He shrugged one broad shoulder and said, “As did I.”
I cleared my throat. “They’ll be worried about us if we do not return soon.”
He pushed off the tree and held a hand out for me. I had taken his hand or his elbow countless times before, but this time, I couldn’t help but feel frightened. And I had every right to.
For as soon as my fingers touched his palm, energy danced up my arm and settled in my stomach, setting butterflies flying and my heart racing. I jumped back. Taelon didn’t let go. He held onto my hand, pulling me closer to him.
“Tessana, you are by far the most exquisite sight I have ever beheld. I believe I will never forget you on that cliff. I will never lose the image of your hair blowing in the breeze, your cape stretched out behind you, your arms flung to the side. I am afraid you have so imprinted this image in my mind that I will compare all other beauty to you. You stole my breath, my reason. You are enchanting. Beyond anything I could have imagined you would become.” My chin trembled as his thumb brushed over my bottom lip. “Where did you go up there? What were you thinking?”
My chest lifted with the effort to breathe. His words soaked into my skin and heated my blood until I was worried it would turn to fire and consume me from the inside out. “I think I went somewhere else entirely. I think I might have become something else entirely,” I admitted.
He leaned in. “Stay with me, here. Stay where I can protect you from your uncle and the Ring of Shadows and all of the other terrifying beasts in this world.”
I blinked up at him, my lashes heavy with droplets of water. His face looked so earnest and I knew his heart; I could feel it in the pulsing around me, in the depth of his tone and flashing of his eyes. He would protect me. He would do anything to keep me safe. But that wasn’t my destiny.
I reached for Taelon and spread my hand along the harsh line of his jaw. “You ask me these things knowing I must return. You, of all people, know I cannot stay safely hidden while the realm burns.”
He leaned into my hand. “Somehow when you’re around, I forget about everything else. The rest of the realm’s problems seem to disappear until there’s only you, shining so brightly.”
I smiled. I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t sure if Taelon had intended to make me fall for him so completely, but he had.
“But you agree with me. We must see to the realm. We must right all of these wrongs.”
He nodded, letting my hand scrape along his short scruff. His eyes opened and I sucked in a sharp breath at the full intensity of those sapphire eyes. “When will you leave?”
“Tomorrow if I can.”
His jaw flexed but he did not argue. “I shall ride with you then. And my guard. The road to Elysia is not an easy one. And more, you’ll need my word to see your uncle. The crown will not be enough.”
“Alright,” I consented. “And you’ll be ready tomorrow morning?”
“Whenever you need me, Tessa, I will be ready.”
My spirit swelled. “Thank you, Taelon. Thank you for all that you have done for me.”
One side of his mouth kicked up in a cocky half smile. “Does this mean I’m forgiven for all my deceit?”
I laughed and jumped from his arms. “Absolutely not!” I declared. “I shall never forgive you for that! You shall pay penance for the rest of your life, Rebel King.”
He followed me to the horse. “Then so be it! I will gladly pay penance to the Queen of the Realm if only to have a reason to spend time in her presence for as many days as she’ll let me.”
I turned around and pressed a hand to his chest to keep him from coming any closer. “Your talk is as sweet as honey, Arrick the Rebel. And yet, I’m afraid that only I can see the ways in which you move those around you like pawns on a chessboard. You are truly a master of your craft.”
His grin widened. “And what craft is that?”
My eyes narrowed. “Duplicity.”
His hand landed on his chest, resting over mine. “And what reason would I have for a duplicitous nature?”
“I suppose you could throw around your authority. But I think you find it much easier to get what you want when people follow you willingly.”
His chuckle was low and dark. “Maybe,” he relented. “But I also find it equally as satisfying to take what I want.”
I took a step back, feeling the threat whisper over my skin. But it was too late. I had fallen right into his trap and I hadn’t even noticed the set up.
