Chapter 20
By the time Elise reached the castle gates, the weather had begun sending dust and loose debris swirling through the air. The dark sky announced that a storm was approaching. She hastened her pace, hoping to avoid walking back through the forest amid wind and mud.
A whisper of rain touched her skin when she heard a man’s voice call from behind.
“Elise!”
She had already passed the guards and was well along the road leading into the city. She hesitated before turning, hearing the sound of a horse approaching and feeling every muscle in her ears stretch in an effort to make sense of who in this place might possibly know her.
To Elise’s disbelief, she saw the duke stepping out of a golden cabriolet, his expression a tad warmer than usual.
Elise’s own mood improved at an alarming speed as he walked toward her.
Her heart began to race, and she had to keep her eyes from wandering toward the shapes outlined by his tight leggings.
Unlike Fabian, the duke’s tunic left considerably more to the imagination, and Elise was deeply grateful for it.
Feeling like a sinner of the worst sort for taking curiosity in such matters, Elise lowered herself to greet the nobleman.
“Kurt,” she managed.
But perhaps the admiration was not one-sided, and even with her head down, Elise could tell the duke’s gaze lingered on her.
“You came,” he said after a moment.
Elise lifted her gaze to his. “I did.”
What might have been a pulse of worry crossed his face. “Did you have any success with your application?”
Elise smiled. “I’m starting tomorrow morning.”
He seemed slightly relieved as he stared at her face.
Elise lowered her head again and, seeing no further words come from the duke’s shapely mouth, decided to continue on her way.
“Would you like to share the ride into town?” he asked with a composed politeness that sounded to Elise almost like a command.
She could not tell whether the gesture was made out of obligation. Not wishing to impose, and feeling strangely comfortable for the first time since she had met him, she shook her head softly.
“It’s better I get used to the walk, since I’ll be making it every day,” she said.
But the duke quickly interjected. “I insist.”
Bruno croaked as though startled awake, pressing his beak against Elise’s shoulder in visible protest. Rain had already begun speckling the rocks around them, and Elise’s dress was growing damp beneath the drizzle.
“Is it proper to travel with just the two of us?”
A trace of heat rose through her as she caught a flicker of discomfort disturb Kurt’s otherwise serious expression.
“The crow would be with us, I’m assuming,” he said.
Elise took a moment before letting out a soft laugh. She had not known humor could inhabit a man such as Kurt.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, disarming Elise completely.
“Then I see no reason against it.”
They walked to the coach, and he offered his hand somewhat awkwardly. Elise took it anyway, and an electric jolt ran through her body. The effect seemed to reach Bruno as well, for the crow suddenly croaked himself into an energetic stupor.
They rode toward town in silence, Kurt shifting slightly along the way and stealing glances here and there. Elise was relieved that at least this time she was wearing a proper dress. The heat inside the cabriolet rose to an almost unreasonable degree, and she could not help but break the silence.
Out of sheer nervousness, she retold the entire affair with the fairies.
Even Fabian’s red leggings found their way into the tale.
Elise tried to keep her account as proper as possible, but with the rocky motion of the confined interior and the occasional brush of knees between her and the stunning man seated before her, the honesty of her delivery slowly took on the quality of a confession before a priest.
Kurt listened with the attention reserved for military strategy before a battle. He inquired further into the details of Elise’s assembly. His face went through the most remarkable series of changes, from fear to contentment, all of them fueling Elise to continue her detailed narration.
By the time they reached the center of the city, Elise felt she had already spent days in Kurt’s acquaintance. It did not hurt, of course, that he had moved to her side of the carriage, where they sat close in the noble spirit of protection against further jolting.
Elise’s chaperone, however, had spent the entire trip in the peace of deep slumber upon her shoulder, and not even when one of the wheels struck a deep puddle did the bird utter a single complaint.
“Thank you for the conveyance. The road would be most merciful from here,” Elise said, stretching her body in front of Kurt to open the door by herself, and as she did, she couldn’t help but notice the breadth of his torso.
Until then she had concentrated on telling her story and successfully ignoring his magnificence.
The man was at least twice her width, and under the brief assessment, Elise’s imagination wandered into improper thoughts that made her cheeks grow warm at once.
To her surprise, Kurt did not do much to stop the cabriolet but instead took her hand in his own and for the first time during the trip he uttered more than five words.
“I couldn’t let myself make you walk to your house under this weather,” he said, his breath warming her as they remained face to face. “Allow me to take you...all the way.”
Those last words ignited the very entrails of Elise.
A scorching sensation invaded parts of her body she preferred not to acknowledge.
Had he been a man of the lower sort, she might have panicked, but being a man as proper as the duke, she feared less for her safety than for the growing heat between them driving her toward impropriety.
She could do little more than nod and sit back down beside him.
The rest of the trip felt longer than a crusade across the continent. Elise’s heart pulsed so violently she thought she might perish on the spot. Her legs rested only a few inches from his, yet the energy between them was so charged they might as well have been undressed.
Elise recited a few prayers in hopes of preserving her composure. Kurt appeared to be doing much the same, for his constant mumbling and the beads of sweat gathering at his temples revealed a discomfort much like her own.
An occasional cough began to afflict Kurt as they drove closer to Morgaine’s home.
The small torment seemed only to worsen with every turn of the wheels.
In addition to his discomfort, Elise noticed that every time she looked out the window, an impulse seemed to compel the duke to do the same.
