CHAPTER XI #7
“Ah yes,” the beautiful Ancient grins, “I felt it in my sleep too.”
Dear, fucking Ancients.
I scowl at Heysan before he gives me an amused shrug.
“Your thoughts are your own, Human Reborn,” Sianoa leans over the table again, this time definitely brushing a hand against Keane’s arm. “Though it will require summoning for you to keep them private.”
I thought it might.
I watch her hand move, pouring more of the sparkling toddy into both Keane’s and mines glasses before she pushes the drinks our way.
“I’m willing,” I look back at Sianoa in acceptance to the magic that I’ve been trying to stay away from. If there’s any reason for me to use summoning, I can’t think of a better one.
“I can tell,” she nods, “but it will not come within days and I can only teach you so much. The rest will have to be done on your own, in practice.”
Stormfall caws from the table, pulling all of our gazes towards him.
“It has to be done, Ancestor,” Sianoa looks at the Bird of Ash with a small frown, “she needs the boundary. As does Hiro.”
Heysan takes a seat to my left, throwing his boots on the table as I turn a glare on him.
You knew all along, I accuse him silently, when I asked you at the coronation. You knew there was a way.
The Ancient of Mischief winks again, bringing his hand up to his goatee with a smile.
I knew, Queen. But I still don’t think you’ll be able to master it.
The two-story cottage that rests next to the inn and across from Sianoa’s temple is Elena’s residence, her home here in Alston.
Keane and I are given a guest room on the first floor while Elena and Desmond stay in the rooms above.
Our room is simple, still glittering in its white marble but with some added coziness that looks to be Elena’s touch.
Keane and I both stand at the foot of the large bed, situating our belongings into a lavish trunk that rests at the edge.
The comforter is a shining silver silk adorned with too many pillows of different shades of green, and behind us is a sweeping mirror that covers the full of the wall.
To our right is a small fireplace that’s roaring with Keane’s undying fire, one that quickly started with a flick of his hand once we entered.
Before that fire rests two cushioned green chairs that sit atop a plush grey rug with streaks of silver, and farther along that wall are shelves lined with books and personal trinkets.
Next to the bed is a small door that opens up to the courtyard and fountain below Elena’s balcony above, everything remaining serene and perfect… just like Alston so far.
Our stay in the city was to be extended from one day and night to three, pushing back our travel within Woodlands even longer than originally planned.
Sianoa offered before we left our meeting to train me in her temple all three days, even going so far as to ask Keane to join us with a sultry smile.
I chuckle at the memory and pull off my shirt. The Ancient truly is unabashed in her attraction to the King. While Keane, for all his credit, sees the interest and returns it with politeness, never once removing his hand from any part of my body when we were around her.
I reach down to my boots with a smile, feeling those hands make their way to mine as he quietly takes a knee in front of me.
“You should have told me about Etter, Alexis.”
His voice is strong as he tugs at my heel, but there’s an edge of worry there, too. I place my hands on his shoulders and step out of the boot, giving him a small squeeze.
“You were busy. Everyone was busy. I didn’t even come to the realization of what I was feeling until the night before we left.”
He tugs off the other boot with a small grimace.
“Pull me away then. Come to me and tell me. Wake me up. That’s not something you should be battling with on your own.”
“You’re right,” I sigh, watching his brows furrow in thought. “I will.”
“You truly felt no desire to speak of your parents?” he looks up.
“None,” I shake my head with a sad smile, running my hands up his neck.
“It was as if I could feel this internal battle within me the moment it was happening. I wanted the desire to be there and knew that I was supposed to have it, but no matter what I saw or who I spoke to, the interest would fade. And what’s more is that I didn’t even care enough to pursue it... ”
Keane’s hands grip the back of my calves hard.
“Troy’s summoning has routed itself in me for the past ten years,” I look at him sadly, “it’s there, and I can recognize it now whenever I try to dig deeper for the connection.
But I think I just have let it pass. What your sister felt from me earlier was just the sadness of knowing that there is nothing I can do about it. I’ve come to accept it.”
Keane runs his hands up the back of my legs with narrowed eyes, moving them forward to my waistband as he starts to unfasten it.
