by Bekah Clark
He frowned at me. “That can’t be good for our eyes.”
I sighed. “Technically, it isn’t. But once we leave the village, I’ll heal your eyes.”
“And your eyes? I love your pretty shade of jade.”
“I…I don’t know. They’ll take back their color, though.”
“But?”
“But…it might damage my eyesight.”
“Permanently?”
Softly, I replied, “I don’t know. If it damages my eyesight, then the only thing that can repair it is another healer. And since your king won’t heal…I don’t know what to say.”
His jaw tightened. “We’ll figure something else out.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing to figure out. This is what we’ll do. It won’t blind me completely; I’ll still be able to function. The chances of it happening are very slim,” I lied with a skill that amazed me. “Most likely, it won’t happen. We have to do this. I need the extra food.”
I carefully left out the fact that if it did damage me, I’d be in pain for a long time. Instinctively, I knew that he’d never let me do this if he had that knowledge. He thought about it for a while, but finally, he relented. I could see it in his eyes before he even spoke.
“Fine. But only because you really need the food.”
The next day, we veered from our usual course and headed toward the nearest village. Torric was nervous—I could feel it in the tension in his arm around my waist and in the pounding of his heart against my back. I didn’t expect him to be nervous. He had taken all those wolves on with no fear. Then it struck me—he was afraid for me. I stroked his arm. “I’ll be safe. I’ll be with you.”
He clutched me to his chest. A few hours away from the village, we dropped in the aliin. It stung, and I let out a little whimper once it was over. Torric swore. Biting my bottom lip, I braced myself so that I wouldn’t make another sound. After that, I wrapped my shawl around me, making sure my tightly braided red hair was covered.
When we got to the village, it was much like Vella, with the red walls, gates, and roofs. Toward the center, I could even see a temple rising above the others. I smiled because it had a familiar feeling. But the smile soon left my face as I realized that these people would probably burn me.
When we got to the gate, I let Torric do the talking as he explained we were trading for supplies. The guards at the gate allowed us entry, and we followed the constable’s directions to the market. When we arrived, I let my eyes roam over the area. Vendors bartered with various customers, some calling out their wares, causing a cacophony of noise. I smiled brightly at Torric as he got me off the horse. Grabbing onto the reins of the packhorse, I made my way to the official apothecary. Vella used to have an apothecary until my grandmother put him out of business. Selling my wares to a reseller meant that I wouldn’t be able to get full price, but once the apothecary saw the quality of my goods, I’d still be able to get a decent one.
Delight and surprised filled me when I realized the apothecary was a woman. From her eyes, I could tell Torric enchanted her, so I introduced him as my brother.
With a relaxed smile, the woman with graying brown hair asked, “So, Torric, have you a wife at home?”
My eyes darted to him. He hadn’t mentioned one to me before, but I was curious nonetheless. His emerald eyes darted to me before he smiled at the apothecary and said, “No, I’ve not settled yet.”
Her eyes lit up. “You must come to my home after the market. My daughter, Lyla, is lovely and sweet.”
“We’d loved to,” I chimed in. I could feel Torric’s eyes on me and I suppressed the need to grin as we chatted with her for a time, and I was happy that Torric played along. Finally, we got down to business, and I was grateful because my eyes were aching by the time the money we needed was in my hand. The pain shooting through my head seemed intent on bursting forth. It took everything for me to feign wellness.
As we walked away, Torric said, “Brother?”
“It softened her up,” I replied softly.
“Yes,” he said, his voice tinged with surliness, “but now she wants us to stop by her home after the market so I can meet her daughter.”
I laughed under my breath, which was a mistake as fresh spikes of pain shot through me. Suppressing a groan, I said, “Don’t worry. We’re going to get what we need and get out of here. How are your eyes?”
“Burning.”
Worry stained his gaze as he assessed me, and I smiled, trying to convince him that I was well. Keeping my voice light, I said, “As soon as we exit the village, I’ll fix them for you.”
