Chapter 27
Iyana
That was… there were no words to describe the sensation of connecting with Emmeric. Or maybe there were a few—words like magical, euphoric, rhapsodic.
Iyana could no longer deny Emmeric’s commitment to her, and to their fate. In hindsight, there really was no good reason for her not to trust him, especially after he brought her the numbing draught and gave her his cloak. And broke her out of an evil emperor’s dungeon. And healed her.
Her emotions terrified her, though. As Emmeric held her hand within his calloused palm, it felt right.
However, she instantly forgot those thoughts as Altair placed her in his lap. He stroked the hair off her cheek, and, leaning in softly, he placed his lips on hers. She sighed, grasping his cloak into a fist, and leaned into the kiss. Magic continued to spark through Iyana’s veins, making her injuries disappear. The previous week had been erased. From her body, at least.
“Astalle,” Altair murmured against her mouth. “Come.” Then he was lifting her off the ground, walking into the trees opposite of where Emmeric and Talon had gone to hunt. Soon she heard the soothing babbling of a river. Altair placed her on her feet on the bank of the water, but continued to hold her close, like he was worried she’d collapse without his presence.
“I’m fine, Altair,” she said, running her hand up his arm. “Better than fine, actually.” Physically, was left unsaid.
Closing his eyes, Altair rested his brow on hers, stroking his thumb along her cheek. “Please, my love. Please let me take care of you.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Iyana was still wearing both cloaks, and Altair gently slid his hands under the fabric at her shoulders. The soiled clothing dropped from her body, but his fingers continued to skate down her arms, raising goosebumps in their wake. He inspected her thoroughly, checking that her wounds and injuries had healed completely. Worry was etched into his features, not the heat from when he’d looked at her naked body in the past. Dirt and blood still covered her, with her hair tangled in wild knots. Altair tugged on her hands and waded into the river with her, warming it with his magic. Thankful for the small kindness, she sighed at the pleasant heat lapping at her calves. Such a marked difference from the cold tub—her lungs threatened to seize within her chest at the memory, but Altair’s magic pulsed continuously through their connected hands, calming her frayed nerves.
Taking off his shirt, he wet it, using it as a rag to clear Iyana’s skin of any evidence of her torturous week. As he moved to her back, Altair inhaled sharply, and his fingers brushed lightly against her back. Iyana closed her eyes. “Tell me.”
“My star…”
“Altair, just tell me. Please.”
He continued cleaning her; the rag passing over her back, her arms, her abdomen. She knew he was trying to distract her, so she shot a glare at him over her shoulder. Sighing, he motioned for Iyana to float on her back. Altair knelt behind her, holding her head aloft with his knees, and ran his fingers through her hair to detangle the mess. It took some time, and Iyana was ready to fall asleep under his ministrations, but he finally spoke, his voice deep and limned with pain.
“The flogging.”
She stiffened.
“They were deep, and some scars remain. But they are small, my star, and a testament to your strength and endurance.”
Iyana tipped her head back to better see his face. Altair smiled sadly, his fingers continuing to comb out her hair. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what, my star?”
“For being here,” she echoed his words back to him from the cave. “For not judging me.”
“I would never judge you,” he said, seriously. Suddenly, the mood was too serious. Iyana sensed the conversation veering towards the territory of an important conversation, and mentally, she was not ready for any revelations or confessions. Whether it involved her experiences, or magic, or their potential relationship. She steered the conversation away.
“Really?” she asked. “What if I told you I talk to animals as if they can understand me?”
The corner of Altair’s lip curled up. “I might judge you a little.” Finally finished with her hair, he extracted his hands and guided her upright. One warm hand rested on Iyana’s waist, the other on the back of her head. They spent a few moments searching each other’s eyes, feeling things out, where things stood after the past week. Until Altair brought her to his chest in a tender hug. Iyana curled her arms around his back, tears suddenly springing forth. For the moment—safe, healed, clean—she allowed herself to break down. Altair held her as she sobbed, stroking her back and making calming noises.
When her cries at last subsided, Altair placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Come on, my love,” he said. “You need to get some sleep.”
Wiping at her face, Iyana pulled away from him. His arms stretched out towards her, unwilling to let her go just yet. “I slept for two days.”
Altair smiled. “That may be so, but the magic of healing is exhausting. You’ll need to recharge your stores.” He picked her up again out of the water, drying her with a rush of warm air. Iyana made a mental note to learn that particular trick. Her days of waiting for her hair to dry after bathing would be over. Altair wrapped her up again in his cloak, enveloping her in his earthy petrichor scent. He promised to make her new clothing in the morning after he rested. They walked back towards their camp, Altair still carrying her despite her protests, leaving Emmeric’s soiled cloak on the banks of the river. Iyana watched the cloak recede into the darkness, a piece of her heart sad she couldn’t keep it.
