by L. J. Stock
“Okay. Anything else?” I teased, my fingers tangling in the collar of his shirt. He knew what I was waiting for.
“Rasmus has told the stable hands to have Dunamis ready in the morning. If you have to get away, he's the fastest thing on four legs, and we'd both feel better knowing you have a head start should something go down.”
“You're worried?”
“No, just vigilant. I don't like you going out there without me.”
“Then come.”
Damon leaned forward, his lips pressing against the tip of my nose as his hands cupped my neck. “You know I can't, but you could postpone it.”
“You know I can't do that. If the test case is successful we'll be implementing it in more towns and giving the people the tools to teach the other villages and hamlets around theirs. If it's not working, we have to go back and fix the problems. The sooner we get that done, the better.”
“I understand,” he whispered, his thumbs rubbing along my jaw with reverence. “I just hate that you'll be so far out of reach.”
“I know. It feels wrong to not have you with me.”
“Then stay,” he breathed out again, his lips brushing against mine.
Ignoring his words, I gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him closer, my lips pushing against his until I finally received the reaction I’d wanted from him. He pressed me against the door with his body as his kiss turned hungry, and his warmth spread through me like a slow burning fire.
The whole world seemed to fall away from around us until it was just he and I. We clung to one another with a quiet desperation that I couldn't even begin to explain. I just knew that here, like this, I was home. His lips moved from mine and traveled down the column of my neck, and my body moved with him, my hands pulling him ever closer because I just couldn't get enough.
I could never get enough of him.
“We should stop,” he whispered against my skin. “Every night it gets harder to walk away from you.”
“And you don't think it gets harder for me?” I mumbled. “I hate that this is the one archaic law they cling to. The one thing my mother seems to be behind a hundred percent.”
“Cass...”
“I know,” I muttered, my fingers tracing a seam on his shirt. “But it's times like this that I resent the law. It's like hiding our feelings all over again.”
“Except I can do this now.” He pressed his lips against mine with such fervor I could barely feel my legs. My body ached for him and I was about ready to snap when he pulled back and stumbled a step away from me. “Goodnight, beautiful.”
I just stared at him as the smirk curled his lips.
“Dream about me.” He grinned.
Bastard. I always did.
Every night he was there in my subconscious doing things to my body that were forbidden before marriage. It tormented me to the point of restlessness, and I knew that tonight would be no different. I needed an early night because we were riding out early, and now I was going to be subjected to a restless night of tossing and turning as my lips tingled from the memory of that kiss. I couldn't fathom how it was possible to love and hate someone all in the same breath. I blew him a kiss on my middle finger and sent him on his way as I pushed open my heavy door.
Tomorrow was not going to be fun.
Chapter Three
I woke up to the sensation of someone grabbing my toes.
As I stretched slowly, I felt the weight of my fatigue lingering in my joints. It felt like I'd only been asleep for five minutes. I already had that telltale lethargic ache in my body, which was accompanied by stinging eyes and a foggy brain. It didn't help that it was still dark outside. It was a time of the day that no one should bear witness to in my opinion. I groaned in protest and rolled over, pulling my pillow over my head and burying myself further in the blankets to escape the next attempt to rouse me. I'd cheated and brought bedding over from our dimension when I’d decided to make Mortisali my home. There were certain luxuries I wasn’t quite ready to give up, and high thread count Egyptian cotton surrounding me was one of those things. I blamed Alexa for my new obsession with Egyptian cotton, but then I blamed her for most things.
“Up and at them, sleepy head,” Melody sang, removing the pillow from my head and smacking me with it playfully. Cracking one eye only made me want to swear at her. She was fresh faced and smiling down at me sadistically.
“How long have you been up?” I groaned.
“An hour. If you get up and ready now you will be in time to ride out at sunrise.”
“You've lost your damn mind, woman,” I grumbled as she laughed at me. I had no idea how she could get up and be so cheerful, but it never failed. She was there every morning with her smile and sunny disposition. I didn't mind so much when I'd slept well, or somehow managed to cheat my body into ignoring being all worked up because of Damon. Unfortunately, mornings like this made it impossible. I was still too groggy to appreciate her good mood.
Leaving me alone for a while, Melody tended to the other things she needed to do. It was only a matter of time before she came back, so I forced myself into full consciousness and tried to rid myself of the tiredness that had already enveloped me.
“I’ve poured you a hot bath,” she called out from the bathroom. “I figured it would be better to ease those muscles of yours before the long ride.”
“Did I ever tell you how much I love you?” I asked, kicking back the covers and grinning at her as she stuck her head around the door. “Promise me you'll never leave.”
“You're in luck. I actually love the lady I work for, even if she wears a rather unhappy disposition in the mornings.”
I padded toward the bathroom with bare feet, and shooed her from the room before I stripped off my underwear and well-worn t-shirt before crawling into the hot water and sinking low. I kept my mind clear and focused. Translocating had become so easy for me now that I could go with hardly a thought, so I had to be careful of who and what I was thinking about when I was submerged like I was. I'd had enough accidents to be watchful of what I was doing now.
