by Aimee Moore
Fireflies floated around him, trapped in a net of time. He reached one hand to me and pulled me to my feet.
“There are very few things in life that I would stop time for, Sera.”
“Like what?” I whispered with a smile, glee rising up in me for the man who could, in fact, stop time.
Dal pulled me against him. “You wish a demonstration.”
“I wouldn't stop you.”
Dal smiled down at me, pulling me close for a kiss. His arms and chest bunched and tensed with rigid control, and it sent a primal thrill down to my belly as his tongue brushed mine. I wanted to experience him without the control, the Kraw warrior that took what he wanted.
I trembled on the kiss, and Dal pulled away to look at me, brow furrowed, searching my face.
I swallowed, wondering what I was getting myself into with the request I wanted to make. Fear tingled in my chest. Fear of finding myself being taken by a Kraw warrior who lost himself in the same lust that took him during battle.
But he had promised he would never hurt me.
My voice shook as I said “Show me, Dal. Show me what you're holding back.”
A long breath seemed to span between us.
“You are sure?” He asked.
I nodded, putting every ounce of my trust into my eyes.
A strange look passed Dal's face, and he curled his fingers into my hair and tilted my head back so that he could kiss and nip at my neck. My body was weak with excitement.
“You are not ready,” he growled at my throat. Another bite, another shocking thrill ran through me. “You cannot yet find enjoyment in what you ask for.” A sucking sensation on my collar bone as the large hand held my head back, strong and steady. I shivered.
“But you will,” he said.
His hand left my hair and he picked me up and set me on the bench, pulling my dress down and helping himself to the tender flesh of my breasts. I was already trembling and ready, and I let Dal's ministrations wash through me like a harsh and unforgiving storm soaking a rocky shore.
When he reached a hand up under my dress and found the throbbing part of me that teetered on the edge of release, I came undone quickly, sagging against the large arm holding me up.
After my tremors had subsided, Dal lifted me and turned me over to bend over the bench, my back side facing him. I was warm and relaxed and excited all over again as he began to pull my dress up. I had never done this before and I forged ahead with reckless glee.
But when he entered me from behind, all new sensations took me over. Every thrust was completely different, filling me in newer, more exciting ways than before. Dal's large hands grabbed my hips as he drove into me, and I took all of him with greed. Being filled completely this way, each thrust was ecstasy, and each time I was pressed harder against the bench it sent a thrill deep into my bones.
As his movements became more urgent, my feet left the ground, and Dal's breathing intensified as he lifted me by my hips. My body was a strung wire, tense and ready curl into plucked release. Dal slammed into me twice more and let off a deep moan, and my own climax took me by surprise as well, stars obscuring my vision as wave after exquisite wave of pleasure washed through me.
My feet met the ground again, and my dress was righted with care. My knees wobbled and my breath shook. Thick arms braced on each side of me, and Dal kissed my bare shoulder as he caught his breath.
I wanted to collapse against the stone bench and pool at its base. “Wow,” I whispered.
A soft laugh met my ear as Dal's warmth left my back then. I turned to see him making himself presentable once more, and I did the same, turning to sit on the bench as I did so. Dal sat next to me with a long sigh, helping me fix my dress in the parts that were hard to reach. His large hands were clumsy with delicate human things, but he managed.
“Thank you,” I said, turning to look up at him.
Dal gave a single nod and turned to the flower I had brushed earlier. It was still rising, slowly back to its original position. He plucked the crimson bloom from the tree and stuck it over my ear. I ran a finger down the petals next to my eye and smiled.
“That was… incredible,” I said.
“You learn fast.”
The light left Dal's eyes then, and time resumed its normal march forward. The lightning bugs buzzed about as if they'd never been slowed, and the flowers waved about sweetly in the breeze. I leaned against my warrior, and his arm came around me. “I’d never imagined anything so enchanting,” I whispered, watching the lightning bugs.
Dal kissed the top of my head and stood. “Come.”
“Where are we going?” I rose.