They continued ambling north at a more meandering pace, attempting to put distance between themselves and Athusia. None of them believed Uther would simply allow Iyana to escape. Somebody would come after them, and the odds were high it would be Prince Zane. Whenever they talked about Zane, Talon became melancholic, and she had to wonder if something was going on between the two. If there was, and Tal had put his safety on the line for her… that meant the world to her.
Iyana had woken up with Altair snuggled behind her, his arm thrown over her waist, and something hard digging into her ass. He seemed to sleep soundly, but when she had reached behind her to touch him, he grabbed her wrist, bringing it back in front of her and tucking her in tighter. Altair’s length still pressed against her and she wiggled in protest of the star’s chivalry, making him groan. Unfortunately, they weren’t alone. Emmeric and Talon had already been up and were eating a small breakfast. Talon had greeted them enthusiastically, whereas Emmeric sipped on terrible coffee saying nothing. Altair lived up to his promise and magicked her some clothing, so now she was sitting comfortably on top of Altair’s horse in breeches and a tunic. Plus her own extremely warm and fuzzy cloak.
The three men must have thought she was crazy as she said hello to each of the horses before they left for the day. Altair’s was a large, sleek black stallion who held his head high with pride. As he should—he was an impressive specimen. Talon said he was the brother of Zane’s horse, Ryunn, and his name was Pryn. Tal’s horse was a smaller, chestnut brown stallion named Lore. And Emmeric had a gorgeous palomino mare, her golden coat shiny in the sunlight, white mane blowing in the wind. She was truly majestic, and it dismayed Iyana to learn no one had learned her name. So Iyana dubbed her Ciri after the Goddess of Day. Once she was properly introduced to each horse, they resumed their journey to an as of yet unknown destination.
Sunshine poured over them as they rode through a lovely, crisp fall day, the air with a bite to it, warning of cooler temperatures to come. The leaves on the trees were all now a gorgeous rainbow of reds, oranges, and yellows, with the pine trees adding in some green. Iyana felt amazing and was buzzing with restrained energy. She assumed the combination of healing herself plus the magic high from connecting with Emmeric was to blame for her current mood. Even her fingernails had grown back, and she spent longer than necessary observing them, touching them, testing their strength and making sure they were real. Altair clamped an arm down around her stomach in the afternoon.
“Astalle,” he practically growled in her ear. “If you continue to squirm, you’re going to owe me a new pair of pants.” Oh. Iyana’s neck and face flushed, hoping Emmeric and Talon weren’t close enough to overhear.
“There’s just so much magic within me right now, and it feels like it needs to, I don’t know, come out.” Altair didn’t answer for a moment, but then halted his horse. She twisted around towards him with a question on the tip of her tongue.
“We need a break,” Altair called out to Emmeric and Talon, who were a few paces ahead of them. The two friends turned their horses around.
“Everything okay?” Emmeric asked. It was the first Iyana had heard him speak all day.
“Iyana needs to purge some magic.”
“What would happen if I don’t purge it?” Iyana asked.
Altair shrugged. “Nothing much of importance, but you’d be extremely hyper, and I can only deal with this for so long.”
“Okay,” Iyana chirped, swinging a leg over Pryn’s neck and sliding off the horse. “What do I do?”
“You’ll need Emmeric,” Altair said. The soldier pursed his lips, clearly unhappy about the demand.
Iyana waved him down. “Come on, then,” she said, smiling up at him. His brow furrowed in confusion, and she couldn’t blame him for the reaction. She’d been rude and unwilling to let him into her life, but since it seemed he’d be around for quite a while, she would make a conscious effort to change their rapport. Emmeric landed on his feet gracefully, pushing his dark hair off his forehead. Talon and Altair also dismounted, tying all the horses to a nearby tree.
“Eventually you’ll be able to do this without physical touch, just as eventually healing won’t require blood,” Altair continued. “But while you’re learning, it will be easier to hold hands.” Iyana held out her hand towards Emmeric immediately, practically bouncing on her toes to try something new.
“Why?” Emmeric asked, keeping his hands close to his own body. She lowered her arm slowly back to her side, reminding herself Emmeric didn’t owe her friendship or civility after the way she’d treated him.
