“So, I’m losing both my pets?” Ky cried, clinging to Huntra tighter in refusal to let him go.
“No worries, I take your grief with me. Have peace.”
Before Ky could reply, the woman beckoned Huntra, and the three disappeared. Ky held her head and sobbed. If the spirit did take her grief, Ky didn’t feel it. She wept bitterly, which literally hurt her. Her throat felt painfully dry as if she had a lump in her throat. She wiped away tears, as she swallowed hard. Ky felt alone and hollow, knowing her cat and druse were gone. “No,” Ky pleaded, when the woman was long gone along with her beloved pets. The sudden departure was a cruel way to end a friendship that meant so much to her. But then the loss unexpectedly seemed bearable. “It could be worse. It’s not that bad,” she said, giving herself a pep talk.
Then her thoughts floated elsewhere. Great relief swept over her. She knew emphatically she could trust Noelya. She exhaled a sigh; thankful she could do what she needed to with great peace. No doubt it would be hard to stab the man she loved, but she could try her best to think of it as a shot of medicine. She would do anything to save him, and she’d endure his changes.
The peppermint leaves were already curing her morning sickness. Her dull light brightened. The pinkish glow filled the cave, only to shine onto the empty chamber void of critters. “It could be worse. It’s not that bad,” she repeated mechanically, feeling numb to their absence.
She calmly passed the time for Cobaaron’s arrival, almost in a daze. It didn’t take long for him to get back. He wrenched the large rock away minutes later, and entered with an assortment of fish, waterweeds, nuts and fruit. He looked at her and then noticed she was alone. “Where is Huntra? The rock trapped everyone inside.”
“The woman who gave me Huntra took him away.” Ky’s monotone was void of emotion.
“I’m sorry, Ky.” Cobaaron set the food on the ground before he sat beside her to drape his arm around her back. “Come here, love. I’m really sorry. She took Prism, too?”
“Yes, apparently Prism liked Huntra more than me.” Ky shrugged. “She took my grief. I feel weird, almost distant; I don’t care. She took the weapon you’ve been trying to discard,” Ky lied, and it was bloody brilliant. She wished he wouldn’t search for it anymore.
“Why did you have that dagger anyway?”
Ky didn’t know how to respond, and nothing as sly came readily to her, and so she diverted his question and said, “Before I forget, I need you to go to the pond by the rockfish, and bring me back some peppermint.”
“That is an odd request. Peppermint is for fussy babies or pregnant women.”
“Apparently I’m pregnant.” She felt and sounded indifferent. “And to answer your question, I’ve no idea where that dagger came from. I thought it was yours.” Another lie and not very convincing, but Cobaaron focused solely on her pregnancy news.
“Wait! Really, you’re with child?” He smiled. “How? We didn’t decide to conceive. Are you certain?”
“I guess these things happen sometimes to Stars. I don’t know. In my world it happens all the time without planning.” Ky was surprised he believed her story about the dagger, but then she supposed his attention shifted to the shocking news.
He grinned wider. “I’ve never heard of conceiving without planning, even among Stars.”
“It’s an inopportune time, and I’m not thrilled that she took Huntra when I could use him.” Ky glanced down. “I don’t feel pregnant, only sick.”
“I’m not leaving you in this cave in your fragile state. Let’s eat, and we’ll find this peppermint. We’ll move now if you’re well enough to move to a more comfortable location.”
“If you wish.” She shrugged again, amazed at how aloof she felt. “How long will it take to reach the City of Lights?”
“At most, four months, if we linger here. You’ll have a few months to rest before the baby arrives. I worry about impelling you to walk there. That is my only hindrance. I’ll try to make sure you don’t get too much exercise. You were sluggish on the hills.” He ran his fingers through his hair, and then squeezed the nape of his neck, visibly stressed. He stared at her abdomen. “You don’t even have Ambrosia’s room for protection, and Huntra is gone. We’ll both feel his loss.” Cobaaron took a deep breath. He dried the waterweed with the heat of his hands, and threw it onto the fire pit’s embers. “I’m not sorry, though. Are you?”
