Chapter 11
Briar
He stared out at the sea, the waves rolling to shore in a rhythm that had soothed him all his life.
His hands were in his pockets, and his sleeveless tunic was still warm, even with the stars standing watch while the sun slumbered.
Water brushed his bare feet as it ebbed and flowed, and he toyed with the element as he waited.
He’d spent the entirety of the afternoon and evening with Ashtine, and he hadn’t lied to her.
He had thought about what it would be like to steal moments with her, but he’d also thought of all the reasons why they couldn’t have that.
Their Courts would never stand for it. The other Royals would never agree to such a power pairing.
Not to mention the gods who forbid such a thing since the First gods and goddesses emerged from the Chaos.
And still he did not care when he definitely should.
A faint breeze had him smiling, and he didn’t bother looking behind him when he said, “I knew you would come tonight.”
“This will break laws of old,” Ashtine said, coming to stand beside him.
“It does not have to.”
She looked up at him, and he finally turned to face her. In the moonlight, her sky-blue eyes appeared almost silver. Her hair flowed on winds of her own making, and her silvery gown was light-weight and sleeveless. She’d dressed for his Court tonight.
“How can it not break laws of old?” she asked. “Our power is immense. It is why we carry our titles, and while the old laws are not officially our laws, they—”
“I think we simply take the trials as they come,” Briar interrupted. “I know you have reservations, Ashtine, and I will not try and sway you if it is not something you want.”
“But you know it is something I desire,” she insisted. “You should be telling me all the reasons we should stop this. Both of our Seconds tell us this is ill-advised.”
She was both right and wrong. While he didn’t know what Ermir had said to her, Sawyer hadn’t once told Briar not to pursue this.
He had only cautioned him, telling him to think of the implications.
And tonight, when they’d returned from the Fire Court, he’d only told him again that if this moves forward, they should be upfront with everyone rather than keep it a secret.
Despite that, secrecy was their only option if they wanted time to learn about each other without the involvement of the rest of the Courts.
Maybe it would be short-lived in the end and the commotion would be pointless.
That was what he told himself as he said, “We do not know what the future holds, Ashtine. We will go mad trying to figure it out.”
“You speak of the winds?” she asked, stepping closer.
“I speak of life and fate and the days ahead,” he answered. “I speak knowing we have centuries ahead of us, and we deserve happiness and something for ourselves, despite our titles and responsibilities.”
“We are our titles and responsibilities. You cannot deny that simply by speaking it,” she argued.
“Then we keep this for ourselves.”
“You will be content with stolen moments and secret meetings?” she asked.
“I will steal whatever time I can from fate if it means being with you,” Briar replied, taking her hand in his and bringing her fingertips to his lips. “I will never regret a moment of it.”
She was silent for so long, Briar thought she was going to deny him.
He’d let her go, of course. If she did not want to risk it, he understood.
He would move on at some point, but he’d always spend his days wondering what it would have been like.
That he would regret. Never knowing, but feeling in his soul he had missed out on something that even the gods would envy.
“I do not know how to navigate something like this,” she finally said.
“Neither do I,” he answered, tugging her closer.
Ashtine shook her head. “No. I mean, I … This is a social situation I am unfamiliar with.”
He tried to hide his smile, but couldn’t as he reached to tuck her hair behind her ear. “My dearest Ashtine, this is anything but a social situation.”
“Oh,” she murmured. “In that case, I do not understand what this is at all.”
“Neither do I,” he repeated. “We will discover it together, I suppose.”
It was a moment before she nodded. “That sounds like something I would enjoy.”
Brushing his thumb along her cheek, he asked, “Have you slept tonight?”
She shook her head. “I spent the hours debating if I would come to you.”
He knew that. Having been in her private bedchamber, he could now use his water-gazing gifts to enchant the water there. He’d done so tonight, not entirely trusting her to summon him if she needed him.
Without a word, he conjured a water portal, guiding her through into his private rooms, just as he had before. Ashtine looked around the space, a frown forming.
“There is only a sofa and chairs in here,” she said.
“It is a sitting room,” he replied.
