Chapter 45 Marco
Marco
“You’re looking much better.” I greeted Alaina with a smile, rising to my feet when she entered the archives room. She’d taken half the day to rest—which didn’t surprise me.
Her beautifully dark skin didn’t look as dull, a healthy red undertone imbuing her cheeks once more.
She wore Duski’s latest fashion, an-off-the-shoulder forest green dress with matching fabric collar that connected a mix of straight and swooping strings to the rest of the garment.
Her tiny braids had been gathered into a large braid that hung over her shoulder.
My mouth nearly watered when my gaze trailed down to see how the fabric hugged her criminally voluptuous hips.
She sheepishly looked down, hands running across the perfectly fitted fabric over her abdomen. “I haven’t worn something this expensive in…Well, I think ever.”
I might have considered I possessed a magic I was unaware of with how fast I moved across the room, had I any sense of mind left. It’d disappeared the moment she entered the door. My knuckle grazed her jaw, tipping it upward until her eyes met mine.
“It suits you,” I said, my voice swelling with heady desire.
I watched the knot she swallowed, my eyes continuing their thirsty perusal until I took in the soft curve of her collarbone.
“We should get to work,” she said, but the breathiness of her words told me if I pushed, even just a little, these archives would see quite a show.
“Right.” I swallowed, clearing my throat. We could continue this game of give and take until she couldn’t handle it for another second.
Her sparkling blue eyes met my gaze, and inhaling deeply in that moment had been a mistake. Her scent, mingled with elements from my kingdom, hit me like a wave, and I’d never felt a stronger desire to drop to my knees and worship the goddess before me.
A tense second passed, then another, and self-control I didn’t know I was capable of cut the invisible ties that drew me to her.
I stepped away. “I’ve pulled all documents and correspondence related to Argora Vale around one hundred years ago.
Divided them into contracts, correspondence—both personal and formal. ”
I took another step back to clear the intoxicating smell of her away, and shoved my hands in my pockets, ready to pinch my thigh if my thoughts started running wild.
Stacks and shelves, akin to a library, ate up the surrounding perimeter.
I’d posted up at a formal desk, old trunks gathered before it, so many that they had to be placed strategically to form clear paths to navigate the space.
Upon the desk sat bundles of letters and documents tied with twine, some maps laying askew amidst the hundred papers I’d skimmed since the afternoon.
Alaina approached the desk, her dress swaying seductively around her thighs with each step. I pinched.
“So we have these two bundles to work through.” She patted the pile closest to her.
I smirked. “Oh, gorgeous, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.” I gestured to the four hefty trunks gathered on the left side of the aisle.
Her eyes bulged, and she pinned me with her stare.
I chuckled. “It’s going to be a long night. Can I get you some coffee?”
“UGH! Why couldn’t that old woman have given me something more to go off of?!” Alaina tossed another paper into the air, then rubbed her temples.
So far, we’d found old trade agreements, import and export manifests, and proposals of acreages for sale for the embassies of other kingdoms.
Ghost remnants of a once thriving government, but nothing regarding the old curse.
I withdrew a handwritten correspondence addressed to Evie in faded pencil with a tiny number twelve barely visible in the corner.
The envelope had a curious bulk. No official seal decorated it, meaning it was probably personal in nature and not helpful to our search.
Using my gold letter opener, I cut through the twine binding it together.
A folded piece of torn paper and a necklace fell into my palm. I snickered. “Argora Vale fashion accessories. Necessary to preserve, I’m sure,” I said with a flair of sarcasm.
Alaina sat straighter, blue eyes fixed on the tiny collection of multicolored crystals.
I chuckled, offering her the out-of-date antique by dangling the chain off my two fingers. “This your style, gorgeous?”
“That’s it.”
With an inquisitive look, I assessed the piece again. “Not something I would have pegged you for, but—”
“No, shut up.” Alaina rose from her chair and came over to my desk. She leaned over my shoulder, plucking the necklace. The scent of rose oil clouded my thoughts, and I let myself breathe deeply.
Alaina made a sound somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. “She told me the jewels in Duski would be life changing. I thought she just meant at your markets.” She balled her fists. “Why does she have to be so goddamn cryptic?! Oh Alaina, look for a necklace in an envelope. Is that so hard to say?!”
I bit down on my amusement. Laughing at this woman in her frustrated state wouldn’t earn me the type of touch I wanted from her. Magic history noted that trained seers were often taught not to be blunt about the futures they saw, rather to use language that guided those on the correct path.
Instead, I flipped open the piece of paper to see that it held a poem.