Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
As Draikis had suggested, the fresh air away from the others as they walked to the compound walls was a welcome change of scenery, not to mention a definite improvement over the palpable eyes and tension Ella had felt as the lone female in a massive chamber full of men.
Priests, no less, and judgmental ones at that.
Yes. This was definitely a good call. And, as she noted the direction of their path, it looked like their walk would lead them right out of the Norvalian Sect’s somewhat uncomfortable environs and into the freedom of the trails outside their walls.
Despite the prior discomfort she might have felt under Norvalian scrutiny, out here, striding away from the judgmental eyes, she was absolutely buzzing, her heart beating faster, and not because of the exercise.
It was Draikis. His presence. His arousal she could actually smell wafting off his delicious body.
The way his muscles moved beneath the supple fabric of his clothing would have been distracting regardless, but whatever was happening between them had turned up this ridiculously powerful attraction, whatever it was, to eleven.
Ella’s hand grazed his, just lightly, but the contact made him jump as if shocked by an electric eel.
She felt it too, her body absolutely buzzing with want.
Draikis, to his credit, or detriment, depending how one might frame it, regained his composure almost immediately, though a slight glisten seemed to now be shining on his forehead.
He glanced around, his silver eyes darting from building to building, courtyard to balcony, scanning for whoever might be watching. Who had seen.
No one was to be found. Nearly all were at the lunar ceremony, and the few who were not were seemingly elsewhere.
Draikis’s hand grazed Ella’s again, remaining in contact a long moment, this time without the reaction of surprise, but rather a lingering curiosity.
He has to feel that. There’s no way it’s just me.
His hand moved away a moment later, only to brush against her again and again as they progressed, their arms now rubbing against one another as well, the pair drawn together as if by some form of magnetic attraction.
They walked like that in silence for several minutes, close but not too close, finally exiting the gates and making their way into the nearby woods, following the trail that led them out of sight of the compound even from the highest vantage point.
It was then their hands slid together, palm to palm, fingers interlaced as naturally as breathing.
And this time he did not pull back.
Ella felt a wave of joy flood her body, their energy flowing between them as they walked hand-in-hand, savoring whatever this was.
This connection. This natural closeness they’d developed that was so much more than just friendship.
And her Infala rune? It was absolutely churning with strange sensations, all of them ramping up her attraction to newfound heights.
“I wasn’t always a priest, you know,” he said, breaking the long silence.
“Well, I figured you were a kid at some point.”
He chuckled. “There was that too, of course. But I meant as an adult. A man.”
“You had a life. It’s normal, Draikis.”
“Yes and no. You see, my joining the order was a little more than a simple choice made by a devout follower of the Norvalian ways.”
“Oh? A man of mystery, are you?”
He squeezed her hand, a faraway look in his eyes. “More than you know. I came to the order not exactly of my religious beliefs. I never intended to become a Norvalian.”
“What changed?”
“I-I had something of an unsettling past.”
Ella felt the shift in his energy, his tone more serious. He was opening up. Truly opening up to her in a way that felt more intimate than words could convey. Her stomach twisted with the fluttering of butterflies struggling to escape.
“You were a bad boy? Is that what you’re saying?” she asked, joking in words but serious and respectful in her tone.
“I had a reputation, yes.”
“Interesting. There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye, Draikis.”
“You have no idea.”
“So tell me. What’s this big secret lurking behind that handsome face? Are you a bank robber? Or a playboy? Or a murderer?”
She felt him tense at that last one.
Shit.
Draikis took a deep breath, held it a long moment, then slowly let it out, his shoulders sagging slightly as he did.
“I have killed men, yes,” he said, measuring his words carefully.
“They were bad guys, though, right?”
He let out a low sigh. “Whether or not they deserved it does not matter. What does matter is I have taken lives. More than once. And I enjoyed it, at least for a time. And I was good at it.”
“I-I don’t know what to say.”
“There is nothing you need to say. I felt I needed to explain who I am. Where I came from. How I came to be where I am today. Why the Norvalian Sect is so important to me. You see, Ella, I was arrogant. Proud. Foolish. And while I may have been justified in my actions to some ways of thinking, I could have achieved my ends without the loss of life. But being righteous was intoxicating, and I was glad to have an excuse to act as I did. But then, one day, I made a mistake. One that changed my life forever.”
“What happened?”
A sad smile creased his lips. “I defended myself. A friend of someone I had publicly embarrassed. Not even a violent encounter, but the man lost face and his reputation was sullied. His friend came to his defense to exact revenge, and when I defended myself, I got carried away. You have to understand, it was four against one, but while the other three would not be missed, it seemed the fourth I slayed that day was the son of a powerful magistrate.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yes. I may have been justified, but that wouldn’t matter. Not to a man of his means and power.”
“What did you do? Did you run?”
“I couldn’t. There was no way I could make it to a spaceport before they caught up with me.
So I did the one thing I could. The only thing.
I ran to the Norvalians and asked for shelter.
They took me in, as they would, and they protected me so long as I was within their walls.
But I would always be a wanted man. I could never leave. ”
“But you did. You’re here, right? You’re free.”
