The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Two: Beyond the Veil

by Melissa Collins

  Overcome with joy, Aiva tugged him to her again. He loved her. He still loved her! Nothing in the world could compare to the happiness she felt. At her side she felt his hand along her waist, drawing her in closer. She gave in to the pull willingly, a shiver coursing through her spine to feel his hand slide over her hip, brushing the bare skin of her leg where the fabric split. This was what she wanted. Confident in her decision, she let her hand lift to the laces on her bodice, fumbling to tear them free.

  Callum gasped, overwhelmed by their position, staring down at her hand fearfully. “Aiva,” he breathed. “We shouldn’t.”

  “Why?” she asked, challenging him to come up with a single reason why they couldn’t be together. He was her husband. It seemed only right that they lay together, the way they should have done on their wedding night. Not giving him a chance to respond, she kissed him again, drawing him into the heat of the moment. He continued to wage some internal struggle, tearing free once again, requiring more willpower than before.

  “Your annulment…”

  “Oh, hush,” she said, offended by the statement. He was still convinced that she wanted to end their marriage? How could he possibly think that while sitting there with her in his arms? With a final tug she released the laces of her bodice, lightly letting her fingertips brush along Callum’s cheek. “I never wanted that silly annulment,” she whispered. “And neither did you.”

  “How do I know you won’t change your mind again?”

  “You are my Prince, Callum. The decision is mine. If I go back on it once the deed is done, there is no one to blame but myself.”

  Tenderly she pulled his lips into hers to quiet his unnecessary protests. Whatever fears he had, she knew he didn’t have to worry. It was just a matter of making him see the same. With her hand cupped lightly behind his neck she guided him down on top of her as she lowered onto her back. He made no move to stop her, caught up in her embrace. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to do the same. She didn’t want to think anymore. And come morning, the concerns they had about their feelings for one another would finally be laid to rest.

  Drifting in and out of sleep Aiva listened to the steady beat of Callum’s heart where her head rested atop his chest. Curled at his side she felt his fingertips softly play over the skin of her arm wrapped across his midsection, a gentle touch, as if to reassure her that he was still there. It was a soothing sensation. Every stroke of his hand lulled her into a state of near-sleep, her body fighting to stay awake.

  She struggled to open her eyes as she tilted her head upward, smiling dreamily at Callum. He returned the smile, the corners of his mouth faltering slightly. Through her sleep-filled thoughts she could see the uncertainty in his expression. But why? What could he possibly question? She was there with him. What more could he need to ease his mind? “Callum?”

  “Yes, Aiva?”

  Their voices were mere whispers. From their close proximity, it didn’t seem necessary to speak any louder. With a sigh of content Aiva closed her eyes, taking in the feeling of everything around her. She wished Callum could share her joy. Instead she was becoming more aware of the tenseness in his body. As if he was afraid she would flee from his arms. “Why do you worry?” she asked quietly.

  He gave a breath that sounded like a laugh, squeezing Aiva tightly at his side. “I have been afraid to close my eyes in fear I’ll discover this to be nothing more than my imagination. As long as I’m awake, I can feel you here, and I know you’re real and not just a very vivid dream.”

  “I assure you I’m real,” Aiva smiled. She stretched her neck to place a loving kiss upon his lips, staring fondly into his eyes. “I wish there was more I could do to ease your mind.”

  “My mind is slowly easing,” he replied softly. “I simply wasn’t expecting this. My mind is racing and I can’t keep up with it. There are so many questions I have, but to ask them now would ruin everything and I just want to enjoy holding you a while longer.”

  “You say that as if the questions you have will make me change my mind about us.”

  “That is exactly the problem,” he turned his gaze toward the ceiling. “If you change your mind about us, I can no longer let you go so easily.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind. It took longer than it should have for me to reach the decision I think I knew all along. Rest assured that my mind is made up.” She shook her head, nuzzling closer to Callum to breathe in the scent of his skin. “I can’t imagine life without you. There is no one else I could ever see as my King. Had I been old enough to understand my feelings before you left the first time, I might have ruined us both that day in the gardener’s shed.”