“There is more enchantment to see this night.” At that, Dal ducked through the greenery, leading me through a series of twisting trails of lush leaves, fragrant blooms, and even some exotic creatures stalking us in the night. Finally, after nearly twenty minutes of walking, Dal stood aside and held away a leaf nearly as large as him. I stepped under it and found fine white sand pushing up at my slippers. I gasped at the sight before me.
The waxing moon, performing its spectacular show through the curtains of clouds, was sending wave after wave of sparkling light into the endless ocean. Somewhere, far away, the glinting waves met the winking of the stars. I fell to my knees as the sea breeze kissed my skin, sending tendrils of red away from my face.
Nothing in my life could have prepared me for the wondrous sight before me. I thought I would never leave Lambston to see it, and here I was, on my knees in sand so fine it could have been powdered diamonds, smelling the salt air, watching the moon kiss unfathomable ocean waves.
“Dal, it's exquisite,” I whispered. The crash of the waves and the breeze nearly drowned my words, but Dal had heard anyway.
“Come, let us find your ship,” he said, reaching a hand down to me to pull me up.
I looked up at him and smiled as I took his hand. Taking of my shoes, we padded through the lumpy white sand. I reveled in the way each tiny grain shifted between my toes. Delicate shells adorned the beach here or there, and I stooped to pick each of the striated treasures up. When we got to the shore, I let the waves lap at my toes, and I couldn't help the silly grin that spread across my face.
“How many oceans have you seen, Dal?”
“Too many to remember. Most are very much alike. Though this one is appealing, I have been on one that boasted a moon of orange and sand of the deepest blue.”
“This is the only ocean I have ever seen and I will remember it forever,” I said as I bent to pick up a whorled shell. They were overflowing in my fingers now.
“You cannot carry them all,” Dal said, a smile plucking at his mouth.
“I wish I could.”
“Hold still.”
He bent down to grasp an inner layer of my dress. With easy strength, Dal tore one of the layers of gauzy white away. No one would be any wiser that the dress had been tampered with, as it had an obnoxious amount of fluff under the skirt. He tied the corners together to fashion a sack of sorts for me, and I loaded all of my treasures into the bag.
“Thank you,” I said.
Dal gave a single nod and we walked on.
“Do you not wish a bath, Dal?”
“Humans watch from the towers and the water will chill you this night. We shall postpone.”
We walked on for a time, and I became more selective in the treasures I picked up, exclaiming over new shapes and colors. Dal seemed to enjoy watching me.
“What are you going to say to the council?” I asked as the waves tickled my toes.
“They will want to know Kraw weakness so that they can eliminate the opposition.”
I gave a small laugh. “Wait, don't say it. Kraw do not have weakness.”
Dal smiled at me. “There are very few weaknesses of Kraw warriors. You must take care, for they will see you as my weakness and try to use you accordingly.”
“Nothing can ever be easy,” I said with a frown.
“There will be q
uestions that are hard to answer. They will expect complete betrayal of my race, for if anything less than the path to total victory leaves my lips, they will become suspicious. I may find that they are not so different from Patroma.”
I furrowed my brow at the sparkling sand. Our situations were now reversed, and his Patroma was five arrogant men with powers unknown to us. I put a hand on Dal's arm. “I am sorry I've put you in such a hard position. I didn’t give it enough thought.”
“Do not worry for me. I knew what chained me as I entered its den. What prowess I lack in combat I make up in strategy.”
“Yes, that mind of yours is a weapon of its own,” I said.
Dal gave a soft laugh. “It is a shame that my mind has only one obstacle now.”
“And what could that possibly be?”
“How to get you to the leyline so that you may destroy it. I cannot guess where it is, nor see its energy. It is well hidden.”
I let out a large sigh, lost to the roaring shore. “I don't even know how to control my power that well yet, Dal. I don't know what to do.”
“You do know what to do. Trust in yourself as I trust in you. I sense that Mindrik was correct in the advice he has given you.”
