Chapter 31
Yalina
The thin settlements and farms which dotted the road out of the city yesterday peter out until it is only us and the barren landscape.
We left the path of the river days ago, cutting across to take a shorter route up into the mountains.
Inside the carriage I am thoroughly distracted, though, and I hardly notice the long hours of travel.
As soon as Aurelion lifts off into the sky, the tension in the party lifts with him, and I can breathe again.
I wish it wasn’t like this. I enjoyed the time we spend together at the palace, but that side of him is gone, replaced with a stony suspicious guard, always on the lookout to catch Kaelun out on something.
Kaelun and Jah’ruud for their parts seem to be doing their best to get caught, forever whispering dirty secrets and finding any opportunity to touch or tease me.
I should be concentrating on our journey and the purpose for it, but I find I am caught up in the madness of it, arousal constantly at a low ebb, ready to flare to life at the slightest touch or the simplest of phrases.
As soon as we set up the tent, Aurelion leaves to patrol the area, casting a suspicious look at the rest of us as he ducks under the tent flap. The next moment Kaelun crawls between my thighs, tugging at the hem of my skirt. “Do you think I can make you cum before he gets back?”
I smother my laughter, watching the door, expecting at any moment to get caught. “You are bad. Are you trying to start another argument?”
Warm hands are already sliding high up my thighs even as I push uselessly at my skirts. “No, Yalina. I’m trying to make you cum.”
There’s a pop of air, and Jah’ruud appears behind me, pulling my arms behind my back and covering my mouth with a hand. “Shhh. He is getting much better at it. It will not take long.”
My protests subside into a haze of pleasure as Kaelun’s clever hands find all the right places and just the right pressure.
Soon I need Jah’ruud’s hand to smother my moans as I roll my hips, rocking against Kaelun’s touch.
He knows just the right moment to slide two fingers into my wet and waiting channel.
I gasp as he strokes a place within me that makes my toes curl and has me collapsing back against Jah’ruud’s steady hold.
“Shhh,” Jah’ruud whispers into my ear as the pleasure peaks and staying silent becomes almost impossible.
My breath is coming fast, my chest rising and falling rapidly. I’m hot all over, melting into Kaelun’s touch, rushing toward the end of a passageway about to burst out the other side.
Suddenly Jah’ruud tenses behind me. “He’s coming.”
Just in time, Kaelun slips his hand from me, making a point of licking his fingers so I can see. My pussy throbs angrily at being deserted, but I have no choice other than to shove my skirts back down and try to compose myself as the tent flap swishes open.
Thankfully Jah’ruud has released me. He’s vanished, leaving me sitting flustered on my bedroll.
Aurelion narrows his eyes and looks around the tent. His nostrils flare. “Solha, may I have a word with you?”
He glares until I respond. “What is it, Aurelion?”
His gaze switches to Kaelun as he speaks. “I must speak with you alone.”
Reluctantly, I follow him out of the tent and into the dappled shade of the late afternoon sun through tall palm trees. We were lucky enough to find an oasis where we made camp for the night, giving us a chance to fill our waterskins and water the horses.
Aurelion grabs my arm roughly and pulls me further from the tent toward a bright, clear pool of sparkling water. “Have you forgotten what we shared? What I promised?”
He grazes his thumb over the still tender mark on my neck, and I suppress a shiver. “I haven’t forgotten what you took from me.”
He growls, and all of a sudden it’s more than arousal and confusion rushing through me. Have I pushed him too far?
Leaning in until his lips are a hair’s breadth from mine, he speaks in a low rumble. “You smell like them, Yalina. It’s all over you. Every breath in is like a slap in my face. And yet you hardly even look at me.”
I flush. So he knows. About Jah’ruud too. Even though I am still angry with him for the bite, I do feel a little bad for hurting his feelings. “I am sorry, Aurelion.”
“Sorry for what? Sorry because you have made your choice and it is not me? It is not over.”
“I wish I did not have to choose.” I’ve never spoken those words aloud to anyone. As soon as they’re out of my mouth, I hate how selfish they sound. How entitled.
