Chapter 23 Fish out of Water
Fish out of Water
We were walking through the streets of the Kingdom in complete silence: Karim, me, Deidre, Tisvali, and many other warriors.
The whole place was buzzing with life, like a field of flowers discovered by a swarm of bees. That was the result of nighttime having come in combination with tonight’s historic moment in Elvish politics.
As busy as everyone seemed to be, many still had time to send judgmental looks our way. News seemed to travel fast here, because this time Deidre and even the Prince were targeted, too.
No more keeping my head down–I ignored the bad looks and kept my eyes on Karim’s powerful back and gold-decorated hair. To hell with those who thought pure blood was everything. He’d made these alliance talks happen for the Kingdom’s sake, and I felt honored to stand beside him.
Deidre didn’t seem bothered either. She might actually be enjoying herself, given how she was saluting the nose-in-the-air passersby.
“Heya, Margris! You’ve got something in your eye?” Her use of English earned her the funniest confused looks from those who clearly didn’t understand a word. “Hey, Kastilin, something wrong? You look as if you just smelled your own fart. Or has your nose always been so scrunched-up?”
Deidre was relentless, which I suspected had to do with her unwillingness to be on guard duty tonight–as well as her nerves about tomorrow’s meeting with Karim.
I was on edge myself. When we reached the space with vine-made ladders leading to the surface, my hands began to shake slightly.
Last time I’d gone up there, I’d nearly died by the fangs of familiar monsters. And now I would be dealing with creatures I knew close to nothing about. Karim’s promise to protect me couldn’t keep my fear for his safety at bay. Deidre and Tisvali would be in danger, too.
“I love your hair decorations, Curly-Q.” She winked at me as she moved to stand at the head of our group. Deidre was in the company of several elves, all clad in short brown-green dresses and armed with bows and knives.
While placing some of his beads in my hair, Karim had explained that these warriors were to make first contact with the gargoyles and form joint security teams. Those would guard the borders to ensure nothing dangerous crossed into the Kingdom’s surface territory during the negotiations.
“See you later, Jasmine.” Deidre waved at me and got a hold of one of the ladders.
To Karim, she nodded instead of saying something witty. Trying to be on her best behavior before their meeting?
“Stay safe,” I called after her before she could disappear from view after the other warriors. “Good luck.”
She snickered at my words, pausing at the top of the ladder. “No amount of luck can save me from what awaits me tonight: a dick.” She winked at me again. But once she glanced Karim’s way, she specified in a hurry, “I meant a dick of a partner, not the actual… thing, you know.”
She climbed out of sight immediately after.
I put a hand over my mouth to muffle a giggle. Fingers crossed that the dick would have her back out there.
“Don’t wish me luck,” Tisvali said when it was his and his small group’s turn to go up. I’d learned they would guard the area around the meeting point. “You humans are so unknowing, thinking Nature’s will can be changed by someone wishing you luck.”
I smiled inwardly at what seemed to be his favorite phrase about humans. Should I suggest he switch things up a bit by using, You know nothing, Jon Snow? “Stay safe, Tisvali.”
He snorted but waved goodbye. Then he disappeared through the ceiling of greenery. I watched the last guards from his group ascend the ladders with inhuman agility.
That was when Karim whispered beside me, dead serious, “What does dick mean?”
A whistling sound from above saved me from having to answer that. We’d just been signaled that the gargoyles had arrived.
The small group of aristocrats behind us stopped their excited chatter. They got into position along the corridor’s walls to greet the guests once they entered. I could feel their eyes on my back, watching my and Karim’s every move.
“It is time, Jasmine. Your ankle?”
There was pain once every three steps I made. Which wasn’t surprising, given the long walk we’d had to get here. But I wasn’t going to show any weakness.
“I can climb,” I whispered back, “you just… magic the ceiling away.”
Something akin to pride flashed in Karim’s eyes as he regarded me before he schooled his features and gestured for me to go ahead.