“I don’t know. I always said that I feel too young. But I don’t feel anything right now.”
“Well, you got here a few months before Ash of Gorgeon. It hasn’t been a year since we met. I’m sure that makes the shock of being pregnant even more overwhelming, but let’s allow the news to sink in for a few days.” He shook his head. “I’m making this worse.”
“No. A lot of women need time to adjust. Truly, I’m numb even to what you’re saying.”
“Maybe this is exactly what you need to help you forget that your pets left. In a few days, you might love being pregnant and anxious about nothing. Thankfully we’ll be home long before you give birth. I’ll have a child soon after the coronation. We’ll have an heir. Yes, my anxiety is over. You’ll see; traveling will be easy while you’re in this state. I’ll see to it.” Cobaaron kissed her. “I’ll adopt your motto once again. Don’t think about it, love, until you’re happy. Things have a way of working out.”
They were quiet and mulled over the surprising news as they ate. Cobaaron was smug, and gloated. As she sat, her dazed calmness left her. Slowly she felt a subtle anxiety about a child, and missed her mother so much her chest hurt. She rubbed it as they ate the fish, and as always, she ignored uncomfortable thoughts. She concentrated on the meal’s odd textures and tastes. The weed had a mild carrot flavor, and the flower blossoms were salty. The nuts were oddly juicy while the date-like fruit made her mouth water with a zest of lemon and honey.
Immediately after eating, Ky needed more peppermint. They stuffed the pillows and blankets into the small silver box, and then she clipped it to her belt. They left the cave as they found it, with the stone rolled over the entrance.
“Oh, this woman said your brother is still in these mountains looking for us, but he will be gone in a week,” Ky said, as they walked down a slope that led to a larger cave.
“We shouldn’t talk then. If something happens you must follow my orders, okay?”
“I know. Don’t breathe, don’t shine,” she said playfully. He teased her further, adding she couldn’t leave him while he slept, either. “Yes, and don’t get captured by wanderers.”
“We both have our demands. Mine is for you to listen to me so I can keep you safe, and not question me in front of my men. You don’t want me to yell at you, and to let you be as independent as possible as my equal.” He put his arm around her, while grinning, and then hugged her tight so he could carry her as he descended a small cliff to a narrow walkway.
They traveled beyond the large cave, and reached a small tunnel that gradually became shorter, until they were crawling on their bellies. Soon they came to a large chamber, overgrown with stalagmites and stalactites. Cobaaron took her past the deposits of calcite and they wound around to a smaller cave that held a large puddle with glowing rockfish.
Ky smelled the peppermint, and following their noses, they walked to a tall black bush with dark leaves. It didn’t resemble a peppermint plant and the shrub was infested with caterpillars. Cobaaron uprooted it and shook the caterpillars over the puddle to feed the fish.
He gave the plant to Ky, letting her pick a few leaves to eat. When she ate her fill, she stored the plant. Cobaaron picked a few leaves from another bushel, and gave them to her to suck on.
They walked back to the large cave, headed toward a wide tunnel and walked down a gradual slope. The air became musty and foul, and she smelled a familiar scent of sulfur.
Cobaaron gripped her fist that clutched the peppermint, and ushered her into a thin tunnel that had enough room for them to squeeze into, but no more. He whispered t
o Ky to don her cloak that doused her light. She swiftly stuck her finger into the box and felt for the velvet cloth. After digging around, she managed to pull it out by the hood. She silently threw it on and her light disappeared.
The smell became stronger, and then the rocks rumbled with each heavy footstep. She spied a giant gray body covered in warts. When the troll stopped next to them, it scented the air. Cobaaron put his finger to his mouth, as if she needed a reminder not to scream. Ky felt safe. They were in a small crack that was deep and dark. Cobaaron was shielding her from the mountain troll. Before she could get a good look, the beast walked on.
When the footsteps became faint, Cobaaron muttered, “It’s close; it didn’t leave. The scent is still strong. Stay here, and don’t move.” Ky nodded her head, giving her word she wouldn’t budge.
