Er’it abandoned her beside the water, the sighing hiss of it tumbling through fallen leaves and worn earth a turbulent undercurrent to the disarray of her emotions. Too large a part of her wanted to press against him, to feel his heat again as it fled her skin in the cool night air. But an equal measure of her heart refused to be injured at his whim by moving at all.
As if he sensed her indecision, Er’it reached for her with a gentle circling of her wrist, a faint tug of her arm pulling her toward the stacked wood. He dropped to his knees, nodding at the space beside him for her to do the same. Single brow rising when she refused, Er’it shook his head and gave her arm another yank. Though not hard enough to wrench her arm, it still brought Aida down to her knees, tumbling her against his side before she could crash face down into the ground.
“Pay attention.” Brusque and cool, Er’it turned his attention to the kindling he began to place within a ring of stones Aida hadn’t noticed before.
A simple fire. Why, then, did he force her to come out here to build it when several burned within his camp? Aida plopped back on her heels, heaving a weary sigh as she cast her gaze to the growing night. Insects and creatures who roamed the darkest hours began to call to one another, and she lost herself in their song until Er’it snapped his fingers in front of her face. Scowling up at him with all the anger she could muster in that moment, Aida felt a rush of emotions she didn’t expect.
There was impatience aplenty, but beneath that, a gnawing concern. Deep and far-reaching, it spread wide as it devoured sense. Entangled in the corrosive swamp of it was fear. Bright and pure, she knew it well. In the next breath, Aida understood it wasn’t hers.
Eyes widening as the realization came to her, she scrambled away from Er’it. Heels and palms digging into the soft, loamy soil, Aida prepared to run as far as she could from the sucking wave as he directed it all at her. Amber eyes exuding a golden light, Er’it bared his teeth in a snarl, his growl savage as he wrapped a wide palm around Aida’s ankle and dragged her toward him.
“I did not give you leave,” Er’it bit out through clenched teeth as he lowered his weight onto her, crushing her by degrees while Aida’s thrashing became more panicked.
“No!” Aida shrieked when his thighs wedged between hers, the long muscles of her legs trembling with the strain to remain shut tight. It proved a futile effort that did nothing but hurt as he made her open for him.
Screams erupted into the night, exploding inside her skull and pummeling her brain into gooey pulp as a fire raged out of control, tearing through the sprawling splendor of cool marble stained with soot. Brilliant red splashed over shimmering sands of deepest black, bubbling as it disappeared beneath the ever-shifting dunes. Wind as hot as the fire raging around her, Aida screamed and threw her small fists at the beast atop her. Roar weak and as small as she was, she found the knife at his side. Plunging it hilt deep when he lifted his hips to shuck down the breeches stained with the blood of her family, she rammed it home over and over long after the death rattle spattered her face with his life blood.
“Aida! Stop!” Er’it bellowed, shaking her shoulders hard enough to slam her head into the ground. Shouting curses even as he gathered her up into his arms, his petting was more akin to a beating as he tried to quiet her.
“Your Majesty! Come away now,” Ath’asho yelled, voice whipped away on the singeing wind that smelled of dead things and ash.
“Er’it, you must be calm,” Tor’en shouted, collapsing to his knees as a branch whistled over his head.
“Stop this,kou’va.” Er’it took a deep breath, eyes squeezed shut as he wrapped Aida in his arms. Curling his body around her as he rocked them, purr rough and broken, he petted at her hair with ragged strokes. “It is not real.”
“It is,” Aida sobbed as she flung her arms around Er’it’s neck. Crying hard against his shoulder, her lips found the mark of her teeth. Calm descended as she pressed her open mouth against the weeping wound, the salty tang of his blood smearing her lips.
She needed to be closer, to feel more of the cool quiet exuding from the tangled web around her heart and deep in her soul. Fingers like claws, she tore at the ruined tunic and blanket covering her. Struggling with the ties of his pants, Aida wailed when he caught her hands and held her still. She did not quiet even when Er’it enveloped her in his arms once more, crooning wordless sounds of comfort against her mussed hair.
“I-I need—”
“No,kou’va. You do not need that, as much as I wish it.” Laugh hoarse, he pushed his face against Aida’s neck, nuzzling the soft spot behind her ear as he rocked them in slow, steady sways and tried to purr for her.
Long moments passed where Er’it’s harsh sounds softened. Becoming rich and deep, the perfect resonance was a balm to Aida’s raw nerves. Crushed against the incredible reverberation, she went limp one muscle at a time, sighing as Er’it poured her into a more comfortable position on his lap and kept her tucked tight against the bare expanse of his chest.
“What were you thinking, boy?”
“It’s nothing more than a fire. Anyone can teach that, Tor’en.”
“Apparently not,” Tor’en said with a bald snort.
Aida jumped as something coarse and fuzzy brushed over her back. Her low keen was met with a darkening of Er’it’s purr, a near growl as he jostled her. Fabric coming around her shoulders showed the blanket she’d discarded before. Tears welled along with shame as Aida tried to peer around Er’it’s bulk and the tangled fall of his hair. No more than darker shadows in the night, she knew they all had seen her, watching as she had bared her body and demanded Er’it’s attentions.
“Get them out of here,” Er’it roared at the darkness, clutching Aida tighter, crushing the breath from her as he hid her from the others.
Power crackled through Aida’s veins, a livid wash of the deepest crimson staining her vision and turning the world shades of blood as she whined low in her throat and clawed at Er’it’s back. She wanted nothing so much as to meld with his body, to hide and be as safe as she could be with a man such as him.
“Calm, boy! For once in your life, keep your temper under control,” Tor’en snapped, raising his voice over the wind beginning to howl through the treetops. The gusts of balmy air whipping at the tender limbs scattered the leaves into miniature whirlwinds.
Cool tranquility descended over Aida, beginning in the depths of her soul and spreading out with frigid fingers from her heart on every stammering beat. Er’it’s lips found her temple, the gentle ebb and flow of his words promising things in a language Aida could just understand. Things she didn’t want to believe, couldn’t afford to, worked their brilliant magic of calming the fire burning within her all the same.
“Yes,kou’va,” Er’it whispered, praising her as she went soft in his embrace once more.
Tor’en muttered something as he fell to his backside in the drifts of leaves, eyes narrowed as he looked the pair over. Coming to some decision, his bushy brows rose with a thinning of his lips, bestowing a not-quite smile on Aida as he caught her watching him.
“He’s not a good teacher, is he?” Though Tor’en posed it as a question, it came as more of a statement, his shoulders shaking with a silent laugh that never reached his eyes. Folding his body into some approximation of comfort on the cold ground, the old mage ignored Er’it in favor of Aida.
The attention unnerved her. Unlike Maruk, Tor’en exuded strength and power, his many years honing each to a razor edge that he wielded with precision. It was something she became ever more aware of the longer he stared, the feeling of something shivering along her back becoming more adamant as the moments ticked past. Ducking her head under Er’it’s chin, Aida hid her face against his chest. Knowing he would never allow another to harm her so long as she remained close to him, Aida wrapped her arms tight around him.
