I slowly brought the drink up to my lips, and immediately the fruity scent enraptured my nose. It smelled like the most delicious candy ever created.
I took a big gulp, but regretted it. Yes, it was certainly sweet, but it was so strong that it burned my entire esophagus, stomach, and throughout my sinuses. I wigged out for a good minute as the sensation dissipated.
I tried to breathe in clean, fresh air to clear the taste out of my mouth. Mycah chuckled next to me. I whipped my eyes toward his, surprised.
“Drink some more,” he ordered with another chuckle, pushing the goblet closer to me.
“Heck no! I’m not touching that stuff with a ten-foot pole,” I retorted.
“Nariella, try it again. Trust me.” As he said those last two words, he became awkward, like he regretted saying them. He cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at me.
Sighing out loud, I tried another teensy-weensy sip. The deep colored liquid slowly slid down my throat. My eyes bugged out of my head.
It was delicious. Huh??
“I love it!” I squeaked. Mycah chuckled once again, shaking his head. “Why was it so horrible before?”
“You cannot down it in one gulp, love. It is made to drink slowly. To savor every last drop.” He took his own sip. My eyes dropped to his adam’s apple that bobbed from the swallow. His throat was so enticing; I lost all train of thought.
“I shall acquire lodging. Do not let her out of your sight,” Sarqua commanded Mycah. He eyed me hatefully and then turned around toward the exit, leaving Mycah and me alone for the moment.
Loud musical stomping and cheering pulled my attention. I looked to a group of Nianotts clapping and dancing on tables. The band in the corner played with all different stringed instruments that I didn’t recognize and flutes.
They looked to be having a dance-off. One would kick his feet and jump around seriously. Then, another one would do his own thing. They did this back and forth, each getting their own amount of cheering made by the bystanders drinking their ale to decide the winner.
I laughed at the silliness and joy the room experienced. I looked to Mycah, who stared at the goblet in front of him. I wrapped my hand around his bicep.
“C’mon. Dance with me!” I begged.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed.
“Mycah! Please! I need this.” I didn’t give up.
He stared at me for a few moments. I could see his aqua eyes churning brighter right before me. He slowly stood up.
I squealed and giggled, pulling him behind me toward the crowd. I mimicked the others by kicking my feet out in front of me, jumping around in circles. I twirled around, throwing my arms up and my head back, laughing up a storm. The music was inspiring, practically begging me to dance my heart out.
I dropped my head back to normal and found Mycah staring at me with his sexy half-smirk. I pulled him closer.
“Dance,” I requested.
“As you wish,” he breathed.
He grabbed my waist and spun me around in the air. The sensation tickled all my nerves, making me bust out into more laughter. Everyone else did the same movement, and then went to heel-kicks. Mycah knew every dance move expertly and tried teaching me anything new that the townsfolk did.
The jade specks in Mycah’s eyes sparkled in the light of the lanterns. He gazed at me from under his eyelashes, setting my heart crashing against my ribcage. His fingers were pressed against my hipbone, lighting me on fire. I closed my eyes and took it all in.
I let the anxiety and troubles that weighed me down the last several weeks evaporate off my shoulders. I didn’t think about any gloomy thoughts or predicaments. For this one night, I was free. For this one night, I was with the man I loved, and I was finally happy. There were no evil kings trying to kill us. There was no war threatening to wipe out an entire kingdom. There was no evil foster father to bring me down.
There was only me, and there was only Mycah—just the two of us, reveling in this stolen euphoria.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
~Naminé~
The goblins hunted us throughout the night. When daylight broke, they sat and watched us from the shadows, waiting for us. We could not shake them. I felt their eyes following our every move.
The sun dropped lower and lower much too hastily, and to my dismay. I was terrified for the darkness of night to overturn the lightness of day. The goblins would certainly make their move.
It was agonizing not knowing when it would be.
“We should just fight them,” Rydan suggested.
“I do not know if we can. We are severely outnumbered. There can be no chance we would make it out alive,” I hated to admit, but I felt it was true.
“Don’t say that. Don’t admit defeat already, before it’s even started,” Rydan chastised softly. “You haven’t seen what I can do with this thing yet.” He winked, holding up his longbow.
“I do not doubt you, Rydan. Yet there are so many of them, and they’re shrouded in darkness.” I spoke honestly, not wanting to conceal my true feelings from him.
“I can see every one of ‘em,” he replied.
“Is that true? Can you?” I should not be surprised, however. He was, after all, a royal descendant of the greatest kings and queens to have ever graced Luïnil.
Then it began. The horizon quenched the final drop of radiance the sun had to offer us. The raw, shrill screams of the goblins erupted in a shattering pandemonium.
My body convulsed all on its own, waiting for the inevitable. I did not know how long we would last, or if we had any hope of surviving the night at all.
Rydan whisked his arrow into position and let it release from its bow instantly. It pierced the eyeball of a goblin, dropping it roughly to the ground. He did this over and over again, all in a second’s worth of time.
I procured my only dagger from my boot and prepared myself for battle. I took my position behind Rydan’s back and stood firm.
