CHAPTER V
INCHING CLOSER
I wake with my body splayed over Keane’s chest and legs, the two of us lying sideways across the bed as the bright Spring sun from the balcony shines into the room.
Stormfall is sleeping peacefully above us, while Keane’s black crown glitters by the pillows not far from his head.
The piece deserves to have a stand, not lay so carelessly on the sheets.
Perhaps I could have something made for him, maybe even a box of sorts so he can set it inside.
The thought makes me smile. After yesterday’s reaction to my shadow oak jewel, I knew I’d enjoy giving Keane more gifts.
My body is sore as I slowly start to wake up.
Sore from the full night of standing in Gail’s heels, which I notice are still strapped to my feet.
My black dress is still holding tight to my waist, though it’s thoroughly wrinkled with the slit ripped even wider by Keane.
I’m sore from our touches, from his hands between my legs that possessed me so perfectly, from the full length of him that now leaves an aching desire and hollowness within my most sensitive area.
I’m sore. But I’m feeling the best I have in a long time.
Keane is King.
All the worry and anxiety and the constant movement within the castle has led to the most perfect day. He’s finally the King of Disce.
I lift my head off his shoulder and glance up, my smile large.
Keane is sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling with steady breaths under my arm as the sunlight hits his face.
He looks serene, so calm in his angular features that I stare at him for far too long, admiring the full beauty of his face.
He’s always such a man of confidence, of pure and strong power, but right now, in our bed together, he looks the most relaxed I’ve seen him in a fortnight.
I smile again and move my hand up to the black chain resting across his chest, fingering the jewel and grinning even more in the knowledge that it will grace his skin for the rest of his life.
The thought makes my hips push slightly into the side of his thigh, sighing in contentment as I close my eyes and breathe in his heavy scent of whiskey and pine.
Yesterday was perfect.
It would surely be talked about throughout the Old World for months to come.
The leaders of all four Kingdoms put aside their differences for one night, celebrating Disce and its transition together. As did our three courts, with everyone melding as a common people who all shared the same love for their land.
Everything about it was perfect.
The coronation and the strong and proud words Keane spoke under the Great Oak as he took the oath to his Kingdom.
The Lords swearing fealty, one by one with added grins and looks of approval, each knowing Keane in their own way.
I knew he was well-liked throughout the courts of Knowledge and Warrior, and had seen the people within their cities react to him in deep regard, but it was different seeing them yesterday as they bowed their heads, each kneeling with the upmost respect.
Even those from Woodlands who took a knee did so without spite or narrowed looks, accepting his rule while still maintaining their stiffness.
He greeted all of them as equals, accepting their oaths with proud shoulders and an open heart.
The sight of him standing on the dais yesterday prompted me to note the differences between him and his father.
Zander was known as a kind ruler, someone who listened and engaged with everyone in Disce because he thoroughly enjoyed their conversations.
He was known to embrace the problems of the land through those open conversations, oftentimes navigating them by negotiation and debate, seldom ever using force.
Keane had the same ability, as seen by the way he engaged with the full of the Kingdom easily at the reception.
But his conversations were quieter than his father’s, more perceptive, always having an aura of level-headedness to him.
Keane also had something unseen about him…
unseen yet felt by the full of the court.
Yes, he was good a converser, but he also wasn’t afraid to take action if needed.
That was the stark difference between him and his father.
The silent knowledge of everyone in the room that the current King of Disce would use force without a second thought.
I had witnessed that use of force when he took the Woodlands Discerni’s life in Fumagalli, sending him to the Ancient Hirovale after giving him Death’s Prayer.
I had witnessed it again when he coldly severed Lord Tadeo’s hand off his wrist in a single breath, rendering his final judgement without so much as a trial.
Perhaps it was Keane’s chosen court and the unwavering people that came from Warrior that allowed him to be so open with his use of force in the past, but the knowledge that he would not cower from using action was felt by all yesterday, his strength powerful yet subtle at the same time.
He also had the backing of a great many people to play to that strength.
His brother, Desmond, the Master Informer, formidable in his own right as the keeper of secrets in Disce and the Kingdoms beyond.
Lord Daniel and Lord Alexander, who have recently been seen at his sides more.
His mother, the full of the Court of Warriors and the armies he already commanded in his previous title as Prince.
The various Lords of Knowledge who respected him as the son of their beloved Zander, revering his birthright and the sheer power of him, power that he kept hidden and humbled, an ode to the former Court of Knowledge that raised him.
That hidden strength would follow him wherever he went, including into our upcoming travel north.
With the coronation now over, I knew my mind would be consumed with thoughts on our travel to Woodlands.
Keane stood before me in Gaumond not long ago, requesting that I stand by his side as he remade it to that of Warrior.
My heart was drawn to the fiery call, hearing of the ways the Woodlands Discerni exploited the humans within their lands and aching to do something about it.
My own parents gave their lives in Etter to fight against the Discerni rule there, while Alanna and her family relocated from the court to join Warrior, with countless other humans and Discerni still doing the same to this day.
Arens… Ancients, Arens… his own battle as being half-born weighed heavily on him, so much so that it called him to seek out the Court of Knowledge at the first chance he got.
Nothing about Woodlands seemed right, though in the same breath, nothing about it seemed believable.
I knew what I heard, knew what both Hirovale and Elena told me of the standard of living that I grew up in and what Keane and Alanna have both told me still holds true to this day.
So it was finally time to experience the Court for myself.
I would finally see what had Keane and Desmond ready to invade the border city of Fensby to claim it on behalf of the humans there and bring it under Warrior rule.
Hirovale’s confession still rests heavy on me as well, though I’ve been pushing his words away to a neat little corner in the back of my mind.
Even the thought of traveling into Livyatan, and now, maybe even then Kingdom of Aireal?
A Kingdom in which my gut told me had a hand to play in the late King Zander’s death.
It’s almost as if the end of Keane’s coronation brought everything back to reality. The Old World was changing and there were still some major problems that rested prominently in the background of our lives.
Woodlands would come first. I would travel to the lands and stand alongside Keane in any capacity to help him remake the court, hopefully providing a better life for the humans there in the process.
I would attempt to find the truth behind Zander’s death, surprisingly already having a small suspicion on where to start for that after last night.
I would stand with Hiro in his quest to stop his sister’s suspected new rule of the Old World, because the things that he’s told us of Rivian have been nothing short of malicious and evil.
And I would do so under the banner of Human Reborn, a title forced on me in which I still haven’t fully comprehended yet.
I grip Keane’s chain tighter, somehow knowing that today is going to be the start of all those long journeys.
“You’re tense…” Keane says quietly, stirring under me.
I nod into his shoulder and keep my eyes closed to my thoughts. Keane moves his arm across my back and draws me into him, his other hand reaching up to grab mine on his chain.
“Talk to me,” he demands, pressing his lips on the top of my head.
I sigh and snuggle against the side of his body. “I’m just thinking of everything that will be happening soon.”
His body flexes for a brief moment before he intertwines his fingers with mine. He gently pulls our hands off the chain and glides my palm over his chest before we land above his heart.
“We still have a few days left in Bardot,” he tightens his grip. “There’s no need to worry yourself over it all just yet.”
“Hmm,” I furrow my brows in disagreement.
Keane brings a hand to my jaw and tilts my head up to him, prompting me to open my eyes.
“What will come, will come, Alexis. There is no use dwelling on it now.”
“Do you have a date set for when we will depart for Woodlands?” I ask, ignoring his comment.
Keane narrows his eyes on me, moving his fingers under my chin to hold my gaze steady.
“The second morning after Cal’s fight,” he replies with a small nod.
“Is Troy aware?”