by Cara Coe
“I tried to talk sense into my father. My arguments postponed the final treaty for hours but no amount of breath could stop it,” he said solemnly. “He would not budge.”
“We should head back,” she heard her voice say, but her body gave no indication of moving from its proximity to the prince.
“If you want to go back, I’ll walk you back. If you want to stay here, I’ll sit next to you. Whatever it is you want is yours.”
Amelie gave him a sharp look at his absurdity. “Hardly,” she spat. “What I want does not include assassinating treacherous plots in the dark and fending off hungry men.” She sucked in a breath and tried not to allow herself to throw daggers at the prince simply because he was the only person in the immediate vicinity to receive them. She chose her next words carefully. “What I want does not exist in this world. The real world, outside this thicket of trees, is what’s left. Where I have to wipe off these tears and resume my duties as an instrument to my kingdom. And now yours as well.”
Seth’s voice was quiet but thick with need. “Whatever world you choose to be in, out there in kingdoms, in here amongst the trees…it doesn’t matter to me. However you choose, my choice is constant. My world is sitting next to me.”
Amelie wasn’t sure what happened next. How her body angled to his. She knew he would respect her space, keep his position, silently watch her and wish her pain to lessen through his intense, concerned stare. She knew this and didn’t want it. She wanted him.
Her mind, her heart, her body all thrummed with this fact and worked together to simultaneously propel her forward in that instant leaving her sense of duty caught unawares until it had no more voice. No more pull.
Her hand fisted his shirt in bunched fabric. His breathing caught at her touch. He said nothing. He had no time. Her lips pressed to his, her eyes seeing his widen with surprise then closing while his body gave a satisfied shudder. It was fire meeting fire. It was freedom and passion and was so sweet and so needed. It was pleasurably unbearable. It was a false world, one made of birches and elms and pines, but it allowed them the space to touch each other. To release. To fill up the ache, even for a moment.
He kissed her. Softly. More intensely. Everywhere. Tasting her. Her lips moved against his. Waves stirred inside her. He gripped her tightly to him, drawing her into his lap. His moans vibrated against her skin as his lips grazed her neck.
“I feel things,” she whispered. Her eyes were closed, back arched, allowing herself to be consumed by the rush.
He tucked her dark hair behind her ears. “I like that you feel things.”
She came out of her arch and placed a hand on his neck. Her eyes bore into his. “I can’t feel things. Not for you. You aren’t mine.”
His lips pressed into a hard line. His hands rested on both sides of her head as his gaze intensified. “I am yours, Amelie,” he insisted fiercely. “I have been since that day on the river when I thought I lost you. I cared for you before that, but when that arrow struck you I knew I was hopelessly in love with you. I knew I would move mountains and forge armies to find a way to bring you back to safety. Nothing else mattered.”
His words lifted Amelie into the stars and pushed her into the ground at the same time with the weight of their implications.
“One thing else matters,” she said softly, resting her forehead on his. He didn’t respond. He already knew. “We were raised to put our kingdoms before ourselves. We do it still.”
They sat there like that, quiet, unwilling to pull apart and end the moment. Prince Seth finally found his voice. “Leave with me.”
Amelie stilled with shock, searched his eyes. All she saw was intense sincerity.
“Leave with me,” he repeated, gripping her upper arms. “Be with me.”
“We can’t, Seth. We can’t just leave.”
“I love you. I don’t want to be with your sister. I don’t want you going on anymore missions. The thought of another man putting his hands on you, even for a moment, drives me crazy.”
“You would hate me. Not at first, but eventually.”
“I could never hate you.”
“Our kingdoms would go to war. Because of that one act. Because we weren’t strong enough to resist.”
Prince Seth let out a long breath as the argument left his body.
“Their deaths wouldn’t be on our heads,” he said angrily. “Our kings can’t seem to resist your condition. Their decisions are questionable.”
Amelie let out a humorless laugh. “My whole life has been governed by questionable decisions.”
They sat side by side for several minutes, holding hands, watching the night turn to dark ink. Amelie only wondered briefly why no one came searching for them before remembering that Talon and Derrick would act as their wall until their own intuition told them otherwise. The same force that had held her captive when they met was now a grateful reprieve.
She rubbed her upper thighs through her riding pants breaking contact with the prince.
“I suppose we should head back,” he said reluctantly standing up. She rose quickly beside him, looking up at his height.
“No.”
“No?” Prince Seth looked at her puzzled.
“We go back and I lose you for good. Stay with me a moment longer.” She leaned up and brushed his throat with her lips. He swallowed thickly and closed his eyes.
“Amelie…”
“Just a few more moments in this world,” she whispered. Her lips moved to his jaw line. Her hand snaked into his shirt. She wanted to feel his skin. She could feel his body responding, moving into her touch, but he was shaking his head.
“Not like this.”
“When we walk back to camp, we will continue our journey to my kingdom. You will form an alliance with the future queen and I will spend my time on the road unearthing the dangers to both our lands. We will forget each other. We have to forget each other. It will be the most painful thing I ever do. Before I have to do it…” a sob choked her words and Prince Seth brushed her cheek with his thumb. “Before that happens, I don’t want any regrets. I want to pretend you’re mine.”
