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“Yuh should give him a chance, Rayven. He will protect yuh.” I glanced at Conrad, my face filling with heat. I remembered the kiss on the volcano, and my heart sped up. I shrugged.
“I’m having a hard time understanding why he would even be interested in me,” I admitted. I mean, he was a Prince. I was just me. Conrad snorted.
“Dat is because yuh let dem losers from yuh old life convince yuh dat what dem think ‘bout yuh true. It’s not, Rayven. Yuh kind an’ brave an’ a good person. Yuh deserve tuh be happy.”
We came up to the fire, and Amon handed me back my glass. Meredith gave one to Conrad, and we sat in the sand, looking out to the ocean.
“They’re usually out by now; I hope they haven't already moved on,” Kasha commented, peering out into the distance.
“It is rather late in the season,” Amon observed. I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
“Look!” Meredith pointed. What looked like white sails appeared on the horizon.
“Are those sailboats?” I asked. Amon pulled me in to lean back against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head, and we watched as the sails grew larger before suddenly, a long white animal erupted from the water. The sails had been wings. The sea drake twisted playfully through the air, its long snake-like body shining under the aurora. I gasped as it flew up high before diving back into the ocean.
One after another, the sea drakes launched themselves into the sky, before diving playfully back into the water. The animals exuded so much joy and energy it was difficult not to smile as we watched them. After some time, they moved on, and we were left with a glowing sense of awe.
“Beautiful,” I whispered. Amon kissed the top of my head softly.
“Yes,” he said, looking down at me. His eyes brighter than the emeralds that rolled upon the shore. “Beautiful.”
58
We spent several more hours on the beach, drinking champagne and laughing together. When we shadow walked back to the palace, Amon took me to my room.
The champagne had given me a boost of liquid courage, and when we stopped at my door, I met his gaze head-on.
“Do you… do you want to come in?” I asked him.
He froze and said nothing for a moment. I watched as he looked behind me, at the large empty bed, before turning back to meet my gaze. Putting his hand to the side of my face he pulled me in close before kissing me softly on the lips. I sighed and leaned in, my heart fluttering in my chest.
To my disappointment, he pulled away slightly and leaned his forehead against mine. His hand was still cupping my face gently, and he rubbed his thumb tenderly over my cheek.
“Not tonight, Raven, you’ve had quite a bit of champagne,” he told me softly. Feeling embarrassed and stung, I tried to pull away. He tensed and held me firmly in place. “Let me finish.” He said, his voice rough. I paused.
“When I take you to my bed, Raven, I don’t want there to be any chance that you will forget one second of the pleasure I plan to bring you. When I take you to my bed, I want you to remember every single stroke, every scream and every shiver.” He kissed me again on the mouth before gently sucking on my bottom lip. I quivered.
“Tomorrow is another day,” he said softly as he let me go. “Good night, Raven. Sweet dreams.” He stalked away. I was left standing in my door frame, feeling more than a little unsteady on my feet. It had nothing to do with the champagne.
I woke up the following day to find Amon standing at my door, already dressed in his restructium armor. His face was grave. I shot up in bed.
“What is it? What’s happening?” I asked.
“We’ve been summoned. She completely ignored our request for a meeting and responded with a summoning. We’re expected to be there today.”
I scowled. “Of course she did,” I don’t know why I expected anything less. She was going to make this as painful as possible. “She’s just trying to piss us off, Amon; we can’t let her get to us.” I got up to grab my armor, but he stopped me.
“No armor. We are taking you there as a queen. You must look like one.”
“I don’t know that I have a ton of ball gowns lying around,” I joked, and Kasha appeared, smirking.
“I guess my birthday gift wasn’t super memorable then,” she teased, and I beamed.
“I didn’t even think of that!” I went over to my wardrobe and pulled out the dress Kasha had gotten me.
It was a floor-length emerald green chiffon gown with thousands of tiny crystals that twinkled like stars. The A-line dress was backless with a plunging neckline. I had never worn anything so beautiful in my life. Amon cleared his throat.
“I’ll leave you two to get ready. Meet me in the common room,” he glanced at Kasha darkly, “Do not forget the circlet.” She rolled her eyes but smirked playfully at him.
