Chapter 41
Huntyr
We can’t stop.
We spend the entire night wrapped in each other.
Over and over.
On the bed.
In the tub.
With me on my knees and then him on his again.
We check off every item on the list and then some, and it’s still not enough.
Every time we come together just leaves me hungry for more. It’s a kind of indescribable need, one I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced before. Even when I’m entirely spent, muscles limp and trembling, I’m still begging him for more as he carries me to bed.
“Aren’t you tired yet?” he teases.
He sits me on the sheets, pulling the covers back and pointing in a silent instruction for me to sit back.
“No,” I lie, even as an immediate yawn escapes, exposing me.
He chuckles softly before settling into the bed next to me. “Sleep, Huntress. You’ve had a long day and an arguably longer night.”
Right. This day started with the overwhelming knowledge that I was going to die. I’d faced the trial, won the Conclave, called in my favor, lost myself in an all-out brawl, and then lost myself in him… repeatedly. Come to think of it, that was a lot to do all in a single day.
Still, I glance at him suspiciously. “You’re sleeping in the bed?”
He folds a hand behind his head and looks at me with a furrowed brow. “I was inside of you ten minutes ago, but the idea of sleeping next to me bothers you?”
No.
Yes.
I don’t know.
Sex is one thing. Sex is fun and easy. Sex with him could even be described as mind-blowing.
But sleep?
Trusting someone enough to fall asleep next to them is an entirely different question.
Derian just watches me as I mentally debate myself before he stands, throws on a pair of sleeping shorts, and makes his way to the door. He opens it wide, and I gasp audibly when I see Kaia sitting directly outside, greeting him with an irritated growl.
“How long have you been out there?” I ask her.
“Long enough to know that if this is how you interact with everyone you plan to kill, then you must be a terrible assassin.”
I toss a pillow at her, and she snarls aggressively before jumping onto the foot of the bed and curling up at my feet.
“I am glad you are not dead,” she tells me. “But it is late, and the prince is right in insisting you need to sleep. From what I heard, you had an exhausting few hours.”
“I wouldn’t have pegged you for such a listener.”
She growls at me, and I laugh, settling back against the pillows happily.
“There. Does it feel better knowing she’s here to stop me from trying to harm you?” Derian asks, crawling back into the bed beside me.
Kaia yawns in my head. “Tell the prince that, unlike you, I value my rest. If he were to give me any reason to wake in the night, I will show him exactly why the Vaereth trusted the Eshari as their guards.”
I nod at him. “Kaia says not to wake her up.”
“That is not what I said,” she grumbles.
He looks down at the cat skeptically. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
For a moment, I watch the two of them glare at each other, a smile playing at my lips. “You don’t like her, do you?”
Kaia lays her head down on her front paws, still staring at Derian, who shifts awkwardly next to me.
“She doesn’t like me.” He blows out the candle on his bedside table and pulls the quilt up to his waist. Then he pulls it up higher over me. “But if having her here helps you sleep soundly, then so be it.”
“Thank you.”
In the darkness he turns towards me, and I fight the urge to trace his jawline with my fingertips. So beautiful. He’s far too beautiful.
And kind.
He wouldn’t want anyone to notice.
Around everyone else, he’s hard and mocking. His presence in a room is suffocating. His power is absolutely terrifying. Derian’s reputation as a monster is not entirely unearned.
And yet, he was gentle with me today.
He helped me find myself after Seraphina broke me.
He let me fight out my feelings because that’s what I needed at the moment.
He’s letting Kaia sleep next to me simply because it makes me feel calmer.
Derian is a Fae. He has the same flaws as the rest of them. More than that, he’s the Fae prince. Their leader. My father’s death and the suffering of all Mortals falls at his feet.
Even still, though, if I allow myself to look past that…
“I think,” I pause, searching for the words, searching for the confidence to say them. “I think that I might not hate you, Derian Silverthorn.”
He doesn’t know how sad those words are. He doesn’t know that the fact I don’t hate him feels like a betrayal to my very soul. He doesn’t know that even though I actually mean it, it doesn’t change what I have to do.
Derian reaches over, running a knuckle across my cheek. “I don’t hate you either, Huntyr Lachlan. Now sleep, please. Tomorrow will be another long day.”
I want to ask him what he means, what else there is to be done, but he pulls me towards him and then I’m on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart in a steady rhythm.
