Chapter 19 #2
He landed in front of the closed door and leaned a shoulder against it, propping his and my weight on his left leg.
His right leg couldn’t support any weight at all.
The sight of his right foot lifelessly dropped below the hem of his skirt was another painful reminder about the poison slowly eating away at his body.
“I’ll have to get the chair,” he said calmly. “Lock the door and keep it locked until I return.”
I nodded, doing what he said, then promptly letting him in when he flew back with the chair.
“Is everything okay out there?” I asked as he lowered himself into his chair inside our cave, behind the securely locked doors.
“Yes. But we’ll have to keep the doors locked at all times now. Even when I’m here. Alright?”
He looked at me closely, then probably noticed my downturned mouth and guessed my disappointment.
“It upsets you,” he exhaled, his shoulders dropping.
“No.” I faked a smile. “I understand.”
My smile didn’t fool him.
“Come here.” He took my hand and guided me back onto his lap.
“I know you love to see the sun, but it’s no longer safe, not even during the day, not even when I’m right next to you.
They know where we live, and they’re getting bolder.
Sooner or later, someone sneaky enough will snatch you while I’m not here.
Or they will gather an army big enough to overpower me, and I wouldn’t be able to protect you. ”
I released a breath, resting my head on his shoulder. Timur was a brave man and a fierce warrior with unusual weapons at his disposal. But he wasn’t invincible.
“We’re not staying here forever, anyway,” I said. “We planned to leave as soon as we’re able.”
“Actually, it might be better to leave here even sooner than we planned.”
I shook my head. “But we don’t have enough money yet.”
“We have enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life,” he said firmly.
“But not enough to buy all the other humans in Ashgate.”
He heaved a long breath, leaning his head against the back of his chair.
“You can’t buy something that isn’t for sale, Elaine. There isn’t enough gold in the world that would convince Ray or Mazra to part with their Joy Vessels.”
I took off my glasses and rubbed my tired eyes. My mind felt tired too. “I need to get them out, Timur. It’s been too long already. I can’t leave Ashgate without them.”
My head ached, and my heart felt heavy.
Cupping the back of my head, he kissed my hair. “We can’t take them with us, my sweet. Not now. I can’t save them, and the longer we stay, the more I risk losing you too.”
I put my glasses back, not giving up. “We need to find a way to take them with us.”
If we left, I feared Erik, Mia, and the others would lose their only chance to ever get free.
He kept quiet for a few minutes, tracing small circles on my bare arm long enough for me to wonder if he deemed this conversation over.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said finally. “Let the queen find them.”
“The queen? What do you mean?”
“The crown has been looking for Ashgate for as long as I can remember. I’d spent years searching for it with the queen’s army. Let them finally find it now.”
“You’ll tell the queen where Ashgate is?”
“Well, not the queen herself, but someone from her army, yes.”
“What will happen then? They’ll attack it, right?”
“Most likely.”
“What if the humans get hurt during the attack?”
“No one wants to harm Joy Vessels.”
“Yet we’ve been harmed quite a lot in this world,” I muttered.
Timur paused in thought for a moment but didn’t argue with me.
“I’ll make sure the queen’s generals know about the humans and their likely locations,” he said. “By law, Joy Vessels belong to the queen. The army will take them from Ray and Mazra and return them to the royal sarai where they will be taken care of—”
I shook my head again. “Is there any chance we could let Prince Rha know about Ashgate instead? He has his own army, doesn’t he?”
“He does, but I’m not sure how big it is or if it can take over Ashgate without the crown’s help. Do you trust Prince Rha more than the queen?”
I bit my lip, considering his question. “I’m not sure if I should trust either. I’ve never met the queen, and I don’t know the prince’s current state. I’ll have to think about it.”
“Alright. I’ll be thinking too,” he said softly, and I heard a smile in his voice.
Since we met, Timur had connected to me through his tendrils only a few times.
But every time he’d done it, he’d been drinking my emotions deeply, greedily, learning as much as he could.
And he remembered. He remembered not only how to smile but also the emotions that caused it.
When I looked at him, I could tell that his smile was genuine as were the affection and tenderness behind it.
“I wish I could give you everything you want,” he said. “I would give you the world, any world of your choosing.”
Smiling, I placed a kiss on his cheek. “How about this one? I’ll take this world because that’s where you are.”
I realized something at that moment. I really was okay with staying in Alveari. I wouldn’t even mind staying in Ashgate if Timur remained here with me. He had turned even this dreadful place into a home for me.
He returned my kiss, then gave me another one, on my lips this time. I slid the tip of my finger up his chest, then traced his collarbone before skimming the ridge of his jaw.
“You cancelled all our appointments,” I said softly. “It means it’s just you and me for the next four days, doesn’t it?”
“Just you and me,” he echoed, then added with a soft rumble in his deep voice, “But if you keep touching me like this, my sweet Elaine, we’ll end up spending the entire four days in bed.”
My heart sped up, desire unfurling low in my belly. It felt like an eternity since he’d touched me last.
“In bed? With you? Not the worst place to be…” I breathed against his lips.
His hands traveled up my arms, his claws gently scraping against my bare skin.
His breathing was strangled. His body strained.
There was always a barely contained desperation when he touched me, but he seemed to be gaining better control over his animalistic lust. Or maybe I was just learning to fear it less? And maybe even to like it?
His wings moved, lifting us from his chair. He glided over the floor, bringing me to our bed behind the silk screen. Then lay on his side, drawing me close.
“Being with you is an endless exercise of patience,” he said, trailing gentle kisses down the side of my face.
“You seem to be doing better at that.” I cupped the back of his neck. The silky whisper of his tendril emerging from his nape slipped between my fingers.