  He laughed quietly at the thought, bringing Aiva’s hand up to kiss the back of it. “That certainly would have changed the course of events significantly.” A grin spread across his face. Under the weight of her body Aiva felt Callum start to relax, his face buried in her hair. “Especially if our parents had discovered us. I daresay, my head would have been removed from my shoulders. Though I admit, my memory lingers so much on our friendship from the past that I tend to forget we are married – which has caused me to suffer an occasional fear that such a fate will still befall me if anyone were to discover what we have done.”

  Past conversations floated into Aiva’s mind, causing her to laugh at his sudden admission. She had questioned him about his feelings toward their past and present relationship. At the time he claimed to find nothing strange about it at all. “You contradict something you once said,” she chortled, nudging him playfully with her foot under the blankets. “I asked you when we were in Tunir if you found it strange to consider me as a woman instead of the girl you played with as a child. You told me you didn’t.”

  “I also said I believed it was easier for me not to find it strange because of the fact that I knew I couldn’t have you. Now that I have, I must admit I have found some of my thoughts rather strange.” He stared forward, lost in his head before suddenly drawn back to reality, glancing down at Aiva with a smile. “For instance,” he chuckled. “While lying here with you in my arms, I was watching you sleep. The first thought to cross my mind was how beautiful you are and how undeserving I am of your affection. Oddly enough, the second thought I had was how Edric would kill me if he knew I touched you. That isn’t a typical thought a husband should have when lying with his wife.”

  She blushed to think of Edric. Callum was right. She remembered Edric’s protectiveness when it came to men. He would likely take issue with the mere thought of her and Callum being so close, regardless of their marital status. “Yes, I think it may be best if we not bring this up around my brother,” she agreed, smiling to herself in amusement. “I don’t think he would want to know.”

  A commotion in the hallway drew their attention away from one another. Through the door they could hear the sound of someone shouting, footsteps clattering along the floorboards. Sitting up in bed, Callum hugged Aiva tightly against his chest, muscles tensed, brow furrowed in concern. Aiva recognized one of the voices. She had only heard it once, but that single meeting was enough to ingrain the sound to memory.

  “Odell,” she whispered, clinging to Callum, frightened. How had he found them? To her knowledge, no one was aware of their location other than the desk clerks. Could Odell have sought them out after their altercation on the beach? He knew Callum’s name. It wouldn’t have been a difficult task.

  “We need to get out of here,” Callum stated with a strange sense of calm. Carefully he slipped out from under Aiva’s embrace, gathering their clothing in a hurried sweep of his hands, tossing her dress at her with an insistent nod. “There is no time to bother with the laces of your bodice. Cover yourself with the chemise and we’ll worry about the rest later.”

  In a flurry of motion she did as instructed, sliding the thin fabric of her chemise over her head to conceal her body from view. It took Callum only seconds to retrieve his pants, fastening them while grabbing their bag from the end of the bed. With
a calculating gaze he looked around the room. His eyes settled on the window with a resolute nod, motioning for Aiva to come to him.

  She followed his gaze with a gasp of disbelief. “Are you crazy?” she hissed.

  “Compared to the trees in Tunir, a second story window isn’t that intimidating,” Callum shrugged. His hands went to work prying the pane upward, flakes of paint shaken loose under the pressure.

  From across the hall a loud crash erupted. The door. Odell and his men had kicked in the door to her room. How fortuitous I decided to sleep elsewhere… “Fine,” she breathed, knowing she couldn’t argue. There was no choice. “I suppose I’ve fallen from worse.” Taking Callum’s hand she let him help her onto the ledge. From where she stood, the height looked more daunting than before. She had to do it. There was no other way out of the room without walking into Odell’s hands. And they weren’t prepared to take on an entire group of pirates alone. Her body spun to face Callum in fearful desperation. It wouldn’t be long before Odell realized her room was empty. They would come to Callum’s next. “Can we not climb down together? There’s no time for you to wait for me to reach the bottom.”