His head dipped to meet hers and he kissed her. His tongue searched hers, long and deep and achingly. He planted kisses on her nose, her forehead, her ear.
“I am yours,” he breathed in between kisses. “No matter what happens, where we are, what we have to do. I’m always yours.” He pulled back and looked at her. Brushed her chin. Drank the image of her in. “Remember that, Amelie.”
Amelie kissed him again, deepening it and clutching his hair with her fists. He moaned against her lips, still undecided. She slipped her hands under his shirt, stroking his back, pulling him closer. With a desperate sigh, the prince moved her back against the elm. Her leg rose up his thigh instinctively and he caught it with his free hand and pushed his body flush with hers. Amelie was on fire.
Amelie brought up her other leg and wrapped herself around him. He held her, grinning and planting his lips anywhere and everywhere on her dark skin. His face grew more serious as he laid her down on top of his riding cloak. Covered her body with his. Alternating between kisses and buckles and caresses and ties, they shed any barriers between them until his skin moved against hers. He kissed her when she gasped as he pushed inside of her. It was the sweet sting of pain mingled with love and hot searing desire. It was the long talks they had beside their small fire on their journey to the palace, the laughter in his eyes when he teased her, the concern that radiated from him when she cried. All the memories and feelings flooded her senses and her eyes shone brightly into his as they moved together.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Amelie was breathless. “I love you too, Seth.”
His movements quickened. Amelie wrapped her legs around his waist and he pushed in deeper, tighter, buried his head in her neck, kissed behind her ear.
They remained locked like that for minutes or hours. They didn’t know. Eternity would have been too short. They emb
raced and loved each other until it radiated hot shivers from their connection and covered their bodies. He tucked her to him and held on fiercely terrified to leave their world of trees.
* * *
The crunch of leaves stirred Amelie from her rest. She was wrapped in the prince’s riding cloak still naked underneath. The prince stood several feet away speaking quietly to Talon. At her movement, Prince Seth glanced over to her but Talon purposefully kept his gaze toward the thick trees. Prince Seth murmured one last thing before Talon nodded and began to walk back the direction of the camp.
Amelie sat up fully as Prince Seth crouched next to her and smoothed her hair.
“We have to go back now, don’t we?” she asked sadly.
“The camp is asleep. Derrick got the firewood and Talon assured your party that you needed time to yourself. That you weren’t used to traveling with such a large company of men. He snuck out here to make sure we were safe.”
“What did you tell him just now?”
“That we would come back to camp when you were ready.” He drew in a quick breath before continuing. “But that if we didn’t return before morning not to look for us.”
“You aren’t serious,” she whispered.
“Deadly.”
Amelie said nothing, just squeezed her eyes shut. The temptation was more than she could bear. When she opened them, Prince Seth was regarding her solemnly. He nodded in defeat.
“I know. Your people and my people would be forced to be in arms against each other.” He leaned in close and brushed his lips lightly over hers, sighing against her cheek. “I will not make this harder for you than it already is. I’ll remember this night. Always.”
When he drew away, it was like he was replaced by a new man. His shoulders set back determined and his face cleared of regret. He forced a small smile and held out a hand.
“May I escort you back, Princess?”
Her heart clamped and she absently rubbed a hand over her chest before taking his and allowing him to pull her to her feet while using her free arm to shield herself with the cloak. Prince Seth motioned to a patch of trees. “I’ll wait there until you’re ready.”
Until you’re ready. The words were thick with meaning in her mind. She now had a taste of what her life could have been without this curse upon her. And she couldn’t have it. She would have to resume her espionage, her seduction, and her assassinations only this time she would be operating with the knowledge of an alternate life. The bitterness sank deeper than where she carried it before meeting Seth and it gripped her heart. When she saw her mother next, she feared the explosion would encompass the palace.
At last her riding gear was on and her boots laced. Silently, the pair of them picked their way back to camp in the still moonlight without a word passing between them. There was nothing left to say.
Chapter 33
Seth
Look at me. Look at me. LOOK at me.
Seth couldn’t stop himself from stealing glances at Amelie who rode a short ways in front of him on her horse. Though their discussion in the trees reeked with finality, he couldn’t help but crave a single look from her over her shoulder at him. A small signal that though the decision to move on was best, she needed him as much as he needed her. And he desperately needed her. Already the feel of her skin was fading from his hands and settling into his memory. He didn’t want it there. The impulse to grab her from her horse and ride away from this mess was strong. He swallowed it down. He had to. The look of pain he saw in her eyes when she thought about the onslaught of fighting that would ensue between the two kingdoms meant that he had to be the strong one. For her. He had to assume an air of indifference. It would help her to move on, stop the pain that warred inside her.
And yet…
Look at me.
She looked. Seth’s heart lurched.
She slowed her horse. “Shall we stop for a break?” Her voice was all business.
“So soon?” Seth asked puzzled. The sun was still high.
“I do not plan on the lengthily evenings you’re accustomed to. I am anxious to get back to Candor. We’ll ride until the end of daylight.”