After that, we moved among the stalls and bought what we needed. I let Torric do most of the haggling and he was surprisingly good at it. While he did that, the throbbing in my head only increased. I had a feeling it had to do with the aliin. I silently implored whatever Spirit was listening that to make the pain wear off. But as we made our way among the stalls, it only worsened.
When we got to the end of the vendors, I assumed he was going to put me on the horse, but then he stopped. I looked up at him, confused. For a long moment, he stared at me with a contemplative gaze, and then he smiled at me. “Wait here. I forgot something.”
“What did you . . .”
Too late. He was gone.
As I waited, a couple of young men came over to me. I tried to ignore them, but they stopped and grinned down at me. I shifted nervously and then jumped when one said softly in my ear, “You’re a pretty little thing. Why are you all covered up?”
My head ringing, I attempted strength as I said, “My husband prefers me that way. He doesn’t like people looking at what’s his.”
The taller of the two leered at me. “If you were my woman, I’d show you everywhere.”
“Well, as I said—I’m married.”
The shorter man leaned close again and whispered greedily, “That’s never stopped me before.”
I stiffened and felt his hand tightly clench my upper arm. Wiggling, I tried to pull out of his grasp, but he laughed as he dragged me close to his body. Fear turned my veins to ice, and the pounding in my head increased. I braced myself and turned to him. “My husband will be here soon.”
The two of them laughed. “We’d better hurry then.”
He tugged on me to haul me away, and I gripped the reins of the horses tighter as I cried out, “Let me go!”
“What are you doing with my woman?”
The harsh roar of Torric’s voice filled me with ease. I fixed my eyes on him and smiled at the intensity of his gaze. His hand rested lightly on his sword as he glared at the two men.
Suddenly, my arm was free.
“Sorry. We didn’t know she was with you.”
Once they were out of sight, I looked up to find Torric giving me a wry grin. I tilted my head and opened my mouth to ask what he was staring at when he said, “As I said, trouble is attracted to you.”
I blushed and he lifted me into the saddle. Swinging up behind me, he hauled me close and then we quickly made our way out of the village. The moment it was out of sight, I grasped his hand to heal him. My head pounded from my stinging eyes, but I was determined he’d have a clear head. I could tell he was about to speak to stop me, but I pressed forward, letting the healing flow from me. Once his eyes were fine, the sweet oblivion of sleep reached for me and I gratefully let it take me.
Chapter Five
The first thing I noticed was the throbbing in my head. My eyes felt like grains of sand were coating them. I let out a moan and when I did, a soft hand stroked my cheek. My grimy eyes opened, and I found Torric looking down at me with worry. I tried to smile and sit up.
He pushed me back down gently. “How do you feel?”
“Like someone clubbed me over the head. I’m hungry, and I could use some tayden tea for my headache. Maybe a wet cloth for my eyes?”
He leaned close to me and stared into my eyes. He frowned. “Your eyes are jade again, but they’re bloodshot. I’ll get you a cl
oth and then I’ll get some food for you.”
“We bought some bread and cheese, too, so could you get me that to nibble on while you get the meat going?”
He laughed softly. “You do know I got us some eggs and bacon. I’m going to make you that this morning.”
I stretched with a long yawn. Flinching, I realized that was a mistake. Still, I said softly, “Sounds good.” Drawing air into my lungs, I forced myself to stand and I made my way towards the wooden boxes while Torric searched the sack of hay that contained our eggs.
“Hey, sit back down. I’ll get what you need.”
A twist of a smile flickered at my lips despite the pain. “Do you know what tayden tea looks like?”
He frowned. “No.”
“Exactly.”
Crouching down, I opened one of the boxes and rummaged through it until I found the tea. I placed a small amount into a little mesh satchel and tied it up. I was glad to find my eyesight was unaffected, even if my encrusted eyes were scratchy and my head pounded like a horse was galloping on it. I grabbed a tin cup and put the satchel into it. Sitting back down, I smiled gratefully up at Torric as he poured some hot water into the cup from our newly acquired kettle, and gave me a wet cloth. I put it on my eyes and then closed them, hoping to ease some of the pain while waiting for the tea to steep.
