by Alice Wilde
“Walk with me?” he asks gesturing toward the doors I’ve just entered through. He doesn’t offer me his arm, so I turn and walk out as he follows behind. Stepping into pace beside me, Ero leads me out of the castle and onto the grounds.
“I saw torches on the horizon,” I say, trying to break the silence between us.
“Yes,” Ero says. “One of the other clans wants to join us, but there are conditions to be met.”
“But it’s good news, right?”
“It’s a good sign,” Ero says.
We continue walking for a while in silence through the camp when Ero suddenly stops in front of a large tent and pulls it open. I look up at him questioningly.
“It’s my tent,” Ero says, confirming my suspicion. “I’d like to talk to you privately, if you don’t mind.”
I hesitate, but then walk under his arm and into the tent as he holds the material up for me. The tent is surprisingly spacious and comfortable, far from what I’d expected, but I suppose he’s probably been given some furnishings from the castle. There are furs spread over part of the ground where I suppose he has been sleeping, as well as a small table, candles, and a tray of food and drink. It’s no room in the castle, but it’s far from sleeping out in the forest.
I stand nervously in the center of the tent as I wait for Ero to say something. There are no chairs or else I’d take a seat as I wait.
“Thirsty?” Ero asks.
I shake my head and watch as Ero strides to the small table and pours himself a mug of dark liquid and finishes it almost as quickly before pouring another.
“Perhaps I could use a drink,” I say.
Ero looks over the top of the mug at me as he finishes off the second drink. He fills the mug once again but this time hands it to me before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose.
I sip at the thick, dark liquid and grimace. It’s alcohol, and strong alcohol at that.
“Annalise,” Ero says, his back to me. “I…”
He trails off and sighs deeply before turning around to face me.
“Perhaps we can sit down?”
Before I can answer him, he walks over to the furs lying on the floor and sits down. I take as large a gulp of the horrible tasting liquid as I can bear before setting the mug down on the floor beside Ero’s makeshift bed and joining him.
We sit in silence for a long minute, and then Ero clears his throat.
“I can’t go any farther with you.”
“What?”
“You, Roan, and Li have to continue on without me.”
“You can’t be serious,” I say in disbelief.
“I’m sure you’ve noticed that Roan and I can barely remain in the same room together for more than a few minutes,” Ero says. “It’s only going to get worse as time goes on.”
“I don’t understand.”
Ero rubs his temples. “The Vikings won’t fight unless I’m leading the attack, and the Highlanders won’t fight unless Roan is.”
“That’s absurd,” I say. “This is about more than which group of people is in charge.”
“It’s just the way things are, princess. They’re already sensing the division between Roan and myself, and it’s making them uncertain about entering into battle with one or the other.”
“So, figure it out,” I say hotly. “I thought we could get past all this by now.”
“Maybe you can,” Ero mutters to himself.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I say as I grab his shoulder and try to turn him toward me, but he remains completely still, unaffected by my touch.
“I never meant to come between you and Roan,” Ero says. “I saw the way you looked at me after our night together. The pain and confusion I’d inflicted on you. I swore I’d never do that to someone, and I failed. It won’t happen again. Roan is better suited for you, and with me still in the scene…”
Ero trails off and I stare, unseeing at the space in front of me as I try to digest his words.
“Ero,” I say, trying to choose my words carefully, “are you saying you have feelings for me?”
“Apparently I’ve done a better job of concealing them than I thought, and now I’ve gone and ruined everything again,” Ero says with an exasperated sigh. “I swear I won’t let it affect things between us ever again.”
“I wish you would,” I say, my voice barely audible even to myself.
“What did you just say?”
My heartbeat quickens as I repeat myself louder.
“Damn it,” Ero growls before pushing me back on the furs and kissing me fiercely.
“Roan is going to kill me.”
Ero pulls away from me as the words leave my lips, closing his eyes as he tries to think.
“What about Roan?”
“My feelings haven’t changed for him,” I say slowly. “I still care for him as much as I ever have. Only now, there’s space in my heart for you too.”
“Space in your heart, or in your bed?” Ero says with a raise of his eyebrows.
“Can’t it be both?”
“I’d never expected those words to escape your lips, princess. Does Roan know this?”
“He doesn’t like it, but he’s accepted that I have feelings for you,” I say.
“No wonder he still hates my guts,” Ero says with a grin. “Well, I don’t care much what Roan thinks if this is what you really want. I’m not trying to bed him after all.”
My face flushes at the thought.
“And you are certain this is what you want, right?”
I hadn’t thought this far ahead, and certainly hadn’t expected any of this to happen, but I nod my head slowly.
“Tell me this is what you want,” Ero demands.
“It is.”
“Damn it, Annalise. You’re quite literally going to be the death of us all,” Ero says with a laugh. “Just remember, you’ll only have yourself to blame the next time Roan tries to murder me.”
“He won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Good luck with that,” Ero says as he lays back against the furs.