His hands reached for my waist and dragged me to him where his mouth met mine in a culmination of passion. I sighed into him feeling as though I had been waiting my entire life for this kiss. Feeling as though every minute we were apart and then together had drawn us to this one moment.
He kissed me and everything I thought I knew about my life and the world and what was in it was tipped upside down and utterly rearranged.
Taelon’s mouth moved against mine and I could not help but lean into him and learn everything he offered to teach. His lips were soft against mine and I reveled in them until his tongue swept over my bottom lip.
I gasped at the sensation, and he invaded my mouth, taking our kiss to a new, thrilling precipice. I did not know it was possible to be so hungry for someone else.
Greedy for them.
He kissed me under the starlight so thoroughly I could not stand up on my own. My hands clutched his tunic until he pressed me tightly to him and my arms were forced around his neck, clinging to him willingly.
He kissed me until I was sure that this was the moment I would compare all others to.
And when at last he pulled away, I knew I would never be the same. I was more of a woman than I had ever been.
I was more of a human than I had ever been.
His kiss was a gift that I would treasure for the rest of my life.
We rode back to his palace silently with one of his arms wrapped around my waist and my back resting against his chest. I knew we had no future.
But we had this night.
And on the eve before I walked straight through the gates of Denamon, I could not have asked for a better taste of Amenon.
22
True to his word, Taelon escorted Oliver and me from Desmondin first thing the next morning. We were accompanied by a large caravan of riders, nearly all the Soravalian Royal Guard.
Hugo and Anatal saw us off, the three younger Treskinats standing dutifully by their side. I kissed Rosabella’s cheeks and made her promise to come visit me as soon as her parents said yes.
Anatal had tears in her eyes when she hugged me goodbye. “Stay safe, Tessana,” she whispered against my cheek. “We need you to do what your father could not.”
I swallowed thickly and held back a deluge of tears. But I promised what I could. “I will try, Your Majesty. With everything that I am.”
She held me at arm’s length and nodded. I was taken aback by the trust in her cerulean eyes. She hardly knew the woman I’d become. Her hope was in my bloodline.
Hugo took my hand and promised to come to Elysia as soon as state matters would let him leave. Or until he was summoned. Whichever came first.
Oliver and I rode in one of Hugo’s finest carriages. I had only glimpsed Taelon as he said goodbye to his parents and siblings. He’d shot me a roguish wink.
The man was incorrigible.
I had expected him to ride in the carriage with us now that he wasn’t hiding behind the hood of Rebel Commander, but when the carriage lurched into motion, I realized he must be riding up front with his guard.
Inside the carriage our travel was as comfortable as could be expected. The wheels moved smoothly over the highways as we sped by the Crystal Sea and worked our way further inland.
After three days of uneventful yet grueling travel, the sparse cliffs of Soravale gave way to the towering black cedars of the Tellekane Forest once more. We would skirt the boundary for only a little while before we crossed into Elysia at the tip of the northern corner that butted up against Teno
via and Soravale.
I became more nervous the closer to home we drove. After all our methods of travel during the last few months, this ornate carriage with its plush cobalt seating and royal crest carved onto the side should have been relaxing.
Instead, the walls of the coach seemed to shrink in on me. Elysia loomed as an uncertain, treacherous presence that took up most of the air. I struggled to sit still or sleep. I couldn’t seem to catch a full breath.
I hardly saw Taelon over the journey. He stayed near the front of the caravan and led his men. Often, when the convoy stopped for supper, I found him road-weary but focused. This leg of our journey weighed on him more than it had when we were with his Rebel Army. Now that I had made my identity known, the threat to my safety drove us forward.
Another four days in the carriage and the landscape began to change once again. The forests thinned and the black oaks all but disappeared, replaced with the piney, needle-covered fir trees of the Diamond Mountains.
Scooting to the edge of my seat, I pulled back the window coverings to see the shadowy peaks of the greatest mountains in the realm. They seemed to be calling me home.