Rydan eliminated as many as he could, and it did dwindle their numbers. I readied my dagger and sliced at the goblin that gangly skipped at me first.
I missed him by a hair. He kept jumping around the space in front of me, making it difficult to reach.
From my peripheral, I caught Rydan impaling several of them with an arrow he kept ahold of in his hand, using it like a dagger.
I swung repeatedly, until finally I managed to slice the goblin’s throat in a sickening gurgle.
We kept this up for quite some time. Jarringly, Calen swooped down and attacked one that had been close to clobbering me from the side.
I exhaled with relief, thanking her through my heart. However, I did not want her to be near the goblins. They had a great desire for the rare phoenix of the air.
They would use the fiery bird in terrible, morbid ways I could not imagine.
Suddenly, a horrific cry pierced our ears. Immediately, the goblins departed from us and scurried away in a blitz that was as fast as ants.
“What happened?” I inquired with delight.
“I guess I got a bull’s-eye on their boss,” Rydan snickered. I whirled around to see for myself.
Indeed, their leader that had been overseeing the hunt from afar was in fact now pinned to a tree by an arrow in between his eyes.
“Oh, well done, Rydan!” I clasped my hands together. “Well done!”
I dipped my bare foot into the still coolness of the waterhole. Rydan and I were exceptionally dirty. We had dried blood and dirt smeared across our skin and faces.
The smooth water was refreshing. A welcomed luxury I had missed dearly since we had abandoned the castle.
Rydan peered at me through darkened eyes from where he stood along the grass. I slowly slipped my outer covering up over my head and discarded it in the water to soak. I stood bare and exposed, but it was nothing unnatural for our kind.
Rydan had been removing his shoes last I looked; however, he had stopped for a reason unbeknownst to me.
He shifted his eyes
elsewhere, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn he blushed.
“What is it, Rydan?” I laughed lightly. Was he ashamed of nakedness? That was not the elven way. “Do not let your human upbringing hold you to shyness.”
“I uh...I just, don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” he stuttered.
I had to laugh some more. “It is not I who is uncomfortable, it would seem. Come, you will feel refreshed if you bathe.”
I submerged myself under the water entirely and relished the momentary bliss.
Glancing back to Rydan, I could not help watching as he pulled his clothing over his head, exposing his muscular torso. My breath left my lungs completely, and my heart stopped in my chest at how appealing he was. When he began undoing his trousers, I found myself averting my eyes in the same way he had done not a moment ago.
Such a strange sensation this was. Never had I felt this way before. Here I had been commenting on Rydan’s shyness, now to only feel that identical blush on my own two cheeks.
He swam over to me cautiously, still keeping his distance. My heart trembled from the intensity I found showing in his eyes.
The fireflies floated softly around the water. Their glowing light reflected off the mirrored surface and lit up the area like sparkles. It was so lovely.
Rydan splashed water over his face and through his hair. I felt entranced by the smooth way it dripped from his jaw. My eyes sprung to his, for I could feel his burning gaze on me.
He moved closer until he was right before my face.
“Naminé,” he murmured in his deep timbred voice. Everything in my soul fluttered at once by the way he said my name. However, I could not speak. My body was paralyzed, trapped, left frozen by the way he dropped his metallic silver eyes to my mouth.
I had never been kissed before, and I could not lie by saying I did not greatly desire this. More than anything I wanted him to place his lips on my own. The desire sprouted so strongly in my gut, I would die right this very moment if he did not kiss me.
My chest constricted with anticipation, my skin buzzed beneath the water. Rydan placed his hand around the back of my neck and caressed my skin. His thumb lay along my collarbone, sending wave of tingles down to my toes.
I lifted my eyes to his from under my lashes, and then my heart stopped. He gazed longingly at me through slit lids and slowly leaned closer. I closed my eyes and let his savory lips touch mine triumphantly.
All of the stars and planets aligned at once. The moment his warm tongue met mine, I understood there would be no returning from this. I was now forever his for him to do with as he pleased.
Rydan kissed me wholeheartedly and ever-so sweetly. If I had not been holding onto his smooth shoulders, I was certain my body would have floated away. He slid his hand down my back and drew me closer to him, my bare breasts pressing against his chest.
He moaned against my mouth, which set my blood on fire. We connected so deeply; I knew my soul would never be the same without him.
When Rydan broke the kiss, I was already desperate for more. He kissed me a few more times before stopping so he could speak.
“I need you to listen to something. If you connect with my mind, do you think you could hear what’s in my head?” he asked me.
“I do not know. I have not yet tried anything like that before,” I responded, my curiosity piqued.
“Here,” he mumbled as he lifted my hands to his head and placed them on either side. “Try it.”
“All right,” I agreed, closing my eyes. Typically, I would need to be asleep to accomplish this. However, something told me that with him, it could be done. Perhaps it was a gift he himself had—to share his thoughts with others.
I felt our minds meld together. Immediately, a beautiful melody began playing. Images filled my head—Images of Rydan at a dark grand piano. He alternated between playing the melody I could hear in my head and writing the notes down on paper, but the music never ceased. It played continuously along with the images.
