forward and kissed her, deeply, desperately, trying to communicate everything I didn't know how to put into words. "It feels like I've been waiting for you my entire life, but the reality of you is so much more than I could have ever imagined."
She shook her head, but instead of verbally rebutting my statement, she pushed on my chest. "Enough talking."
We stumbled backward on the bed. My hands fumbled with the buttons of her shirt while hers worked at mine, both of us suddenly frantic with need.
This felt different from our previous encounters. It wasn't just desire or even need; it was a claiming, a sealing of the promises made.
Her uniform top hit the floor, followed quickly by mine. I traced the line of her throat with my lips, feeling her pulse race beneath my touch. She arched beneath me, her hands tangling in my hair.
"I can't believe that you are mine, Kailin," I murmured against her skin.
She looked at me with those expressive eyes of hers. "I'm still waiting to wake up and realize that it was all a dream, even though I've never dreamed of being the chosen of a prince."
I wanted to tell her that it wasn't nearly as big a deal as me being chosen by a goddess, but I knew that she would object to me calling her that, and right now I wanted to make love to her.
We took time to worship each other with touches and whispers. I mapped every inch of her with my hands and mouth, committing it all to memory—the small bruise on her shoulder from hand-to-hand training, the way she gasped when I kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear, the fierce concentration on her face when she rose above me.
"I love you," she said as we moved together, her eyes locked on mine.
"And I love you." I pulled her down for another kiss.
Later, when I held her as she drifted toward whatever visions the tea would bring, I prayed that the half dose would be gentle on her and that whatever visions it would bring about, I would be able to keep her grounded and make sure that she found her way back home.
19
KAILIN
"Sometimes, the mind protects itself by hiding from us the things we need to forget."
—From 'The Healer's Journal'
By Master Physician Layla Denick
Istretched, feeling surprisingly rested for the first time in days, my mind clear rather than foggy or confused. If I had dreamt, I didn't remember my dreams, and that felt like a gift.
"Good morning." Alar smiled from where he was getting dressed for conditioning. "You look rested."
"I am." I sat up in bed. "I feel good, probably because I can't remember any dreams from last night."
"Maybe the half dose wasn't enough to trigger the visions."
"It would seem so." I tried to recall anything from the night.
Usually, even when I didn't have prophetic dreams, I remembered at least fragments from my regular dreams, but last night was a complete blank. It was as if I'd closed my eyes and opened them again moments later. "It's odd, though. I always remember something."