“So, you won’t abandon us, right?”
“I haven’t decided yet. Feel like trying to convince me?”
I open my mouth to say something, but Ero gently taps my chin to close it.
“Not like that,” he says as he undoes the laces of my shirt with a single tug.
Ero pulls his shirt up over his head and tosses it aside before rolling onto his back and pulling me on top of him.
“Remove your clothes,” he orders.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
I push myself into a sitting position on top of him and start to undo the various buckles and laces as quickly as I can.
“Slowly,” Ero says, staying my hand.
My heart pounds in my chest as he removes his hand, and I return to what I was doing, only slower. Ero watches me, his eyes eager but his face otherwise emotionless as bit by bit I remove the belts and outer elements of my outfit until all that’s left is my silk shirt and pants.
Before I can move to pull my shirt off, Ero reaches out and runs a hand over my chest, touching my body through the silk. My nipples harden as his fingers graze against them.
“Keep your shirt on,” Ero says as he pulls me down, pinning me tightly against his body.
I whimper as one of his hands finds its way into my pants, feeling me through the thin fabric of the strange undergarments. Ero runs his free hand up my back and into my hair, grabbing it firmly before pulling my head back as he kisses my neck.
Pleasure and desire build quickly within my body, but just before I can climax, Ero stops what he’s doing.
“No,” I moan in disappointment.
Ero grins wickedly at me before tossing me to the side.
“I want you to touch me,” he says.
“What do you mean?” I ask, my mouth going dry.
Without another word, Ero takes my hand firmly in his and presses it against his bar
e chest, his skin is soft and smooth to the touch. He slowly drags my hand lower on his torso until we’ve reached the edge of his pants. I half expect him to remove them or thrust my hand inside, but instead, he runs my hand along the outer fabric of his garments, and I can’t help but glance down as I feel him rise to meet me.
I’ve caught glimpses of him before, but being this close to him brings new meaning to what I saw…and he hadn’t been aroused the times I’d seen him fully nude.
Ero removes his hand from mine and watches me, waiting expectantly for me to continue what he’d started. I can see his shape clearly through the fabric of his pants as I continue to stroke him, and my eyes grow wide at the size of him. I didn’t know it was even possible to be that size, let alone how it could possibly fit inside a woman’s body. The thought makes something inside me clench with anticipation and I shift uncomfortably in place as I find I’m suddenly wet.
Ero seems to sense what’s happening, and pulls at the laces of his pants, loosening them from around his waist.
I can barely feel my heart anymore. It’s beating fast in my chest as I wait to see what Ero wants me to do next.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Ero says as he reaches into his pants, takes out his cock, and begins stroking it himself. I look up into his face, and he gives me a playful smile.
“Grab it,” he orders.
I waver for a second before doing as he says. He’s hot to the touch, his skin like silk. I can barely get my fingers wrapped around him, and I stay like that, frozen in place for a long moment. Ero props himself up on his elbows as he thrusts once against my hand, forcing my hand to slide along his length.
“You’re not going to make me do all the work, are you, princess?” Ero asks through a groan of pleasure.
Something about his groan of satisfaction at my touch excites me, and I watch his face as I begin to slide my hand up and down.
“Harder.”
I tighten my grip on him as I continue to stroke him, and Ero sucks air through his teeth.
“Am I hurting you?” I ask uneasily.
Ero shakes his head and leans back as he moans. I can feel my own body aching with desire as I watch the intensity of his pleasure increase and I want him.
Ero exhales sharply and jerks his head forward to look at me. I don’t know what possesses me to do it, but I put his dick in my mouth, wetting it before pulling away and using my saliva to slide my hand more easily up and down along his shaft.
“Don’t do that, princess,” Ero says, his voice strained.
“Do what?” I ask, feigning ignorance as I place my mouth around the tip of his cock before he can stop me, looking into his face as I do so. It’s hard to distinguish the expressions that cross his face in rapid succession. Anger, shock, ecstasy, desire, all rolled into one.
Ero growls, the sound deep and primal. The next second is a blur as Ero moves faster than I can react, pinning me down on my back and stripping me of my lower garments. One of Ero’s hands is firmly around my throat, the other hand pushing his dick harder against my clit as he rubs against me, faster and faster.
I can see sweat beading on Ero’s skin as he tries to control himself. The feeling of desire is so painfully built up inside me that I’m sure I’m about to die, and I close my eyes as I anticipate my climax when Ero changes positions on top of me.
“Ero?” I breathe, his name barely audible on my lips.
Ero doesn’t answer and my eyes fly open in sudden distress. He’s shifted his hips back, his body trembling as he slowly begins pressing the tip of his cock against my pussy, hard enough that I can feel my body starting to open to him.
“Ero!”
My voice comes out as barely more than a squeak as Ero’s hand tightens around my throat, choking me.
Ero looks up into my face, his blue eyes sparkling as tears spill over and onto me.
