Chapter 6 Ariana #3
Kole had been true to his word, for food arrived shortly after he left me.
A Lysian woman brought a tray and handed it to Kole, who then brought it to me.
My mouth watered from the smell of pheasant and warm bread.
There was also jam and sliced cucumbers.
Accepting the tray, I proceeded to devour everything in record time while sitting on the edge of the bed.
Kole remained in the other room, though with the door open, we had a direct view of one another.
“Are you not hungry?” I asked the Lysian when I finished my meal. He had yet to eat anything in front of me. He must have been starving. Surely his massive size required equally massive meals for upkeep.
“We do not need to eat as often as you Bavadrins,” was his only response. He had withdrawn from me, no longer wishing to play with words.
The sun lowered over the horizon, darkening the sky.
I retreated entirely into my temporary room and tried to calm myself enough to sleep.
My thoughts were on a never-ending rotation, pushing one worry out and another took its place over and over until the entire pattern began from the beginning.
My mind drifted between my people, Edda, Landin, and Willis, and what I had done by giving up our Leader Superior.
After bathing and finally washing the grime of travel from my skin, my mind must had settled enough to drift to sleep.
In the early hours of the morning, I huffed an audible breath. The soft white sheets were tangled around me, evidence of the restless night. Nightmares tainted what little sleep there was.
“You may want to get up and get dressed,” a voice said from within my room, only a few feet away.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on its ends, and I sat straight up at the unknown presence, finding Kole casually standing by the balcony doors. He peered outside, consumed by whatever he saw in the distance.
“Seems that his highness is returning sooner than expected,” Kole said before taking an audible breath and turning to me. “It appears as though you do fear,” he commented lowly, his icy gaze pinning me before he finally walked out of the room without a sound.
My heart to thunder in my chest. I had no doubt the Lysian heard it, and I also suspected he smelled the panic that surged through me at the sudden realization that I was not alone. I sat there a few more seconds without moving a single muscle, too stunned to respond.
How long had the Lysian been standing in my room without my knowing? A shiver ran down my body. Kole could have been there all night, watching me as I slept. He was soundless.
Lysians were made of massive muscular bodies, yet they were so agile, capable of moving in complete silence.
With skills like that, they could easily sneak up on an enemy and slaughter them before any form of alarm could be sounded.
If things tumbled into war, the Bavadrins would need to see the Lysians coming, for we would not hear their approach.
I hoped that Edda truly found a way to send word to the Sparrow Archers to rejoin us in the city.
They would likely be our best option for sensing when a threat such as a Lysian drew near.
The legends always said that the forest whispered to the Sparrows.
That they could see beyond their vision, around the trees, and that their arrows always found their mark.
Once my breathing returned to normal, I got out of bed and put on a top and loose pants.
Luckily, I found a brush in the room and somewhat tamed the unbound hair, which was a mess from tossing and turning all night.
The left side of my head was still braided with our ancestral beads and ribbons, marking me as a Bavadrin and daughter of the Leader Superior.
I approached the sitting room where Kole remained guard, wondering if he would take me somewhere to meet his King.
No sooner than I deemed myself presentable, the exterior door to the sitting room opened.
Erik’s eyes immediately found mine, and he momentarily paused on the threshold before entering.
My focus slipped away, and I forgot what I wanted to ask Kole.
My mind emptied itself and filled with the presence of the Lysian conjuror.
His gaze alone had the power to render my legs useless, for they became leaden and heavy.
My breath caught in my throat. Had he always been so tall, his eyes so deep and darkly blue, like a pool of water with no bottom?
Had his presence always felt like this? Authority clung to him, to every movement, every look, and I did not know how he kept so much of it hidden when imprisoned by Fraser.
Erik wore dark clothing perfectly tailored to his body.
Though his shirt opened into a deep V, showing off the hard lines of his chest. His brown hair was groomed, and he appeared to have cleaned up well since his visit to the Bavadrin lands.
There was no evidence of blood staining his hands, and I hoped that he indeed did not bloody them with my people.
“Your Majesty.” Kole bowed deeply in greeting, but not before I glimpsed the smirk splayed on his face.
Your Majesty.
It was a title used for Kings and queens.
Spirit, help me.
Erik was not a mere prince.
He was the Lysian King.