"It is," he admits, his gaze flickering to me. "But it’s necessary. The kingdom needs stability, after all."
There’s a weight to his words that I don’t quite understand. I try to read him, but his expression gives nothing away.
“Enough of sad talk. Have you taken up my offer of going for walks in the city?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I think if I didn’t have those walks, and the quiet time in these garden readings, I might go crazy from all the training. The walks are also a good reminder that I have the ability to remain upright, something that my time being flattened on the sparring mats has made me question.” I clamp my mouth shut as soon as the words leave my mouth.
He laughs, easing my embarrassment at having perhaps spoken too freely. For a moment, the sound reminds me of Rylan. And not for the first time, I can’thelp but wonder how different and yet similar these two men who represent our kingdom’s present and future truly are. "Well, Eirabella, I insist you feel free to visit my private library at any time. I’ll make sure the guards know to allow you entry," he says. "I think you’ll find it… enlightening. And less rigorous than training with the masters. Safer, at the very least."
I raise an eyebrow. "You’re saying there is somewhere I can hide from all the things that are trying to kill me in Aetherhold?"
He gives me a probing look and then says in a tone that sends a shiver down my spine, "Unfortunately, I can’t promise you that. And if you’re to be our Aquilith, that may simply be something you must get used to."
I’m dressing for dinner,still thinking about the king’s ominous words when there’s a knock at the door. I open it to find Rylan standing there, holding a bowl of ice cream, his expression soft but still tense.
"I brought a peace offering," he says quietly, stepping inside. I cross my arms, waiting for him to continue, but all he says is, "Is there something you want to say to me?” I raise an eyebrow, letting him say everything he came to say. He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Fine. Are you going to start taking it easier with your training?”
“No.”
“I thought not.”
“Then why ask?”
The look he gives me tells me his patience is running thin. “Because this is… all new to me. And it’s hard for me, Eira. Watching you get hurt, watching you push yourself to the point ofbreaking. It’s unbearable. And knowing I can’t always be within reach to help you if something happens. I can’t arrive at the training fields and find you…" His voice tapers off, as if remembering the way I’d looked when I’d burned out.
My heart softens at his words, but I hold my ground. "I have to do this. It’s not just for me—it’s for you, for us all. You have to let me grow. You have to let me be strong. Let me become what you stole me from my home to be," I add with a mischievous look.
He rolls his eyes. "You’re never going to let that go, are you?"
“Not if it wins me arguments.” I grin as he pushes past me into my room, dropping the ice cream on the bed before pulling me into a kiss, his lips soft and warm against mine. The anger between us fades, replaced by a sense of understanding.
“I don’t even know why I try at this point,” he concedes, burying his head in my hair and sighing. “I missed you so much this last week. No one annoys me half as much as you do, and apparently I’ve become rather addicted to it.”
I laugh against his lips.
Ten minutes later,we’re both naked and I’m on my back, legs wrapped around Rylan as he’s buried deep inside me, his tongue licking the ice cream off my peaked nipple. Arching against his mouth, he takes the hint and bites down hard.
I think I might die from the pleasure. Happily so.
He drags his tongue up my neck, his lips resting on my racing pulse. “Fuck, I can’t get enough of you. Do you know how many times I wanted to just leave my cadre behind and climb back into bed with you?”
“That would’ve been quite the trip just to fuck me.” I push up against him, taking him deeper.
“Worth it. Fuck, your pussy is like heaven wrapped around my hard cock, Eira,” he groans. “Seriously, you could not imagine how many times I imagined us doing just this while I was away.”
Gods, he feels so good filling me up. He knows just how to touch, how to wring the pleasure from my body. “Probably not as many times as I imagined waking up to the feel of you hard behind me, nudging my legs apart and driving your cock inside me.”
He growls again, grinding his hips, hitting me in the spot that makes me almost blind with pleasure. “How did you know that was my fantasy? Have you been reading my mind, my sweet, nefarious disciple? Secretly extracting all my thoughts of you from my mind while I sleep.”
I let out a soft giggle. “Oh, I think those are the tamest of your thoughts, my prince. But I’m willing to hear about them all… and act out each and every one. Then we’ll move onto mine…it involves my mouth…and your cock…and…”
I reach between us, letting my fingertips drag along his length as he pulls out of me, and then plunges back in.
“Fuck!” he groans, throwing his head back, the veins in his throat straining from the pleasure of it all. “I can only imagine what devious, dirty scenarios you have churning in that gorgeous head of yours.”
I’m about to tell him about one when there’s a knock on my door.
He grits his teeth, and stills when he hears Caelum say, “Eira? Are you awake? I’ve brought you some soup. Mathis said you had a rough day training, and I thought you might need some food.”