She didn’t know if these were signs of a grave condition or what tribulation had taken possession of him.
But as with all questions that trouble the mind, the answer to Elise’s curiosity would soon present itself so plainly that even a soul half-blind to life’s understandings could have taken the hint.
*****
The wind was blowing so furiously when they arrived at Morgaine’s house that Elise thought a gate of Hell had opened on Earth, and perhaps she was not imagining too far from reality.
As Kurt was just recovering from another rasping fit of the throat, Elise studied the strong lines that defined his face.
It was as though he had been sculpted rather than born.
Every feature seemed in perfect agreement with the rest. One might have thought his nose, jaw, and cheeks had all been designed to assemble themselves into an irresistible monument to masculinity.
Elise was still deep in admiration when the cabriolet came to an abrupt stop. Her body leaned against Kurt’s muscular frame, and she could not help but smile.
“We have arrived,” he managed, looking deeply into her eyes and returning the smile. He rose to open the door and assist Elise out of the coach.
But the romantic haze was quickly shattered when no hand reached out to help her down.
“Who are you?” a demonic voice called from outside.
She hurried out on her own, hoping to prevent any calamity.
Once Elise stepped onto the freshly soaked soil, she witnessed the unimaginable. Only a couple of feet separated Kurt and Seth. She remained beside the cabriolet, debating whether to fetch Morgaine’s help or send one of the remarkably stubborn gentlemen away herself.
“I’m the Duke of Dornheim. And you are?” Kurt said brusquely.
“He’s a friend,” Elise interrupted before the demon could reply with something too alarming.
Kurt’s entire body went rigid, as though preparing to lunge at the other man. Seth’s tall, bronzed figure tensed as well. They locked gazes, and Elise immediately grew nervous.
She placed a gentle hand on Kurt’s arm. “Thank you for bringing me home.”
He turned to her. “Are you certain you’ll be safe here?”
“I am. Thank you,” she replied softly.
A slight grumble escaped Kurt’s wounded throat before he forced himself toward the cabriolet. He mumbled something to the driver and then set out on his return journey at the speed of a melting candle.
Elise figured one could travel faster by walking at a brisk pace, but she waited patiently until at last the cabriolet was out of sight.
With Kurt gone, she felt the demon’s intense gaze settle on her.
The rain had ceased, but even Bruno was shivering from the damp cold.
The bird croaked excitedly around Seth. It was difficult to tell which gentleman Bruno favored more, though if Elise had to guess, it was the infernal one who inspired the strongest fluttering.
She clutched herself in hopes of preserving some warmth against the chill, but she needn’t have troubled herself for long. As soon as Seth drew nearer, she began to warm from the heat emanating from the strong pillar that was the demon’s body.
“Is that man your lover?” the demon asked suddenly. There was a sternness in his expression that startled Elise for the briefest moment.
“No,” she said with an air of offense. She wondered why he cared, though she preferred not to find out. Instead, she chose to mention a matter of more immediate concern.
“I was at the castle. I’ll be there every day starting tomorrow, if you must know.”
“You haven’t been there until today?” Seth mumbled. “You mortals take things too slowly. It’s a wonder, considering how brief your existences are.”
“Well, if you have nothing more to offer than a reminder that I’ll be dead one day…”
Seth grumbled. He took her arm and held her firmly.
Elise felt the heat between them rise all the quicker. It was almost as though the demon’s countenance regulated his temperature.
She pulled her arm free and began to walk toward the house as the demon watched her dodge a few puddles on her way.
“I’ll be watching you,” said the infernal before he disappeared into the forest.
Elise paid little mind to the warning and unbolted the door of the house, ready to run and tell Morgaine the good tidings and everything that had transpired at the castle.
The witch was nowhere to be seen, so Elise took a cape and made for the garden, where she knew Morgaine liked to recover from a hearty meal. Amid the wet grass and the smell of moss, there she was, stretched out like a squirrel after an unreasonable quantity of nuts.
Morgaine shifted on the bench where she lay and with a lazy glance, she asked, “When do you start, dear?”
A gasp escaped Elise. “How do you know it went well?”
“I had a feeling. Besides, with a face like yours, who could deny you anything?”
Elise grabbed a chair and sat beside Morgaine. “Did you also know Seth was here waiting for me?”
This last bit of information made Morgaine straighten at once.
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him I’ll be at the castle every day starting tomorrow,” Elise said carefully. “Kurt was here as well.”
“Ah!” Morgaine groaned. “Don’t tell me he came looking for another cape.”
Elise shook her head, the mere memory of Kurt sending a strange warmth through her body.
“He wanted to spare me the rain, so he drove me home. The two of them nearly got into a fight. Seth was awfully suspicious of Kurt, and in the spirit of peace, I decided not to ask why.”
The witch laughed as though the dreadful episode were nothing more than a jest.
“Demons are territorial beings,” she said. “I, for one, prefer not to mingle too much with them, though I have to admit they are difficult to resist. With Devon, for example, I had to go and relieve myself with Volker every time things became heated. But matters grew complicated with him as well.”
Once more, in the spirit of preserving her sanity, Elise did not ask for specifics.
While she understood the natural calls of the body, she preferred a more restrained approach.
Anyhow, after being so close to Kurt, she could not help but find all the sinful talk a bit more enticing than before.
She even started to wonder whether she would be able to resist him should he show any further interest.