Chapter 15 Colgrave
COLGRAVE
The timing couldn’t possibly be worse as a dozen more seeps slowed, two completely ceasing altogether.
But it wasn’t the increase in exports that gave me the most anxiety; it was being stuck with duties when all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed with Audryn.
Our time together was more than I could’ve expected, and I wasn’t the type who easily let myself become physical with someone, let alone someone who picked up and left as soon as they could.
For most of the night, Micah and I responded to each seep and confirmed the reports.
Despite increasing patrols, we hadn’t been able to identify the cause, leaving us unable to come up with a solution for the problem.
With so many seeps hidden within Kuroden’s vast mountain range, it was impossible to monitor each location at all hours of the day and night.
The seep Audryn fixed had maintained a steady flow, but the output alone wouldn’t make up for the deficit the others created. And though negotiations would pick up soon, we would have to supplement Rivale from our own reserves until we reworked the terms of the treaty.
By the time I returned home, I found my bed empty, cold, and made.
Though her scent lingered, the impact of her absence left an ache in my chest. I would spend the rest of our time together convincing her to stay in Kuroden.
But considering I couldn’t keep her in my bed, I wasn’t sure how I’d persuade her to stay in my kingdom.
Feeling desperate, I cracked open the door of her bedroom.
But when I saw her peacefully sleeping with her hair fanned across the pillow, I couldn’t bring myself to wake her.
Crawling into her bed would grossly violate a boundary she was so adamant to keep, so I slunk up to my room yearning for her touch.
“If she could fix one in an hour, just think what she could do with a full day.” Micah sipped from his mug. He’d come over early to discuss solutions for an issue I wasn’t ready to tackle.
“Just that one seep exhausted her and—” I started.
“Was it the seep or you?” Micah countered and waggled an eyebrow. “Did you give her the good ‘ol weinering last night? Was that what wore her out?”
Amalee shook her head.
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes. Somehow he hadn’t matured since our teen years, and I’d routinely endured dick jokes spewing from his mouth.
He grinned. “Well, that’s not a no.”
I shook my head and rubbed a hand over my heavy eyes. Even if she wanted to help, I wouldn’t want her in the mountains all day, and I definitely wouldn’t want to push her to fix more than one. And with the month evaporating, I’d need her to focus either on the seeps or the gardens.
“What about two?” Micah continued. “Give her a break, work your bedroom magic, then bring her back refreshed in the afternoon?”
Amalee’s eyes darted beyond my shoulder and then to me in warning. I didn’t need to turn around to know who was standing in the doorway. I’d become keenly aware of the floral scent that marked her skin and lingered in her wake.
“Well, if it isn’t the woman of the hour.” Micah beamed. “You look … satisfied. Reborn perhaps. Living in the afterglow of—”
“Shut up!” Amalee and I shouted in unison.
Audryn walked into the dining room, letting her fingers brush against my shoulder as she passed. The gesture sent every drop of blood rushing to the tip of my dick. Holding myself together around her was near impossible, but keeping myself together while she touched me was torture.
“Good morning.” She sat next to me and offered a smile before stealing a drink from my mug of coffee.
Unaware of the evening’s bedroom activities, Amalee’s brows nearly met her hairline.
Being a big fan of discretion, I rarely spoke to my sister about the women in my life, and I hadn’t thought the situation through enough to know just how much I wanted to share.
We’d spent one night together—less than a night.
“If you gather the land wielders, I’ll teach them how to do it.” Audryn pushed the cup back to me, letting her hand linger on mine. “They don’t even need to conjure land, just need to work with the gravel and rock already there.”
“We don’t have land wielders,” Amalee answered for me. “Good idea if we did, though.”
“Wait, why?” Audryn’s forehead scrunched.
“Most people here have only ever lived here. We have some from the Oras and a couple of dozen from other kingdoms, but there isn’t anyone here with Divine Magic.” I shrugged.
“So, no elemental magic at all?” Audryn flinched.
“None.” Micah looked in her direction. “Except for you.”
“Do you have a travel ban like Rivale? Maybe if you lift it—” Audryn started.
“Nope,” I interrupted. “The other kingdoms have done a superb job of making our land seem so wretched that people have no desire to live here. They don’t even visit.”
“Well, look at the bright side, Brother,” Micah said, slapping a hand against my back. “At least you don’t have to feed more people.”
