Chapter 34
Seda
The cold breeze brushed Seda’s cheeks as she opened her eyes to the brightest full moon she had ever seen.
Its amber light spilled through the trees’ branches in a waterfall of golden hues.
She pulled the cloak tighter with a shiver and scooted closer toward the warmth of the campfire.
Cahir was sitting next to her, chewing on his inner cheek.
He glanced at her and offered a hesitant smile.
The luster to his skin had returned, radiant against the firelight.
She sat up and glared at him, the memory of the fight with the Lobisons coming back to her in waves.
“The sun didn’t rise,” he said as he looked toward the sky and stared at the twinkling stars visible through the trees.
She narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you talking about?”
He shifted his gaze toward her, his emerald eyes sparkling against the firelight. “The sun. It never rose. The sky should be turning blue right now.”
She had no idea what he was talking about. Why would the sun not rise? It was obviously still evening.
“Roya told me what happened,” he started before she could say anything. “And before you lay it on me, I know, and I’m sorry, Seda.”
She didn’t care if he didn’t want to hear it again. She had things to say regardless. “You have to trust us, Cahir. You have to trust me. We’re a team, and we’re strong together.”
He moved his eyes away from hers and looked at the crackling wood. “I…” He hesitated. “I know.”
Silence fell between them, and Seda got to her feet, irritation flooding her.
She could understand his reasoning, but he needed to trust that she was more than the meek woman he knew in Joro.
She had power racing through her bones, and she knew how to use it.
He didn’t have to protect her at his own expense like that.
She looked around for the others, but they weren’t near the campsite. She turned around toward the roses, and an opening was visible through the bushes, as if they had parted for them.
“What—” Seda began.
“They parted for us. Apparently, they were blocking the path intentionally, moving as we walked and taking us further into the woods.”
Seda remembered how they had shifted their roots and snagged themselves around the Lobison. Why were they leading them deeper into the forest, and why had they now parted for them?
She left Cahir behind and walked closer to the flowers, watching as each rose’s eye stared back at her.
Whatever, she thought in irritation. At least it’s open now.
She walked through the opening and spotted Elco with Roya and Suza on the other side. “Elco!” she yelled, running up to him. His injuries had healed, and he was basking in a large patch of moonlight that glittered against his red scales.
“My moon-flutter. You’re finally awake.” He purred against her.
She hugged him close and sighed as his warmth seeped into her chilled bones. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”
“I always am,” he replied with a huff.
“I had a dream with you in it. I know you mentioned you don’t recall much from before the Camp, but I have a persistent feeling that this occurred. Can you tell me if you remember this?” she asked, starting to feel a bit foolish and nervous at what he might reveal.
“I can try,” he said as he continued to purr under her touch.
She told him of the dream with the tree and the small flying kittens, and his purrs slowly stopped. He looked at her.
“I do vaguely recall that. That was the day you wished for Somnium back,” he said.
Confusion swirled inside her, causing her to pull away from him and nervously fidget with her fingers. “How did you not know Kalon was Somnium when we traveled to the Wisps? How did you know it was me in the Camp?”
He huffed again, and smoke billowed from his nostrils. “I didn’t know it was you at first. Only had a suspicion. And I had never seen Somnium without his mask. He was elusive toward me.”
“But his voice?” she asked.
“It was so very long ago. I had been trapped in that dungeon for far too long. However, I do remember my kin—those tiny flying felines you mentioned. In the end, I did everything I could to protect them after you left.”
“What happened to them?” Seda asked as she sat down beside him and picked at a blade of grass.
“I don’t know,” he whispered, staring up at the sky. He sighed deeply and warmly through his nostrils. “Did you know the sun didn’t crest the horizon this morning?”
Seda looked up at the moon once more. Cahir had pointed out the same thing. Why would the sun not rise? If the sun were missing, how would the moon still be ablaze?
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“Solios, the god of the sun and the Solar Sovereign, has lost hope.” Elco’s red eyes met hers. “We need the stones.”
A deep, overwhelming dread took hold of her. Without the sun, life as they knew it would end. The world would perish if it were trapped in eternal darkness.
Cahir walked through the opening in the bushes and paused when his gaze met hers.
“The Fae only wanted to protect you, moon-flutter. He loves you,” Elco encouraged. “I think more than you realize.”
She ground her teeth together before releasing them and letting out a deep sigh. She stood from the ground and walked over to Cahir, who nervously ran his hand over his neck.
“Promise me you won’t deplete yourself again trying to protect me?” she asked as she looked up into his emerald eyes.
His gaze flickered between hers, and his jaw clenched. “Can I talk to you in private, please? Away from the others?” He held out his hand for her to take.
She accepted his outstretched hand, feeling the warmth of it in her palm, and he led her back through the rose bushes to the campfire.
They sat back down, and Cahir rubbed his thumb across her hand nervously.
He placed a piece of datun in his mouth and offered her a piece.
They both chewed in silence as his gaze continued to flick to her and away.
“My mom—” he started, breaking the silence. He let out a deep, ragged breath after spitting out the piece of datun. “My father murdered her. And since he was king, no one did anything.”
Seda’s eyes widened.
He continued, “My mother was my world, but my father was abusive. I’d often see her with bruises, and I was so young that I didn’t understand.
One day, she walked in on him having an affair, and he lashed out.
Tahti was there, following my father’s orders, and I never saw her again.
So please, Seda… It’s not that I don’t believe you can handle yourself.
