Chapter Three
Annika
We rode back home in silence. Lucas hadn’t spoken since we left Rowena’s cottage. I could feel the rage simmering beneath his skin, the unbearable guilt he carried like a second soul.
I understood it. I carried it, too.
I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat and turned my gaze toward the forest ahead. The brook wasn’t far now. A place we used to stop, back when things seemed so good, and we felt as if we didn’t have a care in the world.
“Lucas,” I said softly. “Stop here.”
His hands tightened on the reins. “Annika, we need to get back—”
“Please.”
He let out a slow breath, then pulled his horse to a stop. I did the same, slipping down from the saddle before he could protest further. The brook whispered softly, as if telling tales of yore.
I walked forward, kneeling by the edge, dipping my fingers into the cold stream. It sent a shiver up my arm, but I welcomed it.
Lucas didn’t move at first. But after a moment, I heard him dismount. He approached slowly, noiselessly.
I didn’t look at him when I spoke. “We’ve barely touched each other.”
Silence. Heavy, weighted.
Then, finally, “I don’t know how.” His voice was rough. “Not when I’ve failed you like this.”
I turned my head, meeting his eyes. The shadows beneath them were deeper than I’d ever seen. My heart ached for him, for us.
“You haven’t failed me, Lucas.” My voice cracked. “You haven’t failed Aiden.”
His expression darkened. “I was supposed to protect him.”
I stood, turning fully toward him. “And I was supposed to protect him too. But we didn’t know, Lucas. We didn’t see this coming.” I reached for him, my fingers grazing his. “But we can’t lose each other too.”
He stared down at our hands. There was the faintest tremor in his fingers. Then, slowly, he closed the distance between us.
I pressed my palm to his chest, feeling the slow, steady beat of his heart. His breath hitched as I slid my arms around him, pressing my forehead to his shoulder.
For a moment, he was rigid, like he didn’t trust himself to hold me.
Then he exhaled, and his arms came around me, pulling me tight against him.
I closed my eyes. “We’ll find him.”
His grip tightened. “We have to.”
Lucas’ arms tightened around me, his breath warm against my temple. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he held me, but not out of desperation or fear. Simply because he needed to. Because we needed this.
I lifted my head, my lips barely grazing his jaw as I whispered his name. “Lucas…”
His hands slid to my face hesitantly, as if he wasn’t sure he deserved this. But I wasn’t letting him pull away. I wasn’t letting the weight of guilt steal this moment from us.
I leaned in first, brushing my lips over his in the softest of touches. A breath. A promise.
He shuddered, and then he was kissing me.
Gently, at first. His lips moved over mine with aching slowness, his fingertips tracing my jaw as if relearning every inch of me. I melted into him with yearning in my breath. My hands grabbed his collar, desperate to feel more, to remind him that we were still us, even after everything.
And then something in him broke.
His mouth claimed mine harder, needier. His fingers tangled in my hair, tilting my head back as he deepened the kiss. He was pouring everything into it, his sorrow, his longing, his love. A quiet, shuddering sound escaped me as I pressed closer, molding myself against him.
I could taste the torment on his lips, the fear he wouldn’t voice, the anger at himself for not being able to stop this nightmare before it began. But beneath all of it, there was us. The love that had never faded, even beneath the weight of war, loss, and now… this.
I kissed him harder, refusing to let the darkness take this from us, too.
I wanted him. No… I needed him.
My hands craved the surface of his skin which I knew too well. Every healed scar, every roughness of his body that was the result of his desire to protect those he loved. I knew it all. I needed his hands on me more than ever, to assure me that everything would be all right, because words alone were not enough.
He sensed my neediness, my longing. His hand clasped my neck roughly, keeping me in place. His tongue trailed down my neck, to the hollow of my ear. I moaned loudly, feeling a rush of heat between my legs.
“I need you, Lucas…” I managed to muster through my moans. But he knew that without words. He could see the fire of longing in my eyes. He could hear it in my hot breaths.
He locked his deep, dark eyes with mine. I shuddered at the depth.
Without breaking eye contact, he unbuttoned my jeans. I helped him with his, unable to stop kissing him. Within seconds, my legs were around his waist, as his strong arms kept me close to him, pinned against a tall, rough tree.
I could feel the tip of his throbbing cock pressing against me. A million little goosebumps rushed down my back in anticipation of feeling him inside of me. That sensation never ceased to amaze me. Even after all this time, I still desired him beyond words.