“I’m sorry, princess,” Ero says as his eyes fade to black.
“I never would have guessed,” Damien says in a sickeningly dark voice, “that it was Ero whose love would be the strongest to get you in the end.”
I try to scream, but I can barely breathe as Damien finally manages to use Ero’s body to thrust into me and everything fades to black…
It was just a nightmare, I repeat over and over to myself, my eyes still shut tight. I can feel my body slowly waking, but I’m sore in ways I’ve never been before. And then there’s a rush of stinging prickles through half of my body as a heavy weight shifts on top of me. Gods, please don’t be who I think it is.
Slowly, I open my eyes, and I nearly pass out again.
Ero is slumped on top of me, barely moving. I don’t want to believe any of what just happened.
“Ero?”
He doesn’t move.
“Ero,” I say louder, using my free arm to shake him.
He still doesn’t budge.
“Please, Ero, don’t do this to me,” I groan and start to pound on his shoulder with my fists.
Ero lets out a groan as he gradually comes to and freezes as he remembers where he is.
“Annalise,” Ero says without looking toward me, his tone indicating he hopes it’s someone else who answers.
“Yes,” I say quietly.
“Damn it,” Ero says, looking up at me warily. “I need to get up, but this is probably not going to be very pleasant.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see,” Ero says, looking up at me apologetically.
I whimper in pain as Ero moves, realizing he’s still inside me only as he pulls out as gently as he can manage. As soon as he’s freed himself from my body, I roll over on my side and pull my knees up to my chest. Ero pulls a small quilt over me.
“I swear,” Ero says, “if I had known the connection was still possible, I wouldn’t have touched you.”
“I know,” I whisper after a moment of silence. “Damien tricked us all into believing love would keep us safe when it’s exactly what he needed in order to use us. It’s all over now, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know.”
“We’re going to have to tell the others, aren’t we?”
Ero is quiet for a long time. “No, I don’t think we should.”
“What?” I say in shock as I turn to look at him.
“What good will it that do?”
“I…I don’t know, but they have a right know.”
“Perhaps,” Ero says. “But what will it change whether we tell them or not? Our quest hasn’t changed…aside from probably getting a hell of a lot more difficult. I don’t think we should say anything. Not unless we have to.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think it’ll only make things worse.”
I nod my head, hoping we are making the right decision—if there are any right decisions in all of this mess.
“Love?” Ero suddenly asks anxiously. “What did Damien say about love?”
Twenty-Nine
Ero
Leave it to Damien to use something that’s supposed to be pure to further his dark purpose. Of course, he not only had to deceive me into believing that opening my heart to Annalise would keep her safe, but he had to be the one to tell her that I love her…and it was my love that made it possible for him to get what he wanted.
I know this should be the last thing on my mind right now, but he’s stolen our first time together. As soon as Damien took over, my mind faded into a darkness I’d never felt before. I couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. Not that I would have wanted to see him do such a thing to her. But it was completely impossible for me to fight him. Worst of all, he had held me in a stranglehold inside my mind for nearly a minute, letting me know exactly what was about to happen before taking over.
I know it wasn’t of my own volition, but I feel completely responsible. Guilty.
I feel as though I was the one who forced myself on her, and I can’t help but believe that’s true. I should have controlled myself better. I should have kept her at arm’s
length.
I never should have opened my heart again.
I never should have fallen in love.
Thirty
Annalise
It was obvious Roan was more than a little suspicious—and pissed—when we arrived back at the castle quite a bit later and informed him that Ero was not staying behind.
I had to run and find Li after Ero and Roan started a shouting match that nearly turned to blows, and we finally came to an agreement. Roan would be in charge of the Highlanders while Ero remained in charge of the Vikings.
However, it soon became clear that neither the Highlanders nor the Vikings were keen on sailing around the world to China.
“You’ve got to be daft!” a man shouts, and other soon join in.
“There’s no way in all of the heavens any of us is sailing that far around the world.”
“How about you survive this lunatic’s journey first and then ask for our aid?” another man yells.
“They’re not wrong,” Li says. “The journey will be arduous, and they have no reason to believe we’ll make it, let alone be successful.”
“No reason?”
“What do they have to gain by sailing all the way to China?” Li asks. “Nothing other than a few more notches on their belts.”
“So, what are you suggesting?” I ask.
Li thinks for a moment.
“I think we go and raise my army first and then come back to join forces.”
“Wow,” Ero says. “Wasn’t this all a big waste of time.”
“How so?” Roan asks in annoyance.
“Do you honestly think Vikings are going to wait around for us to come back and give them orders?”
“That’s your problem, not mine,” Roan says with a shrug. “Highlanders are loyal to a fault.”
“Can we please not argue about this,” I say. “Our situation is only growing more dangerous by the minute and we can’t waste any time.”
Roan looks at me for a long moment, his expression apprehensive.
“Do you know something we don’t, lass?”
“What? Why would you think that?”
