She already knew whatthatpart of him looked like, and the image of him fisting his cock in the forest flooded her memory.
Warmth siphoned through her, spilling into her veins, spreading through her belly then lower still.
Caelian’s tongue was papery, her throat dry and thick. And when Kjeld cleared his throat, her gaze snapped to his face.
“Apologies, my lady.” He grabbed a fresh shirt of gray cotton and tugged it over his head. “I meant to finish getting dressed before you came back into the room.”
He didn’t look the least bit sorry.
In fact, he looked as though she’d unknowingly inflated his ego.
“It’s fine,” she muttered, collecting the rest of her things, shaking off the distraction of him. “We should prepare to leave. Though I worry you have not gathered the information necessary to report back to Ariesian. Perhaps you should stay, and I will?—”
“Out of the question.” He cut her off before she could finish speaking, pulling on a black leather vest. “Besides, I learned enough about Queen Viktoria these past three days while you slept.”
Caelian steeled her spine into place, adjusting and readjusting the blouse that swept from her shoulders yet somehow managed to suffocate her. “Is that so?”
“Indeed.” Kjeld stalked past her and walked into the bathing suite, leaving the door open as he scrubbed his face, the scruff lining his jaw having grown into a beard. “Her magic is quite powerful. She knows exactly who we are, why we’re here. She knew we weren’t engaged, though she mentioned we were quite good at pretending.”
Caelian ducked her head when Kjeld met her gaze in the reflection in the mirror. “I see. Next, I imagine you’ll tell me she knew we were coming here before our arrival.”
“Honestly, it would not surprise me if she did, given her sort of magic.” He quickly brushed his teeth, then examined the length and shape of his facial hair in the onyx mirror. She debated turning away, giving him some privacy, but then he flattened his palms on the counter, glancing over at her. “She can walk through dreams, Caelian.”
“What?” Surely she must have misheard. “You cannot be serious. I didn’t think that sort of magic existed.”
“It does exist. And she’s in possession of it. That’s how she meets with Ariesian, how she’s able to reach him and his mind, through his dreams.” Kjeld roughed a hand over his face, smoothing his beard. “No wonder she knew everything about us, she’s already seen it.”
Wrapping her arms around herself, Caelian considered this new bit of information. The ability to control dreams was an entirely different sort of magic than what she was usually accustomed to, as most fae in Aeramere’s power stemmed from the natural and celestial worlds. But dreams? To create them, ruin them, manipulate them…that was something else altogether. For Queen Viktoria to even be able to reach Ariesian, oceans apart, without ever having met him…then she was most certainly a fearsome creature to behold. And Caelian would have to be extremely cautious. So would Ariesian, for that matter.
“And what of you?” Kjeld pushed away from the counter and stood in the doorway separating the bathing suite from the bedroom. He lifted his arms overhead, grabbing the wooden frame, and Caelian tried to ignore the way his muscles flexed. The way he seemed to press in on her without even trying. “Did you learn anything from Elder Lothaire before…”
Before her magic returned for a breath and she fainted.
“Your episode,” he finished quietly, his bright blue eyes intent.
She had learned that vampires, more specificallyfaevampires, were incredibly sexual in nature. Lothaire aroused every last one of her senses, to the point where she was practically incoherent with desire. He was carnal. Lustworthy. But she wouldn’t voice such things to Kjeld. Instead, she opted for a safer option.
“He took Queen Viktoria in when she had nowhere else to go. I’m not sure if he raised her, but it sounded as though that could very well be the case.” She toyed with the lace edge of her corset, slowly lifting her gaze only to find Kjeld’s eyes trained on her. Calm. Calculating. And a shadow of something else she didn’t want to see. Caelian abruptly took a step back. “He said he is in Brackroth at her request, and I don’t know about you, but if the queen is visiting my brother frequently in his dreams, then I’m not even sure why we’re here. Certainly he would know by now if she meant Aeramere any harm.”
“A fool’s errand, it would seem.” Kjeld nodded slowly, agreeing.
“For me, perhaps. But not for you. This is your home, after all.” Caelian busied herself with packing the rest of her belongings, though there were few, and to be honest, she wanted to leave most of them behind, anyway. They were a sore reminder, nothing else. “I know I was sent away so I wouldn’t feel so terrible about missing the entire Midsummer Season. I’m of the perfect age to find a husband, and I’ve more or less been banished from my home. Sent here with you, which would be fine save for the fact that you’re quite good at uncovering information whereas I’m merely here to be a pretty ornament on your arm. But I refuse to wallow in my self-pity any longer. I’m going to Wenfyre, and I will find out the reason why my mother killed my father.”
Kjeld rubbed his lips together and released the door. The floorboards groaned beneath his weight as he approached, and with each step she became all too aware of his nearness. Suddenly the vast bedchamber was far too small for the both of them.
When he said nothing, she continued talking to ease the silence that clawed at her mind. “It’s why I completelyunderstand if you wish to stay in Brackroth. I don’t want you to feel obligated to?—”
“Nothing about you is an obligation,” Kjeld growled. He grasped her shoulders and whipped her around to face him. Her feet tangled and she lost her balance, throwing her hands against his chest to keep from falling. “I know what I wished for, Caelian. And I am so, so sorry that you ever had to hear those words come from me. I never should have thought them into existence.”
“Kjeld, please.” She made to shove against him, but she didn’t really try, because her body was a traitorous thing. “I was serious about what I said. I need you to stop talking to me or I will never recover from you.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, his large palms coasting up and down her arms. She watched as he visibly swallowed, and when he opened his eyes again, they were clouded with an emotion she couldn’t quite place. “Every word we’ve spoken to one another this morning has been absolutely necessary. I believe those were your stipulations, were they not?”
“They were…” The pads of her fingers rested upon the fine leather of his vest, and she longed to trail them down the smooth, supple fabric. “I fail to see what that has to do with our current situation.”
Kjeld stared down at her, his eyes softening at the edges. “I am taking you to Wenfyre, there will be no more discussion on the matter. And…”
He rubbed his lips together, then released her, scrubbing a hand over his face.
