Aric stilled for a second, then grabbed his boots. “Continue.”
“Your Captain is Nordain.” Liana frowned as she watched Aric slide on first one boot, then the next.
“Yes.” He nodded. “Did you see anything else?”
A feeling of doom gripped Liana so hard she began trembling. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
“Liana?”
She straightened and rubbed her arms from a sudden chill in her bones. Gooseflesh sprouted on her limbs and she wished she had brought the blanket to wrap around herself so that she did not feel so naked and vulnerable. “I saw the irani. Many of them.”
Aric snatched up his weapon belt and strapped it on as his intense black gaze watched her.
“The Sorcerer has sent out every single irani he has in search of…” Her voice trailed off as his dagger caught her attention. Its red stone glistened in the late afternoon sunlight like a large drop of blood.
Images flooded her mind, one after another, each one sending her reeling. The nordai at her windowsill. Black feathers on her blanket and in Aric’s hair. And Renn—in her vision the stone in his dagger had matched the one in Aric’s weapon.
Why he did not eat meat…because like Liana, Aric was not human. But unlike her, he was not Tanzinite.
“Oh, my gods.” Her body shook so hard that her knees threatened to give out. Her mind could barely process the knowledge as her eyes met his. Her words came out in a hoarse whisper, “You are Nordain.”
“Yes.” Hi gaze held hers as her world came crashing down around her. “I am Aric L’tiercel, King of the Nordain.”
Chapter Six
Wrapping her arms around her belly, Liana sank to the forest floor, feeling as though she might die. Blood rushed in her ears, so loud it drowned out all but the pounding of her heart and the accusations flying through her thoughts.
Gods. What have I done?
She stared at the ground, unable to meet his gaze any longer. Her vision blurred as tears of humiliation and betrayal blinded her, and the Elves’ prophecy flooded her mind.
Tanzinite woman, wingless and wan
Nordai of Power, of twins, we warn
One path to doom, enslavement and walls
With unholy mating, Dair rises or falls
She had traded her soul to not one devil, but another. She had run from the Sorcerer, only to mate with another powerful Nordain—the King himself.
And now she surely carried the fate of her world in her womb, just as the prophecy foretold. No wonder Aric hadn’t revealed his identity—to gain her trust and to ensure she would receive his seed.
Yet that made no sense. If he desired this, why did he not take her when he first had the chance? Gods knew she gave him ample opportunity. She had seduced him.
She realized she had no one to blame but herself. He hadn’t forced this fate upon her—she alone was responsible.
But so many would pay the consequences.
“Zjenni.” Aric’s low voice pierced the fog of her anguish.
Vaguely she realized his hands were on her shoulders, his palms hot against her bare skin. In the next moment he scooped her up, holding her tight to him in his powerful arms. As he carried her over the rise and back to the campfire, Liana began to shake uncontrollably while fighting the desire to seek solace from his warm embrace.
Aric took her to the blanket and wrapped her tight within it, as though cocooning her from the world and what she had done.
“I will rebuild the fire.” He pressed his lips to her hair, then moved away.
When he left her huddled in the blanket, she felt so empty, so alone. While he stirred the coals and added kindling and dry branches, she stared into the gathering darkness. Over and over she thought, Gods, what have I done?
But no answer came to her silent question.
Pine logs popped and crackled in the flames as Aric strode back to her. She watched the sparks whirl into the darkening sky and then vanish as though they had never existed.
Perhaps it would have been better had she never existed, too.
He eased to the ground beside her, encircled her in his arms, and drew her against his chest. He murmured words in a strange tongue that somehow comforted her, even though she didn’t want to be comforted—did not deserve to be comforted.
When she stopped shivering, he took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. Her lower lip trembled and she blinked back tears as she looked at his features that had become so familiar to her, so dear to her in such a short time.
“I am sorry,” he whispered. His fingers were gentle as he brushed strands of her pale hair from her eyes. “The moment I snatched you from the irani’s grasp, I should have told you who—and what—I am. Perhaps you would have been strong enough for the two of us.” He sighed, continuing to stroke her hair. “Perhaps with your strength I would not have betrayed my people.”
“What—what do you mean?” Liana put her palms on his chest, trying to push him away. But it was to no avail, as he only held her tighter. “How did you betray them?”
“The Seraphine Council sent me to prevent Zanden from claiming you.” Aric moved his hands to her shoulders, his caress helping to calm her, if only a bit. “It fell upon me to prevent your union with the Sorcerer—with any Nordain male—to ensure the prophecy never comes to bear. Thus I failed my people and all of Dair.”
She shook her head, so violently her hair fell across her face. “The fault lies entirely with me. Not with you.” She squeezed her eyes tight and pressed her forehead against his strong shoulder, her tears wetting his tunic. “If I had known—”
A shuddering sigh wracked her body. Opening her eyes, she leaned back and brushed her hair out of her face as the realization came upon her. “The truth is,” she said, wiping away a tear with the back of her hand, “it wouldn’t have mattered if I had been aware of your identity. I wanted you so badly, I all but ignored the signs that were right before my eyes.”