“I want to feel you,” he said, palming my breast through the scarf tied around my chest, then stroking my hardened nipple with his thumb.
He tasted my emotions rarely and sparingly, like a miser dipping into his treasure chest. I knew he was still cautious about it. But so far, we hadn’t noticed any ill effects on him.
On the contrary, my joy seemed to help him ease the pain.
He’d had no outbursts of agony since that day on the beach, even when flying, which jolted his legs quite a bit.
Timur claimed his sleep got better, too, even in bed.
Of course, inside the impenetrable walls and behind the airtight doors of the cave, we both felt safer and slept better.
But Timur was convinced everything good that happened to him was because of me.
“The ecstasy you make me feel, sweetheart, lasts with me long after the night is over,” he would say. “It feeds my soul and keeps my mind safe from the dragon.”
All his tendrils emerged now, connecting to three of the six rosettes of my leilatha harness. His presence filled my senses.
Normally, a connection with someone felt like opening the door to my emotions. I didn’t mind inviting guests to my inner world. Most of the time, it felt like a pleasant visit that energized me at first but left me a little worn at the end, just like having houseguests did.
When Timur connected to me, however, it felt like a loved one had returned home. His feelings seemed to blend with mine, making me feel complete and bringing peace to any emptiness or turmoil I might have inside me.
“You take my breath away,” he whispered, lifting his head to look deep into my eyes. “It astonishes and elates me to know it’s me who makes you feel so much joy.”
“Only you…” Sinking my fingers into the hair on the back of his head, I brought him closer to me for a kiss.
I sensed his presence beyond the physical touch. When he kissed me, when he glided his hands over my naked skin, when he finally entered me, I felt him with body and soul.
As he moved over me in deliciously slow thrusts that made my toes curl and my heart sing, my feelings were no longer just my own. The tenderness in my heart grew beyond what my chest could contain.
And when my climax rocked through me, igniting all my senses with fireworks of bliss, it was twice as bright and wonderful because Timur joined me, falling over the edge with me.
He left his tendrils connected to me as he peppered my skin with light, tender kisses, guiding me down from the precipice of pleasure.
“It’s going to be a wonderful four days,” I murmured, luxuriating in his caresses.
He placed a sweet kiss on my lips before drawing the cover over our flushed, naked bodies.
“Would you want it to always be like this from now on?” he asked, lying on his side to face me.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean no more clients, no more appointments, no more sneaking out at the most deserted hour, no more looking over your shoulder, expecting an attack at any moment. Just you and me. Together and safe.”
Together and safe.
It sounded wonderful. But could that really be our reality one day?
I rose on my elbow. “Do you think it’s possible?”
Laying on his side, he rested his head on his bicep. “We can make it possible. We can leave here, find a place of our own, somewhere where I can take care of you in peace.”
His words flowed freely, painting a picture of a magical dream, beautiful but hardly real.
“Is there such a place?” I wondered.
He lifted a strand of my hair on his claw, then gently moved it behind my ear.
“Every big city has plenty of places to hide. I knew many of such places while growing up in Kalmena. Normally, the biggest challenge is to get past the guards and through the gates into the city, but…” He smiled.
It was a confident, cheeky smile that reflected cheerful humor normally inaccessible for shadow fae.
“We don’t need to go through the gates now, do we?
I have wings that can take us over the walls warded by magic. ”
“You want to sneak in?” I sat up, immediately captivated by the idea. “If no one knows that we’re there, no one would be trying to attack us.”
“Exactly. We can get a house on the outskirts of the city, with a balcony where you can sit in the sun when the city is asleep during the day. I can arrange for food to be delivered—”
“I can cook,” I interrupted, enthusiasm bursting through my heart. “And bake. I love baking.”
“And if we absolutely need to go out for anything, we’ll just wear cloaks. People in a large city like Kalmena are used to ignoring strangers and minding their own business. It’s easy to get lost in the crowd.”
I worried my bottom lip between my teeth, pondering the details.
“Does it have to be Kalmena?” I asked.
“Kalmena is just the city that I know the best. But we can go anywhere you want. Do you want to go to Teneris?” he guessed.
I nodded. “For several reasons. One is that I hope Prince Rha is a more lenient ruler than Queen Abeille. I would rather have him lead the attack on Ashgate, if it comes down to it. Also, if I’m discovered—”
Timur shifted uncomfortably, clearly reluctant to even imagine such a future for me.
I cupped the side of his face soothingly. “In the worst-case scenario. If that happens, I’d rather deal with the prince than his mother.”
I didn’t have much to go by when judging Prince Rha’s character since I didn’t know him very well. But Dawn seemed to like him very much. I now believed she truly loved Prince Rha, and I trusted my friend wouldn’t fall in love with someone decidedly cruel.
“And finally,” I added. “Suhai said Prince Rha brought a human woman to Teneris.”
“And you think she may be someone you know,” Timur guessed.
“I’m not sure. She could be just someone he took from the queen’s sarai in Kalmena. But if not…” I let my voice trail off, both hopeful and afraid.
If Dawn really wanted to return to our world, I wished she’d succeeded in her escape and was living happily among humans now.
Selfishly, however, I also hoped that she’d stayed.
That she’d gotten captured by the queen’s guards, brought to Kalmena and then was gifted to the crown prince.
Because that would mean she was in Teneris now, and I could see her again.
Also, the pleasure traders who captured me never showed up at Ashgate with Ciana.
If she managed to escape from them somehow, I hoped she remembered my advice to go to Teneris.
If so, then the two human women I cared the most about in this world could both be in Teneris now.
Which meant that was the place where I should be too.
“If we ever want to find my friends,” I explained to Timur, “Teneris is the best place to start looking.”