I could see he was frustrated. He worked tirelessly trying to write the music perfectly. He could feel it in his soul, but was unable to complete it to his satisfaction. Night and day, repeatedly, he would think only of this melody. Pouring himself over the piano keys, he would just miss the line of perfection. He would hum it out loud to himself in his every waking moment.
Yet, it was never enough.
Then there was me.
My face flashed before my mind suddenly. Rydan would see me in his dreams. He felt closer to the music, but the final melody still escaped him.
Our first touch. He heard the beginning of the final notes.
Our first kiss.
Rydan replayed the kiss we just had here in the water again in my mind. I could feel it through his eyes.
Enticing. Magic. Explosive. Desire. Lust. Love.
Inspiration.
The final melodic notes rang out in his head as he continued kissing me. The dramatic reverberations struck every one of my heartstrings, setting off tears down my face.
The song was heart stopping and beautiful. It stole the air right out of my lungs as it played in my mind. Our minds.
Rydan had finally birthed his masterpiece.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
~Nari~
I was drunk. For the first time in my life, I was drunk. I never could have imagined it would have been from elven wine called Lisse, but nonetheless—I was drunk.
As I stumbled out of the Tipsy Nott, giggling, I grabbed onto Mycah’s hand for balance. He shot his eyes to our clasped hands and then up to my droopy ones. I furrowed my eyebrows, or at least that was what I intended to do, at his surprised look. I couldn’t exactly tell what expression I had on my face, since my brain felt like it was full of fuzz.
Mycah jerked his hand away from my hold. I didn’t understand—Weren’t we just having fun? Were we not just all over each other dancing?
Sarqua brushed past me, grumbling. “Pull yourself together, Fallaner. You look completely ridiculous. A disgrace to our people,” he bit out disdainfully. He surveyed the area, as if he were embarrassed to be standing next to me.
And that made me giggle some more.
Any amount of discomfort that I could deliver to Sarqua, I was all for. I felt completely great and carefree in that moment. I draped myself over Mycah’s chest and laced my fingers behind his neck, grinning.
He looked down at me, smirking, for just a second before he reached up and grabbed me gently around the wrists. He slowly peeled me off of his body. “Bloody hell. You’re so drunk,” he chuckled.
“What? I am not,” I giggled. “Just kidding...Yeah...I’m totally drunk.” I couldn’t stop laughing. I hadn’t felt this good in a long time.
Sarqua huffed. “We must get to our rooms so she can sleep it off. I will not tolerate this for a moment more,” he said to Mycah, trying his best to ignore me.
I started walking away. “Well, then let’s go! C’mon...I’ve been waiting for you. Get a move on, Sarq—” My sentence was cut off as I tripped over a rock and fell on my knees. I could barely walk straight. “Oops.”
I clumsily brushed the hair out of my face.
“Such a disgrace.” I heard Sarqua mumble as he left toward the Inn we were staying in down around the corner.
“I’m dizzy,” I whispered.
Mycah slowly bent down next to me and drew me up against his chest. He carried me toward the Inn. I closed my eyes and inhaled his woodsy scent.
My fingers automatically searched for their spot tangled up in his messy black locks. My eyes went to his ear. He always had such a foreign demeanor. It was obvious he wasn’t human. But I still couldn’t possibly have guessed he was an elf. Now that the evidence was right before me, I was never more attracted to him.
I softly rubbed his elf ear between my thumb and fingers. Yep. Totally sexy. And then my lips automatically made their way toward his neck—
“Nariella. Don’t,” he breathed, pulling his neck back.
“Why not?” I asked, hurt.
“I don’t want you to.” His voice was strained. “It was wrong of me to get involved with a Tavas’Elda. It was different in the Earthly realm. But I never should have let that happen.”
“Do you still love me?” My chest tightened with anticipation.
“No. It was a mistake. I never should have said that to you. I had been...caught up in the moment. That is all.” He glanced down at my reaction from the corners of his eyes.
His breathing hitched as a tear spilled down my face. But he just looked away, clenching his jaw.
“Don’t. Don’t do that.” He tightened his grip on me.
“Don’t do what?” I asked without actually wanting an answer. I quickly wiped my tears away. Nope, not crying.
I threw my head back and made myself smile. Made myself forget what he just said to me. I didn’t want to lose the good feelings I just had—The amazing night I just experienced. I inhaled a huge breath of pristine oxygen and let it filter out the bad feelings.
If that was the way Mycah wanted to be, then fine. Two could play at that game.
I forced myself out of his arms, not wanting to be anywhere near him at the moment. He stopped to let me down. I pushed his body away from mine, now walking on my own.
“Night, Mycah. I mean, Remycah,” I slurred. I could kind of see Sarqua up ahead, so I half-jogged, half-stumbled my way to him.
When I woke in the morning, it took me several minutes to remember where I was. I felt frightened at first, but eventually I remembered. The inn in Burrbein. Luïnil. Not Kennebunkport.
I tried to recall what had happened last night, but it was all fuzzy. I sort of remembered dancing with Mycah, but hardly.
My feathered bed and pillows were comfy. The room was tiny, simply decorated in rustic and neutral tones. The crackling of dying embers drew my attention.
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