Chapter 21
Callum
It’s been almost a week since we set sail from Ashven.
It’s been smooth sailing so far, but tonight, I woke from a nightmare that had my thoughts going dark.
It was the same recurring nightmare that has plagued me since I started training to become a Hunter.
A dark place where the King is hurting someone I love – usually Ginna, Hanson, or Rafe.
But tonight, Elia made an appearance in this haunting landscape, and as usual, I’m unable to save them in the dream and I watched as Elia died in my arms.
I try going back to sleep, but the vision of Elia dying plagues my thoughts, and I know I can’t go back to sleep until I make sure she is okay.
It’s late, so I don’t knock on her door, but instead slowly pull it open.
We have a similar arrangement as we did at the palace – with a door shared between our rooms. She had never bothered to lock the one at the palace, and I assumed she wouldn’t here, either.
The sheets are pushed to one side of the bed, and the imprint of Elia’s body is still pressed into the sheets, but she’s not there.
My breath hitches as I try not to panic.
She might have gone for a walk or was hungry.
Or maybe she stayed in Ginna’s room. A quick tug on the door handle shows me Ginna’s room is off the list, so I hurry to the top deck.
The skeleton crew is out, but besides the couple of shuffling footsteps, it’s quiet.
Where would Elia have gone? I rack my brain until I remember where she was the day we set sail at the stern of the ship.
How content she was to stare at the endless cerulean water.
Elia startles when she hears me approach but smiles regardless.
She looks stunning laying on a blanket she must have pulled from her bed, dark hair splayed out around her like a halo.
Her tan has faded since leaving the desert, and the moonlight makes her skin appear even paler, allowing me to see a hint of freckles splattering across her nose.
I lay down next to her on the hard planks, using one arm as a pillow to cushion my head. I don’t want to interrupt the peace of the night so instead I stargaze with her, letting the quiet still my thoughts.
“That constellation is the Queen,” Elia murmurs quietly, pointing to a set of five stars in the shape of a ‘W’.
“When I was little, my mom used to say that was me. That the constellation appeared in the sky right when I was born.” She chuckles.
“I can’t believe I used to buy that. She used to tell me that if I was ever lost, I only had to look to the sky to find my way home. ”
Elia points to another constellation near the Queen, another set of five stars this time in a straight line. “That’s the King, the Queen’s other half. My mom always joked that I’d find my own King one day because it was written in the stars.
“I used to make up stories and names for the rest of the constellations I didn’t know.
I would talk to them when I was in the camp, confide in them.
Sometimes they seemed to be the only friends or family that didn’t leave me.
I even tore a hole in the ceiling of my tent so I could always see the stars.
That way I wouldn’t be so alone.” Her voice cracks.
I take Elia’s hand and squeeze it lightly. “You’re not alone now, Elia.”
“I know. But at night it can be easy to forget and it helps when I can see the stars.”
“I’ll sleep under the stars with you every night if that’s what you wish.”
She squeezes my hand back and leans her head on my shoulder. “Thanks, Callum.”
My other hand curls into a tight fist. “I understand the feeling, too. I spent most of my childhood being so…angry. Mad at my father, who I never knew, who left my mother in a vulnerable position. Mad at my mother, for putting herself in that vulnerable position. Even mad at her for dying. For leaving me with no parents.” I shake my head.
“No one knew what to do with me. No matter what the King told people, rumors always followed my name, and no one wanted to risk talking to me. I don’t know what I would have done without Ginna and Rafe.
They kept me from my dark ledge. And I’m thankful that you didn’t go off your own ledge, either.
No matter who, or what –” I glance at the stars.
“Helped you to get here. You had to be strong all those years by yourself. But now we can be strong, together.”
Elia props herself up on one of her elbows. “You’ve seemed different this trip, you know. More…” She presses her finger to her lip, sizing me up. “I don’t know. Confident? Bold? More you, I guess.”
“I know what I want now.” There were never any hesitations in my heart, but now there are none in my head either, no past holding me back.
She cocks an eyebrow at me seductively. “Oh? And what’s that?”
“You.” And I press my lips to hers.
Elia’s lips are hesitant at first, taken aback at the aggression of my kiss.
This is not the soft pecks we’ve shared in passing, nor the tender and passionate embrace of the lavender field.
This is me staking my claim, letting her know through the kiss that without a doubt she is mine.
I hope she figures out soon, if she hasn’t already with the whole Rafe situation, that once I claim someone, I don’t release them easily.
After the brief hesitation, Elia kisses back in fervor.
