“She’s a witch! We captured a witch, and she made a rock giant defend her. Run!”
“Huntra!” Ky screamed. She heard crashing sounds from the forest. There was a huge cloud of soot, moss and twigs when he skidded to a halt in front of her. He was twice as big as when he left. Ky ran to him, begging him to help her. Huntra tossed her upward, and she collided into his shoulders. A second later she screamed, “Run!”
She squeezed his neck in a death grip as Huntra sprinted away. She could see the rock giant attacking the men. It bashed bloody fists and feet into the ground. None escaped.
Her heart pounded. All she wanted to do was leave this place. She had never been threatened with rape and held down. The thought was so scary that she could barely breathe, still panicking. Her hands shook.
“Ky, what are you doing out here?” Cobaaron growled, and startled Ky. He seized her by the belt and spun her around as he lifted her. She gripped the seat. “Why did you leave the room? What happened? Why is Huntra running?”
Ky shook her head, refusing to speak. Cobaaron glared. Ky couldn’t tell him, and relive the ordeal so soon. She closed her eyes, hoping to catch her breath and quiet her racing heart. She swallowed, trying to calm down. Then she clutched her chest, and concentrated on slowing her pulse.
He sniffed the air, and searched the forest. He then snapped back to her and his eyes narrowed. “You saw wanderers, didn’t you? Tell me, Ky.” She again shook her head. He clenched his jaw angrily. “Tell me.”
“Please don’t make me talk about this right now,” Ky pleaded.
“You disobeyed me. We will discuss it. I asked you to sleep, and you obviously didn’t. Now, tell me what happened.”
“Please, don’t make me!”
“I thought we were passed your rebellious stage. I thought you realized I tell you things for your safety. How am I supposed to keep you protected?” He stopped when the room changed into chairs. Apparently, their fighting woke Tyrus and Ambrosia. “Start talking. I need to make sure they aren’t leaving to come back with more men. We could be ambushed.”
“Please, Cobaaron, give me a minute,” Ky beseeched, lowering her voice because the others were watching.
“Don’t disobey me twice, and I will not ask again,” Cobaaron barked.
“You promised not to yell at me. When you’re in a towering rage, you scare the daylights out of me.”
“Then tell me what you saw.” He softened his tone, checking his temper, but he folded his arms and glared a warning to proceed immediately.
There was no point arguing. He didn’t understand she was almost raped before murdering someone with her bare hands. “I fell asleep, and when I awoke, there were campfires in the woods, and men dropped from trees,” Ky began, and had a hard time choking back the emotions that came with the spoken words. She told him what happened down to the final detail. When she finished, and shook from anxiety, he softened his gaze.
“Sh,” Cobaaron hushed and comforted her, hugging her tightly while smoothing her hair with gentle fingers. Then he spoke to the others. “Let’s go back to bed. We can navigate the mountains tomorrow. There will be plenty of food there, and we won’t work Huntra anymore.”
When they tried to rest again, Cobaaron held her possessively. They couldn’t sleep. Because her eyes were open, he kept kissing her as if he felt guilty for yelling at her first instead of ensuring she was okay. “You will promise me to sleep, right, Ky? If you get up, you have to wake me. Promise me,” he whispered.
“I promise,” Ky whispered softly. “I’ve been outside with Huntra before, and I was fine. I didn’t think anything would happen. He took me to the City of Sterlings without trouble.”
“This is the wanderer’s territory. I’ve been talking about them for days. They’re dangerous. I’m glad you still wear your cloak. If they knew you were a Star…” Cobaaron squeezed her tighter. “They can manipulate magic, like rock giants. Your light would have been no help. They would have taken you to their king, and wanderers’ kings are deceitful and wicked. Your fate would have been worse than a dozen men forcing themselves on you. But let’s not talk about it. This is another subject that I can’t discuss with you. If I didn’t believe the rock giant killed them all, I’d do it myself.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“The air in here smells so clean and fresh,” Ky said, as they walked the inner cave of the Apasis mountain range, which had huge white crystals shooting out in different directions from every corner.
“It’s blistering salt. It somehow cleans the air when warm,” Tyrus explained. “Don’t touch it with your bare skin.”
