32. Chapter 32
Chapter thirty-two
Leena
T he dressing room tucked into the familiar tree was quiet as I paced and waited for Theodora to arrive with my things. The sweet smell of pine was comforting these days; it had been such an unwelcome sensation when my former people relocated to the woods. Those days were difficult, full of pain and hardship and fear. There was so much work, so many blisters, screaming commands, and thrashes to my back. Work harder, Vasska screamed. Work faster. This hut won’t build itself.
I worked tirelessly, as did the other villagers, though most did so with less abuse.
I hated the smell of the trees back then. Who knew that in such a short time, I would grow to love it? That I would welcome the scent as it reminded me of Bratan and my new home.
Toying with a loose strand of hair, I thought of how he’d tucked it behind my ear and of his breath warm against my lips. My cheeks hurt from grinning at the thought of him .
A hot spring. He’s taking me to a hot spring. I couldn’t help but hope we’d finally get a good amount of time to be together—to make love in the true eye to the storm that lay before and behind us. I wondered what the water would be like; I’d only ever heard of the heavenly gift of a healing pool. I thought of my arms around him, sitting on his lap, kissing him deeply as we sunk deeper into the steaming water.
His hands would grab my hips with that hungry eagerness I so often craved. His fingers would grip beneath the meat of my thighs, pulling me closer until I was so tight against him it would be impossible not to be one. His tongue would taste of fruit and fire. My wet hair would fall freely in tangles over my bare shoulders as he grasped my neck. He’d whisper in my ear until I begged for him, and then he’d grip me and bite me as I fell and let him command me. I wanted him to take control of my body. To dominate my senses. To—
“My lady?” A voice made me jump. I quickly turned around, fidgeting and shifting my weight in a desperate attempt to hide the obvious heat coloring my face and neck.
“O-oh, I-I’m sorry, I didn’t…” My voice trailed off when I saw it was Ani standing there instead of Theodora. I tried not to grimace at the unwelcome substitute. “Where’s Theodora?”
“She’s gathering some towels and clothing or something. She told me to fetch you.” She narrowed her eyes at my flustered state. “Was I interrupting something? ”
“No! What would you be interrupting?” I laughed awkwardly, hating myself for the odd answer and hoping it wouldn’t garner a response.
Fortunately, she merely let out an irritated sigh and said, “Come. I’ll take you to her.” Then walked back through the doorway. I rushed to follow, fanning myself whenever she wasn’t looking incredulously over her shoulder. The tiny maiden didn’t look back much, to my immense relief, but I couldn’t stop thinking of the hot spring and of finally seducing my husband after too long of a wait.
Ani stepped into the forest, away from the village or paths leading to my house. We passed tree after tree for what had to have been fifteen minutes. The route didn’t make sense.
“I thought Theodora was getting supplies and wanted to meet me. Are you taking me to the spring?”
“Of course,” she spat. “Theodora told me to bring you to the human realm. It would take hours to take you directly to the spring. I’m not sure how His Majesty will take you.” She looked me up and down in a way that made me feel bare and humiliated.
“What is it?” I demanded, unconsciously covering myself with folded arms.
She strode closer to the portal to the human world. “Nothing.”
The farther we ventured, the more discomfort became my companion, especially when Ani instructed me to open the door to my former world. “Why do we have to go through? Why isn’t Theodora meeting me in our village?”
“Because she was sent on an errand to the human realm. His Majesty is eager to leave, and Theodora was running behind. So, are you going to keep wasting time, or are you going to do this?”
I wanted to scream at the little wretch, but I wouldn’t let her ruin my day, and I didn’t want to waste time doing it, so I faced the portal and tried to remember how Bratan had done it. Waving my hand over the vines, I felt that dormant power bubble in my veins. It stopped as soon as the portal opened, and I didn’t have time to process what was triggering it before Ani stepped through. I quickly followed behind, instantly shrouded in darkness.
After too many moments without sound or sight, I opened my mouth to cry out to the maid. Only a squeak escaped before she grabbed my wrist. “You’re a queen!” she hissed. “Why do you act like a defenseless child?”
