Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Morning sunlight and a cold breeze drifted around me. Warmth pressed into my back, and I snuggled deeper into it. Heat. So much heat surrounded me, and it felt positively blissful.
A throat cleared in the distance, but I burrowed deeper against the intoxicatingly firm warmth. I wiggled more, and a hard rod abruptly pressed against my backside. Someone hissed.
My brow furrowed in my dazed state. The hard thing against my rump reminded me of something.
Something . . .
My eyes fluttered open, and the sensation behind me disappeared. Cool air abruptly coated my backside.
“Good morning,” a male said roughly.
His deep voice rumbled through me, and my toes curled, but just as fast, I realized who had spoken.
Kole.
I blinked more, taking in my surroundings. Solid rock appeared in front of me, only feet away, since I was facing the wall. Sunlight drifted into the enclosure too.
Alertness coasted through me rapid fire. It was morning, and I’d just spent the night beside the warrior in our makeshift bed, and I could have sworn that I’d felt him not even a second ago, and I’d been pressing myself against his—
My eyes flashed wide open. Stars, moons, and all the galaxies. I’d just ground my arse against his morning erection.
Kole pushed to a stand, his movements barely making a sound. Chilled air made my flesh pimple, and I peeked over my shoulder.
He was straightening his clothes, his back to me.
It was obvious the warrior wasn’t going to acknowledge the fact that we’d just been spooning, or that I’d been grinding myself onto him.
His closed-off actions reminded me that he could very well possess a Solis affinity that prevented him from experiencing intimacy.
Kole grabbed his sword and said gruffly, “I’ll be back in a minute.”
He disappeared in a blink of mistphasing magic, and I was alone in the cave.
Fast breaths lifted my chest. In front of me, cloudy puffs emitted from my mouth since the air was so frigid. Without Kole’s heat, the cold quickly set in.
Shivering, I wrapped the covers around me more and called upon my fire element to rush through my blood, warming me. But I missed Kole’s warmth. His body heat was much more appealing than my elemental magic.
Once I was warm enough not to feel like an icicle, I shoved the covers off and made quick work of dressing and cleaning my teeth, then I grabbed a few supplies for breakfast.
Not long later, I was in the midst of slathering jam on bread while a pot of water heated over my newly formed fire in the makeshift pit, when Kole reappeared.
As before, he reappeared as suddenly as he’d left, but instead of looking like he’d just rolled out of bed, his hair was damp, his face was cleanly shaven, and fresh breeches and a new tunic adorned him.
The sword I was coming to associate as being an extension of himself draped down his back, and an air of coldness clung to the warrior, as if he’d bathed in a frigid lake.
I stopped slathering the jam and eyed him hesitantly. “Good morning,” I offered.
His gaze met mine, his mask entirely in place. Not one trace of emotion flitted across his features, but his aura was roiling.
“Morning.”
I so desperately wanted to know what that magic was around his wrist and if such magic truly existed that prevented one from enjoying intimate relations.
I could only imagine how awful that would be, and I wanted him to know that I didn’t judge him.
If anything, I sympathized with him. That had to be torture, especially for a male as virile as Kole.
But he looked away and said, “I’ll get everything packed up.” His movements turned quick and jerky, and my stomach tightened because it was obvious Kole wasn’t willing to share that part of himself yet.
Disappointed, I returned my attention to the breakfast I was making and knew it had the potential to be a long day.
Kole packed everything in blurred speed, then secured it to the carpet while I finished making breakfast. We both ate the jam and bread and drank a cup of tea in silence.
Never in my life had I been more aware of a male’s every move, but I didn’t know how to breach this newfound awkwardness between us.
“Should we go then?” I forced a smile.
Kole’s gaze landed on my mouth, settling there for a heartbeat. He started, jerking his chin away, and gave a swift nod. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
He mistphased both of us outside, but instead of holding me close as he had last night, he only took my hand, and the second the transfer was over, he released me.
Sighing, I made an effort not to touch him at all once we were on the carpet.
But just as the carpet lifted and we began to glide back to the road, a thought occurred to me that explained why Kole was fighting this thing between us so hard. And it had nothing to do with a strange Solis affinity.
Horror filled me as my thought took root.
Perhaps a relationship was keeping Kole from being intimate with me.
He might be married, and that magic flaring around his wrist could be due to a Solis marriage vow that I was ignorant of.
It could be that it was Solis magic reminding him of his wife, not preventing him from being intimate.
My eyes widened to saucers. That seemed much more likely than it being his internal magic, because I’d never heard of natural magic before that prevented relations.
My cheeks burned hotter. If he were with someone else, that would definitely explain why he kept pulling back.
But then I thought of our one kiss in the capital. He’d reciprocated that kiss. Quite enthusiastically, if my memory could be trusted, but maybe it was because of how quickly I’d kissed him and how I’d taken him entirely by surprise. Perhaps his Solis magic hadn’t had time to catch up.
Feeling entirely nauseated about it all, I did my best to keep several inches of distance between us. But that was easier said than done. The carpet was only so big after all, and a few times when we glided around turns, I brushed against him before I was able to right myself.