I stopped, looking out over the vast waves as my pale blue dress blew around me. The greatness of the sea in front of me was humbling. I frowned out at the distant line where moonlit waves kissed starlit skies. I was so small compared to all of this, there was no way I had enough power to make an impact.
“What if the world was just meant to die, Dal? What if I'm marching toward a fate none of us have any control over?” The only answer I got for a time was the crash of waves as my hair blew around me in red ribbons. I clutched my bag of ocean treasures, wondering if I would live long enough to hold each one in old, winkled hands.
Dal's voice rode the waves. “Some worlds die, Sera. Some worlds are not meant to live, and the balance can only be preserved with their death. Kraw know when their songs are out of tune, and let them die.”
I turned to Dal, watching him for a time. Even in the moonlight he was handsome to an unfair degree. My warrior.
“And yet, Kraw have come here. Because there's hope. Is that what you're trying to tell me?”
Dal gave a single shake of his head. “No. I am saying that hope is unnecessary. As long as Kraw eliminate your Gifted, your world will survive. This is why I cannot betray my race.”
And this was why I had to betray mine.
Chapter 19
Traitors
The morning sun slanted through stained glass windows, pink and silver and full of birdsong and honeysuckle. I sucked in a deep breath as I stretched, wishing I could hear the sea from here.
I was naked from the waist up, with only a sheet covering my lower half. Dal was equally indisposed, asleep on his back, looking for all the world as if he'd never had such a good night's sleep in his life. Long black lashes fanned his dusky cheek, and black silken hair spilled over the pillow.
I marveled at Dal as he slept, as if I may never again have the opportunity to see him so unguarded and reserved. Here was this great warrior of a man, laid out in my bed, all of his beauty bare for me to see.
When Dal opened his eyes, I stuck my lip out in a pout. “Do Kraw read minds, too?”
Dal's voice was heavy with sleep. “You are not pleased to awaken beside me today?” He shifted slowly as he awoke, the rustle of sheets loud next to the quiet of his breathing.
“I was enjoying looking my fill of you.”
“And still you can.”
I smiled as I rolled onto my belly. “It's not the same when you're awake, you know. Now I have all the reason in the world to be self-conscious when my gaze lingers too long.”
“Shame in appreciation is never warranted. It is a reflection of who we are.”
I gave Dal a slight grin. “And what does my appreciation of you say about me?”
“That you have good taste, for a human.”
Dal laughed as I acted insulted, and we both rose for the day. I made sure to tuck my satchel of seashells into my bag, next to my lavender blanket, before Dal and I shared a bath. He didn’t like any of the soap scents in my room and bore the manner in which I groomed him with dignity. In the end, though, he made me leave him be to groom himself how he wanted, and I retired to my chambers to pretend to be royalty in this fine room.
As I tied my hair, Dal entered the room, extending a large, curled hand to me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“A memory.” Dal unfurled his fingers to reveal one of the lovely, whorled shells from our beach excursion. He had threaded course thread through a hole in the cream-colored shell, making a necklace. It was no bigger around than a large coin, but its smooth perfection was eye-catching.
My breath caught, and I met my warrior’s eyes. “Kraw are partial to gifts?” I asked with a smile.
Dal stepped forward and began to tie the necklace at my neck. I moved my hair aside as he spoke. “Kraw are partial to practicality. Food, weapons, armor, these things stir Kraw hearts. But you, Sera, are not Kraw.”
I was speechless, my eyes misting over with sentiment. I turned to Dal to thank him, but the warmth in his eyes was understanding of my sentiment. No words were needed. He returned to his own grooming, and I fingered the soft whorl of shell at my chest, overcome by love.
Soon after an extravagant morning meal, we were summoned to meet with the council. The messenger stopped us before two jewel-crusted, double doors that swept the ceiling. One could fit two horse carts through here. The man turned and bowed to us.
“Their majesties, the acting kings and queen of our country, expect courtesy and grace in their presence. When you are dismissed, each of them will ring a gong, and you will be escorted out. May the heavens guide your council.”
