I spent the rest of the night in an uncomfortable silence with my eyes pinned to the ground, unwilling to look up through all the frolicking or random moans and sounds that echoed throughout the room. Occasionally, King Tohrah would reach out and touch my hand as if to make sure I wasn't going to be running away. However, when I didn't look up, he would let go and continue speaking to someone. Of course, they all still sounded like hisses and little growls for the most part. Occasionally, I could make out the word "sssahhh" every once and a while.A few times, I heard Erik say something in English. But I wasn't even going to try and look up to see what was going on. I was too afraid of seeing some of those naked people, and the bawdy acts that they were performing on each other.It wasn't long before hunger, exhaustion, and stress had my eyes drifting shut and my body melting into the chair. I had almost fallen when a strong hand grabbed my shoulder to hold me in the chair."It's time
I rose to consciousness the next morning very reluctantly, snuggling deeply into the nice soft bed that hugged me just as tightly. Even my dreams had been warm. No, scratch that, they had been hot, sweaty, sinfully erotic. A man with golden eyes had been ravishing me with such sweet reverence, I had never felt so desired nor so aroused. His sweet mouth had nibbled and licked his way all over my body, making sure not to miss a single spot that made me shiver, moan, or whimper. I was begging, panting, and reaching wantonly for him by the time he rose above me to finally claim what was his. The dream was so hot, so sexy, and left me feeling so achy that I was angry having to wake up without the amazing end that I knew would come if I had continued it. Quietly groaning in protest, I rolled over and finally forced my eyes open only to blink in confusion up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Or rather, what should have been my ceiling. Yet, try as I might, I couldn't find a hint of my flaking, sl
As he swept out the door with all the airs of the King that he was, I sat on the bed feel slightly bereft that he hadn't fought harder to get me to stay. "Don't be stupid, Mar," I chided myself out loud and pushed off the bed to stalk towards the door. I swung it open with a vengeance startling the remaining guard into gripping his sword. He relaxed slightly and hissed something to me that could have been his drink order for all the sense it made to me. I just shook my head, hoping it would answer the question or explain to him that I didn't understand what he was saying. Either way, he bowed politely and relaxed back to his post. I stepped further out into the hallway watching as people bustled about in a flurry of activity. Yet, every time they met my eyes, they always bowed and hissed in what I'm going to assume was a respectful greeting.Blushing furiously, I moved back into the room, feeling as if I was in the middle of doing a walk of shame. It reminded me of the morning-after
I gave her a grateful smile and picked up one of the brushes running it through my hair quickly, trying not to wince when it caught the knots and snags that had built upon each other over the last few days. I ignored the already fraying ends of my hair and quickly pulled it back, braiding it with deft fingers before looking around for something to tie it with. The maid, obviously trained well to anticipate people's needs, handed me a bright ribbon that was oddly flexible like rubber bands. I smiled my thanks again and wrapped the ribbon around the end of it. I forced myself to ignore my reflection, knowing there wasn't anything I could do until Erik got back and I was able to get something else to wear.I turned to the maid and tried to figure out how to ask her if she was the one to take me to my new room. With a judgmental eye, she looked me up and down before shaking her head and saying something else slowly. She was still hissing her words, but this time I caught the different w
My luck must be improving, I thought as I peeked around and saw the large wagon stopped right next to the house on its way out the gates. The creature pulling it resembled a horse in the mane and tail. But the rest of the body was either a bear, a dog, or both. The animal was exceptionally large, beautiful, and seemed incredibly docile. I watched its handler jump off its back before patting its nose and hissed something to the creature in a soft, soothing tone. The creature purred like a cat then sat down much like a dog would when told to stay. The guards joined the wagon driver next to the creature and began talking to one another like old friends. My heart sped up as I realized that they had inadvertently left the gate unguarded. I knew my opportunity wouldn't last long, and I had to take advantage of it. Keeping my body low, I hurried to the back of the wagon and pressed up against it, slowly moving along the side, trying to keep out of their view. The clattering of the village
After hours and hours of walking back and forth several times, I did not come across the trail, or any kind of trail at all, to be honest. To make matters worse, it was getting colder as the night began to fall.My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Yet another worry to add to the pile of worry that was building in my mind. "This has got to be one of the top ten dumbest decisions I have ever made," I grumbled to myself as I slumped on a rock, giving up on moving any further in the dark.There were plenty of branches around that had fallen from the trees, and I thought for a moment about making a fire and possibly cooking something over it. "Oh, get real, Mara!" I snapped as I wrapped my arms around my knees, trying to hold on to what little heat I had left. "You are not a girl scout and wouldn't know how to hunt unless it was on a good bargain for the meat you cook on your stovetop." Shivering harder, I let my mind wander back home, trying to
I gasped in pain and pulled my arm back and cradle it to my chest as the person's voice finally broke through the fear-filled haze of my mind. "Dammit, Mara. It's me, Erik.""Erik?" I breathed in disbelief."Yes. You know... your brother..." "Erik," I repeated as if that single name was my lifeline."It's okay, Mara. You're safe now," he reassured me softly. I threw myself into his arms and tried to catch my breath. Over his shoulder, I could see the two bodies still wrestling around on the ground. Their claws catching the light from the planet giving off an eerie glint as they dripped with blood. With strength that I've only seen in the movies that depicted supernatural creatures, one shadow kicked the other off him and sent it flying into the trees. With the same speed, he jumped to the immobile creature in a blink. He lifted his hand high then slashed it down towards the body. I hid my face in my brother's neck, not wanting to see the killing blow. "Tohr," my brother called out
The gentle sun was bathing my face in warmth the next morning as I awoke and found myself staring up at the same image from yesterday. A gorgeous dragon was above my head, poised and ready to roar or breathe fire. I tried to make out the symbols that circled it as I slowly sat up in the bed. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Tohr's voice came to me. I wasn't surprised, having fallen asleep with him in my room last night. He had been kind enough to keep me covered. But I really should have known there was no way he would have left me alone. "Yes, it's very beautiful," I arranged the blanket under my arms so there was no chance it would fall. My face flushed, realizing he had seen me completely naked last night when I was distraught.I looked back to the runes again to get the attention off me. The weirdest thing about the runes was that I could almost recognize them. They were tickling the inside of my brain, yet I couldn't figure out exactly where I knew them from. "We are the 'fyre'," he tr