“The next cave is a miner’s nightmare—very hard rock. Nothing can cut it, except the rock itself.”
“Oh, diamonds,” Ky said in awe. “I’d like to see that.”
The giant crystals were in such odd, erratic positions that it made climbing difficult. It was hard enough to scale the rough terrain but then the steep slope was a challenge while avoiding the urge to brace the salt when mounting three-foot slabs. Tyrus kept falling and catching himself with his hands. He would stand, look at his lesions, and watch as they healed, gritting his teeth in pain. When he tripped several times in a row, he cursed under his breath as his blisters popped.
“What is wrong, Tyrus? You can’t seem to stay on your feet. That’s six times now,” Ambrosia teased, smiling smugly.
Tyrus glanced at her. “I’m clumsy, I guess.” Ky kept peeking at Ambrosia, who was pretending to pay close attention to her careful steps, but her usually violet eyes were pink. She was tripping Tyrus as payback. Ky rolled her eyes. Tyrus simply had to tell Ambrosia he didn’t take her blessing, or at least tell her he knew she was punishing him. Instead, he stared right into Ambrosia’s eyes and said, “I’ll try to be more mindful.”
“You should do that.” Ambrosia grinned with satisfaction. She held her nose higher, and then winked at Ky as her eyes deepened to violet.
The salt pillars became steeper and larger. Because of the growth, the cave narrowed until they had to squeeze together. Ky followed Cobaaron up the last few yards, and they entered a thin tunnel. The blistering salt was smaller in this passageway, until a new rock formation took over. The crystal was thin, and looked like stacks of layered cobwebs.
When they entered the next cave, the precious stone covered the walls like hard, dead coral. Cobaaron stopped when they reached the center. “This is a good place to rest. You two,” Cobaaron pointed to Ambrosia and Ky, “can go into Ambrosia’s room. Make sure no one needs me for any reason; ask Octavos. Send a few men out, and we’ll hunt for everyone. When we come back we’ll eat and rest.” Cobaaron handed Huntra to Ky, who meowed pitifully. “Watch for us. We’ll want in, and we’ll sleep in your room tonight. We can’t sleep on this miner’s nightmare. It’s too hard. But this is a deserted cave because the stone cuts animal paws.”
“Okay,” Ambrosia nodded, and opened her room door.
Before they had a chance to step in, Noxis rushed out. “Oh, finally!” He peered over his shoulder. “Please tell me I can escape that woman.”
Cobaaron laughed. “You mean your partner?”
“She isn’t my partner yet. I can’t escape her. She’s always around—laughing, smiling, and catching my eye. So, what are we doing? I’ll go with you. I need a task.”
“Hunting, but the women need protection,” Tyrus said. “You have a task already, and that is to bond with Onya.”
“Octavos and Wyt are in there, young Tyrus,” Noxis growled. “In fact, brother, Yulley is refusing to leave Ambrosia’s room until we reach the City of Lights. She doesn’t want her young son subjected to the wild anymore, and he’s enjoying fishing in the small pond. I, however, don’t want to go back in.”
“I’m staying the night in there,” Cobaaron said. “You’ll have to go back in. I’ll warn you, the longer you wait on a union, the more tortured you are going to be. Stop wasting time. If you want to leave for a private cave tonight to be alone wi
th her, say the word.”
“I’d rather die,” Noxis stressed.
“Typical,” Ambrosia rolled her eyes. She took Ky’s hand saying, “Come on, Ky.”
They went into Ambrosia’s room. Ky was amazed how different the place looked. The boxes Ambrosia made had ivy hanging over them almost covering the crates completely. And guarding the vast treasure of magical instruments was a recently built elaborate castle of stacked stones over four feet tall. The toy warriors continued to construct more towers, using rocks that lay in a nearby pile. The floor of the room was covered in moss and the single Hastily tree with pink blossoms was no longer the only tree in her room. An entire forest now spread out over hundreds of acres of blooming trees in various shades of blues, purples, pinks, and white. There were campfires between the trees, and from a distance, Ky could see women belly dancing to entertain the studs.
