He pulled on a red and black tunic made from stretchy fabric, sniffing and holding back a sneeze as some of the dust tickled his nostrils. It was still in remarkably good condition and didn’t really smell that bad. Well, at least not as bad as his old, vomit-and-blood-encrusted garment.
“Ready to head back up?” he asked.
Eva nodded, refusing to meet his gaze.
“Hey,” said Ari. “I do not want to see you moping. Situations like this are going to happen. I’m surprised that I haven’t come closer to death more often in the past, given all we’ve been through. I want to see you smiling and acting like nothing happened, as much for my sake as for Kerys’, who has a habit of over worrying.”
Eva nodded, but she didn’t seem to take his words literally until Ari pressed two fingers against her cheeks and attempted to shift her mouth into a more pleasant expression manually.
“There!” he said. “I think you have a very pretty smile, Eva. You should show it off more.”
“Of course, milord,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Now let’s head up to the tower and see what’s for dinner,” he said.
Even though they’d been traveling at a slow and wary pace on their way into the spire, it still took Ari and Eva longer to retrace their steps on the way out. The ladder leading up to the hatch was especially difficult for Ari, and he had to stop midway through what should have been an easy climb to let his head stop pounding.
The sun was in the process of setting in the distance, casting a beautiful array of colors across the wavering ocean. Kerys heard them coming and came out of the tower to greet them, still holding the ladle she’d been using to cook with in one hand.
“Aristial,” she said, frowning as he approached. “What happened to you? That’s a different tunic than your usual one, and your face is so pale.”
“It’s the first of many items we’ll end up looting from the spire,” said Ari. “There’s no need to worry. Everything went according to plan, and I feel totally—”
He broke into a coughing fit as he tried to force out the last word. Eva and Kerys both came to his side even as he tried to wave them off and assure them that he was okay.
“Eva,” said Kerys. “Tell me the truth. What happened?”
Eva hesitated, seeming as though she was caught between her honest nature and her loyalty.
“There was a fight,” she said. “It ended in a stalemate, and we spent much of the time down in the spire resting.”
Kerys scowled and shook her head.
“You promised me you’d be careful, Ari,” she said.
“I was,” he said. “Well, I tried to be.”
Kerys reached her hand out and brushed a few cobwebs loose from his hair.
“Dinner is almost done,” she said. “Come on. At least you’re still standing. Also, just so you know, that tunic actually looks really nice on you. It matches your eyes.”
“Kerys Weaver,” said Ari. “You know just what to say to make a man swoon.”
Ari and Eva took seats around the common room table, and Kerys brought out the food. She’d managed to concoct a stew out of their limited ingredients, and the smell of it made Ari’s mouth immediately start to water.
“It’s mostly bird meat,” said Kerys. “With a pinch of some of the edible, leafy green vegetables that I found growing around the mango trees.”
“It tastes awesome, Kerys,” said Ari. “Well done.”
They were still limited when it came to eating utensils, so they were forced to take turns passing the ladle around to sip from the stew. For once, Ari didn’t refuse when they offered him the chance to eat first. His stomach was still somewhat turbulent, so he only ate a bit before passing it on to Eva.
“What did you find down there, anyway?” asked Kerys.
Ari explained to her the room with the keys along with the purple mesmer, giving her a version of the fight that ended in a stalemate without explaining how outmatched he’d been or how close he’d come to death.
“Maybe try going down one of the other passageways?” asked Kerys. “You might be able to find artifacts with enough essence and avoid having to fight that one again.”
“That’s the plan for tomorrow,” said Ari. “But I fully intend to beat that mesmer. It was powerful, but not so strong that I can’t see a way to victory.”
Kerys and Eva didn’t say anything, and their silence suggested to Ari that they might not share his confidence in his abilities. The stew came back around to him, and he waved a hand at the ladle.
“You two can split what’s left,” he said. “I’m not especially hungry.”
He stood up and headed for the door, stopping to grab the stick he’d been using as his practice sword on the way.
“Perhaps resting would be more prudent for tonight?” suggested Eva.
“Resting isn’t going to help me get stronger,” said Ari. “Besides, I thought of a few good counters for the way that mesmer was wielding that gaudy mace.”
Kerys and Eva shot each other a look, but neither of them stopped him as he headed outside and across the spire’s roof.
CHAPTER 7
As determined as Ari was to make progress in his swordsmanship, it became apparent after a couple of minutes that his body was still too fatigued to do most of the movements justice. He sat down on the thin grass near the spire’s edge, leaning his back against the lip. There was a small sarkin flower sprout growing near him, and he plucked it from the ground.
It would have been too much of a pain to roll it into a proper smoke and make the trip back to the tower to light it, so instead he nibbled on one of the flowers, enjoying the more nuanced effects of ingesting the herb directly. He glanced up to see Kerys walking toward, looking worried and clearly noticing the plant he held in his hand.
“Oh no, you caught me!” he said, in an exaggerated voice. “Please, Mistress Kerys. Don’t tell the Hollow Lord about how I’ve been sneaking off to ingest forbidden herbs.”
