Chapter Twenty-Two
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The next morning, pain pulsed through Elara as she lay glowering between her sheets. Merissa tutted in sympathy as she fussed around her, bringing her breakfast.
‘You get them as badly as me,’ she sighed. ‘I’ll fetch you some peppermint tea.’
‘I’ll be damned if I get out of this bed today,’ Elara muttered. ‘Not even His Highness will drag me out of it.’
Merissa chuckled, setting to work with the tea. There was a knock on the door, and it swung open, Enzo standing at the threshold.
‘Dear skies, Enzo, I’m barely decent!’ Elara yelled, grabbing a robe from the armchair beside her and wrapping it around her thin slip. His smile curled as he looked at her.
‘As always, walking in without permission serves me well.’
‘I’m not in the mood for your taunts today. Leave me be.’
His brow furrowed. ‘You’re late for training.’
‘Oh really? Merissa, fetch him a medal for stating the obvious, will you?’ She lay back on the pillows as Merissa hid her smile. Enzo took a tentative step into the room and looked around it, his eyes snagging on her open copy of The Mythas of Celestia and the pressed forget-me-nots that she was now using as a bookmark.
He blinked, turning his attention back to Elara. ‘Are you unwell?’
‘I have my monthly,’ she replied, and his eyes softened. He closed the door, walking towards her, and she sat up in alarm. ‘What are you doing?’
He sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Is there any way I can help?’
‘Why are you being so nice to me?’ Her eyes narrowed as he rubbed his palms together. He avoided looking at her, his usual sarcastic smile on his face.
‘We’re allies now, aren’t we? And the sooner I can get you feeling well again and back to training, the better.’
‘So, you came, a knight in shining armour to distract me from my pain with your rambling.’
‘I can think of many other ways I could distract you from the pain, princess,’ he purred. She raised an eyebrow. ‘What? You think a little blood scares me?’ He smirked. ‘Did you forget that I’m the warrior prince of Helios?’
Elara rolled her eyes, slumping back down on to her pillows as she tried to ignore the heat his words brought to her. She distracted herself in her favourite way, by insulting him. ‘Trust you to find a way to praise yourself. It’s a real talent, you know.’
‘Here,’ he said, ignoring her. ‘Lift up your dress.’
‘You know, for a rakish prince, I thought you’d be more well-versed in how to get a woman to drop her knickers. Merissa has spoken to me more romantically.’
Enzo threw back his head and laughed at that, the sound like bursting light. She gave a small smile and opened her robe, her thin slip underneath visible. Enzo shifted closer, the bed lurching with his weight until he was bent over her. Then with his eyes closed, there was the sound of crackling as he held his palms facing each other. With a furtive smile to her, he put his hands to her bloated stomach. She groaned against the sensation, the warmth immediately giving her some respite.
‘That feels incredible.’
‘Not the first time a woman has uttered those words in my presence.’
‘And just like that, you ruined it.’ She made to pull away, but he held her there, his strong hands pressing gently against her. She almost tried to fight it, but she was too exhausted and it felt too good.
‘Does your magick increase at this time?’ he asked, shaking a curl from his eyes as he looked up at her again.
‘How did you know?’
‘You act as though I don’t know women.’
There was a tense pause as Elara felt a lurch of something in her stomach.
‘Isra,’ he said hurriedly, clarifying. ‘Growing up with her I learned a lot. Her gifts become unruly around her cycle. It’s a marvel to watch.’
Elara laughed. ‘I can imagine.’
‘Once, she froze an entire group of ambassadors from Altalune. Almost ruined an entire trade agreement between our kingdoms.’ He chuckled at the memory.
‘You’re lucky to have each other,’ Elara said quietly.
Enzo nodded. ‘Isra is the closest thing I have to a sister. There is nothing we wouldn’t do for each other.’
‘How come Isra isn’t still at court then?’
Enzo scoffed. ‘Can you really imagine her here? She’s far too impatient for the boredom and etiquette of palace life. The moment she was old enough, she left.’
‘Hearing you talk about your childhood makes me miss Sofia.’
Enzo continued to warm her stomach, not looking at her. She gave a small smile. ‘She was like a sister to me too. We grew up together in the palace. I remember once, when we were teenagers, succumbing to our growing pains , she caused a blackout through the entire kingdom.’
‘How in the Stars’ names did she do that?’ Enzo asked incredulously. She laughed at the look on his face.
‘I’d stolen her favourite dress to wear to the winter solstice ball. I told her she was just mad because I looked better in it than her.’
‘Sounds like you,’ he said.
Elara’s lip quirked. ‘So anyway, tempers grew. She told me that I was a spoilt little brat and let the darkness rip.’ She shook her head. ‘We had to host the entire ball by candlelight in the middle of the day. I think it actually made it more magickal, though.’
Enzo’s eyes twinkled. ‘Sofia deserves a commendation for her bravery, dealing with you all these years.’
‘I still don’t know what’s happened to her,’ Elara replied quietly. ‘It’s worse not knowing—whether she’s alive or dead; whether she got out that day.’
Enzo squeezed her waist. ‘We’ll find out.’
She looked at him. ‘We?’
He huffed out a laugh. ‘Like it or not, we seem to be in this together now.’
A comfortable silence hung in the air as Elara smiled, revelling in the heat radiating from Enzo’s hands as she closed her eyes. She was so drained, she barely noticed as she drifted and fell into limbo. But with Enzo’s light upon her she seemed to stay there. She could still feel the pressure of Enzo’s hands on her in the real world, though her dreamer’s mind had begun to conjure another scenario. Enzo’s hands were still on her stomach, but with a thought, she willed him to move them. His heated stare burned into her as he obliged, tracing teasing patterns over the thin material that stretched over her stomach.
‘Like that?’ he murmured, and she hummed a contented sigh. The circles his hand made grew bigger, sweeping lower. She met his gaze.
‘Tell me what you want, princess,’ he said softly.
She felt a shift, and her eyes flew open; the dreamscape shattered.
Enzo’s gaze was fire as a slow smile curled on his lips. ‘Having a nice dream?’
Her cheeks flooded with heat. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘The shadows within you are growing thinner the more you use them, princess. Which means I can see the emotions swirling in you more clearly. And right now they are red hot with desire.’ His smile widened even more. ‘I wonder who it was you were dreaming about.’
‘Now why would a clever man like you want to taunt a woman at the height of her power? Perhaps a death wish is on you.’
‘There are many things I wish from you.’
‘If you’re quite finished trying to get under my skin, you can go now. Thank you for…this.’ She gestured to his hands, still on her. She had never wanted to slap the smirk off someone’s face more.
He stood up. ‘I’m glad you’re feeling better.’
‘More and more the further away you get.’ She smiled sweetly.
‘If you feel better tomorrow, I’ll meet you for training as usual.’
She nodded, avoiding his eyes as she settled back under her sheets.
He turned from the door. ‘Rest.’ That stupid, taunting smile hadn’t left his face. ‘Oh, and Elara?’
She looked at him from behind her pillow.
‘That little dream you just had? Only a shade of what I could do with you.’