And with that, the messenger turned and swept the doors open. The grand doors glittered in the light as they moved, and Dal and I were ushered into a great room that was so tall and quiet that I was sure it was going to swallow me up. The swish of my dress echoed in the vast marble chamber, and I tried not to stare like the country bumpkin I was.
Seated around us were five councilmen, high up in curved balconies with ledges that hid their laps so that we could only see their faces. I recognized the two on the left and one on the right, for they were Sol Vraldok adorned in yellow flame, Sol Lalpund adorned in red, and Sol Creljin in blue. Aside from two empty balconies, there were two more councilmen I had not seen before.
A woman adorned in black flame, and a man in brown.
Dal and I stopped in the middle of the room, surrounded by the imposing figures of the council, and waited to be addressed. I expected pleasantries, as a kind host would ask their guest if they were comfortable in the night. But no pleasantries came. Only the stone-faced stares of indifferent strangers looking down their noses at us.
“Good morning,” I said into the cavernous room. My voice echoed off the cold marble. I received frosty glares in return.
Dal sat with a soft grunt. Whispers chased each other around the room as the council members directed their voices with great care toward one another, and I wondered if Dal was aware of the human slight his gesture created. Whatever his motive, it was obvious that he cared not, because he pulled out his sword and began to look down the blade, unconcerned with the five powerful people above him.
I glanced around once more, receiving the same indifferent stares, and decided to fold my legs under myself as well. I didn't look back up at them, only watched Dal.
“I don't know what's going on,” I whispered under my breath to him in Kraw. My voice didn’t carry further than the space between us, but I couldn’t be sure if any of the people above me had gifts of sound.
“They await the whiny one.” Dal's voice murmured between us with the same familiar quiet that I knew from our days as prisoners.
I nodded and watched him fidget with his sword for a time until the doors swung open behind us.
<
br /> “—back you fool, I need no instruction and no escort.” Mindrik had worked himself up into a snit as he burst through the jeweled doors, large nose poised in the air.
I glanced up at the council to see all eyes on Mindrik as he strode forward, elaborate robes of blue and gold flapping about his thin frame.
“Let us begin,” Mindrik said in his most arrogant voice, weak chin raised. I rolled my eyes and stood up, but Dal stayed seated, seemingly at ease there on the floor. It was the same game that the council played. Dal's threat to them was obvious, there was no need for posturing or height to make it known, and so he stayed there on the floor in defiance of any show he might be expected to make.
“How kind of you to finally grace us with your presence,” the woman in black said in a flat tone.
“Forgive me, but I have not been acquainted with yourself and the fellow to your right,” Mindrik said to her.
There was a murmur.
“I am Sol Crepuskar, gifted in darkness. This is Sol Jalgon, gifted in earth. Sol Veridian, responsible for our abundant crops, has perished, as has Sol Krom, responsible for our vast wall. We are vulnerable without Sol Krom and admit that any assistance offered in this fight is welcome.”
Dal stood at long last with a heavy sigh. “Kraw march for your wall, and it will not stop them.”
There were gasps. Whispers.
“The beast speaks our tongue,” Sol Creljin said.
“You, woman, how did you come across this guard? It is unusual,” Sol Lalpund said down to me.
I let an angry breath escape my nose. “His name is Dal. He was gifted to me by the Kraw Warlord's Eyes and Ears, Patroma. And he is right, she comes for us now, with armies and a score to settle.”
Sol Jalgon leaned forward, his brown fire dancing around his gray hair. “And why would the Warlord's Eyes and Ears gift a formidable guard to you?”
“She betrays us, that is the only explanation,” Sol Crepuskar said, darkness dancing in her feline eyes.
Sol Vraldok nodded with serene calm, running fingers through his silver beard. “That would explain why the beast speaks our tongue.” His deep voice seemed to vibrate calm into the space, despite the fact that it was condemning me as a traitor.