Soon the smell of bacon and eggs filled the air, and the promise of cold bread and cheese no longer seemed appealing. After a few moments, I gently rubbed my eyes with the wet cloth and then I started to sip the tea. I knew it wouldn’t bring immediate relief, but I also knew it would help me soon enough.
“How does that taste?”
I smiled up at him. “Bitter.”
He handed me a tin plate with surprisingly perfectly cooked scrambled eggs and bacon on it. He even had toasted some bread in the pan. Studying him, I was glad to see the emerald in his eyes had returned. Although, concern filled them and that reddened my cheeks. Instead, I focused on what was in front of me and took a bite of eggs. I let out a satisfied moan. “The tea is bitter, as it should be. The eggs, on the other hand, are divine.”
He sat next to me and dug into his own food. As I ate and drank the tea, the headache lessened but did not go. It was right behind my eyes. I had one of those rare moments where I wished I could heal myself. I needed it. My eyes traveled to Torric of their own accord and then I tore them away. I didn’t know how long this dull ache would last. I just hoped it cleared up soon.
After we ate, he gathered everything and went to the river to wash it. I burrowed into my grandmother’s quilt and sipped some more tea. I had a feeling the dull ache behind my eyes would last a few more days at least. When he returned, he broke camp, and then gently lifted me onto the horse before swinging up behind me as usual. I leaned back into him and closed my eyes.
“Why don’t you try to sleep?” he asked.
So over the course of the next few days, I slept more than I ever had in my life. I could tell Torric was worried, and so I spent part of each day reassuring him I’d be fine after some rest. When I was awake, we’d talk about the little things: I preferred cats, and he liked dogs. When I told him my favorite color was blue, he told me his favorite was jade-green. That had set my cheeks on fire. They were silly things, but I felt closer to him as we continued on our journey.
On the fourth day, I felt better. It had now been sixteen days since I left my home. I smiled. More like taken. Trouble kicked around in my heart as I realized that his kidnapping didn’t bother me anymore. I simply wasn’t sure what type of person that made me. But there were things that I understood. Torric was a powerful man who had possibly killed before, but he was gentle with me. He didn’t look upon me as some evil to tolerate. Then there was the other thing —he still hadn’t kissed me again. It took me a while, but I had come to the realization that he was trying to show me respect by not doing it again. I found myself studying his lips a great deal until I realized I was craving his kiss. I had no idea how to get him to do it again. My lack of experience made me shy.
So instead of asking him to kiss me, I leaned back into his arms to absorb the heat of his chest on my back. I held my hand over his on my waist, and I wondered what my new home would be like. Sometimes, my heart would flutter unhappily at the idea that once we were there—after I’d healed his king—I would never see him again. Whatever it was building between us eluded me. Oddly enough, a part of me hoped that whatever it was would grow and last. And that part of me desperately wished that hope wasn’t misplaced.
As we were riding, with me resting in his warm embrace, his hard body suddenly stiffened. I glanced up at him. A deep frown took his face, and his emerald eyes darted around the forest that surrounded us. I turned my own eyes toward it and glanced around. I couldn’t see anything, but the forest did seem unusually quiet. For a time, we rode on and nothing happened. After a bit, he brought the horses up to a canter and we moved quickly. As darkness fell, we continued our ride when normally we’d camp. When my stomach growled, he gave a little laugh and then pulled some bread and cheese out of the saddlebag and handed it to me. I glanced up at him. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
“When we stop for the night.”
I chewed on some seed bread and sighed softly. “Are we going to stop for the night? You seem…I don’t know. Something’s wrong.”
Leaning down, he kissed my brow and said, “Not to worry, lass. I’ll protect you.”
