Page 87

Rymedur dipped his head into the curve of her neck. Inhaling deeply, he hummed. Pomegranates and verbena. Her scent was addictive. ‘I am your warrior. Always. Till we fade.’

He needed to taste her. Now. As soon as his lips met skin, Rymedur was entranced.

Trailing a line of soft kisses up the curve of her neck, Rymedur enjoyed the way she arched into his touch. He paid extra attention to the sensitive spot, where her pulse fluttered.

Knowing the way, he nipped at it with his teeth and lapped his tongue along the bruise that would have her toes curling in her boots. The quiet gasp that escaped her made him smile—sly and full of male confidence.

After a moment of teasing and tasting, Rymedur found himself asking again, ‘What worries you?’ He hated it when she didn’t talk to him. ‘Speak to me, love.’

With a huff, Areanel seemed to relent, posture softening. With a quiet tone, too soft for others to hear, she said, ‘My father.’

A slitted, beastly eye peeked open; the wrath within him tapped its talons as it waited for her to continue. ‘Is it another mission?’ Rymedur pulled back slightly so that he could look at her. He needed to see her face, reassure himself that she was alive. But the mere thought of another mission, so soon, had him wanting to unleash that beast within and set it on Aerileas.

His patience was hanging by a fraying thread, and the growing shadows were testament to how close he was to snapping.

Areanel nodded in response, refusing to meet his gaze. The brightness in her eyes seemed to dull, smile slowly slipping into nothing, and Rymedur found himself missing it.

‘When do you leave?’ he asked, downtrodden.

‘We leave tonight.’ Areanel met his gaze. She would be leaving so soon. That meant they wouldn’t have much time together—wait. Did she say we?

‘What?’ Rymedur’s tone morphed into one of confusion. ‘I’m accompanying you?’ Releasing his hold on her hands, he sat up, reaching forward to help her up as well.

‘Father has commanded it,’ Areanel whispered, picking herself up off the mat.

Suddenly, Rymedur remembered his conversation with the king before Areanel’s punishment. That’s what had her worried. No doubt Aerileas had threatened her just like he had threatened him because of Selcirith’s recent questionable loyalty. But had Aerileas used Rymedur to threaten her? This mission must be a way to ensure that Selcirith’s loyalty hasn’t wavered. And if it has? It’ll send a message.

A hand reached out, touching the base of his neck. Areanel ran her thumb over the bulge there, her hand coming away to reveal a droplet of blood smeared along the pad of her finger. Her eyes narrowed, and her brows furrowed. ‘I hurt you.’

The guilt on her face had Rymedur clasping his hand around hers. ‘You did not hurt me.’ Aerileas’s cruel words fogged his mind. ‘It was my fault. I didn’t think about the blade when I flipped us. You could never hurt me.’ He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed each of her knuckles. ‘I will heal.’

‘But you don’t heal the way we do,’ Areanel countered.

‘It is only a scratch,’ he tried to reassure. ‘I assume you have already set everything in motion.’ Upon still seeing the disheartened look on her face, he tried to distract her with the mission ahead.

‘I have,’ she whispered. Then, in a much louder voice, ‘James, Lukas.’ She turned away from him to address their children. ‘Go get ready for dinner.’

The two hadn’t been paying them any attention—speaking in hushed tones whilst patting the flank of a very large white wolf, Winter. Rymedur hadn’t noticed her arrive.

Areanel seemed more relaxed when the wolf was around. She moved away from him the moment her eyes landed on her bonded, and Rymedur found himself missing her warmth almost instantly. She fell out of his reach as she approached the wolf, her hand finding the place behind Winter’s ear where she scratched, earning her a rumbling hum of appreciation. The wolf’s large tail wagged unabashedly.

‘I thought I told you to stay away?’ Areanel’s voice was a teasing reprimand.

The enormous wolf huffed a breath through her nose as though to say: You thought I’d listen? She nudged Areanel’s side, nuzzling further into her. Areanel giggled at the action, and Rymedur startled at the sound. It was so precious. So rare. He wanted nothing more than to bottle it.

Wrapping her arms around Winter’s gigantic form, Areanel whispered something into her fur that Rymedur didn’t quite catch. Curse his rounded human ears! But the smile etched on her face was so mesmerising that he was lost.

Areanel turned her head towards him, as though she could feel his gaze like a brand.

Ushering the children out of the training ground, Areanel patted Winter’s flank. The wolf gave her a wide yawn, turned her head to Rymedur and nudged at his arm, tongue rough and wet against his hand as she licked it. It had taken him years to understand that this was her way of communicating, though he still didn’t quite understand what she was saying. Hello? Goodbye? I want to eat you. It really could have been any of those.

After their children and Winter had left, Areanel finally turned that mystical gaze back to him and motioned towards the exit. ‘Let’s speak privately.’

Chapter 34

Rymedur

Placing the last of the items into the pack, Rymedur pulled on the drawstring and slung it over his shoulder before ducking into the servant’s passage, following after Areanel.