CHAPTER TWENTY（Untitled）Branikk
CHAPTER TWENTY
Branikk
The water nymphs left fish for our dinner as thanks, and I’m grateful, because it takes almost no time to fillet them and have them sizzling in a pan over a fire along with some mushrooms I’d gathered earlier.
Which is good, because Grace nods off while they’re cooking, only waking to eat what I put in front of her before falling asleep, her cheek plastered to my shoulder, her mouth hanging open, the sweet smell of the tooth cleaning berry I gave her puffing over me with each exhalation.
She’s worn out. All the revelations of the day taking their toll, not to mention the huge amount of magic she channeled to conjure something as large as the Ferris wheel.
“Go,” Aurora says. “I’ve got watch.”
“Thanks.” I kick dirt over the fire, remove my weapons, and carry my moon bound into the trees where I set up the tent. She stirs sleepily, making a little noise of protest.
“Shh.” I press a kiss to her temple, the soft hairs tickling my lips. “I’ve got you.”
My bride lets out a quiet sigh and relaxes in my arms, putting her trust in me. Something changed between us today, something more than her realizing Alarria’s real. I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but I can’t wait to find out.
I lower Grace gently to my furs, and her hands don’t let go of me, pulling me down beside her. I go willingly, wrapping her in my arms to hold all night.
Hazy morning light pulls me awake.
Or perhaps it’s the raging insistence of my cock.
I’m on my side, Grace facing me on hers, her long legs tangled with mine. One arm cradles her head, the other…
The other drapes over her hip, my hand palming her ass, pulling her closer.
Magic ripples through my stud, the sphere of metal stirring, reaching for her, ready to stroke her sensitive nub when I’m buried inside her. The thought makes me bite back a groan. I imagine my bride’s long legs wrapped around my waist, squeezing me almost as tightly as her sweet—
She stirs, her soft breath tickling over my neck. Her long hair spreads in waves behind her, the bright gold a beautiful contrast to the brown furs. Her face looks so peaceful, so trusting, and it remains so as her eyes flutter open and she sees me.
I fight down my body’s insistent demand to take . This is the long hunt, the slow stalk that lulls the prey into my hands. It’s new for my moon bound to look at me without a touch of wariness in her eyes. I will not damage that fledgling trust with unruly haste. My bride’s worth every bit of patience I can muster, and winning her will be all the sweeter.
But damned if it isn’t the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
“Morning,” she whispers, her leg sliding against mine, almost lifting far enough to stroke along my length.
My cock leaps in my pants, and I grit my teeth, using every last bit of warrior discipline to hold myself in check. The greedy thing cares nothing for my plans. It wants—and it wants now .
“I heard that!” Aurora calls from outside, cutting across the moment. “Get up. If I’m up, you’re up too.”
“Oh, I’m up,” I mutter, my cock giving one last insistent jolt of protest, as if knowing it just lost its chance.
“Is she always like this?” A soft huff of laughter escapes Grace as she places a palm on me to push upright.
Her easy touch tells me I’ve done right not to force matters. It shows an unconscious trust of me, one written in her body, if not her thoughts.
Grace’s hands lift her hair, twisting it into a bun, which she secures with the fabric thing she had on her wrist. “No need for an alarm clock with her around.”
“Always. Overnight watch makes her cranky, even if she can enter a kind of half-sleep while standing.” I roll up to sitting. “But she never calls out in actual alarm without good reason.”
“That’s not the kind of alarm I meant, but it’s sure a more useful one.”
When she leaves the tent, I reach down and adjust my cock, which has lost none of its stiffness. I leave my shirt untucked to hide it and follow her out into the cool morning air.
The first rays of sunlight sparkle on the river as I step out onto the bank, the constant roar of the water now so familiar as to become background noise.
“We should go before the sight of that thing calls enemies to us.” Aurora jabs her horn at the Ferris wheel.
“You might like it better if you took a ride,” Grace says.
“Humph.” The unicorn snorts and shakes her head. “I’m not a foal to be amused by trifles.”
“It’s not a trifle,” I say, hating the tiny pinch of pain that crossed my bride’s face. “It’s a wonder such as we’ve never seen in Alarria.”
“Forgive me, I meant no disrespect.” Aurora dips her head toward Grace. “I merely hate having something that announces our location so clearly when we’re far from home meadows.”
“Should we send it away?” Grace eyes the giant wheel. “Maybe the gnomes?”
“Their earth magic is great, but I doubt even they could convey something so large through the ground,” I say.
“We don’t need to worry about such things right now. We simply need to leave it behind.”
A wistful look crosses my bride’s face as she looks at her creation. This Ferris wheel means something to her, is a part of her and her past.
The water nymphs spot us, swimming as close to the bank as possible, crammed into the canyons between the wide slabs of granite that dot the river before us. Their burbling voices cry out, water foam hands beckoning, “Come play!”
I wrap my arm around her shoulder and give her a sideways hug. “If only they could work the machine, then someone would still enjoy it.”
Grace looks up at me, her wide mouth stretching into a glorious smile that fills my heart with joy.