Cobaaron spun on his heel to leave and was about to walk out, when a big fist slammed into the rock where his head had been. He dodged the swing, and before the beast sent another clobbering fist toward him again, he gripped the troll’s thick arm and swung onto the monster and out of sight. There was a loud crunch, and then a thud.
Cobaaron held out a hand, returning within seconds. He was so incredibly sexy when he protected her with ease. “A dead troll killed without weapons and left uneaten will make my brother aware of our presence if he stumbles upon it. If we’re lucky, trolls will eat it tonight.”
“We could take some with us then.”
“Let’s not waste time. We would have to take a good deal of the beast to fool my brother. There’s an abundance of tunnels and caves; he will never find us once we leave. I’ll feed you well tonight. I promise you won’t be without. I know pregnant women are very hungry.” Cobaaron urged her to follow.
They hustled away and went through a complex network of passages, walking for miles until Ky started to feel dizzy with too much exercise. She said nothing, but asked if they could find a cave to rest.
“Can you travel another mile?”
“No.” She needed to sit and consume more peppermint or she’d loose all the leaves she ate.
“I know there is a pool up ahead, and the caves around it have daub moss. You’ll be very comfortable. I’ll carry you the rest of the way.”
Ky seized leaves from her box, and as she wrapped her arms around his neck, she sucked on the peppermint. He easily picked her up, and walked on. Because she liked his strong arms around her, Ky teased him, saying if he could carry her to the city, she’d appreciate it. He chuckled in reply.
“I’ll carry you when you’re tired, and I’m not saying that lightly. We could travel to the City of Lights in several ways that doesn’t involve walking a great distance. I won’t push.”
“I was teasing about making you carry me.”
“I know, but you’re with child,” he gloated. “You’re in a world where children are rare and you’ll be a queen, which means I must take care of you. Our children will be royalty. All the more reason to make sure you’re well cared for, and tonight you’ll sleep well on soft daub moss. It’s thick and very comfortable. Maybe we’ll spend a few weeks lounging around hiding in different caves in the garden.”
Cobaaron carried her for about half a mile, until the black desert cave became a sanctuary for small animals, mostly exotic multi-colored birds, and plants called tumbleweeds that resembled small windmills, somehow spinning its petals. A soft breeze smelled like the citrus-scented flowers. On the ceiling were thousands of crystals, glowing peach like the moon. The speckled lights among the dark stone resembled a starry night.
“Those gemstones are lunar fools’ stone. It’s not the same as moon rock. Once you chip them away, they lose the glowing quality. Your ring will never stop glowing,” he said, as she gazed upward, hypnotized by the imitation sky and stars.
“That looks like the big dipper.” Ky pointed out the constellation.
“I see Titus, the mortal fighting the horned dragon from the abyss before the beast left our planet.” He tried pointing it out, but when she couldn’t connect stars outlining a man with a bow beside the beast, he gave up. “It was this great triumph that granted Titus godhood in the afterlife.”
The farther he carried her into the cave the more spread out the tumbleweeds grew, because tall trees began to crowd them. They were a much larger version of the tumbleweeds except they had white trunks and a single enormous puff of furry, white wool that grew from the middle of the spinning blue petals.
He stopped and set her next to a small pool. There were several bodies of water; all were small in circumference, but very deep. There was only a short walk while he picked out a cave that was thick with daub moss and not far from a cluster of tumbleweeds that blew fresh air into their cave.
Ky rested, eating peppermint, while Cobaaron gathered wood. Eventually she wandered in, and started the fire. After Cobaaron gathered wood and the cave was warm, he made his way to her, and reclined, putting his hand on her stomach while propped on his elbow. He didn’t have to say what was on his mind; his gentle touch resting on her belly voiced his feelings of pride. He caressed her with love and playfulness. He made small circles around her bellybutton with his palm. “It’s unfortunate you’re with child. I don’t feel comfortable making love to you while you’re in this state.”