“I, too, believe it would have changed nothing.” He hooked a finger under her chin and tipped her head back. “I have already realized that my destiny lies with you.”
“But the prophecy…” Her stomach clenched and she fisted her hands. “And your people. I caused you to turn from your true path.”
“No. Do not blame yourself.” He kissed her brow, the feather touch of his lips causing a slight shiver to trail down her spine. “Before we mated, I had already made the decision to take you to Seraphine, the Elvin Kingdom. The wisest of their order will instruct us in what we must do.”
“The Elves?” Liana studied Aric’s face for a long moment. “What do you think they will say when they learn of what we have done?”
“I do not know.” He shrugged and offered her a half smile. “If need be, I will gladly hand over my own kingdom to my brother Renn, and go into exile to protect my people.” Aric kissed a tear from the tip of Liana’s nose. “As long as you are with me, zjenni, my most precious, I will be able to do whatever I must.”
She struggled to hold back more tears that threatened to render her speechless. She swallowed and whispered, “You would give up your family and Phoenicia…for me?”
Aric gently brushed his lips over hers. “Yes. That and more, my sweet one.”
She threw her arms around him and buried her face tight against him, unable to believe she could mean that much to him. That he would go into exile—for her.
From the time of her first memories, she had known so little caring, so little tenderness. And no one, save her friends, her heart sisters, Ranelle and Tierra, would have made a sacrifice of any kind for her.
But this sacrifice was far too great. Liana could not allow Aric to give up his kingdom. She would find some way to keep the prophecy from happening, even if it meant never seeing him again.
The mere thought tore at her so badly that she began crying harder.
Never see him again? It was as though her very heart was ripped into a thousand pieces when she thought of never
feeling his touch. Never seeing his smile. Never making love to him again.
Gently he laid her back on the grass, forcing her to look up at him. After he unwrapped the blanket, he moved alongside her bare form. He kissed her hair, the sensation sending tremors throughout her body, and her tresses began to caress him in response. His mouth traveled to the point of her ear and he flicked his tongue against it.
“I was so frightened earlier, when you screamed in the Bewitching Pool,” Aric murmured, the husky sound of his voice causing warmth to stir within her core. “I thought you were in danger, and I was scared that I might lose you.” He moved his lips to her neck, raining small kisses down toward her collarbone. “I realized then that I could never bear for anything to happen to you. I would give my own life for yours.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and her hair caressed him as tears slid down her cheeks. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You do not need to say anything.” He rose above her, kissing her tears one-by-one. “But I shall hold you to your promise to stay with me always.”
She frowned, her thoughts confused. “What promise?”
He raised one eyebrow. “The promise I demanded of you when we first mated.”
“Ah.” With a little smile she pulled him toward her, and kissed him softly. “You may one day regret that request.”
He shook his head, his voice serious. “Never.”
Aric felt such incredible warmth in his heart for Liana that he knew their mating was meant to be. It had been…destiny.
No matter that he had never been one to believe in such things as love and finding one’s heartmate. Now he knew the truth, knew he would never let her go.
He began to make love to her, enjoying the feel of her hair snaking around his wrist and enhancing both their pleasure. He wanted to erase the doubt in her mind, and make her his in every way possible. No matter the future—they would face it together.
The salty taste of Liana’s tears was on his tongue as he rained tiny kisses across her face. “I have never known such feelings,” Aric whispered as he stroked his fingertips down the soft skin of her belly. “I thought only in Elvin tales did something like this exist.”
Liana tugged at his tunic, obviously anxious to feel his skin against hers. “Did what exist?”
He helped her yank the tunic over his head and she sighed as he rubbed his naked chest against her taut nipples. “I doubted there was such a thing as a heartmate.”
She paused in her attempt to get to the fastening of his breeches, and her sea green gaze met his. He smiled as she opened her mouth, then bit her lip, as though unsure of what he meant.
“What are you saying?” she finally asked.
He gently kissed her, then said, “I believe you are my heartmate, Liana. I know it.”
A stunned expression crossed her face. “I—I…”
“Shhhh.” He placed his fingers over her full lips. “Let me show you how I feel.”
He stood and undressed as Liana watched him. Desire filled her gaze, and something more—he was sure of it. She might not realize it yet, but Aric knew that he was her heartmate just as she was his. No matter they came from opposite worlds. No matter their differences. No matter the prophecy that tried to keep them apart. They were two halves of the same stone.
He lowered himself between her thighs and braced himself above her. He kissed her, soft and lingering, before working his way down her body, fraction by fraction. He used his lips and tongue, attempting to taste every part of her.
Firelight flickered across her pale skin as she moaned and twisted beneath his mouth and hands. When he reached the sea foam curls at the apex of her thighs, be stopped to scent her passion, filling his senses with the rich smell of his woman. Her jensai bloom and moonlight scent mixed with the juices of her arousal, creating a need so great that he knew he would never get enough of her.
“Please,” Liana begged as she stirred restlessly. “I need you. Take me, Aric.”
