Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
ARKEN
In truth, it was probably for the best that Kieran and I were only taking one horse—if only because I knew how to ride by myself, but just barely.
There had rarely been any need back home in the Brindlewoods, where we’d only had two or three horses for the village at any given time. Those were typically reserved for use by the village elders, like Amaretta and Old Jonas, when they needed to make supply runs to Elsewiere.
For the best, I reminded myself as Kieran offered me his hand, shifting back in Muniin’s saddle, leaving space for me to hoist myself up, clutching at my skirts with my free hand.
For the best, I repeated as I settled in, feeling the warmth of Kieran’s chest at my back, his groin pressed against my ass as predicted. His arms bracketed me like a vise as he reached for the reins.
“Shall we?” Kieran murmured, lips close—too close—to my ear.
“I suppose we shall,” I replied, and suddenly we were off—a gentle nudge from Kieran’s heel setting Muniin off into a smooth canter toward the Eastern Gates.
“We’re headed to the Wyldwoods?” I asked, wind rustling my hair as we sped comfortably through the back alleys of the Academic Quarter. Both Kieran and Muniin clearly knew their way around the city, taking the least obstructed paths and avoiding foot traffic.
“Something like that.”
“Good gods, you’re infuriating,” I muttered, so quietly that I didn’t expect he’d hear it over the sounds of the city and the steady beat of his horse’s hooves against the cobblestones and dirt.
“I’m told that’s a defining element of my personality, yes,” Kieran shot back as we reached the Eastern Gates in what felt like no time at all. “But I think you like it.”
I was thankful my back was against him, if only so he didn’t see my cheeks heat furiously at the thought that came to mind.
Like it? That’s an understatement. I fucking love that about you, Vistarii.
Embarrassing as it was, even in the sanctity of my own thoughts, it was true. Even though Kieran seemed to get off on being as irritating as humanly possible, I wouldn’t have it any other way. What could I say? I was the type who bored easily and needed a challenge to stay entertained.
And this man was challenging, indeed.
As usual, the air dropped several degrees as Muniin took us through the arching branches of the clearing, entering the primary trail into the Wyldwoods.
It wasn’t frigid, but I shivered all the same—my skin prickling at the rise of environmental aether thickening the cool air, buzzing on my tongue with every inhale.
Kieran rubbed one hand up and down my arm, as if to try to warm me up before calling out words in a language I didn’t recognize.
“Vesnya, Muniin. Tach.”
The mare cut southwest, taking us down a small trail I’d never been down before. Indeed, a path less traveled, if the overgrown brambles and young ferns poking up between the thin, trampled road ahead were to be believed.
“Does your horse speak Aetheric?!” I asked, no longer needing to raise my voice in the stillness of the forest. The only sounds to be heard out here were those of the wild blowing through the boughs, the chirps and chitters of local wildlife, and the gentle, sparkling trickles of a nearby stream.
“Don’t be silly,” Kieran replied. “Horses can’t speak, and certainly not highly complex, dead languages. I don’t think they’ve got the anatomy for it.”
I shoved my elbow back, straight into Kieran’s stomach. “You know what I mean.”
His sharp intake of breath suggested I might’ve nailed him a bit too hard, but that’s what he got for being a smartass. I might’ve felt guilty if he hadn’t followed up with a full-bellied snicker at my annoyance.
“Yes, she understands Aetheric,” Kieran answered. “That’s how she was trained.”
“Does the entire Elder Guard speak Aetheric?” I asked in disbelief.
Again, Kieran chuckled. “No, Little Conduit. Muniin is my horse. I brought her to Sophrosyne with me when I joined the guard.”
Oh. Interesting.
I was tempted to pepper the man with more questions.
Why Aetheric? Did you train her yourself?
The guard lets you keep your own horses?
She was the only dapple grey I’d seen in those stables—all of the others were either black or brown…
And where, exactly, did you come from before you joined the Elder Guard, that you were trained in fucking Aetheric?
But I held my tongue. Mostly because, as we sped deeper into the seclusion of the path, I could feel Kieran shift behind me, offering just enough delicious friction to distract me from errant curiosities that I knew were better off left undisturbed.
He didn’t like to talk about his past. I knew that.
His breath blew hot against my neck as he leaned forward and adjusted his grip on the reins, moving both straps of leather into one hand.
The free hand, his dominant left, began to wander—lazily coasting its way up my thigh. I shivered at the warmth and roughness of his callouses slipping beneath my dress. Again, if the fucker had just told me what the plan was, perhaps I could have dressed more appropriately for the occasion.