“I could fix two in a day,” Audryn said. She picked up my fork and stabbed it into a potato on my plate before plopping it into her mouth.
“No,” I protested immediately. “You were exhausted yesterday.”
Her head snapped to me, and her hand drew away. “Oh, I didn’t realize I needed your permission too. Do they teach you that as a royal, or is it something you all come up with on your own?”
Micah blew out a breath. “Yikes, guess it wasn’t that good of a weinering.”
“Micah,” I warned, “don’t.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Audryn glowered. “A pompous royal always seems to quash their bedroom skills with attitude. Apparently, this applies to both princes and kings.” She stood. “Figure out where you’re taking me, Micah.”
My stomach sank as she strode from the room.
Twenty minutes later we were in the sky, and I couldn’t help but glance over at her every few minutes; she was seething. And even though I tried to explain that I was only worried, she didn’t care. I knew better than to tell her no, as if I held any authority over her actions or decisions.
Hoping to keep the sun from her skin, Audryn caked on a thick layer of cream that Sky had supplied. Working on a seep so close to home, I could get her back before the sun peeked in the sky. I remained at a distance as she knelt on the edge and plunged her hands down into the rocky land.
With a sweat-soaked shirt and her face paler than normal, she’d increased the flow of the slowed seep brilliantly, but it seemed to take more from her than the evening before. I handed her my water, and she hesitated, but snatched it and drained half of its contents swiftly.
“I think one is enough,” I said, my tone soft. Audryn shot a look at me before she walked to Dysis and mounted. Her chest was still heaving from the effort the first seep stole.
“Take me to the next one, Micah.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
He looked to me for permission, but I shrugged and walked to Zalzre. Amalee remained silent, but I felt her staring in my periphery.
“You think this is a good idea?” Fisher asked as he stood beside Dysis and spoke to Audryn. The woman shot him a look that made even me flinch.
The beast shot up to the sky, and we headed to a seep not far away; my brother at least had the good sense not to take her further from the townhouse.
“Anyone else want to offer an opinion?” Audryn eyed each of us as she dismounted. “Maybe make any other decisions for me? Tell me what I should do?”
Despite seeing that she was already near her limit, I remained quiet. Amalee met my side while I leaned into my wyvern. With Fisher close behind, Audryn walked to the onyx pool without giving a moment of consideration to her fading ability.
It didn’t take long for her to stall out and take an unavoidable break. She lay on the rocky land with her flight jacket over her head. With the sun beaming against the black leather, she was creating a kiln under the material.
“Maybe I can help erode the land,” Amalee called out.
“I don’t need help,” Audryn mumbled; her icy demeanor had fully returned.
“Okay,” my sister drawled.
“Does your magic work differently here?” Audryn asked, her voice a bit kinder. “Sky says hers doesn’t act the same as it did in Oras.”
“I don’t know, we’ve never left Crofea.” Amalee let a palmful of gravel roll around in her hand before turning it into dust and letting the breeze carry it away. “Flown all over the damned continent, but our mother wouldn’t let us leave it. She thinks they’ll kill us if given the opportunity.”
Audryn crossed her ankles. “Well, it wouldn’t help anyway. The layers need to be compressed, and decimating the soil would only aerate it.”
“Would you like more water?” I offered.
“I have some too,” Fisher added.
I didn’t want the guard to join us and definitely didn’t want him knowing the extent of how bad the issue was with our crude.
Knowing the seeps had slowed was enough to inflict catastrophic damage if he wanted.
For all I knew, he’d already sent a messenger hawk to King Sutton to advise on the matter.
Audryn extended her arm in Fisher’s direction. The canteen disappeared under the jacket, and the leather tented up from her drinking its contents. I didn’t care who helped keep her hydrated as long as she was; Ryder could offer her water and I’d be glad of it.
Several minutes later, she sat up, letting the jacket partially cover her head. The cream had evaporated, and her cheeks were flushed, clearly more from exhaustion than sun exposure. Fisher’s eyes grew wide as Audryn sat on her heels and placed shaky hands back on the rocky land.
“Maybe one was enough?” the guard prompted.
“If something happens to you, Prince Sutton will show no mercy to me for sitting by while you killed yourself trying to fix someone else’s problem.
” His eyes shot to me with anger, but I simply pursed my lips and nodded; I’d seen the prince angry for far less.
“You need to tell her to stop.” Amalee kept her voice low as she nudged me with an elbow.