With a smile, he pressed his face between her thighs, causing her to cry out when he licked her clit. He grasped her ankles and placed her feet on his shoulders as he thrust two fingers inside her. She thrashed as he sucked and licked her sensitive nub, and she shrieked as she came.
She was riding out the waves of her orgasm when he reared up and slid his cock into her wet core. He bit back the primal urge to pound into her with everything he had. Instead he slowly moved in and out, intensifying the sensations she was feeling from her climax. It wasn’t long before another orgasm hit her, and then another.
He continued to restrain himself as he made love to her, wanting to extend her pleasure for as long as possible. She clenched his buttocks, her fingers digging into his skin as he slowly thrust his cock in and out of her slick core while nipping at her breasts, gently flicking his tongue across each nipple.
The feelings within him strengthened as he climbed higher and higher, while he reached out to Liana with his heart, soul and with his body.
And as he achieved the pinnacle and the most magnificent orgasm he had ever known, he knew he would never let his zjenni go.
* * * * *
Crickets chirruped and sang in the dark forest, and frogs added their croaks to the symphony, along with the river’s constant melody. Liana listened to the sounds, waiting until Aric’s breathing was strong and deep.
When she was sure he was sound asleep, Liana’s tresses slid across Aric’s face, releasing a bit of the Elvin magic she had absorbed from the Bewitching Pool. Her lower lip trembled, but she forced herself to continue. The magical essence would ensure that she would be able to slip out of his arms without waking him, and she hoped he would continue to sleep until the morrow’s first rays of sunlight.
Liana did not wish to break her promise to Aric, but it was a promise she never should have made—and wouldn’t have, had she known he was the Nordain king. His people needed him, and he should not be forced to leave his kingdom for her sake. She would do what was best for him, and his people, despite the fact she would rather die than be separated from him.
Quickly she wrapped the blanket around her body that she had used earlier as a tunic, and tied it with the rope. When she moved away from him, her stomach clenched as she took one step, and then another. She forced herself to keep going, even though she wanted to stay with him with all her heart and soul.
The moonlight was stronger tonight—in mere days it would be moonchange. She had to escape to the northeast, beyond Xardu Moors, beyond Wilding Wood, where Zanden’s reach could not extend. If only she could fly as she had always desired to. If she had been born with wings like any other Tanzinite, she could have flown far away without a second thought.
But then if she had not been wingless, she would not have been forced to flee Zanden in the first place.
Baethel raised his head and whickered as she stole past him.
“Shhh.” She darted a quick glance at Aric’s form beside the fire, where he still lay sound asleep. “I—I need to relieve myself.”
The stallion shook his big head and glanced to Aric and back to Liana.
“I will be right back,” she insisted to the horse’s obvious displeasure, and then slipped into the forest.
Being a Tanzinite had its advantages. Her people were cave dwellers, accustomed to seeing with little to no light. In the village she had become accustomed to the daylight, although it often bothered her eyes if the sun was too bright.
Liana’s bare feet made no sound as she scurried through the dense forest. Bushes snagged at her blanket, causing it to slip below her breasts, and she felt the night’s chill air. She had to grasp the blanket tight to her waist with one hand as she pushed branches out of her way with the other. In her hurry she stumbled and almost fell several times as she dodged trees and boulders, and jumped over an occasional fallen log.
When she had lost her cloak in the fire, she had also lost what little wealth in ansi stones she’d had. But as a Seer, she hoped she w
ould have no trouble earning enough money or food to survive.
In the lands beyond Wilding Wood she could live in obscurity to ensure the prophecy would never come to bear. A twinge of fear skittered through her at the thought of the mysteries of the wood that she would have to traverse—it was said that Faeries, dragons and other mysterious creatures dwelled within its murky depths.
Leaves and pine needles chilled her feet, and she wished she had more than the blanket for protection from the elements. But she felt guilty for taking one thing from Aric, much less any more than that. She knew how to find wild potatoes and berries for sustenance, so she would not starve. Shelter would be another matter altogether.
Baethel snorted and whickered in the distance, and she knew the horse was concerned that she had not returned right away. For all she knew, the beast would wake Aric at any moment. Baethel and Aric seemed to have an uncanny ability to communicate, an odd friendship of sorts.
Liana’s breathing grew harsher, her lungs aching as she ran. She had to put distance between her and Aric. He would come looking for her, of that she was certain—and she did not know if she could resist him if he found her. Once she was far enough away, she would seek shelter, a location that would also serve as a suitable place to hide.
In a small clearing, a root seemed to rise up out of the darkness and caught her foot. Liana fell hard to the ground, her face buried in leaves, and pine needles poked her cheeks and her naked breasts—the scent of jensai was so strong she could scarcely breathe. For a moment she simply laid still, listening for any sign that Aric was following.
She heard only the pounding of her heart and blood rushing in her ears—and then a strange buzzing. Even the crickets and owls were silent, and she no longer heard the Everlasting River’s constant roar.
Strange, that.
Obsessed Page 7