“Cass, Rasmus is here for your bags,” Melody announced with a quiet knock. “Stay in the bathroom for a moment, please.”
It never ceased to amaze me how the staff around me had acclimated to my way of speaking and acting. A lot of the former propriety had been dropped, and it would slip in less and less these days making our interactions feel much more natural.
“You got it,” I mumbled, closing my eyes and relaxing a little more. It was a pain in the ass riding out to these things. The roads were rough and bumpy with little in the way of relief. It would have been much easier to travel through our elements, but there were spies everywhere. One sighting of me using water with the amount of guards I had with me, and it would alert our enemy to who I potentially was. Just using one of my inherited elements in an official capacity would be enough to convince any enemy spies watching that I was the princess. Riding out with the party meant that I could hide in pain sight. There was nothing extraordinary about me when I traveled in the group. As much as I hated the rough longevity of the routine travel and the underdeveloped paths, it was a necessity. I had already witnessed one of my decoys being murdered because of my need to travel to our destination faster and I’d sworn it would never happen again.
I could have stayed immersed in the heat of the water for hours but the hands of the clock weren’t waiting on me, so I climbed out of the tub the moment my ruminations turned somber. The short-lived relaxation was gone and my thoughts were firmly on the ride to the village. It was only a day’s journey, twelve hours at the most, but it was far enough away that I would have to at least stay for a night or two in order to do what I needed. That would put me and my companions at risk. It was the seriousness of what could go down that sobered me from my morning's fatigue and cleared the fog from my head.
“Is he gone, Mel?”
“Yes, but now your Damon is here. Let me bring your things to you.”
She appeared before I could even get out the rest of the sentence. Her cheeks were flushed pink and I could see the light in her eyes glowing. I could only deduce that Aric had accompanied Damon. He was the only person I’d come across that could make her look like she was fifteen and in love for the first time.
“If you wish to dress, I will come back to braid your hair.”
“No, it’s fine.” I sighed, pulling the riding dress she'd made for me from her hands. I sorted through the pile and dressed slowly, finally falling into the vanity stool and letting her nimble fingers get to work with little complaint. “We have interviews with four women set up for the two ladies in waiting positions. I figure you need more help around here. I asked Evander to include you in the interview process for them because you're going to be the one bossing them around, and they need to be competent.”
“Yes, well I apologize about the last two, but they just weren't cut out for the job.”
“The way I see it, you’re the one who has to work with them. Evander keeps throwing this crap at me and asking for my decision on the matter, but you're the one who needs to have the final say. So doing the interviews together is the best way to get what we need, and want.”
“Did Evander happen to say who he had in mind?”
“There were two vis liberi, and two former ladies of the queen. Apparently, the duchess they worked for was a very jealous woman, and they probably caught the eye of her husband.”
“Martha and Poppy?”
I tried to remember the names, but came up blank. Damon had been distracting me, I was sure of it. Looking at her in the mirror, I raised an eyebrow in question. “I guess. You know them?”
“Yes, I know them both. Martha is lovely, loyal and hardworking, but Poppy...” She trailed off. “I don't think she has what it takes to do this job. She's faint-hearted and disloyal. It doesn't surprise me that the duchess released her from duty.”
“Well, it's your show.” I grinned and she tucked the tail of my braid in at the nape of my neck. “You have to be comfortable working with them and confident in their abilities.”
“We'll deal with it when the time comes,” she sighed. “For now we must concentrate on the trip. Are you excited?”
“A little. I'm excited to see how they fared, but I'm not looking forward to the ride out there.”
She nodded thoughtfully, and I could see she wasn't exactly excited to be riding out either. She hated seeing these villages we visited because so many of them reminded her of her home. I'd once had to console her because she'd thought about how her life would have been without her job in the palace. I reminded her then that she'd always have her place with me.
“Knock-knock,” Damon called out, his hand rapping the wood of the door as he spoke.
“You can come in.”
He pushed inside with a grin, looking as tired as I felt. The only difference was he'd get to go back to bed once we left and move around the palace at will.
“Ras and Aric are waiting for the two of you downstairs with the other guard.”
“Well, the princess is ready to go. I have to retrieve a few things from my room and I will meet you down there,” Melody said quietly, offering me a wink in the mirror. She was giving me some time alone with Damon before I had to leave. I could have kissed her for it.
“Thanks, Mel.” I smiled with a genial nod.
“You're very welcome. I will see you by the horses.”
Damon gave her a nod as she passed and stepped further into the room, his fingers touching all of the little things that lined the surface of my vanity. I knew he was working up to saying something. We had a very honest relationship and when he was coy like this it meant there was something he wanted to say that he knew I wasn't going to like.
“Spit it out, handsome.” I laughed, giving myself one last check in the mirror before getting up. I pulled my riding gloves from their drawer and pulled them on slowly. “I know you have something to say, and I know you think I'm not going to like it. The hard part’s over with, so come on with the rest.”
