Page 18 of Kissed By the Sun
I watched him moving, trying to see if he was injured as well. There was nothing I could see, though he could just be hiding it well. I’d met plenty of soldiers throughout my time that did the same thing.
Thorn sighed as he handed me a flask with a sludgy yellow substance inside. “And this is?”
“Think of it as like an anti-poison potion. Rub some of it into the wound.”
I snorted a laugh. “We're doing potions now? Okay...” These kinds of things were completely outlawed in the human lands so to me they were items from stories and legends. The hero drank a potion and magically got strong enough to defeat the monster. It seemed so silly in some ways, but when magic was involved silly things often became reality.
“Or an ointment. Whatever works for you. And yes, I'll do whatever I have to in order to keep you alive. Even if that means staying away from you.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant. I was pretty sure we both knew. Without him spelling it out. If the King and Queen of the moon court found out about our bond then there was a good likelihood they would have us killed or something, or maybe just Thorn, since they valued my mark so highly. Either way, it was a terrifying thought.
“I am sorry about earlier. It's the first raid that I've been on since we returned to the fae lands. I was too focused on remembering everything we had to do. In my mind, you're already a warrior, you've already proven yourself, so to me it made sense that you would just follow along. But that was unfair of me.” He didn't look at me as he said this, but I was stillflattered by the words, even if he felt a little embarrassed by them.
Apparently, I'd stopped rubbing the potion in and that was not acceptable to Thorn, so he decided to take over for himself. Sitting down next to me this time, he delicately emptied a dollop of the sludge onto his hand before smearing across my abdomen, not just the wound itself but anywhere the veins had extended to as well.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered the question, not really wanting an answer, but feeling that I needed to put it out there anyway.
“First, I'm going to make sure that this is working. Then I'm going to strip the rest of your clothes off and see if you have any other injuries. I'll have to be very thorough. We can't have you turning corrupted as soon as we get back to the city. Then we’ll figure it out from there.” His words started as playful but ended more subdued than I liked.
As much as I wanted Thorn, whatever was happening between us at that moment felt forced, like we were just doing what was expected of us, which was the last thing I wanted. The playful banter held an edge to it, a darkness that I didn’t like.
“Maybe we should just get back to the city?” I asked, hating myself for it as the words left my mouth.
Thorn’s gaze met mine as his hand stilled on my abdomen. The question I saw there was paired with resignation, which was exactly why, as much as I wanted to be with Thorn physically, I knew now wasn’t the right time.
He was still fighting the soul bond. He didn’t want it. That much was as plain as day, but what did that mean for me? What did I want?
Chapter
Ten
Senara
I had only seenthe royalty of the moon court once before. At the time, they had been glittering like jewels, like bright stars in the deepest night, burning with promise, but now they were drab. They looked more like wet autumn leaves that had been walked over until the bright colors faded and they were torn around the edges, than a King and Queen of the fae.
This time there was another man sitting next to them. His color palette distinguished him as being from the sun court. A variety of golden hues emanated from him as though he was made up of light itself.
Thorn immediately dropped to his knees as soon as he saw the man. “Your Majesty,” he said, bowing his head.
“Stand, Thorn. We’re not being observed.” The man I assumed was the King of the Sun Court had a voice like a strawberry dipped in honey. It was smooth and sweet and had no right to sound so decadent.
I bobbed a curtsy, hoping that it would be considered to encompass everybody there and show the respect that wasnecessary at whatever level. I had no idea if it was the right thing to do, though; it wasn’t like anyone had ever educated me on how I was supposed to act toward a king and queen. All I could do was just go off how I’d seen people act in the fae lands so far.
“Your Majesty, may I introduce you to Senara?” Thorn's voice was somber and overly polite. He was no longer the rough and ready warrior that he had been a few hours ago. Let alone the lover that I had known however long ago. Before I could try and think about how long it had been since Thorn and I had been intimate the King of the Sun Court rose and stepped toward me forcing all my attention on him.
The man in gold robes inclined his head. “Senara, this is King Xavier. He rules over the Sun Court.”
I wanted to snark that with a title like The Sun King I could have guessed that he ruled over the Sun Court, but I kept my words to myself. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.” I thought, though my voice sounded a little stilted as I bobbed another curtsy, or at least attempted one.
“Interesting,” King Xavier murmured. “The mark is large and prominent. It’s a shame it is of the moon, though. Imagine how strong a child of the two of you would have been had she been a Sun Kissed fae?” Xavier’s words seemed meant only for Thorn and I, but I couldn’t help wishing he hadn’t said them. It seemed I’d been holding on to some vague hope that the King of the Sun Court wouldn’t be as set against Thorn and me being together as the King and Queen of the Moon Court were. That hope was crushed now, and there was no going back. No one wanted us together, which made something in my chest twist with sorrow.
After circling me slowly, King Xavier walked back to his seat. “We heard about the corrupted fae, the filth destroying the nearby village and we wanted to check with you as the leading general to see how the fight had turned out.”
“Not to mention how Senara performed since you took her with you,” the Queen added from where she had remained seated. She seemed somewhat dismissive of King Xavier, as though he was just a bauble, a decoration to sit beside her and the king. It made me wonder if he really held any power outside of his own court or if the two of them would just overrule him whenever they wished.
The doors on one side of the room creaked open and another man entered before Thorn could start talking, one that was all too familiar. Trevor's face was as impassive as stone as he looked over at Thorn and me.
“Your Highness.” Thorn bowed slightly in greeting. For more of his upper body and a slight bow.