I thrilled at the brief contact. He smiled down at me. It was obvious that he was trying to comfort me. Make me feel safe. And as I thought about that, I started to get nervous. I gazed down the moonlit path. Quickly, I finished my food, but it sat heavily in my stomach.
At some point, I must have drifted off because I woke to him lifting me off the saddle. He held me close in his arms and I stared up at him. My eyes drifted to his full lips for a long moment before I stared up into his eyes with a deep sense of yearning. He swore softly as he gently set me down. “If you keep looking at me like that, lass, I’ll not be able to hold back from kissing you.”
“What if I don’t want you to hold—”
Capturing my lips in a rush, he drowned out my words. Heat and a deep need tracked through my veins until they ignited my core as he slowly and thoroughly kissed me. I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I shivered as he clutched me tightly to him. I was hesitant at first, but then I pressed my lips to his, shyly letting my tongue tease his mouth. His mouth opened and his tongue met mine hungrily. A soft sound escaped my throat as his hand slid down to my backside and grasped my bottom, drawing me closer to the hard length of his body. Then he slowly, languidly, gave me soft kiss after soft kiss. When it was over, my eyes opened to find him smiling down at me. My cheeks flushed and I turned away shyly. One of his hands softly took my face and angled it back toward him. Huskily, he said, “Never turn from me, Zianya. You’ve no reason to feel shy with me.”
“It’s just…I’ve never kissed anyone before you.”
He smiled and kissed my brow. “Oh, I know that. I told you the first time I kissed you I knew you were inexperienced.”
I let out a huff, and my cheeks must have turned an even darker shade of red because he laughed. “Your lack of experience with men is something I like about you, lass. Trust me when I say many men enjoy being the first with a woman. Knowing they’re the first to touch her, claim her. No need to be embarrassed. But it’s something to remind me that I need to take things slowly with you. I don’t want to overwhelm you, and I don’t want you to feel like you have no choice but to be with me.”
It was my turn to laugh before surprising myself by boldly saying, “That isn’t it. I don’t understand what it is, but I feel like being with you, in your arms, is where I was meant to be.”
He stroked my hair back. “I understand what you mean. Come on. Let’s get the camp together for the night. I want to be out of here before dawn.”
I studied him for a long moment. Then I asked, “What are you
worried about?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I sighed. “Torric, you’re worried. You may not let anything happen to me, but I worry about something happening to you.”
The tenderness of his smile had my toes tingling. It was more than just a desire to kiss him—I felt warm and safe in his arms. I adored listening to his laugh, and the idea of parting from him wounded my heart. I didn’t think I was in love with him, but I suspected that I might have been falling for him. “Don’t worry, Zianya. I’ll keep myself safe, too. After all, you need me to protect you. I don’t want to leave you alone.”
An emotion I didn’t quite recognize filled my heart, and I moved on to get dinner going while he went to get water from the nearby river. I hoped that the rest of our journey would keep us near it. As I seasoned the food, I poured my heart into singing an old tune that my grandmother used to sing to me when I was young about a warrior and his young bride and his promise to return to her. I was so into the song that I didn’t even sense Torric when he arrived with the water.
He startled me when he said, “How do you know that song?”
I glanced back at him and then returned to finish off cutting the wild chicken he’d killed earlier into chunks before I answered, “My grandmother used to sing it to me. Why?”
“That song comes from Glane. My mother used to sing it all the time.”
I took the pot of water from him and smiled. “Just more evidence that my healer great-grandmother came from there. I’m pretty sure my grandmother learned it from her.”
After he finished off the cooking, we ate sitting very close to one another. I could feel his warmth all down my right side where our bodies touched. However, he didn’t kiss me again. I suspected he didn’t want to spook me. What he didn’t realize was that his earlier kiss had only made me long for more.
When we finished, he took everything to wash by the river. I pulled out my grandmother’s quilt—which was looking a little worse for wear—and wrapped myself up in it.