Altair shot Emmeric an annoyed glare. Because he didn’t automatically grab Iyana’s hand? Or because he had dared to question the all-knowing star? A giggle bubbled in Iyana’s throat, but she didn’t let it pass her lips. “Magic doesn’t have any physical properties until it is channeled into something, like so…” Altair held up an open palm with a dancing flame sitting in his hand.
“You can do that, and you still had me make a fire last night?” Talon complained. Altair casually flicked the fire towards the red head. Talon screeched, dodging the fire, causing Iyana to laugh at the sound. Tal gave Altair a rude gesture, then winked at Iyana.
“But,” Altair said, glaring at Talon, daring him to interrupt again, “when learning, some find it easier to imagine magic as a tangible object, and because you two are connected, touching will ease the transition.”
“I’ve been wondering,” Talon mused, “if Emmeric is the Kanaliza, doesn’t that imply he’s channeling magic from something into Iyana? But if he doesn’t have any magic, how does he do it?” Iyana hadn’t thought to question the how, only focusing on accepting her new reality and thinking about why.
Altair heaved a long-suffering sigh as if to say, humans are so tedious. “He is channeling magic. Not from himself, although Iyana can ‘store’ magic within him.” Iyana perked up, wanting to learn the new trick immediately.
“No,” Emmeric said, pointing at her. “You are not using me as storage until you master more of your magic.” Iyana pouted, looking to Altair, hoping he’d side with her on this endeavor.
“He’s right, my star. You might accidentally injure him. Or cause him to explode.” Altair hummed. “On second thought…”
“No!” Emmeric insisted.
“Fine,” Iyana sulked.
“As I was saying,” said Altair, “Emmeric channels magic from nearby sources. Yesterday, during Iyana’s healing, you siphoned some of my magic.”
“How am I supposed to channel when there’s practically no magic in Arinem? We might not always be around you to draw from your magic,” Emmeric asked.
“Nor would I want you to. I need my magic and can’t afford it to be weakened further. But there’s less magic in humans, not necessarily in Arinem. Magic surrounds us, in the earth, the trees, the animals, even the wind. That’s what you would draw from.”
Iyana clapped her hands together. “Less talk, more magic.”
Emmeric huffed a small laugh, and Iyana mentally patted herself on the back for the small win. Holding out her hand for him again, she wiggled her fingers, trying to entice him to join her. He smiled crookedly and held her hand, intertwining their fingers together. Iyana frowned; she’d been expecting the magic to flow into her as it did the day before, but they were standing there like two idiots holding hands. Emmeric shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
“Altair?” Iyana asked.
“Connect with your magic, and it should pull from Emmeric automatically.”
She nodded and saw Altair motion Talon to move away from them. Probably a good idea. She had no control over any of this yet.
Iyana inhaled deeply, and timidly began seeking her spark of magic. But since Iyana had been thrown into the dungeons, she couldn’t find that little woman made of fire, and the terrifying thought of never connecting with her magic again crossed her mind. Then, out of the darkness, a flame came to life inside of her, materializing into the woman. Iyana swore she beamed at her, welcoming her back as she reached out a hand. Their fingers brushed, and the magic rushed through Iyana.
Mouth open, head thrown back to the sky, her breath stalled. This wasn’t how it had been the previous times she’d connected to the magic. It was much more potent. The day before she had still been in so much pain…she had recognized the pleasure and rush of melding with Emmeric, but this was so much more. In the corner of her vision, Emmeric’s body was stiff, his mouth also parted, gazing at her. Dimly, she heard Altair yelling something about control, but she was altogether unprepared for the flood of emotions and sensations currently coursing through her body, her mind, her soul. Iyana wanted to stay in this state forever, tightening her hold on Emmeric’s hand.
The rush suddenly ceased and Iyana stumbled forward, crashing back to reality and losing hold of her magic. Altair had physically separated their hands to stop the flow from Emmeric into her. Altair continued to hold her wrist, making sure she was steady. Emmeric stared at her wide-eyed, chest heaving. Iyana felt the way he looked. Either merging magic with Emmeric was better than sex or she hadn’t gotten laid in too long.
Everyone stood in silence for a few moments before Emmeric abruptly turned, stalking off into the trees. Iyana took a step to go after him, but Altair held her wrist tighter. “Let him go, love,” Altair said. She looked to Talon, who was also watching the spot Emmeric had disappeared into.
“I’ll go,” Tal said.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Iyana remembered her first real brush with magic; it was life-changing, and she couldn’t begrudge Emmeric taking time to sort out his thoughts.
Altair tilted her chin until she was staring into his soft, golden eyes. Iyana’s own fluttered as he ran a thumb along her bottom lip. “You need to control the magic, astalle.”