  Callum glanced over his shoulder, a knowing glint in his eyes. He leaned his head through the window to examine the street below. It was nothing more than a narrow alley. Their rooms were at the back of the building; a convenient location for a time like this. Satisfied with the lack of people in the area he tossed their bag through the opening, letting it plummet to the gravel.

  Clutching the sides of the window frame he ducked onto the ledge, his foot finding a hold on a weathered board that jutted out from the side of the building. “Hold onto me,” he gestured Aiva toward him with his head. “Just… try not to choke me. I can get us to the ground faster if I can breathe.”

  She needed to free her hands. Frantically she wrapped her belt around her hips to secure her sword. Her bodice and skirt fluttered down to the ground, allowing her to slide across the ledge, arms wrapped tightly around Callum’s shoulders. After her time in Tunir, she found it less strain for the one climbing to hook her legs around his waist, relieving some of the pressure from her weight. With careful placement, Callum made his way down from the window, deep in concentration. Aiva admired his strength and skill. If he had left her to make the climb on her own, she doubted her ability to complete it with the same precision. He would have had to pick her up off her back at the bottom.

  The final distance he took in a single leap. Aiva released her hold, scrambling to pick up her clothes while Callum retrieved their bag, the sound of splintering wood echoing from above. “Go, quick!” Callum waved her forward. She knew nothing of the city layout, her steps hesitant as they ran deeper into a maze of alleyways, some wider and more traversed than others. If they could just find somewhere to hide. Odell would give up the search soon enough.

  They turned down a tighter corridor, forcing Aiva to keep her posture straight. Callum slid in behind her, his hand clasping hers to make sure she didn’t move too far ahead.

  “Do you think he’ll find us?” Aiva breathed, struggling to catch her breath. Her heart pounded wildly against her breast. She wasn’t sure how much more her poor body could take. It had been put through its paces since she left Tanispa.

  Callum shook his head, eyes searching from side-to-side, listening intently for the sound of footsteps. “I doubt it,” he replied softly. “We won’t be in a location for him to. It will be dawn soon. Our ship is already at the docks and ready for departure. He won’t think to look for us there.” His words were comforting. It was hard to know if he meant them or if they were spoken only for the sake of soothing her mind. Regardless, she appreciated the effort.

  She stared at the dust-covered wall in front of her. Despite the danger of their situation, she felt oddly at ease. With her hand in Callum’s, everything felt safe. Under control. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her. The only discomfort she suffered now was the realization that she was standing in an alley, covered by nothing but her underclothes. This seemed the worst city to wander around in her state of undress. There were too many scoundrels in the streets that would take pleasure in her humiliation than she liked to think.

  They stood in silence for a long while, the streets devoid of noise which would indicate an approach outside the alley. When they first came to rest, shouts had echoed from the direction of the inn. Everything was quiet now. Aiva was afraid to let herself believe they had escaped.

  Keeping close to the building Callum pulled Aiva with him, peering around the corner to investigate the corridors. Convinced the coast was clear he motioned for Aiva to follow. She tiptoed along the gravel, unaware that she was holding her breath until she noticed white specks floating about her vision, lightheaded from lack of air. Heavily, she exhaled, hand on her chest, relieved to discover they had reached the outer alleys near the main street.

  Still tucked in the shadows, Callum turned to Aiva, helping to dust away the dirt that had gathered on the white fabric of her chemise. “We should get you dressed before taking to the street. A half-naked woman would draw more attention than we need.”

  She chuckled to herself at the thought. Pressed against the wall, she tried to make herself invisible to passersby. Her hands carefully worked her legs into the silken material of her stockings in order to secure her boots onto her feet. If they had need to run, it would be best if she had something to protect against the hard gravel. Callum slipped his arms through the sleeves of his shirt, noticing Aiva’s fingers fumbling over the laces of her bodice. He moved to help, close in front of her, drawing the strings taut, their shimmering strands held in his hands. They jumped at the sound of a startled cry from a woman on the street. She backed away from the alley, mumbling something to the man at her side. Aiva watched them walk away, confused by their strange behavior until she heard Callum start to laugh.

