I shook my head and trapped his lips in a long kiss, not wanting to admit something was indeed wrong. Not wanting to say it out loud.
“Ellyana, I’ve known you for three whole weeks,” Galenor pressed his lips together, a deep furrow drawing a V between his brows, making me chuckle.
“I’m worried,” I admitted. “I really messed up and I’m afraid they’ll take it out on you.” At the sound of the words coming out of my mouth, the admission of my terror brought stinging tears to my eyes. I struggled to blink quickly and disguise them, but the fae was faster in noticing them.
Galenor pulled me to him, pressing his forehead to mine and joining our breaths. “We still have two more days,” he whispered slowly, a grateful smile lingering on his features.
“I don’t know what will happen,” I shook my head, unable to contain my emotion. On their own accord, my arms wrapped around his neck to squeeze him tighter onto me, as if my embrace would somehow protect him from whatever would come.
“Whatever happens,” his emerald eyes found mine, “you offered me more happiness than I ever hoped, and for that I am grateful.”
“
What would you do if you were free?”
His question raised me from the hazy state we had both surrendered to, the threat of the following day weighing heavy on our actions. We’d both remained confined to the bedroom and lived behind the closed door, with towels and the blanket he used to sleep in shoved at the bottom of the door to fill the space between the floorboards and cover the sound of our voices and, more specifically, moans.
Galenor and I behaved like a newlywed couple, too obsessed with the other’s body to be able to keep our hands away from one another. Our mouths especially liked to initiate the closeness, biting and licking along new discovered territory, each time unveiling specks of desire we both made a point to discover and drill into.
I came out of the room only once to bring food and drinks, enough to last Galenor for a while. I didn’t bother looking up at what I knew were cameras watching my every move, I didn’t check the tablet for new instructions, and I did not say a word to whoever was watching us. My main concern was to take their subject away. And wait.
“Iamfree,” I replied, though the words sounded weird in my mouth, especially when I had explained to him that I could not leave the living quarters and escape, as he’d suggested. First of all, because I would not abandon him. And second, because I would probably be shot at the very first step I took outside of these rooms. I had no idea what had happened after Milosh made the calls, but if something was bad enough for him to write to me and warn me, then I had to listen.
Galenor tipped his chin to me, silently asking me to reconsider. Sighing, I gave his question another thought. “I would go grab my family and get away from this place,” I replied earnestly, the weight of this hidden dream bursting open my chest with a newly found freedom. I had never admitted it out loud. Not to myself. Not to anyone.
“Why don’t you?” he leaned on his side, occupying more of the mattress and tilting his head closer to see more of my face. I huffed at the sight of him, at the ridicule of our situation.
We were both trapped in that bedroom, doing nothing but fucking and talking, until someone would probably come and kill us both. Still, I enjoyed his company more than anything and even though the dread for our future pulsated deep within my chest, having him by my side, enjoying these moments of nothingness, meant everything to me.
My relationship with Galenor was the realest I had in my entire life.
“Because I belong to the military? Because they would find me, and my family and probably kill us all?” I replied with sarcasm, but he did not seem to mind.
“What would you do if you could do absolutely anything you wanted?” he rephrased his question, giving my mind more space to roam free.
Enjoying this game, I let myself think about the possibilities, but before I let my mind drift, he added a new idea.
“Don’t think about what everyone wants from you, don’t think about duty or caring for others. What doyouwant to do?” his fingers found my forearm and squeezed gently to accentuate his meaning. I turned to him to find those beautiful green eyes pinned on me, shining with the hope of endless possibilities.
“I would open a shop,” I started giggling.
“A shop?” he arched his brows.
“Yes, one of those small corner shops, with retro sweets and scales and those bottles of fizzy drinks our grandparents used to drink,” I continued smiling. “And I would wear a bonnet.”
Galenor started laughing his heart out. “A bonnet, muffin? Like a cook?”
“No,” I elbowed him playfully, “not like a cook, more like a beret, but not a military one. Yuk,” I grimaced, sick of the uniform I had to wear all my life. “It will be like hair decor, just on the side, to support a nice, tidy bun. It will tell everyone that I am the shopkeeper,” I smiled with excitement.
“A shopkeeper's bonnet,” Galenor nodded with a grin.
“Yes,” I smirked, pleased that he was following my lead, no matter how ridiculous the dream sounded. “You’ll be wearing one too, but mine would be pink. And yours, green.”
“Why do I have to wear a bonnet?” he pouted, but continued smiling, pleased that he was also part of this dream.
“So our customers know you are part owner,” I replied like it was the most obvious thing. “And you’ll help make sales and carry sacks of potatoes to old ladies’ cars because you are so kind and generous. And they would blink at you with dreamy eyes and give you an extra coin for your efforts,” I smiled wider, the images moving in front of my eyes.
Galenor released a massive chuckle that almost made him fall on his back. “Right, so you’re basically renting my muscles to old ladies for extra coin.”