“Then there’s a large stream a few spans west of here. We can water the horses. Take some nourishment. Press on from there until nightfall.”
Amelie nodded curtly. “That will suffice, Prince Seth.”
That will suffice, Prince Seth. Had he known those five words would be the last she spoke to him on their ride back to Candor, he would have basked in their moment rather than sighing and turning his horse away in the direction of the stream.
Chapter 34
Amelie
They rode straight into the castle gates. Amelie’s grip on the reigns was tight. Fear clutched her. Of what stirred it the most, she could not be certain. Her facing the king again, knowing he stripped her of her inheritance to barter her like cattle? Her looking into her sweet sister’s face and being unable to smile? She would forever link those features she once coveted to see every day to the pain of having love ripped from her grasp. The prince who rode silently beside her gave away nothing. Would he be enchanted by Claudia? By her beauty and her wit and her genteel nature? He was as much a pawn in this agreement as she. Any happiness he could derive from it would be ideal. Amelie was equally hopeful and terrified of this prospect.
A young councilman by the name of Simon waited to receive them where Sir Duncan would have normally stood. The riders gave up their horses and brushed the road dust off them in silence. Even the appointed escorts who knew little of the troubled minds they accompanied felt the need to move without sound.
They followed Simon into the great hall where King Byron sat with Claudia on a smaller throne to his right. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Amelie.
“You arrive without your caravan,” King Byron boomed from his perch. “A hasty welcoming was arranged when we learned of your quick coming.”
Amelie bowed before speaking. “It was my decision, your Highness. I’ve been away too long and the idea of slow caravan travel was more than I could bear.”
King Byron’s eyes flicked to the foreigners. “You bring the reason for your delay into my palace?”
“Sir Duncan negotiated a treaty within the guidelines you specified. They are now our allies.”
King Byron’s eyebrows rose as Simon took the produced copy of the treaty from Amelie and presented it to the King.
Claudia glanced between her father and Amelie, eyes narrowing. “I have been left in the dark,” she said, a color of anger in her voice. “I was told Amelie was delayed due to developments in an investigation. What’s this about a treaty? Are they Draeden?”
Prince Seth stepped forward and bowed.
“Your Majesty, Claudia, may I present Prince Seth of Draeden,” Amelie said hastily, embarrassed at forgetting the introduction. “He is accompanied by two of his royal guard.”
“A pleasure to be in your home,” Prince Seth declared politically. His eyes moved from the king to Claudia and he let them rest there for a moment. Amelie stiffened. Claudia, sensing his scrutiny, faltered under his gaze and turned her attention to King Byron.
“What is the nature of the treaty?” she asked.
King Byron pressed his fingertips together in front of his face in thought. His stare was steady on Amelie.
“A treaty suggests you were not simply let go,” he surmised.
“No. I was not,” Amelie answered.
“Which of my conditions was acceptable?”
“I am to serve both kingdoms as you employ me now.” She glanced at Claudia who looked troubled. “Claudia is set to inherit the throne and wed Prince Seth in a merging of kingdoms.”
Claudia could not withhold her gasp. She immediately looked at Prince Seth, this time with a more appraising interest. Always the diplomat, she schooled her features into a dignified acceptance and gave a small nod.
King Byron raised his hand in a welcome gesture. “Prince Seth. You and your friends shal
l experience the same hospitality you bestowed upon my stepdaughter.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Amelie saw several of the guards touch the hilt of their swords. She stepped forward hastily.
“Then you shall purge Claudia of her quarters and accommodate them there. For the room I stayed in, the food I was fed, and the provisions given to me far outweigh what we have currently on hand.”
“Your companion’s outburst in court a few weeks back led me to believe otherwise,” King Byron disagreed and Amelie could only imagine the state Millie was in once reaching Candor’s palace.
“I did not reveal my rank and title and still they provided me with their finest accommodations. We have allied with a peaceful and generous people, your Majesty.”
“Very well. Guards, you are dismissed. Simon, see to their arrangements in the palace.” King Byron turned his focus onto Prince Seth as the subjects bled into the hallways to carry out the king’s orders. His face was more relaxed but only just so. He cocked his head as he took in his future son-in-law.
“We have a ball in two days’ time. It is not as grand as our Forest Ball which was held several weeks ago, but it’s an important one as several key nobles come to discuss trade agreements and set new guidelines. I find that wine and dancing help temper greed and arguments,” he added, looking over Talon and Derrick as well. “I saw no reason to cancel it since the…predicament the princess found herself in needed to remain concealed. Since you are here now, Prince Seth of Draeden, I insist you and your company attend. This will be beneficial. Murmurs of the impending treaty can be carried back to noble circles and help shield the shock of the announcement we will make when the rest of the delegation returns.”
“We would be honored to be guests at your ball,” Prince Seth accepted. “And please do not relieve Princess Claudia of her quarters. I’m sure we’ll be comfortable in whatever room is provided to us.”
King Byron nodded once. He then turned his attention to Amelie. “You and I will meet in my study. Within the hour. Dismissed.”