“I don’t care about that, you oaf,” said Kerys. She took a seat next to him, one of her fingers twirling through the end of a lock of her golden blonde hair. “I’m worried about you. Eva told me the truth of what happened.”
“That traitor,” said Ari with a sigh. “I told her that I didn’t want to worry you.”
“I basically had to pry it out of her,” said Kerys. “It was pretty clear just from looking at her face that she’d spent much of the day upset. Your face, by the way, looks even worse than hers. It’s like something drained the blood out of you.”
Ari frowned, wondering just how much blood he’d lost through his unconscious vomiting. He shook his head and put an arm around Kerys.
“I’m fine,” he said. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll take my time exploring the spire, gathering the essence we need, and then we’ll be on our way.”
“On our way to where?” asked Kerys.
“Wherever we end up next,” said Ari. “If I knew, I’d tell you. Or maybe not, just to tease you.”
“Aristial…” Kerys sighed and let her hand drop from her hair. “I’ve been feeling so aimless since we’ve come here.”
Ari smiled and jokingly proffered one of the sarkin flower buds to her.
“Could you be serious, for once?” she asked. “I just feel like I don’t know what the point is anymore. It doesn’t help that all I could do was wait up here and worry while you and Eva were down in the spire.”
There was a touch of emotion in her voice that sounded more like jealousy than worry. Ari could understand both her broad point and her feelings. He lifted his arm and pointed up into the night sky.
“Look,” he said. “Lumas and The Stray have been getting closer for the past few days. If they keep on the same path, we might see them overlap soon.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” asked Kerys.
“Nothing,” said Ari. “Everything. I don’t know. We didn’t choose to be here, but we’re still here. We do
n’t know where we’re headed, but we still keep going. I think sometimes that’s enough. To just keep living, and keep experiencing, regardless of what life throws at us.”
Kerys sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “You act like a little boy most of the time, and then you go and say something like that.”
Ari let one of his hands slide from her shoulder down to her breast.
“Aristial!” snapped Kerys.
“I’m a little boy, I don’t know any better,” he said.
She glared and smiled at him at the same time and then stood up.
“I’m going inside to get some rest,” she said. “Eva and I are splitting the watch tonight so you can get a proper night’s sleep.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“We decided on our own,” said Kerys. “Just accept it. Otherwise we’ll start teaming up against you more often.”
“That’s the stuff of nightmares,” said Ari.
He stayed outside for a few more minutes, watching the stars and listening to the crash of the waves against the spire. In the far distance, on the edge of the horizon, he could see something that he didn’t like. A thick line of storm clouds, still several days off, but within striking distance.
He tried not to let his anxiety get the better of him as he made his way back into the tower. Eva was sitting at the common room table, and she turned to face him as he entered.
“Aristial,” she said, in a quiet voice. “Can we speak for a moment?”
Her tone was serious, but there was also a hint of sensuality there which spiked the tension in the room significantly. Ari came back around to his stool and pulled it in closer to hers.
“Of course,” he said. “What is it?”
He met her gaze and found that it took willpower to hold it. She was stunningly beautiful and intense, and despite the fact that their relationship was essentially one of master and servant, she still occasionally made him feel like the teenage boy that he was underneath.
“I think it is critical that we begin strengthening our bond again,” she said. “Assuming you’re still willing, of course.”
Strengthening the bond. The words alone stirred memories of Eva’s soft lips and softer breasts. The two of them naked and undulating. The tiny, breathy moans she’d let out under pleasure, and her aggressive, experienced mannerisms under the sheets.
“Yes!” he said, a tad more enthusiastically than he intended. “I mean, I think it makes sense, given our current circumstances. Why did you wait until now to bring it up?”
“I did not wish to proposition you in front of Lady Kerys,” said Eva. “I know that her feelings for you are somewhat turbulent. It felt like it would have been disrespectful to ask you so openly about such a tender matter.”
Ari shrugged slightly, opting not to explain that Kerys knew more about the nature of the intimacy of their bond than Eva probably realized. She’d watched him and Eva in the throes of passion before, several times. It wasn’t an impulse born solely of her curiosity, either, as far as he could tell from Kerys’ embarrassed explanations.
“I get that,” said Ari. “But if we are going to start strengthening our bond again, we should tell her. I don’t like feeling like I’m sneaking around behind her back.”
Eva shifted, and her usually stoic features became slightly uncomfortable.
“I’m worried about how she might react,” said Eva. “Lady Kerys and I have become friends, of a sort. I think that she might eventually misinterpret the reason behind our intimacy if we are open about it with her.”
Ari frowned. He couldn’t argue with her logic, at least not without disclosing details about Kerys’ curious habit, but the compromise left him with a bad taste in his mouth. He set the question of how to explain things to Kerys aside as a different concern came to mind.
“The nightmare you had last night,” said Ari. “It was a little intense. You were shouting out the name of your old master when you woke up, too. How does that fit into this?”
Eva was silent for a few seconds before finally giving him a small shrug.
