Chapter 65 Alar #2
"At eight. Two hours before curfew. But maybe she will stay the night this time."
Kailin's blush deepened. "I'll ask her to stay with Codric." Her voice was barely audible. "And if she says yes…" she hesitated. "You're welcome to sleep in our room and use her bed."
It wasn't the most romantic or sexy invitation, but I had to take into account that Kailin was a little bashful and a little unsure.
"Thank you," I said. "I will bring my books and we can study together."
She gave me a quizzical look, taking me seriously for a moment, but then I winked, and a shy smile bloomed on her beautiful face along with a fetching blush.
She was just so drakking perfect.
I barely tasted my food, mechanically lifting the fork to my mouth while my thoughts were focused on a different type of hunger.
On the way back to our rooms, I fell into step beside Codric, letting the girls walk ahead of us. "So, you and Shovia have plans for tonight?" I asked quietly.
He grinned. "Yes, sir."
"Is she staying till morning?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Do you have somewhere you can go?"
"I can find a free bed."
He gave me a knowing look but didn't verbalize what that look implied. I appreciated that.
Ahead of us, Shovia and Kailin were engaged in a hushed conversation, and when we caught up to them, Shovia grinned at me.
"It's all settled," she said cheerfully. "I'll be bunking with Codric tonight, so you two can have our room to yourselves."
"Shovia," Kailin hissed. "Can you keep your voice down?"
"What? We are all just going to study." She winked, but she lowered her voice. "I'm going to teach Codric some things," she said conspiratorially. "And Alar can help you with that subject you are struggling with."
Deciding to keep up Shovia's charade, I looked at her with a perfectly schooled face. "We shouldn't stay up too late because we all have early conditioning again tomorrow."
Codric groaned. "Did you have to remind me? Tomorrow we are running up that accursed hill with backpacks filled with rocks."
"All the more reason to go to sleep early," I said.
When we reached the door to my and Codric's room, I turned to Kailin. "I'll see you later?"
She nodded. "I'll be studying other subjects until you come."
After Kailin and Shovia continued down the corridor to their room, Codric and I entered ours, and as soon as the door closed behind us, Codric flopped onto his bed with a sigh.
"Finally," he said. "I thought this day would never end."
I began gathering my shower supplies, determined to be done with that part of the evening routine first. "You and me both, cousin."
"You're heading to the showers already?" Codric lifted a brow. "Eager, aren't we?"
I ignored him and walked out.
When I got to the bathroom, I was happy to see the place nearly empty.
At this hour, most cadets were either still at the mess hall or socializing in the lounge.
I claimed a shower stall and took my time, letting the hot water ease the tension from my muscles.
They were working us hard in the academy.
Between morning conditioning, weapons practice, flight exercises, and tactical training, every day pushed our bodies to their limits.
When I returned to our room, Codric was in the process of tidying up his side, which was such a rare enough occurrence that I raised an eyebrow.
"What?" he said defensively. "Even I have standards."
"I'm just surprised you know how to fold clothes.” I set aside my shower kit.
"Very funny." He tossed a balled-up sock at me, which I caught and dropped into his laundry bag. "Some of us had to learn practical skills instead of having servants do everything."
"You had servants too, so don't pretend like you grew up in poverty."
"My parents had servants. I didn't. I had to fold my own laundry."
I rolled my eyes. "Such hardship."
"You're nervous," he observed, pausing his folding. "I don't think I've ever seen you nervous about a woman before."
"I'm not nervous," I lied, busying myself with organizing my textbooks on the desk.
"Right." Codric snorted. "It's just amusing to watch the great Prince Alar, who's had most of the eligible noblewomen in Vedona throwing themselves at him since puberty, nervous around a simple girl who grew up in an Elucian mountain village."
"There is nothing simple about Kailin," I said sharply. "And those noblewomen were interested in my title, not me."
Codric's expression softened. "I know." He sat on the edge of his bed, regarding me with uncharacteristic seriousness. "She's the real deal for you, isn't she?"
There were so many things I could say about Kailin and what made her special, but I just nodded.
Thankfully, Codric let it go and didn't bother me with more questions.
I spent the next hour or so trying to prepare for the next day's classes, but I had a hard time concentrating.
Reviewing notes was futile because I didn't absorb anything I was reading, but I managed to complete two assignments.
They were not going to be any good, but at least I wouldn't be late submitting them.
At half past seven, Codric gathered his shower supplies. "You have half an hour to leave," he announced, then, with a mock salute, he departed, closing the door behind him.
Growing restless, I collected my books and my bathroom supplies, stuffed them in a backpack, and headed to the lounge, which was probably clearing up by now.
There were still a few people there, watching a show. I chose a corner in the back of the room and opened a book, but I wasn't reading. Instead, I was thinking about contacting my father and arranging for a donation to the academy.
Would Saphir allow me to call home?
That wasn't likely. I would need to send a letter to one of my father's trusted friends, like we'd agreed on.
By now, my father must have realized that my plan had worked because I hadn't made contact with him, but a letter confirming that would ease his mind. I had no doubt that all correspondence leaving the Citadel was scrutinized, but just describing the accommodation would be a good enough hint.
Time moved faster as I made my plans, and precisely at eight o'clock, I rose to my feet, put the book back in my backpack, and headed down the corridor to Kailin and Shovia's room.