“I’m not in a fragile state. The fetus is fragile but well protected by fluid, and will even like the rocking.”
He positioned himself over her with his knees between hers. Then he leaned down and kissed her tenderly from one corner of her mouth to the other; she loved it. He nestled down while propping up on his elbows, getting comfortable, obviously trying his best not to squish her. “Why didn’t you say so?” He grinned.
He leaned down, taking her lips. He leisurely caressed her tongue, in slow, wet circles that melted her. He made her knees weak with his skilled mouth. With eyes closed, she enjoyed his lingering as he showered her with passion, and moaned each time he licked the tip of her tongue. He really was a phenomenal kisser that aroused her and made her aware of how much he loved her. She took pleasure in both sensations.
It was nice and long overdue to spend uninterrupted, intimate time together, with no agenda or need to hurry. They had weeks, and, for Ky, the time would be their long overdue honeymoon. Ky could spend the remainder of their stay no farther away than she was at that moment.
He gently cupped her nape, as his kiss deepened. Ky wanted him closer, and guided him nearer by lightly tugging his muscular shoulders. His weight increased as his chest pressed against her. She wrapped her legs around his hips to hug him close. As he kissed her, Ky unlatched his belt to silently make it known what he was doing to her.
Cobaaron dropped his nose to her skin, and smelled the sweet honey scent that he loved. He traced from the curve of her jaw to her neck. When he reached her shoulder, he began to slip the strap of her dress down as he nibbled her skin, with his mouth trailing not an inch behind his fingers. He spoke small declarations between each kiss, and at every pause, he softly bit downward. “I love the taste of you…the smell of you…the sight of you…. I’m going to take my time devouring your body…and in the end you will know I possess you…because even your pleasure belongs to me.”
Ky let out a quivering breath. With his words, she was undone. His dominance was seductive, and she willingly submitted.
Her skin tingled as he brushed his fingers down her arm, with his warm breath trailing behind his delicate touch. He guided the dress lower, exposing her breast. His bottom lip crossed her clavicle, dipped below and across her chest, and then he skirted to her other strap, all the while, circling around her nipples for his pleasure to hear her sounds. He seized both straps and inched her dress to her navel, and left it there.
He licked from her neck down to the valley between her breasts, rounded her areola, and for one sweet thrilling, teasing second, he warmed her nipple with a firm, taunting flick. His caress stole her breath, but he didn’t linger. She whimpered as he left her unsatisfied. His ton
gue wet her from one creamy mound to the other, and right when she thought he would kiss her tip for a moment’s relief, he dipped to the curve below her breast, and gently bit.
“No, please!” she begged in frustration, needing his mouth where he abandoned. But he didn’t return. He nibbled along her ribcage and side, until her dress hindered him. His lips grazed her hips and he continued to undress her slowly. He tugged her gown from her thighs, and when her legs were free, he opened her knees to expose her completely. He bowed to her sex, and softly bit her inner thigh close to her folds. “Yes!” she cried from the surge of throbbing heat in her core, but once again, he teased her and moved on.
His lips traced the bend along her thighs, and then he nibbled from one hip to the other. He paused in the middle, running his nose along her hair as he inhaled. Ky swallowed, shocked by his brazen love of her scent. She panted in bliss, feeling empowered by the depth of his desire for every inch of her body.
He licked, kissed, and sucked a trail to her calf. Then he took her other leg, lightly biting north toward her slick sex. She was increasingly wet from his teasing, and she begged him to slide his finger along her clitoris. To her provocation, he nibbled along her stomach, and she was trembling when he came to her breasts. “Please Cobaaron.” He sucked her nipple into his mouth, and licked her sensitive tip. She spoke his name lovingly, needing him to linger. He flicked her with strong strokes as she quivered with each swipe of his tongue. She was captivated by his pleasing kiss, helpless to his commanding touch.
Ky fisted handfuls of his hair. It was her silent appeal that he stay in one place long enough to release her frustrations, but he reached for her wrists, and held them till she let go. He shook his head, “Be patient.”
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 68