I now understood he hid both his emotions and his fluent English from his subjects, because the Prince had to fit in.
But when it came to me, he was ready to go against society’s expectations. It was so humbling.
I was grateful he chose to climb after me. Even with a fully functional ankle, climbing a ladder in a long dress was asking for a tumble. This way, I knew he would be there to catch me.
When I somehow made it to the top, Karim used the nearest ladder to go up in a blur of motion. Before I knew it, he was pulling me through the ceiling.
I was hit by déjà vu when I ended up in the cave where we’d been yesterday, alone with Karim and my hand in his. Unlike the previous time, though, he was the one who kept our physical contact longer than necessary. His gaze lingered on me, taking me in under the soft glow of the wall crystals.
My pulse immediately sped up; one look of his, and I was ready to melt. It was ridiculous. And exhilarating. “Thanks for the help,” I mumbled.
He drew closer until we were a breath apart. “You can return the favor later,” he whispered in my ear, “by helping me take my dress off.”
“Only if you help with mine.” Wait, did I say that out loud? When had I become so daring?
The smile on Karim’s face when he stepped back told me I should keep it that way.
He turned toward the greenery, beyond which lay the outside world and gargoyles. “Now we wait for Tisvali’s signal, to let us know the perimeter is secure.”
“Do you secretly wish to be on guard duty?” He’d told me while decorating my hair that he enjoyed taking shifts guarding the Kingdom’s surface territory. A pampered royal life was not something either he or Mesia enjoyed. “To be in Tisvali’s place instead of the Prince’s?”
“No, being next to you is all I want. Why do you ask? Don’t you want me beside you?”
“Of course I do! I’m simply babbling out of nerves… It’s just that you seemed to be in your element yesterday.”
“And tonight I look like a fish out of water?” He shot me an amused look.
I snickered. “No. But you can’t fight in this long dress and with loose hair, can you? And you’ve got a single weapon on you.”
“And which weapon is that?”
“Your sharp nails.”
Mirth danced in his dark eyes. “I should inform you, my flower, that these,” he curled his fingers with his palm up, “are claws. Trimmed to avoid causing too much accidental damage, but still hard and sharp.”
I winced. How hadn’t I realized that? Right, flora specialist here. How long were those white claws when not trimmed to perfection?
“I should also inform you,” his tone turned teasing, “that I know how to use my hair in every situation and that I have another weapon on me. Under my dress. It starts with the letter d.”
I gaped. He’d known the meaning of dick all along! Sneaky prince. Also, that thing I’d seen in the bathing chamber was a weapon, indeed. If used correctly, it could certainly kill me with orgasms.
“Do you have a lot of experience with the D?” I asked, my eyes locked with his. He was being naughty, and I felt emboldened to play, too.
“Yes.” His voice shifted into a seductive whisper.
I bit my lower lip.
“Are you eager to see me use it, Jasmine?”
“Yes.” My voice came out breathy.
Fire blazed in his gaze. “Would you like to hold it? Feel its weight in your hand?”
Cheeks burning, I nodded. I wanted that. Wanted to bring him so much pleasure he would be calling my name as he came apart for me.
“You’ll have to be very careful.”
“Mhmm. Yes–”
“My dagger is very sharp.”
I blinked. “Karim!”
His low, masculine laugh had me shaking my head with a smile. That sound alone was a weapon that made me tingle in all the right places. How dare he get me hot and bothered right before a dangerous meeting?
“Less nervous now?” he asked.
I couldn’t get the smile off my face. He totally had me there with the D. “Yes, thank you.”
“May the only weapon you see me use tonight be the one that made you blush.”
“Yes, fingers and toes crossed.”
Suddenly, Karim cocked his head. I strained to hear whatever he was listening to, but my ears registered only soft nature sounds from the forest outside.
“Timpesinem,” he said after a moment. “It is time.”
I took a deep breath. Gargoyle time.