As I rapped my fingers softly on the door, it opened almost immediately, and the sight of Kailin knocked the breath out of my lungs.
She'd changed from her uniform into simple sleep clothes, pairing the loose, academy-issued pajama pants with a civilian long-sleeved shirt.
Her hair was down, with golden strands cascading down her front and back in soft waves.
"Hi," she said, suddenly looking as nervous as I felt.
"Hi," I replied with the same single syllable, eloquence deserting me entirely.
"Please, come in." She opened the door wider.
The scent of soap and something distinctly hers enveloped me as I stepped inside.
She closed the door and gestured to the room, which was very neat, no doubt thanks to Kailin. "Welcome to my palace, Prince Alar."
I chuckled. "Just Alar. Otherwise, you might inadvertently call me prince when others are within earshot."
She shrugged. "They will assume that's a term of endearment. Remember what I told you about the first time I saw you? I called you The Prince in my head."
"Then I didn't do a very good job hiding my identity." I took in the details: the small sketches pinned to the wall above her desk that were undoubtedly her work, the carefully stacked books, the single personal photograph of her family, including her tiny dog.
It was an old photograph, and Kailin looked much younger and less guarded, her arm wrapped around her brother's middle and her head resting on his arm. "Was this taken before the attack?" I asked.
She turned to look at the photo. "The same day. Our neighbor took the picture as my brother and my parents were getting ready to leave for Skywatcher's Point."
I nodded, and an awkward silence fell between us, charged with anticipation and uncertainty.
"Please," Kailin motioned at the neatly made bed. "Make yourself comfortable."
"Thank you." I sat down and leaned my backpack against the bed frame.
She sat down on her bed across the room. "So, which subject do you want to start with? Flight mechanics, aerodynamics, the biology of dragons? I was just going over the atmospheric pressure variations at different altitudes and how they affect dragon flight patterns. We can start with that."
"Whatever you like. We can also just talk."
"About what?"
We were both nervous, but for different reasons. On my part, I just wanted to make it less awkward for her, and I wondered if pulling her up to her feet and kissing her breathless would do the trick.
I'd never been with someone so inexperienced. In fact, I was starting to suspect that Kailin had never done this before, and I was going to be her first.
Introducing a novice to carnal pleasures was one hell of a responsibility, but I was confident in my ability to please her beyond anything she'd imagined.
It wasn't boasting.
I'd been coached by the best.
First, though, I had to make her relax a bit.
"You can tell me more about the village you grew up in," I suggested. "What was it like?"
Her expression softened. "Riverstone is a small place. And everyone is in everyone else's business, which can be stifling at times, but there's also a real sense of community. When someone needs help, for whatever reason, the entire village steps up."
She went on to describe moving to Skywatcher's Point after the attack and apprenticing with her grandmother in the apothecary, and how Shovia had befriended her, helping her emerge from the abyss of despair she'd sunk into, showing me a side of her friend that I hadn't seen before.
I was captivated. Not just by her words, but her animated expressions, the way her hands moved as she talked, the fondness in her voice for the place and people who had welcomed her and her family and made them feel at home.
"Now it's your turn," she said when she was done. "Tell me about growing up in a palace. I'm sure that it was much more interesting than my early years in a small village and later in a small city."
I knew instinctively that she was not interested in the political intrigues or my scant royal duties.
Kailin was all about the human element. She would want to hear about the fun stuff, like me and Codric sneaking into the palace kitchens to steal cookies, the vast royal library that had become my sanctuary during my turbulent adolescence, riding through the countryside with my brothers when I was older, and a few of the tamer shenanigans Codric and I had gotten into in recent years.
At some point, I got up and sat beside Kailin on her bed, leaving a few inches between us so as not to overwhelm her, and slowly the initial awkwardness melted away, but the tension remained, with both of us pretending that it wasn't there.
"I can't imagine growing up with four older brothers," Kailin said. "Having one was more than enough. Dylon was always so bossy with me."
I laughed. "I was the baby, so I was spoiled but also ignored.
I wasn't even important enough to boss around.
Don't get me wrong. I love my brothers, and I would lay my life down for them, but none of them is easy to get along with.
Arlen, the eldest, is preparing to be king someday, so you can imagine what he is like.
The twins, Aric and Aden, are the troublemakers, and they can get mean sometimes.
Avren is the one most like me, though he'd never admit it.
He's stubborn, principled, and too serious for his own good. "
She leaned back, propping herself on her elbows, which pushed her breasts out in a most enticing way. "All your names start with an A. Is there a reason for that?"
"Yes. My father wanted all of his sons to be first in everything. His name starts with an A as well."
"That's right. You are Alaranthus the Fifth, and he is the Fourth. Isn't it odd that he didn't call his firstborn Alaranthus but chose to give his name to his fifth son?"
I smiled. "Our father didn't plan on continuing the naming tradition, but when I was born, and instead of the daughter he and my mother wanted, they got a fifth son, he thought it would be appropriate to call me Alaranthus the Fifth."
"Or maybe, he saw in you something that made him think you were more deserving than your brothers to carry on the name." She reached out to touch my face, her fingers tracing the line of my jaw with feather-light pressure. "Maybe he saw in you what I see."
"And what's that?"
"A natural leader."