I cupped his face, forcing him to keep looking at me. He slid into me effortlessly, and pleasure hit me like a tidal wave. I gasped loudly, biting my lower lip as the first heatwave passed through my body.
He didn’t stop. I knew that he wouldn’t.
He fucked me like an animal, because in this moment, that was all that we were. Nothing but pure instinct, sheer desire, raw flesh.
“More, more…” I kept whispering through ragged breaths, keeping my legs locked around him.
Wet heat enveloped us both, and that sound… oh, that sound that I loved so much, that I couldn’t get enough of.
I tried to be quiet, but it was close to impossible. My mind was a blank space of nothingness. I was a slave to pleasure, as his balls kept hitting against me, his cock slamming deep inside of me, filling me with delight.
My fingers were trembling as I gripped onto him, as a surge of electricity blew up at the end of my every limb the moment my pleasure peaked. My entire body tensed up, releasing everything, coating his cock in hot juices dripping out of me.
Without any warning, he pulled out of me, my insides still on fire and throbbing. He knelt before me, lifting one leg onto his back. His mouth was on my pussy, soaking up my juices, lapping every little drop that left me.
“Oh…” I moaned again as he sucked my clit into his mouth, bringing me to another climax momentarily.
This time, I almost lost my balance, but he was there, keeping me up. He was stroking his big cock with his other hand, while drinking in my essence, two fingers deep inside of me.
Not a moment later, he gasped loudly, spraying my knee with his hot seed. He was still breathing heavily, licking my throbbing clit gently. It took us a while to calm down and move from that position.
When we looked at each other, we smiled.
“I love you,” I whispered something he knew well. But those were words ones I could never repeat too many times.
“I love you, too,” he smiled back. “Always.”
He got up and pressed a soft kiss on my forehead. I grazed his cock mischievously with my hand.
“Don’t tell me you want another round?” he teased.
“Maybe,” I replied mischievously. Then, I looked around and realized that we’d better head back. We’d managed to steal a few precious moments to ourselves, but reality came crashing back with the strength of a tsunami, destroying everything in its path.
“But it’d be better to head back,” I nodded, knowing that he would agree.
About half an hour later, as we entered the town, the usual bustle of late evening had dimmed. People still moved through the streets, their voices hushed, their eyes casting cautious glances our way.
I swallowed against the lump rising in my throat as we made our way to the barracks, where Callum would be waiting. The large wooden doors creaked as we pushed inside, the scent of firewood and steel greeting us.
Callum stood at the far end of the room, his arms crossed over his chest. At the sound of our approach, he turned to face us.
Lucas didn’t waste time. “Any news?”
Callum’s jaw tightened. His silence was answer enough, but he still shook his head. “No sign of him. We’ve had patrols searching the outer forests, checking the roads, the riverbanks. Nothing.”
Lucas swore under his breath, pacing once before turning back to Callum. “Keep searching. If anyone sees anything—”
“They’ll report to me immediately,” Callum finished with a nod.
I stepped closer, my voice quieter but firm. “What about tracks? Any signs of a struggle?”
“Nothing that makes sense,” Callum admitted. “It’s like he just… vanished.”
A chill ran down my spine. I exchanged a glance with Lucas, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.
The rune. The tether.
This wasn’t a simple disappearance. Someone had taken Aiden. And they had used magic to do it.
Lucas ran a hand through his hair, his frustration evident. “Keep your men looking. We’re running out of time.”
Callum nodded, but his eyes flickered with something else. Concern, maybe even guilt. He had been at our side for years, a loyal friend, a soldier willing to fight and bleed for us. And now, he was just as powerless as we were.
I placed a hand on his arm, offering the smallest reassurance I could manage. “Thank you, Callum.”
He nodded, not sure what else to say.
Lucas and I had barely stepped out into the cool night air when Callum’s voice stopped us.
“Wait.”
Both Lucas and I turned at the same time.
Callum seemed to hesitate, something that wasn’t his usual character trait.
“Spit it out,” Lucas said impatiently.
“There’s someone here,” he finally said. “Asking for you.” His gaze flickered between Lucas and me. “Said it was urgent.”
Lucas stiffened beside me. I couldn’t be quite sure of that, but something told me that he had a good idea who that someone might be. Still, he asked the question.
“Who?”
Callum hesitated again, then exhaled. “Kael.”
I swallowed hard, my pulse kicking up. Of all the people to show up now, why him? And what could he possibly want?