It’s that I cannot bear to lose someone I love so dearly again.
I promise I won’t deplete my magic again like that.
But I cannot promise that I’ll stop doing everything in my power to protect the person I love the most in this world.
” His eyes glistened as he stared down at her, his emotion breaking through.
“You don’t understand how devoted I am, how far I’m willing to go, and what I’d sacrifice for you.
I’d give up my title, my kingdom, everything… for you.”
Seda felt her heart ache at his honesty and openness. She spat out her own datun and reached up with a tender hand, cupping his cheek in her palm. “I’m so sorry, Cahir.”
She shifted to her knees and pressed her lips against his. He inhaled sharply, holding back his emotion, and pulled her closer. She fell on top of him, kissing him as that tingly warmth began to simmer once more.
“I’d never ask for you to give up anything for me,” she said, breathless with each kiss, wanting him to understand that her words were sincere.
The rose bushes shuffled and closed their open gap, closing their eyelids and not watching them as they embraced.
“Are you okay over there, moon-flutter?” Elco called from the other side.
She lifted her head and stared at the wall of closed flowers, shouting breathlessly, “Yes, Elco… Privacy, please.”
She heard him gruff, “Just call for me if you need me. These flowers cannot hold me back. They forget I can fly.”
She laughed as she bent back down and planted her lips against Cahir once more, tasting the freshness of the datun left behind.
He growled, and she felt his desire press into her.
She shifted and tugged at his shirt, wanting to feel his warm muscles under her hands.
He pulled it over his head, and she ran her fingers down his defined abdomen, trailing them lower until she reached his pants and slowly ran them over his bulge below the fabric.
She understood his reasons for overexerting himself. He also promised he wouldn’t do so again, and she trusted him. She had been safe with this man by her side for years.
No more arguing. She wanted him inside her. Now. She wanted to feel whole again with him by her side.
He slowly pulled her breasts out from her shirt, pulling the material down. She felt her nipples harden in the cool air, and he groaned when he looked at them.
“Seda.” Her name escaped as a whisper, a plea, his desire bleeding through the hoarseness of his voice.
She unbuckled his pants and pulled his length out, wrapping her hands around it, and feeling the warm, smooth skin. She slowly began moving them up and down, watching him as his eyes hooded and his lips slowly parted.
“Take these off,” he said of her pants, and she stood, slowly pulling them down her hips. His eyes followed the fabric as she lowered her pants, and he took himself in his hand, beginning to stroke himself as he watched her undress.
The cool, misty air did nothing to soothe the fire building inside her at the sight of him touching himself.
When she pulled them off her legs, she watched as his hand slid up and down his length, and she licked her lips. She had never done this before, but she wanted to try. She knelt down, feeling the damp ground seep into her skin, and slowly leaned forward between his legs.
He stopped touching himself, and she glanced up at him. His gaze was locked onto her, confusion swirling behind his emerald gaze. He went to stop her, but she placed her hand on him, just as he had done to her.
“Don’t stop stroking yourself,” she commanded.
He hesitated before slowly running his hand up and down, moaning through each steady, firm stroke, and she watched as a bead of cum began to form on the tip.
She bent forward and circled her tongue over the head of his cock, feeling the silky skin and the taste of him, so unlike anything she had ever tasted before.
“Fuck,” he seethed as his hips trembled. She wrapped her lips around him and sucked him into her mouth. He growled low and heavy, pushing himself deeper into her throat.
“Just like that.” His voice cracked, and she continued to pull him deeper, circling her tongue around each time she came up for air. His hand continued to move with her, and when she pulled him out of her mouth, he ran his palm over the head of his cock, moaning her name.
“No more. I need inside you, or I’ll come undone all over your perfect, fucking lips.” He pulled her onto him and quickly sank deep within her, growling when his cock was fully seated.
She yelped at the sudden sensation of him filling her through every inch of her body.
She shifted forward, running her tongue across his throat, feeling the soft hairs of his beard, and slowly began to move her hips. The feeling was all-consuming, with fire erupting from within. He rubbed his thumb over her clit, and she exploded in pleasure, releasing a small gasp at the sensation.
Nothing mattered anymore—not their argument, not the people waiting for them on the other side of the bushes, nothing except this moment, this feeling she got to share—with him.
Heat began to build as she moved over him, her movements growing jagged and rough.
He continued to circle his thumb, rubbing it around each time she sank onto him.
She felt a phantom breeze in the air, and her hair blew around her.
Her orgasm began to build, and she started moaning his name over and over as their eyes remained locked onto each other.
“Oh, gods, Cahir,” she choked out as her orgasm crested through her in punishing waves. He pushed into her through muttered curses as he found his own release, pulling her down onto him and kissing her through each wave that rocked through them both.
As their heart rates decreased, they continued gazing into each other’s eyes. Cahir remained steady inside her, and she could feel him twitching within, almost like he wanted more. He reached up and lifted her chin, running his thumb over her freckle.
“You’re mine,” he said.
A deep, menacing chuckle and a husky voice interrupted from behind, “Well, that was adorable. And no, King Ael, she belongs to no one except herself.”
They both quickly looked over, and Kalon stood against a tree, leaning into it and picking at his fingernails.
He looked up, and his pale, blue-green, almond-shaped eyes narrowed onto them.
He pulled out the moonstone necklace from his pocket into the shaft of moonlight filtering through the trees, causing its prismatic cascade to shimmer across the area.
“Fun time’s over,” he teased with a wicked smile, the tone cold and mirthless.