Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
The meadow surrounding the Eldergrove was alive with vibrant sounds of music and jovial laughter.
Druids danced beneath the twinkling glow of lanterns and starlight, spinning individually in large circles, each step in tune to the rhythm floating through the air.
Most of the males were shirtless and wore necklaces of polished amber, while the females donned crowns of flowers and twigs, all of them tied with ribbon.
There was food and drink as far as the eye could see, but Kjeld was only looking for one female in particular.
Caelian had yet to arrive.
Sylvan told him not to worry, that females often took a lifetime to prepare for these sorts of events. But Kjeld wasn’t concerned in the least, because through the flutes, drums, and lutes, and over the jovial cadence of voices, he could still hear the steadfast beating of her heart drawing near.
While he’d spent some of the morning hunting with a bow and arrow since the whelps weren’t yet old enough to do so on their own, the better part of his afternoon he’d been busy crafting Caelian a ring.
Carved from rosewood, he inlaid the band with opals, then smoothed and refined the shape until it gleamed.
He currently had it folded into a small bit of cloth and tucked safely in his pocket.
Kjeld sensed her before he saw her, the excited flittering of her heart leapt across his tongue, and his blood started to pump.
He caught the scent of her on the air, the mingle of starflower and vanilla buried beneath the mouthwatering smells of delicious food and the ever-present layers of rose and cedarwood.
With an ocean of people between them, the sea of bodies finally parted, and then he saw her.
Caelian was starlight in its purest form.
Her hair was swept off her neck, pulled into an ornate bun while tiny wisps framed her face.
Shimmery powder dusted her bare shoulders and the apples of her cheeks.
She looked beautiful every day, but this time what she was wearing made it impossible for Kjeld to take his eyes off her.
The strapless lavender dress she wore dipped low and sheer, beaded sleeves draped her arms. The waist was tight and the skirt unfurled in a wave of gossamer fabric, almost too delicate to be real.
Drifting around her like butterfly wings, her iridescent dress was gauzy and dreamlike, and made her look like she was walking among the clouds.
“What do you think?” she asked, eyes bright and glossy as she did a little twirl. “I’m quite fond of the slit myself.”
Caelian winked, then swished her skirts, revealing miles of her perfectly smooth flesh.
Kjeld’s arm shot out, snaring her by the waist as he dragged her against him. “I think it makes me want you all to myself.”
“Mm,” she hummed in agreement, flattening her smooth palms to his chest. “I’m inclined to agree.”
She trailed her hands over his tattoos first, then followed the ridges of his abdomen. But when her fingers snaked toward the waistband of his pants, he caught her by the wrist.
“Caelian…” It was hardly a warning, but she looked up at him then, eyes wide, lips pouty.
“I thought you said you wanted me.” She stuck out that bottom lip further, and he was half tempted to bite it.
“Of course I want you. I always want you. But…” Kjeld caught her by the chin, forcing her to look up at him.
The sparkling lanterns overheard reflected in her sapphire eyes, illuminating the faint glaze.
Her pupils were blown and when she licked her lips, her tongue and mouth were stained a deep hue of red, and a hint of ripe berries lingered heavily on her breath.
“Did Lira offer you some of that bloomfire wine?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged, scraping her nails lightly across his shoulders as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “A little.”
Kjeld scoffed, his brows clashing in a scowl. “And did you indulge?”
Another shimmy of her shoulders, except this time she rubbed her breasts against the wall of his chest. “Perhaps.”
He tried to ignore the way she swayed into him, how each time she did so, she purposefully rocked her hips, grinding herself against him.
When she rose up on her toes and licked the hollow of his throat, his knees almost buckled.
His cock thickened, answering her silent plea.
The next time she rolled into him, he held her in place by planting a hand on her ass.
“How much is a little, Caelian?” he asked, bemused by her lack of propriety. The way she continued to lap and nibble at his neck was hardly becoming conduct of a lady. “A sip or two?”
“More like a glass.” She smiled into his skin. “Or two.”
Shit.
“I see.” Kjeld maneuvered her into a slow circle, one palm gliding to the small of her back, the other grasping her hand as they started to dance. “Is it much like being drunk?”