“Don't go.”
“Damon...”
“No. I know I keep saying that, and mostly I was joking, but it doesn't feel right. Not today.”
I leaned against the counter in front of him and cupped his cheek, resentful of the leather that had created a barrier between us. I hated that he worried so much, but this was the first time I was going anywhere for a significant length of time without him. I didn't feel much better about the whole thing, but I wanted to get the trip out of the way. If my theory worked, the people would have a better life, even in this war-torn state, and we could begin implementing the changes elsewhere.
“I know it doesn't. Believe me. I hate going without you as well, but the sooner this is done, the sooner I get back. If this works, you know what that could mean for the people. This could be that one step closer to making things better for everyone.”
“Is it worth risking your life?” he asked, gripping my waist where the bodice met the skirt.
“Don’t ask me that, Damon. The army have been doing checks along that road for days. I'll be fine.”
Damon went quiet, his eyes holding mine. They were so much darker than normal, which told me he was absolutely serious about this gut feeling of his. It wasn't like I was trying to be defiant and headstrong. I had many of the same fears he had, but the people in this dimension were suffering when they didn’t have to. If I made decisions on the basis that I could be in danger I would never go anywhere. There would always be some threat standing in my way, and I couldn't be locked up in the palace forever.
I didn’t need a reminder that my part in the prophecy was important. I knew my life was constantly in danger. I could admit I felt safer when Damon was with me, but I also knew I would be well protected. I had Ras and Aric with me as well as a large portion of the Mortisalian army.
“Fine. If you insist on going, at least take my sword with you.”
“Why yours?”
“Because I'll feel better knowing it could save your life.”
“You're such a romantic... In a twisted medieval kind of way.” I chortled, leaning forward to press my lips to his. “And I love you.”
“I love you, too, which is why I wish you would stay.”
“They call that emotional blackmail,” I teased, letting my leather-covered fingers trail over his jaw.
“Did it work?”
I smiled and shook my head. I needed to go, otherwise it would never be the right time. I dropped my hand to pick up one of his that was still against the bodice of my dress and started out the door, tugging on him to follow.
Taking our time as we made the most of our time alone together, Damon and I made our way to the pavilion where Dunamis was saddled and waiting for me with the rest of our party. Ras and Aric were already mounted and in position, and I could see Melody climbing into the carriage filled with everything we'd need while we were at the test village. We also had one of the palace suasors with us. Thankfully, due to safety issues, we didn't have to deal with the royal carriage that was ostentatious and flew the royal standard, which was a dead giveaway. Being incognito always worked out better for me. And my decoys
Damon brushed his hand down the stallion’s neck gently as he watched me check all of the tack. It wasn't that I didn't trust the stable staff; checking my own equipment was more habit than anything.
“Promise me you won't be a hero if something happens,” he said under his breath. “At the first sign of trouble, you get out and you run like hell is at your heels.”
“You know I can't promise you that, Damon. I can promise to try, but if it's impossible then I will fight for my life and run the moment I can.”
“That's all I needed to hear.” He sighed, pulling me close to kiss me goodbye. “Stay safe and listen to Ras and Aric. They know what they're doing.”
“Yes, Mom,” I teased as he bent down to wrap his hand aro
und my shin before pushing me up and into my saddle. “I will be the image of responsibility.”
He spent a while putting things in my saddlebag and sheathing his sword in the scabbard of my saddle. Once he was done, he stepped back and looked up at me, and I could see he still wasn't comfortable with my leaving without him.
“I love you.”
“And I love you. I'll see you soon.” I smiled, nudging Dunamis forward.
Damon's eyes flickered to Rasmus, who nodded once, his face more serious than I'd seen it in a long time. Apparently, Damon had spoken to everyone, and I was beginning to wonder if he was threatening lives if I came back with a misplaced hair on my head.
Our party made their way out of the back courtyard and into the early morning haze that hung over the rolling fields surrounding us. The sun was barely emitting a glow on the horizon, and I knew at least Melody would be happy we'd be getting to see it.
The first hour of the ride was endured in sleepy silence. The morning air was filled with the rattle of tack and the gentle creak of leather that seemed to be paired well with the progress of the hooves falling in a pattern all of their own on the dirt road. The occasional whinny or snort of breath and the steady rumble of the wheels on the path were the only other sounds from our party as we traveled.
The countryside was so peaceful and uneventful that I could have slept, especially with the gentle and constant bounce of the animal below me. I knew he'd rather be running, but I was impressed with the way he kept his patience and moved with the other horses, only occasionally nodding his head to keep momentum.
“You look bored,” Rasmus said from beside me as I swatted a fly away from my face and I couldn't help but turn to look at him. The truth of it was poor Dunamis couldn't have deviated from the path if he'd wanted to because I had guards on either side of me, and a cavalry surrounding them.
“Your powers of observation are outstanding,” I teased. We were heading toward another forest and as much as I loved nature, our scenery would be nothing but a wall of trees for a while. “You know any travel games?”