Chapter 4
four
Dove
Feasting is definitely the word for it. Multiple platters of bronzed trays featuring different foods are brought in and placed on the low table between us.
Colourful berries, fish, a seaweed substance and a thin bread with multiple pots of dips grace us.
I can see these people do not necessarily value things, but craftsmanship.
The products I lay my eyes on have a beauty to them, the trays decorated in ornate carvings.
Back in Haven, I felt like I was always rushing to fix clothing or tend to the garden.
My sewing definitely left something to be desired, but here, I notice the perfect stitching on the pillows I’m sitting on—a soft, off-white thread woven expertly.
Gideon is offered a seat, and we are directed to eat. At first, he declines. However, Moyrie will not hear of it. She gets up out of her seated position, grabs his arm and drags him next to me on the cushions.
“She’s unusually strong,” he mumbles under his breath.
I can’t help the slight wheeze of laughter that escapes me.
Moyrie is smaller than me, and she basically manhandled Gideon.
I don’t know whether I want to admire her or rip her heart out for touching him.
My response to the interaction leaves me confused.
With time to mull over what has transpired since we landed in the Silver Sands, I can’t help where my thoughts wander—betrothals.
I know that the betrothal is a duty, a part of being a prince or princess.
Knowing this does not improve the niggle of doubt that wears away at me after hearing Rivern is sworn to another.
It is a dagger to my heart, the bond a dull thud in my chest at the mere thought of giving him up to another.
It will never happen.
It can never happen.
He is mine.
The strangest thing is the way Moyrie eyes us, like she’s calculating her next move. What test could she possibly be talking about?
I go to take another sip of the soothing green liquid.
The more I drink, the more relaxed I’m becoming, ignoring both Rivern and Fury’s warnings about drinking too much.
I soon see that three-quarters of my cup is gone.
I put myself on hold. I notice both Rivern and Gideon are on their second cups, though, as they dig into the delicious array of food boards before us.
Even though the food is foreign to me, it’s delicious.
I can’t remember the last time I ate this well.
I admit I’m not holding back, either. We must look like a pack of wild dogs. I suppose one of us is a wolf.
I look up to see Moyrie and the other Silver Sands male beside her, equally not holding back, so I continue my suction of glorious food without thinking about how I look.
With nothing left on the table before us, we all sink back into the cushions.
I naturally reach to rub my full stomach.
The feeling of being well-fed is a new novelty for me, considering I haven’t eaten so well since…
Well, ever. Even when Haven supposedly had enough food for the kingdom, we were always rationed.
Being a servant of the Goddess only afforded me the scraps the priestesses didn’t eat.
A warm, solid body sidles up next to me as I lean back into the comfort surrounding me. “Did I tell you how utterly devastating you look in that dress, love?”
Rivern’s words almost sound off-kilter. His lips skim my ear, his finger trailing up my arm.
My body wants to fall into his, but I notice movement from the other side of the low table.
Moyrie sits before us, alone, an off-putting but alluring leer on her face. Goddess, I really want to touch her skin again. Are they really scales? They are so enticing. The thought comes unbidden.
Rivern leans into me, saying for my ears only, “Dammit, Dove, I want to lick every inch of your skin. You’re fucking gorgeous.”
My core turns to molten lava at his hypnotic words. I press my face into his shoulder, feeling unnaturally hot. Sweat drips from the crevices of my cocooned body. A tempting purr starts to emit from Rivern’s chest as he wraps his broad arms around me, hauling me onto his lap.
I let out a small squeak of surprise, but am equally delighted at being manhandled by my bonded, especially in front of the female he was meant to be betrothed to. The bond is humming happily within my weary heart.
Squirming to make my new home on my bonded’s lap, I feel a hardness press into my bottom.
My lips part on a whimpering gasp. “Remember, I once told you if you make noises like that, I cannot stop what comes next.” He sniffs my hair, whispering, “Goddess, have mercy. Why do you smell like the most delicious dessert in all the stars?”
“Songbird.” The growl comes next to me. The gruff voice is an alluring pull.
Turning, I see Gideon with beads of sweat lingering on his forehead.