It didn’t help that a new tension lined the warrior’s shoulders, and he’d clammed up completely, not saying a word to me since we’d left the rocky enclosure.
It began bothering me so much that not even an hour into our ride, I couldn’t stop the question from tumbling out of my mouth. “Do you have a wife, Kole?”
The warrior’s dark hair fluttered in the wind, and his head jerked my way. Looking down, his eyes glittered in the morning sunlight, and I could have sworn confusion filled them. “What?”
“Are you married?” I pressed. “You know, with someone in your everyday life? Is that why magic keeps flaring around your wrist? Is it from the marriage vow you promised?”
He shook his head, and his eyebrows folded together. “You think I have a female back home? A wife?”
I twisted my fingers together. “Um, yes? Or . . . no?”
For the briefest moment, his nostrils flared, but just as fast, his expression closed off, and he returned his attention to the road ahead. “No, I’m not married, and I’m not with anyone either. I’m as single as they get.”
A heartbeat of silence passed between us, and I wondered if my initial suspicion had been the right one after all. He likely had a Solis affinity that prevented intimacy.
“Oh.” My brow furrowed, and while his statement alleviated my guilt over disrespecting a potential spouse, it only made me feel entirely awful that such a trait had been cursed upon him.
But something told me Kole wouldn’t appreciate me feeling sorry for him, so to cover it up, I gazed at the rising sun and said as cheerfully as I could muster, “’Tis a lovely sunrise.
” I plastered a smile on my face for good measure and fell back on my usual fake cheer and positivity.
“I love this time of day. There’s so much new magic, and the beauty always captivates me. ”
Kole glanced at me again. His sapphire eyes were particularly bright this morning, swirling and igniting. “Yes, it is pretty.”
I beamed up at him, and his focus drifted to my lips, nose, then down my neck. His attention shifted rapid fire, and the aura around him thumped higher with every second that passed. He stared at me so intently, again . . . hungrily even.
Everything in me softened at his obvious arousal for me, but before I could comment, a huge flash of magic flared around his wrist, and he hissed and whipped his hand back, confirming my suspicions entirely.
But just as fast, a burst of magic appeared in front of us, and a dillemsill popped into existence, right on the edge of the carpet.
Everything happened so fast that it took me a minute to understand that a messenger bird sat in front of us.
The second that comprehension dawned, my heart immediately plummeted.
“Oh stars, are you here with a message from my aunt?” My hand shot to my throat, dread instantly filling me.
But the bird ignored me and turned to the warrior. “Kole Swordwielder, you’ve been summoned back to headquarters. You’re to return immediately.”
Relief hit me at the same time Kole’s jaw ground together, but just as fast, he smoothed his expression and dipped his head. “Message received.”
The bird ruffled its feathers, then began to spin, moving faster and faster until it resembled a whirlwind. With a final spark of magic, it disappeared, going back to wherever it’d come from.
I held my chest. My heart was still galloping. “I’m so glad that wasn’t a message from my aunt telling me my uncle had taken a turn for the worse.” I took another deep breath. “Is that how you get summoned by the Imperial Council?”
“It is.” His lips thinned. “I need to answer that call.”
“Of course, no problem. I can keep going on my own, if you’re okay with me continuing to borrow your carpet?”
He raked a hand through his hair and worked his jaw again. “That’s fine. You can use anything of mine you like.”
“Do you think you’ll be gone long?”
“Depends upon what they’re summoning me for. I hadn’t intended to leave you today. Not up here.” He glanced around at the barren, unforgiving landscape.
Snow and ice filled the land. We’d traveled so far north that the only land farther north than our current location was the tip of our continent, then the Brashier Sea, and then the arctic region in the fae lands, where the Solis continent lay.
Considering the northern tip of Stonewild Kingdom brushed against the Brashier Sea, the Solis weren’t that much farther north, not in these parts.
I bumped Kole’s arm, trying to lighten the mood and tamp down on the remorse I still felt for him, especially since a storm cloud had begun roiling in his aura. “I’ll be fine. Just relinquish the carpet to me so I can command it, and catch up with me when you can.”
He frowned anew, then scanned the area once more.
“I don’t see any larpanoons nearby or any of those hideous creatures that escaped Silventine Wood,” I said lightly. “And if any come prowling, I’ll force their limbs to sleep and will fly right by them.”
He was still frowning, but he shook his head. “Right. Of course you could. I’ve seen how strong you are.” Intense, shining blue eyes met mine. “I’ll be back soon. Okay?” He pulled something from his pocket and gave it to me. It was round, the size of a marble, and was an opaque green.
I cocked my head. “What’s this?”
“A tracking charm. It’s how I’ll find you. Just don’t lose it, and I’ll be able to mistphase to exactly where you are.”
I nodded and didn’t ask for more details. Kole suddenly seemed edgy, and I was reminded that he was working after all, and something had just come up that required him to return to his headquarters.
I offered him a dazzling smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you when I see you.”
His expression clouded, but then he shook himself and nodded. “Yeah, of course, I’ll be back soon.”