Home. The word whispered over my skin and pulsed in my blood.
“Oliver,” I squeaked. “There! You can see Elysia!”
Oliver opened one eye and stared at the window. “Gray,” he grunted. “I simply see gray.”
I smiled at the window. “You see the distant mountains and it is overcast, but I can assure you, Elysia is not gray. It sparkles like the Light. The mountains are so filled with diamonds that when the sun shines on them during midday it hurts your eyes to stare at them. And the villages! The people believe if you use the rock of the land, it will bring you good luck, so in between the stones and wood of the houses are gems and diamonds that bring color and life to the land. There is not a prettier kingdom in the realm. I can promise you that.”
Oliver reluctantly opened both eyes and slid across from me so we could share the same window. “It is overcast,” he allowed.
But there was doubt in his voice, too. Doubt that spread through the cabin like a plague. We drove through a village close to the Elysian border. I wanted to blame Soravale for the neglect it showed its people and towns, but I couldn’t.
I didn’t believe Hugo or Taelon would knowingly let their villages fall into such disrepair. But there was no denying that something grave had overcome this place.
Unlike in Tenovia, the village hadn’t burned to the ground. It was more like the color had been leached from it. The houses were drab. Windows were broken and roofs unpatched. I saw not a soul as we passed through. No heads peeked from windows. No doors were thrown open as the royal caravan rumbled by. It was as though the village had been abandoned. Or the villagers were hiding from us.
Neither scenario made sense. Border towns were often the richest because they had the best of both kingdoms nearby. This village sat in close proximity to three. It had easy access to the fishing industry in Soravale, the timber from Tenovia, and the wealth of Elysia.
“What happened here?” Oliver asked.
“This is not right,” I agreed.
Oliver shook his head. His eyebrows scrunched together over his nose. “Do you think war?”
“But war with whom?” I watched agape as we drove by fields that were nothing but mud and weeds. In midsummer, the crops should have been well on their way to harvest.
We continued to watch as the landscape grew more desolate. Fields covered with ravens stretched for miles. A few of the birds lifted their heads to watch us pass by. Their beady eyes fixated on us without a hint of fear.
A shiver slithered through me. I knew better than to think they were watching us. Although their heads turned as we moved forward.
“Did you see that?” I asked Oliver.
“Is that the wall?” His gaze was fixed forward. He hadn’t paid any attention to the birds.
“That is the wall,” I answered. “Or it’s supposed to be.”
“What do you mean?”
I ignored Oliver’s question and stared at the stretching barrier that used to gleam as bright and shining as any of our mountains. Time had dimmed the stark beauty of the stones that built it ages ago, but it had never looked quite so dim, quite so lackluster.
This wall had been a symbol of both past and present for thousands of years. Before the kingdoms were united, the realm was ravaged by war. This wall had protected Elysia from total annihilation.
My ancestor, King Allister Allisand, had built the fortification. It had taken thirty grueling years of constant labor while war raged all around. He chose the hardest rock known, found deep within the mountains. The stones were said to be unbreakable.
When it was finished, the wall stood strong and thick, declaring to all other kingdoms that Elysia would not be invaded, would never give in to the demands of lesser kingdoms.
And so, when the eight other kingdoms realized they would never cross into Elysia, they would never have our diamonds or the center seat of the realm, the highest pinnacle of power, they began to negotiate peace.
Allister was recognized as the wisest, most powerful king in the realm and given a place of honor among the newly allied. The nine kingdoms would be united, from Blackthorne to Heprin, but one kingdom would rule above all others: Elysia.
When war ended, the religion of the Light was adopted as the religion of the realm, since their chief belief was peaceful living. But they also denounced magic both white and dark, so magic was banned.
The Crown of Nine had been passed from one Allisand to the next, down Allister’s bloodline one hundred times. Until my father had been brutally murdered and the Seat of Power handed over to my uncle, my mother’s brother, and a man who was not an Allisand, but a Fennick.