“Ambrosia, this is more enchanting than last time,” Ky admitted, not holding back her amazement.
“Can we let the pixie and druse wander for the night, and let them wrap eggs in the leaves?” Ambrosia queried. Ky shrugged one shoulder as if saying she needn’t ask.
They went to a vacant part of the forest, close to a large pool. While Huntra pranced behind, Ky took the silver box from her hip and asked the druse and pixie to venture out in the woods. They flew away, but not far. The male was a lot slower than Prism, and together they fluttered around the treetops.
“They look happy,” Ambrosia said cheerfully.
“It’s very magical here. It suits you. Your room should look enchanting.”
“Thank you,” grinned Ambrosia. “Let’s ask the men to build a fire by the door. They’ll be back soon, and I’m starving. I don’t want to wait a second longer to eat than I have to. Let’s find Ram or Parson.”
They headed back, passing a group of warriors, when they were stopped by a wolf whistle and begging for Ambrosia to stop. A warrior with a bow and arrow on his back called to Ambrosia, and jogged up to them. His eyes were a light green, almost blue, and had blond, wavy hair. He looked remarkably similar to Tyrus. “Ambrosia,” he said her name with a lover’s passion. There was no mistaking the young stud had strong feelings for her. He stopped, froze in his step, as if he only just noticed Ky. She wondered if the stud thought it was inappropriate to approach Cobaaron’s partner. But he bowed to Ky in greeting, saying, “My Lady.” He then straightened, towering in height over them, and beamed at Ambrosia. “Do you stay here tonight? I’d like to lie with you, if you’ll have me. There is a waterfall that could give us privacy. I’d love to spend time with you.”
“No, Duval, I’m claiming solitude now. I’m barren. There is no point sleeping with anyone,” Ambrosia admitted.
“You’ve only been trying since Elder. That is only a few months. You don’t know you’re barren.” Duval’s compassion for her pain was written on his face, and his words were consoling. “Don’t give up hope. We’ll keep trying, and you’ll conceive. I’m not giving up.”
“I’ve heard from good authority, an elf, that I’m barren.”
“Then I’ll lie with you to give you comfort,” Duval reached out to touch her. His affection was evident, and his remorse over her news weighed heavy on his heart. Ky could see his solemn expression was empathic. The stud was in love with her. There was no doubt a warrior would talk with such tenderness if he hadn’t changed from a rough warrior to compassionate lover without deep feelings. Ky felt for him, considering Ambrosia was determined to stop trying, and she knew that Ambrosia always spoke of sex like a business arrangement. He was nothing but a sperm donor.
“I’ll live a life of solitude. I’m adamant.” Ambrosia dropped the arm that he touched, as if determined to show firmness in her vow.
Duval looked down at the mossy earth, and then slowly nodded. His disappointment was evident. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand…is it only me you’re refraining from?” he asked. There was jealousy hidden in the question. “Are you keeping Faxious? I know he’s your second favorite because he has bright green eyes.”
“No. I’ll be with no one. Duval, you’re a stud. It was sex. I’m sorry, but it was only sex for me. We made no promises. We talked about this. This was always about children. Remember?” Ambrosia asked gently. “If I can’t have children, why keep trying?”
“No, right. I know,” Duval said. “You warned me. I should have listened…”
“I’m not trying to be cruel. Warriors think a little healthy competition could win a girl back. I’m not trying to make you work harder by pushing you away, or refusing you for sport. I’m heartbroken, and giving up. I don’t see the point.”
“But, if you change your mind…”
“I won’t.”
“If you do, I want you back. And if you sleep with Faxious before me, I won’t hesitate to kill him. You were mine first, and I remind him of this when he speaks about you to me.”
“Duval, I will never sleep with Faxious again. I won’t sleep with Ardii, Holt or Thashous either. I will tell them now. You can be there if you wish, so that you know this is solely because I’m devastated.”
“I believe you,” Duval muttered. He held his head higher, and said, “If you try for children again, or if you need comforting, will you find me?”
