“What needed to be done.” I brush past her, the sound of our clothes grazing against each other fills the silence.
She extends her hand towards me, but stops just short of making contact. “ You performed theneni?” She reaches out again, feeling the surrounding air. “Thylas, please tell me you didn’t break the twin drop.”
“Why? You are the one who told me I was supposed to let her go! I’m supposed to ‘if our paths are different’ ... that’s what youtold me. It’s because of me she can’t remember anything. I made a stupid oath to keep her on the right path and I fucked up, okay! I did this, and now I’m fixing it!” I walk away from her, throwing my swords to the corner of the room and grabbing the liquor from the table, drinking from the top of the bottle.
“I told you to let her go, not to destroy a twin drop.” She comes up next to me.
“It’s what I had to do!” I turn and yell at her face, but she doesn’t recoil, instead, she straightens her spine. Her eyes search mine and I wonder what she sees.
“It kept you safe! You just threw it away. For what?”
Her hazel eyes bore into mine, the green and brown seem to fight for dominance. “I’m tired of feeling like I’m not enough! I’m so tired of knowing this is my fault, and I’m so tired of hearing them together every night!” Uncertainty and anger well up in my eyes as I speak, unable to hide the truth any longer. “I’m tired of being lonely.”
Anara boldly steps up to me, swiftly snatching the liquor from my grip, and proceeds to take a prolonged sip. As she looks into my eyes, her voice trembles with vulnerability as she whispers, “I’m tired of being alone too.”
Without thinking, I grab her shoulders and pull her close to me, my heart racing. Her lips are soft as they crash into mine. Her taste is a combination of spices and citrus as I seek entry into her mouth with my tongue. She opens her mouth slightly, letting her tongue dance with mine. She smells of jasmine as she wraps her arms around my neck. Anara’s fingers tangle in my hair, tugging atthe leather strap that holds it together before tossing it aside. The chains on her wrist dangle between us.
I’ve always been one to find comfort in others — to stop feeling and thinking — and tonight is no different. Her hands mess with the laces of my pants. She releases the button and pushes the pants to my ankles and I step out of them. I fall to my knees and look up at her, her hands falling to my shoulders. My fingers trail up her calves and push her orange skirt up as I let my hands slide up the back of her thighs. “I’ll stop if you want me to,” I tell her, my hands halting in the middle of her thighs.
“Stop talking.” She exhales heavily, her breaths audible in the quiet tent.
With a firm grasp on her thighs, I effortlessly lift her up as I rise and her legs immediately lock around my waist. As she presses against me, the heat from her core ignites a fiery desire, making me even harder. I sit on the edge of the bed as she gathers my shirt at my waistband and pushes it up. I balance her on my lap while I toss the shirt to the floor. She rakes her nails down my chest, leaning in to softly kiss the mark I made from my sword during theneni. As her chains hit my chest, a low growl of annoyance escapes me, and I quickly snatch them. My veins feel as if they are on fire as I pull her closer to me with them. “These are in the way.”
She bites at my neck. “Can’t do anything about those, Ambassador. Deal with it or get yourself off.”
Her attitude is one thing I like about her. She’s never one to hide from saying what she wants. She positions herself over me, easing onto me and I groan at the feeling. I clutch her straplesstop and lower it, revealing her breast, and I playfully tease her nipple with my tongue.
With her skirt pushed up around her waist, Anara rides me slowly, taking pleasure how she wants it. She digs her fingers into my shoulders as her body heats up beneath my touch. She feels as if she herself is on fire, and I notice the fire in the hearth is growing.
I stand up, grabbing her by the waist, and effortlessly toss her back onto the bed. As Anara’s legs swing off the edge, I seize hold of one and bring it up to my chest, allowing her foot to rest near my shoulder. I thrust inside of her with force and speed, and a moan escapes her lips. The chains catch my attention again and I grab at them, letting her leg fall to my waist and she wraps her silken calf around me.
The chains heat beneath my touch and all I can think of is how I want them off. They are nothing but a reminder that the King of Shaston thinks he owns her — and us, since we all share the same black bracelets we still can’t seem to remove. I continue my thrusts, my grip on the chains tightening, while the crackling sound of the raging fire fills the air behind me. I grit my teeth; my mind is consumed with anger and these chains are making it worse.
“Riph shur!” I growl the Shamalish words, saying them without thought. The chains drop onto the bed with a clink. We both pause and she gazes up at me with wide eyes. As she massages her wrist, I swiftly snatch the shackles and hurl them across the room.
“Your turn.” As she speaks, her hips sway and a shiver runs down my spine.
I grab the black cuff. “Riph shur.” The cuff falls into my palm. I glance at it and toss it towards her shackles. “What just happened?”
She smiles. “An answer to a question.” Her hand guides mine along her tanned stomach, delicately caressing over her breast, until finally resting beneath her throat. “If you want to stop and talk about it we can, or you can finish what you started.” She raises her eyebrows at me, her eyes sparkling mischievously as a playful smile tugs at the corners of her mouth.
I wrap my hand around her throat, leaning down and pushing into her again. “Oh, Anara … I always finish what I start.”
thirty-six
Queen Natala
Ilook out the windows at the mess that was once my kingdom. We cut down our beloved trees to try to barricade the border between us and the Cartilen Mountains. Once the creatures stayed there, but not now — now they ravage our forest. The flame-tipped fur of thekhindignites fires that have quickly spread through our once vibrant green landscape.
The door creaks as it opens behind me. Elino approaches me with heavy footsteps, and I can already tell that the news he has isn’t good. He runs his hand across my bareshoulder, letting it linger, then he unties the knot at the base of my neck that holds my dress on, before he leans down and kisses the hollow there.
“Anything from Shaston?” I ask, still watching the smoke plums in the distance. Our men are becoming depleted, their strength waning like the phase of the moon. Even with magic pulsing through our veins once again, it’s not enough. It’s not enough to stop what’s coming.
He steps beside me. “Not officially. I received a message from Prince Ereon though. He claims to be traveling north to gather some of his men to send here.”
I run my hand through my dark green hair before turning to him. “Then that is all we can hope for. I knew reaching out to that monster of a king in Shaston wouldn’t help, but I had to try. I know the trouble in Antalis —” The look in his eyes makes me halt mid-sentence. “What?”
He puts his hands across the freckles on my cheeks. “King Clennom is sick with the deluc. Word reached us just recently. That’s what I came to tell you.”