Tyrn Fennick.
“Huh,” Oliver sighed. “I can’t help but be disappointed, Tessana. I have always heard such grandiose things about the wall. That the wall looked like a diamond, stretching on and on in both directions as far as the eye could see and that the wall glistened so brightly in the noonday sun that it could blind you.”
“That is how it was when I left,” I told him. I knew it was not his fault the wall looked as worn as it did. But I had only been gone eight years. Now it did not look impenetrable or intimidating or formidable. Now it looked ordinary. Long and tall, maybe. But nothing a battering ram couldn’t crumble.
I found it only a little heartening that it took several hours to get through the gate. The guards seemed as thorough as ever.
At last, they inspected the carriages. My heart pounded as they tore through mine, dislodging Oliver and I until they were satisfied that the interior held no secrets. They moved to our luggage next, throwing our clothes on the ground and in the short, muddied grass along the side of the road.
One of the guards turned toward me, a burly man with a long black beard. “You have little possessions for a highborn.” I bit my tongue. His manner and speech were inappropriate, but it would do no good to call him on it.
Taelon and I had decided before we set out that my identity would not be disclosed until we were inside the palace. It was imperative that we kept my bloodline and the crown a secret until we knew we were safe within the walls.
“The rest of our trunks are behind us.”
“And that?” His gaze darted to the satchel still positioned over my chest and at my hip.
“My purse?” I asked innocently. “It’s filled with only the things a lady would need.”
He grunted. “The style does not seem very ladylike.”
I swallowed back frustration. “I assure you it is.”
“Let me see,” he ordered.
I stepped forward, but the guard grabbed the purse, pulling me right along with him, before I could hand it over. I yelped, but he didn’t seem to notice. Instead growled, “This doesn’t look like any purse I’ve ever seen.”
He had a point.
While I tried to stutter through a reply, Oliv
er stepped up next to me and explained. “Oh, it’s all the rage in Heprin. All the well to do ladies are wearing them. But perhaps the fashion hasn’t made it quite this far yet.”
The guard reached into the satchel and let out a curse. He pulled his hand back, shaking his finger. “Bloody hell! Something bit me!”
“Oh!” I pulled Shiksa from the pack. “Sorry. It’s my fox.”
His forehead turned into folds of wrinkles, “Your fox?”
I held Shiksa up. “She’s a pet.”
“She’s a nuisance,” he snarled. “Hold her so I can check your purse, or I shall teach her not to bite by roasting her for dinner.”
I cupped Shiksa with two hands and clutched her against my chest. Both proud of her and afraid for her. If he so much as tried to touch my kitling, I would cut off his hand and make him eat that instead.
The guard’s fingers brushed the outline of the secret compartment and I thought my heart would explode. I felt Taelon’s eyes on me and the watchful stares of his royal guard as they waited for the Elysian soldier to finish his search.
The guard reached deeper into my satchel. His fingers bumped again at the false base and I closed my eyes, readying for the inevitable discovery.
Oliver snorted a disgusted sound and said, “Unfortunately, I think Elysia has a lot to learn from Heprin. Crop management for instance.”
The guard withdrew his hand from my satchel to grab Oliver by the throat. “Insult Elysia one more time,” the guard challenged. “See how long you survive inside that wall.”
Oliver’s hands flew up in a staged show of fear. “I meant no harm!” he swore. “Elysia is of course the gem of the realm. She’s beautiful. Really. That wall? I’ve never seen anything quite that splendid!”
The guard snorted and huffed like a bull getting ready to charge. His fist drew back and I knew Oliver was in for it now.
“Is there a problem?” Taelon’s deep voice cut through the tension.
The guard’s eyes lifted to the crown prince of Soravale and he immediately dropped Oliver on the dusty ground. “This man insulted the Seat of Power.”
Crown of One Hundred Kings (Nine Kingdoms Trilogy Book 1) Page 20