I wished I had a good response, but the truth made me feel pathetic. Because I felt like one, despite my training, I felt just as defenseless as I had from the start. Whether it was from Vasska or Melora’s creatures, I’d never been able to do more than hold my own enough to survive, and the scars from those moments of survival still haunted me with wounds both invisible and etched deep below the surface of my skin. Scars and bruises had battered my bones and soul too many times to heal within a matter of weeks, if they’d ever heal at all .
When I didn’t respond, she irritably dragged me along until we entered the lit edge of the human realm. The trees on this side of the forest seemed different than they had before I married Bratan. I hadn’t realized the way they shivered, so unlike the trees of the realm I now lived in. These stoic trees were a distant memory from a past life, their branches barely moving, their leaves only shivering with the passing of the wind. They weren’t alive like the ones around my new home. Maybe Bratan had something to do with that.
“We’re almost there,” Ani grumbled, throwing my wrist aside and wiping her palm on her apron. The pain of how she felt about me never got easier.
We walked in silence until figures appeared in the distance. I couldn’t make them out, but they were headed right toward us. They got closer at an alarming rate.
“Are those villagers from Woodsmeadow?” I turned to Ani, but the small maiden didn’t answer. The group grew larger, more people coming into view, and it wasn’t until they were too close that I realized they were holding torches and tools. I staggered back, once again turning to Ani. “What’s going on?”
Still, the maid didn’t answer. And the mob closed in.
***
Brata n
I slung the bag over my shoulder, excited for the respite Leena and I would take after these torturous days of training, healing, and avoiding impending threats. So far, things had been quiet, and if Leena was safely tucked into the hot spring far from the village, Melora and her demons would be too far away to find her. I could shift into my true form and attack while Leena peacefully rested in the spring’s healing waters. I could fight them off before they searched for her. In my true form, I could get there in seconds.
Walking the path to the maidens’ hut, I was beaming. Leena would soon be safe, and we could find solace in each other’s arms in the spring and on the warm stones around it. We could bathe in its waters and finally make love. After far too long, I could smell her skin, wet and sweet, and taste it as she writhed. I’d graze every inch of her hot flesh, drinking it in as she surrendered to me, her shoulders rolling back as she screamed my name.
When we were together, something primal took over; we lived by feeling, free from the bonds of this world. I ached to search her with my fingers and taste her, bite her, grab her.
My mouth watered, but I had to quickly redirect my thoughts when her maid came into view from the large tree. I practically skipped to meet my wife so we could start on our journey, but then I noticed Theodora closing the door behind her with Leena nowhere in sight.
My heart sank as I walked faster .
“Where’s Leena?” I was barely able to hear my own voice over the quickening thumps in my chest. Theodora turned with a curtsy. “Where’s Leena?” I repeated louder this time.
When Theodora straightened, she looked up, confused. “I was told she’d be meeting you.”
“I told you to give her what she needed and to wait here for me. Where is she?”
“I-I don’t understand. Ani told me you wanted her to take Leena to the woods so you could go to the spring together. I thought there was a change of plans.”
My stomach twisted. “I never ordered such a thing. I haven’t talked to anyone but you. Who’s Ani? Where are they?”
Theodora’s head jerked back, but she quickly composed herself as if her confusion were disrespectful. “My junior maid, Your Majesty. Surely you know of her.”
“I’ve never heard that name before. I only appointed you as Leena’s maid. Who and where is this Ani? Where is she taking her?”
Theodora’s head shook. “But—you don’t know Ani? She’s Leena’s other maid. I—”
“Where are they?” I pressed. Sweat formed on my palms. Fear fogged my senses, making it hard to hear or see straight.
“A-all I know is that they’re in the woods somewhere. I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. Ani has served Leena alongside me since Her Majesty was appointed queen. I had no idea you hadn’t appointed her. ”
I bolted into the woods. I wasn’t sure if Theodora said anything else or of what was going on around me. I couldn’t hear a thing. I couldn’t breathe. As I turned into my bestial form, all I could feel was the fear in my gut and the tightness in my chest. Panic rippled through me in violent waves, ticking with every lost second.
I was going to lose her. I never should have left her side.