“I’m not so sure,” she said. “What I have remembered so far scares me. It is more than just memories. Small things, reflexes, emotions. Impulses that are tied to specific triggers. It is difficult for me to ignore…”
“I can see why,” said Ari. “You said that us strengthening our bond brought your memory back faster, though. Why are you open to us doing it again? Is this all because of what happened during the fight with the purple mesmer?”
He almost didn’t want to ask the question and to instead accept Eva’s decision—and her body—without hesitation. But more than he wanted her in an intimate capacity, Ari wanted to understand her and what she was going through. He wasn’t sure how he’d feel to know that her decision was born solely out of the guilt she felt over how their last fight had gone.
“It has been growing increasingly apparent over the past few days,” said Eva. “Both in how our communication is affected while I’m in my sword form and in your ability to summon me from a distance. If we are going to venture into the spire, we will need every advantage we can get.”
Ari nodded, though something about her explanation rang slightly hollow to him.
“Eva,” he said. “There’s more to this than just that, isn’t there?”
She looked away from him. Ari slid his stool in closer and took her hands in his.
“Hey,” he said. “I’m here. I care about you. You don’t have to hide anything from me.”
She finally looked back and gave him a forced, sad smile.
“The memories have still been coming, even though we have stopped strengthening our bond,” she whispered. “He… used to threaten me if I didn’t obey him.”
“Mythril threatened you?” asked Ari.
Eva nodded. “If I did not do exactly what he said, he threatened to abandon me. Without a close connection to him, my own essence would fade, and I would eventually become dormant. Just a sword, permanently asleep, cast aside like a broken tool. I… I’m sorry, Aristial, I should not bother you with this.”
“You should always bother me with this,” said Ari. “It’s what I’m here for. Well, that and charming personality and piercing wit.”
He cupped her cheek in his hand, and Eva rested hers on top of it.
“I think,” she began, “that fear is part of the reason why my mannerisms are so formal. I did not realize it myself, but my subservience is a thing born from that insecurity. From knowing that if I ever fall out of my master’s favor, I will just end up…”
She trailed off, and Ari felt a section of his heart shatter into pieces.
“Eva.” He moved to her side and pulled her into a hug. “You don’t have to be like that with me. I’m not going to punish you for being your own person.”
He stared into her eyes as he spoke and then gave her a soft kiss. Eva kissed him back hungrily, rising to stand within his embrace. Ari ran his arms across her back, her shoulders, and eventually her buttocks. He lifted her up slightly and placed her on the sturdy stone common room table.
“I still think we should take it slow,” she whispered. “Part of why my memories were so jarring was the speed at which our initial intimacy progressed.”
“Slow as in the pace of our bodies?” whispered Ari. “Or slow as in…”
“You know what I mean,” she said. “I have remembered more about the bond. It can be strengthened through emotional connection and not just physical intimacy. The feelings I just shared aloud with you, for example.”
“Of course,” said Ari. He’d suspected as much, especially after seeing a vision of Eva’s old master and learning that he’d actually been her uncle. It was a fact that he wasn’t sure Eva knew or even wanted to know.
“You can still kiss me,” she said. “Touching should also be—”
Ari’s lips were against hers before she’d finished her sentence, and his hands began running across her with uncontrol
led eagerness. He’d missed this, so very much.
He couldn’t resist lifting her dress up slightly, and Eva didn’t stop him. She was still wearing her panties underneath, and it wasn’t until Ari slid an exploratory finger into the waistband that Eva cleared her throat.
“I think that is probably enough for tonight,” she whispered.
Ari took a slow breath and nodded, though it took all the willpower he had in him.
“Right,” he said.
“Kerys and I will handle the watch for tonight,” said Eva.
“She mentioned that to me,” said Ari. “I appreciate it. Though not as much as I’d appreciate a trusted female companion to warm my bed.”
Eva smiled, and for a second, it almost looked like she was considering it.
“You need your sleep and to regain your strength,” she said. “Goodnight, Lord Aristial.”
“It was worth a try,” he said. “Goodnight, Eva.”
CHAPTER 8
Ari’s fatigue got the better of him, and he slept in late the next morning. Eva was waiting in the common room, and she smiled at him when he came downstairs. Her silver-blue hair was twisted into a neat braid which hung loose across one shoulder.
“You are awake,” she said. “I was worried that you might need more time to rest.”
“It was tempting, but I somehow managed to overrule my body with the will of my mind,” said Ari. “Where’s Kerys?”
“She’s looking for more of the edible plant that she used in the stew last night,” said Eva. “It’s just us here right now.”
Her words instantly brought Ari back to the night before, and her body against his. He had almost forgotten how much he enjoyed Eva in that capacity. Even now, he felt himself being inexplicably drawn to her, moving closer to where she was leaning against the common room table.
She didn’t turn away from him, and a mischievous smile spread across her face as he went for a kiss. As soon as his lips met hers, her entire body reacted to him, back arching, one thigh sliding to the side. It would be so easy to finish what they’d started last night.
Vision Voyage (The Weatherblight Saga Book 2) Page 4