It’s like the suns went down but the temperature turned up in this small, cushioned room, which is odd, because the sheets covering the door and roof are flapping in the breeze.
Looking around, I see small flames now illuminate the space, highlighting that our food platters are gone—Moyrie, too.
Something hard and hot grinds into my backside. I grip onto the arm banded around my middle, eyes flashing towards Gideon. Is it weird that Rivern and I are all over each other, and Gideon’s watching? What in the name of the Goddess happened to Moyrie? Why does my body feel so warm?
Thoughts quickly fly in and out of my head. They are superseded by the two bodies surrounding mine. That woodsy warmth alights my skin, leaving it sensitive to Rivern’s touch.
“Dove,” Gideon’s husky voice pokes through my fixation. I notice how his lips sit in a straight line, his fists clenched by his sides. “Something is wrong.”
My face contorts, my eyebrows raising. I feel the need to growl back at him. Instead, I reply, “What do you mean?”
An exasperated puff of air leaves his lips. He moves closer, only to flinch when he sniffs the air around us. “Don’t you find it odd that you are grinding all over Rivern all of a sudden?”
No, I almost say, then think better of it as amber eyes cleave me in two.
The bond strums happily in my chest, letting me know Rivern is happy in our connection as he trails licking kisses up the side of my neck. He wasn’t joking about the dessert comment, then. “Rivern?” I try to get his attention by pulling on his arm.
All I get in response is a muffled, “Quit it, I’m having my dessert,” followed by a rumbling laugh that moves our bodies up and down.
“Very funny,” I harrumph. The smooth glide of his lips as he whispers over my skin, nibbling and sucking, is making me delirious. Damn it all to the Gods if I’m going to stop my bonded from making me feel like a sweet piece of melting taffy.
“Dove.” This time, Gideon sounds angry. My eyes fly to flickering amber orbs. “I need you to ask Fury what is going on.”
Oh, right. My other bonded male—the one who is a God. The one who aggravates me. I almost forgot about him in the haze of whatever is happening to our bodies. “Okay, just give me a sec.”
Focusing on sending words in my head right now seems like the most difficult task in the world.
I shout Fury’s name into the fogginess of my brain, getting nothing back—just a strange type of static.
I try a couple of times, however, I’m greeted with the same response.
I can still feel his bond strongly linked with mine, which leaves any worry behind.
If anything, the feelings I’m getting down the bond are ones of amusement mixed with a slight edge of concern.
“Hmmm, ooooh.” My musing turns into tingling, body-rushing excitement. Rivern’s hands begin to wander up and down the inseam of my thighs. Come to think of it, even the beast that is housed in the cavity of my chest is unmoving. Completely still.
Gideon swears beside us. I meet his glare, hands lingering up and down my thighs, my lips quivering at the arousing sensation. “I don’t know much about the children of Osear”—he points around the tent—“but from what I’ve heard, they covet some ancient snake poison.”
The word poison lights up my senses. My back goes straight. Feeling the strain in my body, Rivern whispers, “Shhh, love, I’ve got you,” into my skin.
Catching my distress, Gideon continues, “I don’t know what it does, but I know the people here drink it daily, add it to their foods. Maybe we are just experiencing the side effects. I don’t think it will cause us any major harm.”
“You don’t think!?” I shriek in alarm, a sudden clarity worming its way back into my mind. “Are you sure? Fury won’t answer me.”
Gideon rubs scarred, thick fingers over his scruffy beard, making me almost drool at the sight. Goddess, what is happening to me? My eyes dart downwards. I observe a very noticeable bulge in his pants. Seriously, with all that is holy, what is going on?
Feeling Rivern lapping at the soft skin of my wrist isn’t helping right now, either. My heart pounding wildly, amber eyes meet mine. Gideon’s tongue darts out to lick his lips. I can’t help but imagine that tongue darting out to lick other throbbing parts of my body.
His tongue moves languidly past one of his pointed incisors. My heart stops. Only one thought is on my mind—bite. I want Gideon to bite me. I want my blood flowing through his veins. I want his mark on my skin for everyone to see. I want everyone to know he’s…
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.
I divert my gaze from that frustratingly pussy-clenching incisor and grasp Rivern’s hands. “Rivern, we can’t do this here.”