“Because you need the water I can give to Vathira, but you do not want me? Is that it? Well lucky for you I am stubborn. When you realize the choice you need to make, I’ll still be here. And then you will realize I have been the better choice all along and always will be.”
Before I can reply, he spreads his wings with a growl and takes off.
“Soon we will crest the ridge where you can see into Tarquenor. You will see my brother’s dam and see the extent of what a Tarquenorian alliance can give you. And then you will choose me,” he shouts down at me from the air.
He is gone before I can even think of what to say, let alone untangle my feelings.
Frustration, indignation, and alarm all swirl around a large immovable boulder of guilt lodged deep within my belly.
Beneath all his bluster and posturing, I think Aurelion was genuinely hurt and that pains me.
I hate that he is trying to force my hand in choosing him.
But most of all I hate that I’m going to end up hurting someone whether I like it or not.
I did not think of that when I created the competition.
How stupid I was not to consider that this would impact Kaelun and Aurelion just as it will impact me. And now Jah’ruud is involved as well.
I feel terrible.
Unable to return to the tent, I watch Aurelion until he disappears into a tiny spec in the dark sky.
Then I find a rock and sit, tucking my knees up to my chest and hugging them.
I should have been more careful. I’ve done nothing but think about myself and allow myself to wallow in self-indulgent complaints since my father died.
That isn’t the woman he raised me to be.
If he was here, he would have told me to snap out of it long ago.
I wish I didn’t have to choose between Aurelion and Kaelun and Jah’ruud, but that’s just it—wishful thinking. That is not going to help my people, and it is not going to help me or any of the men I’ve come to care about be happy.
How do I resolve this without causing more harm than I have already?
I have no answer to this question.
I sit for a long time in the dark until a gentle breeze brushes lightly over my cheek and makes me lift my head to look around.
Jah’ruud appears beside me silently. “Are you alright?”
I wipe away an errant tear. “I don’t know. I think I’ve made a mess of everything.”
“You care for him.” It is not a question. Nor is it said with any resentment. It is simply a statement of fact.
I nod anyway. “Do you think it strange?”
He laughs softly. “Well you clearly care for Kaelun also, and he is almost as insufferable.”
“I heard that!” An indignant Kaelun appears out of the shadows that surround me.
“I meant for you to hear it.”
Kaelun only scoffs. “Bah, you don’t mean it.” Then he grows serious, coming to kneel before me and take my hands in his. “You know we only want to make you happy. We would do anything.”
It’s dark and the shadows gather around Kaelun, clinging to him like lovers. I can’t make out his face properly, and my heart stutters around in my chest as the question rises in me.
Before I can speak it, Jah’ruud stands, looking toward the sky. “He is coming back. And fast. Will he attack?”
Kaelun and I stand, following the direction of his gaze to see the black spec in the distance quickly growing into a ferocious looking Aurelion.
“I don’t think so. He only said he would wait. He said I would come around to him in the end.”
“I think he’s changed his tune,” says Kaelun, dropping into a fighting stance.
Everything in me screams that it isn’t true. Aurelion is hot-headed and arrogant, but he wouldn’t attack the others, and he wouldn’t attack me.
Would he?
He dives toward us, and my heart dives too. Air pressure changes as Jah’ruud gathers power to himself and Kaelun steps closer.
“Don’t!” I cry before either of them can attack. But Aurelion dives in and snatches me into his arms before either Kaelun or Jah’ruud can react.
Aurelion angles his wings, and we’re high above the land in minutes. I cling to him to keep from falling, but at the same time I’m furious. “What are you doing?”
“I cannot participate in this farce any longer. You are mine. Or you will be once we reach Tarquenor.”
I slap him before I think better of it, but he only laughs wildly, baring sharp teeth. “Do you ache for it, Yalina? The bite is a powerful aphrodisiac that lasts for days. You must have burned for me. I can hardly blame you for settling for Noreth and his bull.”
“You know nothing,” I shout over the rushing wind.
I crane my neck to look behind to see if Kaelun and Jah’ruud are somehow following, but all I can make out is barren desert as far as the eye can see.