“I have only been intimate in a bed. Is a sofa the same?” she asked, her head tipping to the side as she studied the furniture.
“I was attempting not to be presumptuous,” he replied. “However, apparently you had presumptions of your own.”
“I did assume this situation would involve a bed,” she retorted.
He rolled his lips, fighting the smile, but when she glanced at him, he couldn’t hide it.
“Briar Drayce, it is rude to continually tease me when I do not understand when you are doing so,” she chided.
Reaching for her and intertwining their fingers once more, he said, “This situation indeed involves a bed for the sole reason that neither of us has slept tonight. The intimacy part will be left up to you to decide.”
He pulled her to the bedchamber, candles already lit to illuminate the room. There wasn’t a fire because the heat of the summer still permeated the air, but—
“Do you want the windows and veranda doors closed?” he asked, while she again took in his space.
“No,” she murmured. “The winds are calmer when I am with you.”
“Are they silent?”
“Not silent. They simply … wait for me. Until I am ready to hear them,” she answered.
“Then we need to figure out how to carry that over whether I am with you or not,” he said.
She sighed, and he could hear the exhaustion in that single breath. “I have tried for decades. They do what they wish.”
“Our magic is not meant to control us, Ashtine,” he said gently.
“The winds are different.”
He didn’t think that was true, but he also recognized this wasn’t the time to argue with her. Instead, he asked, “Do you wish to rest in that dress, or would you like to borrow a shirt?”
She turned to him, her expression one of curiosity. “One of yours?”
“I do keep only my clothing in this space.”
“You jest.”
“You are a quick study,” he said with a wink.
Ashtine clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Again with the teasing.” Then she added, “Different sleeping attire would be appreciated.”
He nodded, retrieving a light-weight tunic that would be more than oversized on her frame. While she changed, he did the same in the bathing room, and when he returned, she was already nestled on the bed.
“You will stay? Like before?” she asked the moment he stepped back into the room.
He smiled softly, making his way to the bed and blowing out the candles as he went. “I am stealing every moment I can with you, Ashtine.”
She smiled at that, and it was one of the most beautiful things he’d seen.
He immediately made a silent vow to pull more of those smiles from her.
And laughter. He wanted to hear more of that from her too.
She deserved to smile and laugh. She deserved so much more than duty to her people and indiscernible musings from the winds.
He’d been settled in the bed beside her for several minutes when he said into the fading dark, “Ashtine?”
“Yes, Briar?”
He smiled at his name on her lips. “Can I kiss you, or would you prefer to sleep?”
“I enjoy kissing you,” she answered.
That was all he needed to roll onto his side, moving closer until his lips met hers.
A contented sigh came from her when he deepened the kiss, parting her lips and seeking her tongue with his own.
For a long time, they lay there, tuning out the world, until Ashtine murmured, “Am I still to decide the intimacy?”
“That choice is always yours,” he answered, pressing another kiss to the corner of her mouth.
“If I tell you I wish for more this night?”
He smiled against her skin as he pressed a kiss to her jaw. “I will ask if you are certain.”
To his pleasant surprise, she pushed his shoulders, nudging him onto his back and climbing atop him, settling against his already hard length. “I rarely speak unless I am certain,” she said. “But I will ask if you are certain as well. I will understand if you change your thoughts on the matter.”
“I am not changing my mind, Ashtine,” he answered, his hands sliding up her bare thighs and slipping under the shirt she wore.
His thumbs made idle circles along her hips as he added, “But should I ever question things or feel differently, I will tell you. And I request you promise the same transparency.”
Her smile was soft and tender as she leaned down, brushing her lips along his. “I can agree to such terms.”
“Good,” was all he said before he gripped the hem of the shirt and pulled it over her head. Then he was rolling them over so she was lying beneath him. Her silver hair fanned across the pillows, and her body bared to him had him swallowing down the possessive growl that rumbled in his chest.
He didn’t feel worthy of seeing her like this, let alone having the privilege of touching her, but he wasn’t about to question it now. Not when he’d wondered about this moment for months. Not as her winds wrapped around him in a gentle breeze, making his entire body shudder with want.