Her lips part in a throaty moan, and I greedily swallow it, pushing my tongue into her mouth.
One hand moves to the back of her head, and I tentatively tug on her braid.
She gasps in response and my cock greets her at full attention.
I pull her braid a little harder, pressing her body into me more so she has no doubt of my desire for her.
“Callum,” Elia whimpers, breaking our embrace to take in a much needed breath of air.
I allow her to breathe, taking the opportunity to nip at her ear, the side of her neck, her collarbone. With each kiss I’m rewarded with another small moan from Elia, and I continue my perusal. My hand finds her breast, and I give it a small squeeze, tracing the outline of her nipple with my thumb.
“Yes, my Siren?” I respond in a low whisper, continuing to trail my hand across Elia’s body.
It’s hard not to notice the difference between her and Rafe’s body.
She’s all soft curves while he was all hard edges, and while I don’t prefer one over the other, tonight I’m addicted to the sensation of her round breast in my hand and the smooth delicacy of her skin.
Elia's eyes are filled with lust, lids lowered. “I want to taste you tonight.”
Well fuck if I don’t almost come in my pants right there.
“You don’t have to, Siren. I’m more than content with enjoying you.” I pinch her ass to prove my point.
“I know. I want to. Please.” She silently pleads with me, piercing me with her rainbow eyes that are glittering in the moonlight. My cock strains against my breeches, begging me to give in.
I quickly glance around the ship to make sure we won’t be interrupted. There’s no chance I’m allowing anyone to see Elia in the way I’m privy to. When I’m satisfied that no one is in the vicinity and that the mast blocks us, I press one more kiss on Elia’s lips.
“Okay,” I concede. Elia becomes practically giddy and pushes me on my back.
I prop myself up on my elbows, watching as Elia hurries to undo my laces. When my cock springs free, precum glistening on the head, Elia gasps, and my ego skyrockets. Rafe was bigger than me in many aspects, but the way Elia is staring at my cock makes me believe I was built perfect for her.
She wraps a tentative hand around me and gives a small tug.
“Fuck,” I swear, and my little Siren smirks. She’s realizing the power she has over me and is revelling in it.
Elia tightens her grip, working her hand up and down my shaft, as if getting comfortable and warmed up.
“You’re so gorgeous,” I choke out, enjoying my view.
Her lips curve slightly and she rewards me with a small kiss on the head of my cock.
“And a tease,” I groan, trying my hardest to keep my hips from thrusting up, desperately wanting her warm mouth to take my hardness.
“I’m not the tease here,” Elia responds. Her hand still lazily strokes me, and she now follows the path of her hand with a lick of her tongue. “You’re the one who’s been holding out on me.”
Without preamble she opens her mouth wide and takes my cock in her mouth, hand holding the base that doesn’t fit in her mouth.
“Forgive me?” I ask between gritted teeth. It’s been so long that I’m on the verge of combustion, but I want this to last.
Elia releases my cock with a pop, saliva pooling from the corner of her lips. “How about you finish and then we’ll see.”
She takes my length again in her mouth, this time not letting me go.
Her throat moves up and down, her tongue licking from base to tip.
My hips thrust on their own accord, and Elia welcomes the movement and allows me to fuck her throat at the pace I set.
Her hand works in tandem with her mouth and I know I’m close.
“Elia,” I grunt, wanting to give her warning to pull away. “I’m close.”
Elia moans her approval, the vibrations of her throat adding to my ascending pleasure.
She opens her mouth wider, tears forming, drool leaking, as she chokes on my cock.
The sight of her unravels me as pleasure courses through my entire body.
I cry out her name as I empty myself down her throat.
Elia happily accepts every drop of my come, and when at last she pulls away, she licks my cock clean and tucks me back into my pants.
Elia snuggles into my chest, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. “Can we do that again?” She murmurs against my chest.
I choke out a laugh and trace my fingers against her profile. “Anything for you, Siren.”
I don’t know how long we stay like that, bodies entwined under the starlit sky, enjoying the rare moment of peace, but it would never be long enough.
“What’s that constellation, there?” I ask Elia, pointing to a set of stars close together forming a triangle shape, close to the Queen and King she had told me about earlier.
Elia reaches for my hand and traces the entire constellation, including the three stars I was referring to. “That’s the Hunter. He protects the Queen and the King. Makes sure she’s always safe.” She yawns and closes her eyes, burrowing further into my chest.
I press a kiss to her temple. “You’re always safe with me, Elia.”
And when I drift off into my own dreamless sleep, arms wrapped tight around Elia, a sense of security I haven’t felt for years washes over me.