Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Sunlight shimmered across the ocean, its ripples looking like molten gold as Vax finished securing the last crate of Riya’s festival wares to the wooden slats of the carriage.
His breath clouded before him as he straightened, boots crunching on the snow that glittered like crushed glass around them.
Riya had found some of her father’s old furs for him to wear for their trek.
She smiled as she watched him make sure everything was secure before joining her on the bench.
He looked as if he belonged in the frozen north with his fur hat and cloak, well, as much as a pink-skinned man with glaringly bright red hair could look at home here.
“All set?”
“Those crates aren’t going to move an inch on our journey,” he grinned. “Ready whenever you and Snerra are.”
Riya smiled back, urging Snerra on the path to Frosborg.
They rode in companionable silence for a long while, looking out over the white expanse of the snow-covered forest. The coastal wind at their back cut around the carriage like a knife, and Vax huddled further into his fur coat and hat until only his eyes and nose were peeking through.
“Is it always this cold? I don’t think I’ve ever truly felt cold in my life until this very moment.”
Riya tried not to laugh, “It’s always coldest around Yule. Why don’t you conjure up some of that fire magic to warm us both?”
“That’s not how it works, unfortunately. I can’t just conjure a flame from nothing, only bend and manipulate fire that’s around me. We’d have to stop and start a flame somewhere, and then I could keep it going and bring it with us.”
“Fascinating,” she mused. “And all those who come from your home have this ability?”
“Everyone from Salamaand, yes. The three other guilds have different Elemental gifts. I spoke briefly to you of their looks, but the Gnomes can manipulate the earth, the Undina’s water, and the Sylph’s air.
The Gnomes are the worst of all, though, because they can also change their shape and features to look like one of the other guilds. ”
Riya’s head spun, unable to fully comprehend the idea of someone being able to change form completely.
“That sounds… unnerving. How could you ever trust anyone?” Her tone was light, but her skin prickled at the thought of having to always be on alert, not knowing if your home was infiltrated by your enemy.
She glanced at him, noticing the way his jaw tightened and the haunted look that crossed over his features.
“I’m sorry,” she found herself saying. “I didn’t mean to be so unfeeling. I’m sure you had many people you trusted at home. Family, friends, a loved one…”
“I didn’t, actually.” The words were even, emotionless. “Most of my family died fighting for our King, for a pointless war. Anyone else was just another soldier that I kept my distance from.”
Riya didn’t know what to say to that. What kind of life must he have had? Was it any life at all?
“I—I don’t know if I ever thanked you for all you did to help me this week.
” She swallowed, feeling a well of emotion climbing up her throat, watering her eyes.
“Truly, your presence has been a welcome refuge from the creeping loneliness I’ve been feeling this past year.
And I don’t know if I would have been able to get all of this done if you hadn’t washed ashore on my beach that day.
And Snerra… I—I’m not sure I could ever repay you for all you’ve done for me. ”
Vax was quiet for a long moment, long enough for the sound of Snerra’s hooves crunching through the frozen path to echo loudly around them.
“You saved me that day,” he finally broke the silence.
“If you hadn’t brought me into your cottage, I might not have made the full recovery I have today. Your kindness is payment enough.”
Riya kept her gaze on the path before them, afraid that if she looked at him, her heart would be well and truly lost to him forever.
When he inevitably left to return home to his people, she feared she would be unable to reclaim it.
Could feel it in her soul, in her very essence, that this man was different.
So she kept her focus on the rhythm of Snerra’s hoofbeats along the packed snow and the quiet creak of the carriage behind them.
But every fiber of her being was acutely aware of Vax’s presence beside her, and she would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t welcome the comfort of having him near.
In such a short time, he had become a familiar part of her day-to-day, a part that she realized she didn’t want to live without.
How was that even possible? This man from a whole other world, so different from her own, had wedged his way into her soul.
She didn’t want him to leave after the festival was over. She didn’t want him to leave ever.
Her heart thudded loudly in her ears, almost painful in her chest, and she could no longer draw in a full breath. She gasped, gripping hard onto the reins as panic seized her completely.
“Riya,” Vax’s deep, smooth voice cut through the anxiety rushing through her. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
He placed a gentle hand on her back, and she couldn’t bear it any longer, couldn’t deny this feeling inside her.
She finally looked at him, into those oddly tender red eyes, and she was lost. This man, whom she had only known for a week, had nuzzled his way into her every waking thought.
She loved him, utterly and completely, and it felt impossible and terrifying all at once.
“Here, let me take the reins.” He scooted closer to her, coaxing the leads from her grasp. “There is a clearing ahead. I think it might be a good place for us to stop for the night and get some rest. It’s been a long day.”
She said nothing, still unable to breathe fully, allowing him to take control of Snerra and the carriage, leading them off the path and into an area of flat, untouched, snow-laden earth beside a frozen stream.
Once they were fully stopped he turned to her, pulling her gaze. “Riya, talk to me. What’s happening?” He reached out, taking her gloved hands in his, holding tightly. “You’re scaring me. Are you okay?”
His voice held an urgency that made her throat constrict, a lump forming at the top, and she tried to swallow against it.