Kaia snores softly at our feet, and the feeling of him running his hands through my hair is so calming and right that I’m asleep before I can utter another word.
Derian is already gone from the bed when I finally wake up.
Kaia remains, though, seated by the doors to the balcony, staring out at the ocean.
When she hears me wake, she flicks her tail toward a stack of clothing that has been left for me and tells me Derian left it with instructions to come to breakfast when I was ready.
I dress quietly in a white sweater and cotton leggings, and from there the day takes off at a furious pace. We eat breakfast with his aunt, Taric, Caldren, and Roland. Then we’re whisked back to the Arena for a memorial for the fallen competitors.
The sight of that cursed space sends a burst of anxiety rushing through me, but Kaia stays close to my side. I allow her presence to ground me as I mumble kind words about each of the women whose blood had flowed right under my very feet.
From there, I’m instructed by Roland to begin packing my belongings.
When I remind him that I had been drug from the Mortal Kingdoms without warning, and therefore had no belongings, Derian intervenes and promises I’ll be able to buy whatever items I need for my wardrobe when we arrive in Springhallow.
I then ask if that kindness would extend towards a set of custom-made blades, fitted for my height and hand shape, and he quips that there are ways I could earn that gift.
So, I call him a Fae bastard and try to punch him. He just dodges, flicks my nose, and walks off.
Now our little group is gathered by the stables, preparing to make our journey to Derian’s home in Springhallow. Our wedding is to take place there.
A wedding that will never happen if I have my way.
I stroke my hands through the dark mane of the chestnut-brown mare I’ll be riding for our trip, then check the straps of the bedroll and food pouch attached to her saddle.
It’s early afternoon, so the sun is at its peak, but a gentle breeze blows the salted air of the sea towards us, lifting the tendrils of hair near my face that have fallen out from where I’ve pulled it back.
The air is cool and fresh, good weather for riding.
I can only hope it stays that way, since the journey is supposed to take a day or two.
“The prince comes,” Kaia tells me from my feet, her tail twitching unhappily.
Kaia and the horses have not become fast friends, but they’ll have to tolerate each other until we get to Springhallow.
Derian doesn’t speak as he reaches me, choosing instead to bend and check the hooves of my mare.
“I can pick the hooves of my own horse,” I grumble, resting my hands on my hips.
I’m still wearing the sweater and leggings, the air still warm enough not to warrant anything additional. The only change to my person is the sword that’s now slung across my back and the addition of a blade on my thigh.
Derian glances over the sword, as if assuring himself that it’s there, before scanning over the rest of me. “Do you have a cloak packed? It can get colder at night.”
Okay, now I’m starting to feel offended. I lift my brows. “Since when did you become such a worrywart?”
He pauses his inspection of me, glancing away for a moment with a frown and turning back to me with a shake of his head. “I don’t know, actually. I suppose I just wanted to ensure you have everything you need since we’re about to leave.”
I throw my foot into the stirrup and easily hoist myself onto my horse.
“I’m fine, Derian. Even if I had forgotten a cloak, which I didn’t, I’m more than capable of dealing with the cold.
And before you ask, I also have my bedroll, a change of clothes, and plenty of food.
Now stop being weird and lead us out. We’re wasting daylight. ”
Derian frowns, still glancing over me for a moment longer. It’s not until Kaia takes a step towards him with a snarl that he finally nods and leaves, climbing onto his own black steed without another word.
“You’re such a bully,” I tease.
She huffs once he’s gone. “I did not choose a simpering girl who needs a male to come save her. His constant mollycoddling of you is as unnecessary as it is annoying.”
“Can’t say I disagree.”
“Why would you disagree with a point that is so obviously correct?” She looks towards me, and for all her complaints about Derian, I’m nearly positive that she glances over my saddle and weapons too. “We shall begin this ridiculous journey now.”
The second she starts moving, my horse bucks.
It takes all my thigh and core strength to stay seated as I pet reassuringly down the horse's mane, making soft cooing noises as I do. The Fae all look towards me, Taric with his hands outstretched as if he plans to grab onto the animal and physically restrain it if it doesn’t calm down.
“I’m fine,” I tell him when I get her to still. Then I feel the oppressive weight of Derian’s stare on me. “I’m fine.”
He takes a sharp, shuddering breath before turning and barking orders to those around us.
“Maybe you should keep your distance,” I tell Kaia.