Chapter 34
The first notes of music halted the words from Kalyani’s mouth, but it was the divine voice that took her breath away.
She couldn’t understand the words, but she didn’t need to in order to experience the longing and soul-crushing ache of the tune itself.
She heard it in the poignant melody and the evocative voice that sang it as if his very heart had been shattered.
She forgot the conversation, forgot she wasn’t alone.
She forgot everything and gave herself over to the emotional song.
Kalyani closed her eyes and allowed every note to fill her.
She rode the highs and lows of the music until it felt as if it had melded into her very essence.
She wiped away a tear as the last note finally faded, and silence followed.
The world felt somehow diminished once the elf stopped singing.
She longed for more, yet at the same time, she yearned to curl into a ball and release a torrent of tears.
Kalyani opened her eyes and tried to remember her talk with Nirav to pick up the conversation, but she couldn’t think of anything but the song.
“Ah,” Nirav said with a sigh. “That one always gets me.”
“What was it?” she asked.
“A love song.”
Her head whipped to the side at the sound of Varum’s voice. Their eyes met, held.
“A sad love song,” Nirav corrected. “It’s about a Sea Elf and a—”
“The lover he couldn’t have,” Varum said over him.
There was something different about Varum, but Kalyani couldn’t put her finger on what.
“Something happened,” Nirav said.
Varum sighed and nodded. “I had a visit from Arvind.”
“The Tidewarden?” Nirav frowned as he glanced at the floor. “Why?”
“To let me know I’m no longer to investigate the Masters or anyone involved with them. He’s handed it off to someone else.”
Kalyani was outraged on Varum’s behalf. “That’s wrong. You did all the work.”
“That’s how things go, unfortunately. Varum and others do the initial work, and someone else gets the credit. It’s how it has always been,” Nirav explained.
She shook her head. “That doesn’t make it right.”
“I don’t care,” Varum said, just as Nirav was about to speak. He walked to the chair and sat. “I spent the day going over maps for currents and shipping lanes to find the best route to get Kalyani home.”
Nirav quirked a brow. “Does that mean you found one, even with the patrols?”
“It does.”
Elation surged through her. “Really?”
A small smile curved Varum’s lips when he looked her way. “Really. I was leaving my office for the last time when Arvind entered.”
“What do you mean by last time?” she asked.
Varum’s gaze lowered to the floor. “We’ll leave in three days’ time. I planned to spend that time getting everything sorted. Since I’m not returning, there’s no use doing any work. Besides,” he stated as he looked up at her, “there are things I need to do before we leave.”
Kalyani’s smile melted when he saw the way Nirav was staring at Varum. Something more was going on, and neither man wanted to speak of it in front of her. She almost pushed to see if she could discover what it was, but she decided it might be better if she didn’t know.
“Then I should also prepare,” Nirav replied as he got to his feet.
Varum stood so that the two faced each other. “You don’t have to.”
“I’ve long said there is nothing here for either of us. You’re also going to need my help.”
“And they would go straight to you when they realize I’m gone.” Varum twisted his lips. “There’s no way to untangle you from my mistake.”
Nirav clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. “Our fates have been entangled for years, and I’m glad of it. I have plans this evening. Let’s talk tomorrow.” He looked at Kalyani and bowed to her. “It was a pleasure, my dear.”
“Thank you for staying with me today,” she told Nirav with a smile.
She rose to her feet as Varum walked Nirav to the door and shut it behind the older elf. Varum stayed there with his hand on the knob for several beats before finally turning to face her.
“Did anything else happen?” she asked.
He gave a small shake of his head. “Nothing of consequence. I told you it was a treat when my neighbor sings.”
She let him change the subject, even as she wanted to press because she knew there was more. “It was an incredible song. The music was unbelievable, but his voice is…”
“I know.”
“Do all of you sound like that?”
There was a slight hesitation before Varum said, “They might sound pleasing, but he’s exceptional.”
“I thought all Sea Elves had the gift.”
“I don’t want to talk about singing or dancing,” he said.
His expression was unreadable again, as if he had shut the door on his emotions so she couldn’t see what he was thinking or feeling. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Things I shouldn’t want.”