She finally nodded, trying to rein herself in, not trusting her voice enough to speak. The muscles of her jaw throbbed from clenching her teeth, keeping them from chattering uncontrollably as she attempted to steady her breathing.
“That’s it, just breathe. Slow and easy.”
But even as she tried to calm her nerves, her mind raced, questioning everything.
Could a person really fall in love so quickly?
Could she be that foolish, that reckless?
He was still a stranger after all. She was breaking every rule her mother had taught her about caution, strangers, and the world around her.
The wind died down, the temperature dropping to a bone-aching chill, and a hush fell over the woods as if the whole world was holding its breath along with her at this moment.
“I’m alright,” she finally managed. Her voice sounded small, weak.
He cupped her cheek, and Gods help her, she leaned into that touch, seeking his warmth, his affection.
“You looked like you couldn’t breathe,” he said, thumb brushing along her cheekbone, gentle and caring. “Did the cold get to you?”
Riya shook her head, no longer trusting her words for fear of what she might say. His touch helped ease her anxious heart, and her breathing was slow, long, and full once more.
A slow hush pressed down from between the trees, the snow muting every distant sound.
Vax’s hand never left her face, just moved up to sweep some loose hair behind her ear.
Vax leaned toward her, pressing his forehead lightly against hers, a gesture that should have felt foreign, but instead felt achingly familiar.
She noticed that his breathing had quickened, not entirely unlike her own had been just moments ago.
The closeness of him enveloped her, emboldening her to speak her thoughts aloud.
“We barely know one another,” she whispered, even as her hand rested against his chest.
“Does it matter how long we’ve known each other?” His rumbling voice vibrated through the hand he still rested against her cheek.
She huffed a shallow laugh, pulling slightly away to look into his eyes, both their breath clouding in the air between them. “Maybe it does or maybe it doesn’t matter at all.”
“There’s a saying back home,” Vax murmured, an unexpected intensity in his gaze that she’d yet to see from him, an inferno blazing in their depths. “One I’ve heard said in the free city that is untouched by war and death. They say the heart knows its truth before the mind allows it to believe.”
Riya felt her pulse stutter at his words, anticipating his next. His voice dropped to a whisper that burned in her ears as he said.
“I think that if nothing makes sense in my mind, Riya,” his hand trembled as it moved along her face and around to the back of her neck. “I will surrender completely to what my heart demands.”
And then he pulled her to his waiting lips.
It was different this time, less slow and exploratory, more desperate and passionate.
He tasted of smoke and cinnamon, and she melted into him, shameless, clutching the scratchy fur of his borrowed coat, her body greedy for his warmth, his touch.
She let her mouth open for him, and the rumble in his chest vibrated through her.
The world shrank around them, and she could no longer feel the chill of the air, completely chased away by the heat filling her to the brim.
Her heart skittered, flutters blooming to life in her center at the slide of his tongue and the way his hands cradled her, exploring, pressing into her back, her hips, her thighs.
Snerra neighed, breaking them from the intensity of the moment. They both were breathing heavily, holding onto each other as if afraid they might lose one another if they let go.
“I—I should tend to Snerra. She’s hungry and thirsty from the trek,” Riya stuttered.
“I’ll start a fire.” Vax breathed, hesitating not once but twice before finally letting her go, and she gasped from the whip of cold that lanced across her from the broken contact.
By the time she’d tended to Snerra, Vax already had a fire blazing and an area of snow cleared for their bedrolls where he was sitting waiting for her.
“Gods, I was barely gone for more than a few minutes.” She said playfully, joining him on the bedroll he’d laid out for her. The fire offered just enough heat to chase away the chill of the night, and she looked up to the millions of stars twinkling overhead.
“It’s always so beautiful and peaceful out here,” she sighed, looking back at Vax, who was now suddenly much closer than before.
He’d removed his furs, only wearing the thin shirt he’d been wearing when she found him that day on the beach, which now felt like so long ago. How had it only been a week?
She joined Vax in taking off her own furs and snuggled into her bedroll. The fire he was no doubt keeping alight was the perfect temperature to keep them content for the night amidst the snow and frost. She smiled at him, unwilling to close her eyes, instead studying his every intoxicating feature.
Vax lay on his side, elbow propping up his head, and smiled softly back at her, “We should get some rest before the festival tomorrow.” But even as he said the words, he reached over, taking her hand in his.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep,” she admitted.
Something washed over his face, a look that had her core tightening and gooseflesh climbing up her skin. “Come here,” he said, his voice gravelly and low as he lifted his blanket, inviting her in.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” She breathed, the words nearly lost in the roar of the fire and the beating of her own racing heart.
“I want nothing more than to stay right here, with you, for as long as I can.”
That was all she needed to hear before she joined him, pressing her back against his chest, and he wrapped his arm around her, letting the blanket fall over them both.
“Sleep, Riya.” He whispered in her ear, his lips grazing her cheek as his arm tightened around her waist, drawing her further against the solid wall of his chest.
Riya’s eyelids grew heavy as the campfire crackled and popped, casting dancing shadows over their entwined bodies.
Above them, the stars twinkled, piercing the darkness like tiny lantern flies.
Her breathing slowed, matching the steady rise and fall of Vax’s chest behind her as she surrendered to the night.