  It struck her then how odd they must look to anyone unaware of their situation. They stood in a darkened alley, pressed against one another, half-clothed. Her face flushed with warmth to consider it. “Oh, my,” she breathed, her hands coming up to cover the pink hue of her cheeks. “Do you think that woman believed – ?”

  “She did,” Callum grinned, giving the laces on Aiva’s bodice a final, firm pull. “Can you blame her? What would you think if you saw us like this?”

  “I suppose I would think we were up to no good,” she sighed. At her words she felt Callum press in closer, his lips lightly brushing the skin of her neck. She giggled, embarrassed at the possibility of anyone else happening by. “You scoundrel,” she laughed. Playfully she pushed at his chest, applying little force for it to have any effect in distancing him from her.

  “Me? A scoundrel?” Callum snickered. “You’re the one standing there with no skirt. I suggest you finish dressing yourself unless you are trying to distract me.”

  “You appeared to be doing a good enough job distracting yourself.” She inhaled deeply, a shiver coursing through her to feel Callum so close. His smile was intoxicating. In his arms it was too easy to forget there was a group of pirates somewhere in the city, looking for them. He gave a slight wink before stepping away to allow Aiva room to dress, his fingers fastening the buttons on his own shirt.

  Aiva did a quick search of her wardrobe to make sure everything was intact. The weapons provided by Uttae remained on her person or in the bag Callum carried, the sword secured at her waist in case they crossed paths with Odell. They weren’t far from the docks. She prayed silently that they would be able to reach the ship without trouble.

  They remained close to the buildings to avoid notice. Callum led the way, his familiarity with the city somewhat better than Aiva’s. Up ahead she could see the docks coming nearer, Captain Bingham’s ship still moored at the pier. The crew bustled up and down the loading ramp to carry the last of their goods on board, crates and boxes littering the surface of the docks. Bingham stood with his parchment and quill in hand, just as he had been that morning, counting
every item brought on by the workers. Callum swiftly moved along the final stretch of street to make their way onto the wharf. “Good morning, Captain!” he greeted cheerfully. “I hope we’re not too late.”

  “Not at all, lad,” Bingham nodded, adding another mark to the parchment before looking up, his face softening at the sight of Aiva. “Ya folks go on aboard. Find yourselves a room in the barracks. We be finished shortly and ready to set sail,” Bingham turned his attention to Callum once again, the expression on his face more somber than before. “Keep close watch on the lass, boy. I wouldn’t let her out of ya sight if I was you.”

  “I don’t plan on it,” Callum smiled, his hand resting lightly around Aiva’s waist to pull her closer. “She’s not the type of woman a man can take his eyes off anyway.”

  Bingham laughed, eyes sparkling jovially in the light of the rising sun over the water. Aiva gave a charming smile while Callum led her up the ramp onto the main deck of the ship. “It feels strange to be back on one of these again,” she mumbled. Her memory of their last excursion at sea was burned into her mind, causing a reflexive shudder.

  “It won’t be so bad this time,” he assured. Tightening his hold on her hand he led her toward the stairs, moving quickly to keep out of the way while the men continued to load their merchandise. “Let’s go ahead and get settled into a room,” he said calmly. “We can enjoy the ship better once we are away from the port and no longer in danger of being spotted by anyone on shore. Best not to destroy our chances at reaching the mainland before we even get started.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Below deck Aiva could hear the sound of laughter coming from the barracks. Up above, the sun had set over the sea, casting a starry reflection upon the water. Three days had been spent on the ship without sign of a divastru or pirate vessels to create a threat. It was unnerving, the lack of anything visible around them in the water. She tried to picture what the journey must have been like for Edric and Gadiel. Traversing the water in nothing more than the lifeboats taken from their sinking ship. The seeming endlessness of the voyage would have driven her mad. She had no doubt about that.