“From everything I heard, they were two of the village’s best. Your parents were revered, Alexis. They were leaders in their own right. Everyone in Etter knew who you were once your full name made its way around the town.”
“I know,” I whisper as Keane gently pulls my pants down my thighs, “which is why I avoided those conversations when I could. There was no emotion or pull to learn more. It was like listening to them talk of strangers and not people who were supposed to be my parents. I couldn’t find anything within me other than polite interest.”
The King looks at me sharply.
“It sounds so wrong, I know.”
Keane tugs at my pants in anger, pulling them down my feet before I step out slowly. He puts his hands back on my calves and grips them tight, looking up to me with a hard glance.
“If Troy could reverse it,” he asks, his Discerni features sharp and troubled, “would you want that? If he could push those emotions of interest back into you, is that something I should ask of him?”
I consider the question and let my hands wrap around Keane’s neck and the back of his hair.
Did I want to yearn for my parents?
Did I want to hear more of them and feel happy in my emotions that they were good people?
Yes, of course.
But I also didn’t want Troy ever touching me again.
I shake my head with a small smile, letting my fingers caress Keane’s hair as he continues to look at me in his calm anger.
“It’s done. If I could get the emotion back without Troy’s assistance, then my answer would be yes. But I don’t want him altering me ever again.”
“They’re your parents, Alexis,” his brown eyes are still hard as he reaches for my waist. “Your family.”
“As are you,” I reply with a genuine smile, “and your brother. Elena…”
I nearly laugh. “Your mother. Cal and Alanna, Holis and Mana. Golem. We’ll start our own family and our own future. I’m done trying to grasp at something from the past that I know will only remain there.”
Keane stands up slowly, his hands moving up my sides as he does.
“We will have to take more travels into Etter in that future…” he warns.
“And I will be there by your side for every one of them. Truly, Keane, I have no resentment for the village itself. What Elena picked up on was only a brief moment of sadness…. and anger, I guess, from all that Troy has done. It will pass. I still have my own pride when I think of the village and what we accomplished there. What is still being accomplished.”
“Will you at least think on it?” he takes a step into me. “I don’t want you to make the decision just yet.”
I look back into his intense brown eyes, knowing that there is no way I’ll ever let Troy come close enough to use his summoning on me again. Regardless, I give the King the answer he wants to hear.
“Of course.”
“Don’t nod your head to me in false agreement, Alexis. I know when you’re lying.”
My eyes go wide.
How does he always do that?
Keane pulls my body into his and brings his lips down to my ear, whispering to my silent thought. “Your eyes, trouble. They always give you away.”
“No,” I smile, keeping my hands at the back of his head as I pull his lips down. “It’s you.”
You who can always read me, Keane, whether it be my eyes, my body, or the words behind my words...
“Hmm,” Keane smiles softly against my neck, kissing it gently.
“Can we talk of something else?” I murmur. “Tell me what you thought of the Ancient.”
“She’s a character,” he kisses me delicately, and then again on the side of my jaw. “Not what I expected.”
“Me either.”
I bring my hands slowly down his black shirt and over his chest.
“It was interesting watching her look at you…”
Is that what Keane feels when Hirovale looks upon me? The same sense of pride and appreciation?
No, I reach for his waistband, his gaze is something much deeper.
Keane’s hands run up my bare back, his head nodding in the crux of my shoulder as I feel his small grin.
“You did seem to like that.”
“I think I did,” I chuckle, tugging his shirt up until his hands join and grab the hem. I reach for the Shadow Oak leaf resting on his chest, smiling at the glittering black jewel as I gently pull on the chain.
“She recognized in those brief moments what I see you in every day. Don’t for one moment think I don’t know what I have, Keane…”
Keane’s hands grab my wrists swiftly, holding them to his chest as he lifts his head. I give him a knowing smile and watch the desire behind his eyes light to flame.
“When I told you under the Shadow Oak that I see you, Keane, I see you. So how can I fault the Ancient for trying to catch that same small glimpse?”
I smile and tilt my chin up, reaching for his lips.
“You used to always tell me that I had no idea what game I was playing, but it was never a game for me, Your Grace. I always meant every one of my words, from Gaumond to Bardot. I always will.”
Keane pulls away from me hard, taking my wrists with him as he turns us at the end of the bed.
“Stand here, trouble.”