“I don’t want to give you hope, Duval. I won’t seek comfort. I’ve never cried on your shoulder like we were lovers. If I mistakenly let you confide in me and misled you, I’m sorry. But my heart has never belonged to you. I’ll live a lonely life, but now that I have made my decision, I see it hurts less to be alone. I should have never been with any stud. I feel better about making this decision. I’d rather have no children, and be true to my first love and to myself. I can love him from afar and carry on as he wishes. I should have told you I love someone else, but I tell you now so you can move on.”
“I see. He is lucky. You are one of the few good women.” He gave his best attempt to look uninjured, glanced at Ky, and then tried to hide his emotions as he turned away obviously beaten down with despair.
Ambrosia took a deep breath, as she watched Duval leave. “I had no business sleeping with him, or any of them. Have you ever done something you deeply regretted, and it made everything worse, but despite knowing you’re going to hate yourself later, you do it anyway? I was unfaithful to the love I had for someone else, but I hurt others, too. No one profited. And I may have been too hard on him, but warriors are thick-skinned and hardheaded. My sternness was for the best.”
“You were truthful.” Ky put her hand on Ambrosia’s shoulder. “People tend to draw out pain if they’re hopeful their love might one day be reciprocated. It’s less hurtful in the end to be direct. He’ll have his disappointment, and in a few weeks slowly feel free of it.” Ky patted her arm, reassuringly as if it wasn’t a big deal, but Ky never thought casual sex was a light subject. “Who is this healer from Sterlings? What is his name?”
“Someone I still love very much, but we manage to hurt each other more often than admitting we care. His lack of communication and my strong headedness are to blame. If we weren’t so selfish we might’ve worked. When it doesn’t hurt so much to talk about him, I’ll tell you what happened, and why I left the city. But I really hurt him this time when I chose to leave the city and sleep with studs. We fought for weeks when he found out, and he is usually so passive. At least he told me something, usually he’s quiet. It’s because he’s a great thinker…” Ky pinched her lips into a straight line, which she meant as a smile, but Ky was sad for her friend. Ambrosia sighed heavily, “Well, I have four more of these conversations. I’ll meet you up front. The other four are in that group over there. Wish me luck.”
Ky nodded, bidding her strength, and then made her way to Ambrosia’s door. She could see the door’s silver line within the invisible divider of the two realms. The magical seam was the only indicator that there was a barrier. When Ky touched the divider, a wall rippled and warped the view of the cave.
Ky stared in
wonderment, but then her mind drifted to Ambrosia and her lovers. Ky believed having several was wrong, and she could see how Duval would be hurt. But living in a world where it was the social norm, it wasn’t obvious, at least right away, that these actions were unraveling society with jealousy. If sex was making the men covetous to the point of murder, and women were overly cunning and competitive, obviously they were bonding during sex and it wasn’t harmless attempts to make children. Something had to be done, and if Cobaaron’s word was law, she was going to talk to him about it.
With her decision made, she waited for Ambrosia by the castle, where the wooden warriors were constructing their fortress. The structural design was amazing for such small wooden toys. Strange they had logic to think for themselves.
Ky took a seat by a blossoming tree covered in white flowers, as its petals constantly renewed and fell to the mossy floor. The ground she sat on was exceedingly comfortable. She felt tired, simply by resting on it. Huntra soon took his place in the middle of the fallen flowers that encircled the trunk and began snoring.
“My Lady, do you wish for a fire?” Ram asked, when he came near. She nodded, and he promptly arranged rocks from the shrinking mound near the toy warriors’ castle to form a large ring. Then he broke a branch from the tree, which shuttered and rapidly grew its limb back. Ram snapped the branch into three pieces and began to hit rocks together for sparks. To spare his pride, Ky didn’t offer to light the fire because he didn’t ask for assistance.
Ky thanked him, when he easily got the fire burning. She was surprised when he sat across from her and stared into the flames, content and quiet. Ky looked over at Octavos, Athaya, Wyt, Yulley, and Surv figuring that Octavos sent him for her protection. Octavos nodded, and went back to a conversation with Athaya.
Ky faced Ram again. He wiped his light blond hair out of his eyes, but it fell back into place as he leaned down watching the flames. “So,” Ky strived to fill the awkward silence, “you’re Tyrus’s friend?”
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 55