“Not at all!” She arched back to peer up at him. “Quite the opposite, in fact. I find that where a normal wine might make my head fuzzy, bloomfire wine only has that effect on my body. Actually, I’m pleasantly coherent.”
A rumbling laugh escaped him, and he twirled her into the circle of gray stones and white flowers where other couples danced. “Well, I am glad your mind is not lost to the whims of lust.”
“Not yet, anyway.” She winked, and then a small line crinkled across her forehead. “Though, before I lose my mind to the whims of lust, I must tell you I went to the River Thalorien today.”
Unease pricked along his spine. “Is that so?”
She nodded, the corners of her mouth pinching like she was holding back the threat of tears. “The rock I found in the drawer of my mother’s desk? It’s a memory stone. And today, when I tossed it into the river, it revealed three of my mother’s memories to me.”
Kjeld listened intently as she told him about the visions, how they weren’t at all what she expected, and how after she witnessed them, she felt ravaged by guilt.
This time, unshed tears clung to her lashes, but she didn’t let them fall.
He watched in silence as she maintained her dignity, as she refused to let her tumultuous emotions get the best of her while she was at a celebration for their marriage.
“You think there was something more to Trysta’s antics?” he ventured cautiously. “Something we might have missed?”
“Yes.” Caelian nodded furiously, sniffling once. “How could she love us and then loathe our very existence in the next breath? I saw her face, Kjeld. In those memories. I saw it. She adored us. All of us.”
“Okay, it’s okay.” He smoothed a hand down her spine, not wanting to muss her hair. She was so earnest, so steadfast in her convictions, and he believed every word. “We’ll investigate, I’m certain Ariesian and Drake must know something. Even Prince Aspen may be of some use.”
“He could be, for sure, especially since he and Sarelle seem to be…something. Though I am not quite sure what I would label them.” Caelian’s mouth quirked to one side, but it did little to disguise the sadness harbored in the depths of her eyes.
“Of course, this means we will need to travel back to Aeramere.”
Ah.
So there was the source of her troubled heart. A sentiment he was familiar with on his own.
Kjeld hedged the subject with care, letting his feelings on the matter slip through his words like whispers on the breeze. “We always planned to go back, though, didn’t we? Even if only for a visit?”
Caelian’s head snapped up and she eyed him curiously, her gaze unreadable as she searched his. “A visit?”
“Aye.” He spun her around, watched her skirts flare, then pulled her back into his arms. “To see your family. Maybe return Brohm, Pyran, and Lunaris to the Moonfall Peaks. Though truth be told, they’re faring far better here than I expected.”
Another wholesome truth.
Kjeld had been concerned about the well-being of the dragons when they first hatched.
He’d thought Wenfyre was too vulnerable a place, that perhaps the dragons would wreak havoc upon the land and the Druids.
Oddly enough, their demeanor was far more at ease here than he expected.
Lunaris was exceptionally well-behaved, Pyran did not try to set fire to the entire forest, and Brohm’s fighting attitude had settled.
Even Odryss, the beast that he was, spent most of his time lounging near the shore of the Caelora Bay, as though the waves soothed the restlessness in his soul.
He waited a beat before continuing. “Unless you’d rather stay in Aeramere permanently?”
“Not particularly. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my family.
Fully. Completely.” Caelian’s gaze lifted to the heavens through the ancient trees of the Eldergrove, where stars twinkled and the moon smiled.
“But I’ve never truly been comfortable in Aeramere.
I’ve always felt out of sorts. Uneasy in my own skin. ”
“I know.” He ran his thumb beneath her chin, following the smooth planes of her face. “I saw your struggles, how you always appeared ready to crawl out of your own flesh. You must know that despite it all, none of it ever went unnoticed. At the very least, you were seen. By me.”
“Kjeld…” Caelian’s breath caught as she spoke his name. Her sapphire gaze, sparkling in the filter of soft light, searched his face. “But what about you? And your purpose? I don’t want to stay somewhere if you’re not happy.”
“Where you go, I go.” He shrugged, leading her into another smooth spin. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“But I don’t want your happiness to depend upon mine,” Caelian countered, a line of concern creasing across her forehead. “I want you to find something that brings you joy.”
“I already have.” He flashed her a wink.