“Kier!” I hissed in protest as his hand moved toward my inner thigh. “We are in public!”
“There’s nobody around, Little Conduit,” he crooned into my ear, raising gooseflesh on my arms. I supposed he was right in that regard…
and my skirts were loose enough so that my legs remained plenty covered even as Kieran took his liberties.
“Nobody can see what my hand is doing…And nobody knows where it’s going… ”
“Still…” I attempted to object, though the word came out as a soft sigh, my body betraying me as his hand continued to drift, the tips of his fingers brushing the lacy hem of my panties.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked as his knuckle grazed the thin veil of cotton serving as the barrier between Kieran and my swelling clit. With just the slightest bit of pressure, my body jerked and jolted against him as I sucked in a sharp breath.
“I—Nngh,” I panted.
“Use your words, sweetheart.”
Gods, I hate him.
“No,” I whispered, my own tongue mutinying against my better sense. “But—”
“Come on now, Ark,” Kieran rasped, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. “Do you really think I’d let anybody else see this pretty little cunt of yours in broad daylight?”
It was hardly broad daylight. We were miles deep within the Wyldwoods at this point, further in than I’d ever traversed before. Sunlight only managed to peek through in patches beneath the massive boughs of ancient oak and pine and hemlock.
Kier clicked his tongue disapprovingly, right around the same time he slipped a finger beneath the hem of my panties, gliding between already slick folds with ease.
“I don’t think so,” he breathed. “This is mine…Feel how wet it is for me? Do you really think I’d ever willingly share this?”
I groaned as Muniin cantered over a series of exposed roots, which caused my hips to dip forward, pushing Kieran’s forefinger deeper inside me.
“That’s my girl,” Kieran purred. “I said I’d take care of you, did I not? I knew you needed some fresh air, little houseplant.”
“I hate you,” I breathed, aloud this time.
“No you don’t,” he replied. “But you’d hate me if I stopped, now wouldn’t you?
He slipped a second finger inside me, middle finger curling upward while the forefinger withdrew, spreading the gloss of my arousal over my clit.
How in the Hel this man managed to maneuver with such precision with touch alone—while we were on horseback, no less—was beyond me.
I did my best to swallow the keening noises that threatened to escape my throat.
Just because I didn’t see anyone nearby didn’t mean I wanted anyone to hear what manner of degeneracy was taking place.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Kieran snarled, nipping at the shell of my ear.
“Don’t I dare what?” I hissed back, a mix of pleasure and irritation over this man’s power, his utter command over my body.
“Don’t you dare hold back on me,” he demanded, shoving the first finger back inside me with no small amount of forcefulness, letting his thumb take over his forefinger’s prior ministrations against my clit. “I want to fucking hear you, godsdamnit.”
Anxiously, I scanned my periphery, even tossing a quick glance over my shoulder.
“It’s just us, Ark,” Kieran reassured me. “I promise you, I checked.”
I’d nearly forgotten he could do that. Shadow arcana was such a fascinating, frightening thing.
“And if some poor bastard does come straggling through these woods, let them hear it,” he added darkly. “Let them hear how good I make you feel. Let them hear how you sing so pretty for me whenever I’m inside you. I want them to know.”
“Fuuucking Hel,” I groaned. Not in intentional compliance, so much as I simply couldn’t help myself as he continued to move his fingers in and out, finding rhythm with my hips rocking in the saddle.
“Yeah,” he whispered hoarsely. “That’s more like it.”
Clearly encouraged, Kieran continued his relentless assault, wringing pleasure from my core as if it belonged to him. I let myself lean back, pushing my ass up against his groin and the blatantly hard, twitching length of him.
“Insatiable bastard.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“You’ll pay for this, Vistarii,” I moaned breathlessly, starting to rock my hips on my own accord, seeking even more friction, more pressure, more.
“Go right ahead,” he crooned back. “Drag me to Hel, pretty girl.”
Fuck.
As the trail began a slight incline, Kieran withdrew his fingers—though he took pause before returning his left hand to the reins. I didn’t bother to look, but I heard whispers of the obscenity I knew was taking place before he snaked that hand back around my waist.
“We’re getting close,” he offered in explanation.
Yeah, well. I was, too.
“You never did explain where we’re going,” I replied airily, pretending as though the loss of his fingers left me entirely unfazed. It had not, but he didn’t need to know that.
“You didn’t ask,” Kieran replied, just as breezily.
“I did! I asked multiple times, actually!”
“Hmmm,” he paused, pretending to consider this. “I can’t say I recall. But, either way, we’re going to Lake Eidrytch.