“I wasn’t ready,” her voice was breathless. Altair stared at her with a fierce hunger. Iyana waited for the reprimand. The lecture about how she needed to work harder.
“Never look at Emmeric like that again.”
“Like what?” she asked, confused. She’d been so caught up in the moment, she didn’t know she needed to school her expression.
“Like you want to fuck him,” Altair growled. He gripped her jaw, crashing his lips onto hers. Altair kissed as if he wanted to devour her, and Iyana would gladly allow him to do just that. Her hands found their way into his hair, pulling him closer, as she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. Altair moaned, his tongue dancing with hers, one hand on her waist holding her flush against him, the other in her hair, tugging her head back. He was fully in control; she loved it. It was the most passionate kiss they’d shared since they were in the forest outside of Huton. Iyana didn’t want it to end, the way her lips tingled with his against them. She would happily spend the rest of her life right here in Altair’s arms, with him kissing her breathless.
But his lips slowed, his hand loosening her hair from his tight grip. They moved their lips together languidly for a few moments more until Altair pulled away. They both breathed heavily. Iyana wanted more, needed more. She tried to draw Altair towards her again, but he resisted, grabbing her hands and holding them away from his body. She moaned in frustration. Altair’s eyes closed at the noise.
“As much as I want to continue this, my star,” he said, voiced strained. “They’re going to return soon, and we, unfortunately, need to keep moving.”
“Okay,” Iyana said, trying to hide her disappointment.
“I promise, astalle,” he murmured, gently gripping her chin. “We will continue this later.”
“I’m holding you to that, star-boy.”
“Star-boy?” Altair raised a brow.
Iyana stuck her tongue out at him and swung herself back onto the horse.
Altair’s pupils expanded. “I’m going to punish that smart mouth of yours.”
“Promises, promises…” she purred. Iyana’s body was much more settled after expelling some magic and their intense kiss. Although certain parts of her were more awake than normal, and all that occupied her thoughts was getting Altair alone.
Later that night, at camp, they were sitting around a fire after eating a small dinner. Riding the rest of the afternoon was pure torture, Altair at her back, an arm around her waist, his scent caressing her. Plus, the friction within her breeches and against the saddle didn’t help her situation. She sat next to Altair on a bedroll, their thighs pressed together. Talon and Emmeric were across from them, having a quiet conversation.
Talon had returned to the horses with Emmeric not long after Iyana had mounted Pryn and teased Altair. Emmeric was mostly silent the rest of the afternoon, only speaking to Talon, and only a couple of words at a time. Iyana couldn’t get a solid read on him or his emotions. Upset? Confused? Embarrassed? …Aroused? She wanted to talk to him, to get an idea of where his head was at, but she knew he needed some time away from her and she could respect that.
So, she sat next to Altair, touching him without touching him, wondering how to separate him from the other two. Iyana stood, stretching her arms above her head, raising the hem of her tunic and showing a sliver of skin.
“I’m going to stretch my legs a bit,” she announced.
“Don’t go too far,” Talon said.
Nodding, she tried to catch Altair’s eye to give the subtle hint of come follow me into the woods so we can do things, but his attention was not on her. She couldn’t very well sit back down after her announcement, so she walked into the trees hoping he’d understood anyway and would be along shortly. White-barked birch trees surrounded her, moonlight shining through the leaves, painting the forest silver. Night-blooming flowers released a pleasant scent, perfuming the air as she walked further away from the light of the campfire. Crickets chirped merrily. This was the most peaceful area of Athusa Iyana had encountered so far.
A twig snapped behind her, and her lips curled upwards smugly.
Turning, she said, “I knew you’d—”
Instead of her glowing, gorgeous star standing in the woods as she expected, there was an enormous black leopard. The cat prowled towards Iyana on claw-tipped paws as big as her face, brown eyes glinting in the darkness. The leopard was just as big as the wolves in the Aula Pass. Bigger. Iyana was face to face with the predator.
“Hi, kitty,” she said, in what she hoped was a soothing manner, hands raised to show she wasn’t a threat. Iyana backed up slowly, tracking the big cat’s movements. The leopard continued to follow her, snarling. Iyana noticed canine teeth as long as her hand dripping saliva onto the soil. Fear sent her heart racing. Hopefully she could squeeze through a narrow space, or find a thorn bush somewhere. Either somewhere to hide, or at least slow down the larger animal in order for her to make a run back to the others. It didn’t even cross her mind to protect herself with magic.
Iyana stumbled on a rock, falling onto her back. With a growl as her only warning, the leopard pounced.