“Yes, though that was achieved the one way I actually could leave those grounds. As you know, I joined the Norvalian Sect. But, you see, it is not so easy as just swearing an oath. Words are not enough. One must pass through several trials of faith before being accepted. One cannot simply fake their way into our ranks. I learned this the hard way, firsthand, believe me.”
“You tried to fake your way in? How very un-priestly of you.”
“You could say that. But then the most wonderful thing happened. After spending nearly two years within those walls, living among the Norvalians, learning their ways and beliefs, I evolved. I became a changed man. I was reborn and renewed, and when I did finally pass the trials, it was as a true follower of the sect’s path.
From then it was several years of travel, putting in the work, as they say, until I arrived here. ”
“And now look at you.”
“Look at me indeed. I’ve found a home here. Brotherhood. A good life.”
“Seems that way,” she said, staring up at his strong features with a little flush of heat in her belly and a fluttering in her heart. “There’s more to you than meets the eye, Draikis. Those waters run deep.”
“So I’ve heard. But what of you? Traveling far from home, and at the hands of the Raxxians, no less.
And despite all you have suffered, here you are, thriving.
You’re quite a fighter, Ella. But in all this time, you’ve spoken so little of your world.
I did not wish to press, but I truly would like to learn more of where you are from. ”
“What do you want to know? We’re not anywhere near as advanced as you guys. We probably seem like a bunch of primitives by comparison.”
“Nonsense! We have all manner of races under the Dotharians, and all are just as much a part of the conglomerate as the others.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said, a bit shy but also warm with the joy of the look in his eyes. Draikis wasn’t just paying lip service to the pretty woman. He showed genuine interest. He was listening, and unlike so many, he was not waiting for the opportunity to add his own input.
And yet another green flag, she mused.
“Well?” he asked, his eyes bright and expectant.
“Well… I guess the first thing is that my world is mostly water. I mean, it has a lot of land, but the first people in space called it a blue marble, and the nickname kind of stuck.”
“Blue Marble. That has a rather poetic ring to it.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” she mused. “I guess I don’t really think about it from an outsider’s perspective.”
“We often fail to perceive another’s view. Our daily existence sometimes lulls us into complacency and the exceptional can be forgotten. Or, if not forgotten, perhaps overlooked. And there is much beauty to appreciate, often closer than we allow ourselves to realize.”
Ella’s lips curled into a little grin, her hand tightly intertwined with his.
“And what else? Vast, blue oceans, which sound marvelous. But what of the land? What of your home? What’s it like where you are from? Your life? How do you begin your days?”
“Curious one, aren’t you?”
“You know about me, Ella. It is only natural that I want to know about you. Is that really so strange?” He squeezed her hand, their arms swinging in perfect time, their steps in unison as easy as breathing.
They walked and walked, any of the ball of stress that may have been lingering in her belly dissipating with every step, replaced by a feeling of absolute joy. Of comfort. Of home.
Eventually they turned back for the compound, their hands separating as the walls of his home came into sight but still grazing as they walked side-by-side, arms and shoulders bumping like giddy teenagers on a first date.
“Brother,” Draikis said with a little nod as they passed one of his fellow priests.
“Brother,” the man replied with a similar tilt of his head, a slightly curious look in his eyes.
Draikis and Ella separated slightly, a respectable distance between them, but the pair were still drawn as if sympathetic magnetic forces flowed within them. And, at least to Ella’s perception, it very well might have.
At long last they arrived at her door, a pang of want twisting in her belly.
Ella looked left and right. The corridor was empty.
She opened her door and stepped inside, the electric tension between them thick in the air.
She could feel him on her skin, the heat radiating off his body, the faint smell of his fresh sweat tickling her nose.
Ella stood there, expectant, her every nerve tingling with a need that was only growing by the moment.
She looked up at him expectantly. His pupils were wide, his pulse hard in his neck, a slight grin tickling the corners of his mouth. But Draikis stood firm.
“I’m not coming in,” he said with a soft resolve in his voice.
“No, of course not.”
“I mean it. I cannot.”
“I know.”
He shook his head. “Really, Ella. My vows.”
His words said one thing, but the undeniable pull between them was saying something quite different. But he resisted. Remained strong. Stood fast where lesser men would have folded. But the tension was pulling them both, so powerful Ella didn’t know how much longer she could stand it.
“You can still spend a little more time with me. You’ve been inside plenty of times before.”
“It’s—it’s different. I can’t simply… I just can’t.”
“I don’t see why not. I mean, your runes are modified, right? Can’t you stay a little longer?” she asked, words saying one thing but meaning quite another.
He smiled, a slightly sorrowful look on his beautiful face. “My runes are blocked, but yours are not,” he noted, not adding that the marking on his chest felt more alive than it had ever felt beneath his tunic.
“I’m a big girl. Come in, just for a little bit.”
His smile broadened as he shook his head with slow regret. “I’m not sleeping with you, Ella.”
“That’s not what I said.”
He flashed a wistful grin, took a step back and turned from her. “I’ll see you later.”
She watched him walk away, her heart skipping a beat when he paused, turned, and locked eyes with her one last time before disappearing down the corridor, both of them feeling the pull as the distance increased, their Infalas calling out to one another, hers in a confusing new way for the human woman, him in a manner that should be impossible for one of his kind.
He’d not only taken vows, but his Infala had been blocked for years.
This simply could not be, and that was all there was to it.
Little did he know.