There was something in the words. Something she knew she was supposed to understand. She knew what she wanted those words to mean, but she wasn’t sure they did. If she was leaving in three days, why would she want to find out?
He stood still as stone, his gaze locked on her. “Aren’t you going to ask?”
“I’m not sure if I should.”
They were treading precariously close to things that couldn’t be taken back. She didn’t belong in his world, and he couldn’t be in hers. It didn’t matter how much she might have come to like him, or how her eyes looked for him, even if he wasn’t there.
Silence stretched as a quick frown furrowed his brow. “Are you saying you don’t want to know?”
Could he really want her? Did she dare allow herself to imagine such a thing? And what if he did say it was her? Was it better to know his kiss and never have it again, or to never know it at all?
She thought about earlier when she had believed he might kiss her. She had craved it, longed for it, and nearly pulled his head down to press her mouth to his. He couldn’t tease her like this and have her ignore it. She wasn’t strong enough to withstand his pull.
“Do I tell you who occupies my every thought?” he asked as he took a slow step toward her. “Do I tell you about the dreams I have?”
Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might jump out of her chest at any moment. He continued toward her with measured steps as if expecting her to dart away. Where would she go? She had been caught long before she acknowledged it.
Then he was in front of her, his body so close she could feel his warmth.
“Do I say how I’ve thought about kissing her since the moment she ordered me to kiss or kill her?” he asked in a husky whisper.
He had flung open the door and showed her his hunger, his yearning.
Chills raced over her skin as she stared into his iridescent blue eyes.
All she had to do was take a step away and put an end to this madness.
But she couldn’t. Maybe he had been out of his mind when he brought her to Tarangarh, or perhaps it was fated that she should be here. None of that mattered now.
“Do I?” he asked.
Her reply would cement whatever came next. There was no taking it back, no forgetting. And no regrets.
“Nay,” she replied.
Pain flashed across his face as he slammed the door shut again. He took a step back and looked away. “I understand.”
“I want you to show me.”
His head swiveled back to her. He searched her face for several tense moments before he faced her fully and closed the distance between them.
There were no more words as one of his large hands cupped the back of her head, and he slowly lowered his lips, pressing them to hers in a long, lingering kiss.
Desire unfurled like the petals of a flower, igniting something fervent and primal. It slid through her, heating her blood. She gasped for breath as he lifted his head. Her eyes opened, briefly meeting his. The need she saw there made her stomach flutter.
His other hand rested on her lower back as he pulled her against him a heartbeat before he kissed her again. She grabbed him as his tongue swept past her lips to tangle with hers. He deepened the kiss, molding her body to his until she no longer knew where she ended and he began.
The kiss was charged, fiery. Uninhibited.
He poured everything into each kiss—and demanded she give the same in return. Every sweep of his tongue, every touch of his lips, tightened the desire that had settled low in her belly. Her hands roamed over his back and shoulders, feeling the thick sinew beneath her palms.
The feel of his arousal against her stomach sent heat flooding through her.
Without his mouth leaving hers, he guided her until she was against the wall.
Her nipples hardened, and her breasts swelled as she ached for his touch.
With every fiery kiss, she fell more and more under his spell.
She didn’t just want him anymore. She needed him.
He was the only one who could fulfill the ache inside her.
The only one who could ease the need he had ignited.
She shoved against his shoulders, spinning him until he was the one against the wall.
Their lips broke apart briefly as their gazes met.
He let out a growl and seized her lips once more.
Then he lifted her off her feet. She wrapped her legs around his waist while his lips traced hot, hungry kisses along her jaw and down her throat.
Her head lolled to the side as she slid her fingers into the cool strands of his hair.
How could she have ever considered not kissing him?
He had awakened something within her that had been buried.
Or maybe it had just been waiting for him.
A fire raged now. The inferno engulfed her, and his kisses stirred the flames.
He had begun it, and only he could end it.
“Kalyani.”
The sound of her name on his lips made chills race over her body. She lifted her head to look at him. Desire blazed in his beautiful eyes as clear as a full moon. He wasn’t hiding it. It was as if he wanted her to see. She touched his face, marveling at the stunning specimen before her.
“You need to tell me now if you want to stop. If I keep going, I won’t be able to,” he said.
She answered with a kiss, and a moan rumbled in his chest as he strode into the bedroom.