by Todd, E. L.
Orgoom Forest
23
Zyle and Accacia walked through the forest with their hands joined. The ambassadors were trailing behind them, but Zyle pulled her away through the trees, taking them on a secluded path toward the ship. Accacia wasn’t sure why he did it. She didn’t question him.
“What do you want to do for the next two days? Accacia asked. Zyle kept his eyes on the path ahead and didn’t answer her question. “I can show you the rest of the forest. The borders of this land stretch for leagues around in every direction. You have only seen a sliver of it.” Zyle remained silent. Accacia wasn’t sure why he wasn’t speaking. She hadn’t done anything to make him upset. Or at least she thought she didn’t. “Zyle?” she pressed.
“I don’t want to see the rest of the forest,” he said simply.
“Then what would you like to do?”
Zyle looked at her. “I want to stay on the ship the entire time, preferably in our quarters, just you and I.”
Accacia smiled. She wasn’t surprised by his request. She hadn’t been spending much time with her life partner. Actually, she had spent more time with Aleco, and when she wasn’t with him, she was certainly thinking about him. “We have a lot of preparations to make, Zyle. We can’t stay cooped up, away from the rest of our subjects and responsibilities.”
He shook his head. “I’ve already taken care of everything. I have handpicked the warriors that will be accompanying us and have clumped them into groups, with an appointed commander to lead each faction.” Accacia was surprised he had accomplished that already. He seemed to read her mind. “I’ve had a lot of time on my hands.”
She blinked at the slight insult. Accacia knew he was right. Even when they were together she was either thinking about Aleco or she was covered in tears. He deserved her undivided attention. “For the next two days, I’m yours, Zyle. If anyone bothers us, I will just tell them I’m unwell.”
Zyle smiled. “Good,” he said. “If you said no, I was going to tie you up.”
“Perhaps I should have said no then,” she teased.
Zyle stopped in his tracks. “You have my attention.”
She laughed and pulled him forward. “Let’s hurry back then.”
Zyle released her hand and sprinted away from her, running towards the harbor in the distance. She laughed at him and ran behind him, trailing him to the dock. Zyle stopped when he reached the wharf. He was gathering rope from the dock when she broke through the trees and caught up with him. She laughed so hard she felt a cramp in her side and she bent over at the waist, trying to catch her breath. Accacia grabbed his hand and pulled him up the ramp onto their ship. When they walked into their quarters, she turned around and looked at him. He was still holding the rope in his hands. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Zyle, did you include me on your list for the warriors?
“Yes.”
“So, I am coming?”
“I assumed you would. If you want to stay behind that’s fine as well.”
“No, I’m coming with you. Nothing is going to stop me. This is my fight and I deserve to participate.”
Zyle spun the rope in his hands. “I’m not the one stopping you.”
Accacia dropped the conversation when she realized what direction it was taking. Somehow all their dialogue led to him. She knew Zyle thought the same thing by the sag of his eyes. The blue was fading and it wasn’t as clear as a moment ago when they were joking about tying her up. She wanted to make amends for her mistake, especially so early in the day. Accacia held her wrists out to him and his eyes widened in surprise. “I am yours to bound, Your Majesty.”
A loud knock interrupted their activities hours later when the sun had set. Even though there was no window in their cabin, Accacia knew it was late into the evening. She felt exhausted from their lovemaking. Zyle hadn’t released her once. Accacia had a feeling he wasn’t going to.
Zyle dressed himself and covered Accacia with a blanket. He cracked the door open and was angered to see Roxian standing in the hallway.
“Don’t speak,” she said. “Aleco is on the wharf and wishes to converse with you—in private.”
Zyle sighed. He was finally enjoying his day without thinking about that man or listening to his life partner discuss him, but a part of him wanted to know what he wanted. He knew it had something to do with Accacia. He wouldn’t meet in secret if it wasn’t. “I’ll be there in a moment,” he whispered. He shut the door in Roxian’s face and walked back to Accacia. “I’ll be right back. I need to take care of something.”
Accacia sighed and sat up. She waited for Zyle to remove her bindings but he didn’t. He simply stared at her with an amused expression. “Are you going to untie me?”
“No.”
Accacia stared at him. “What if the ship sinks?”
“I’ll be gone for only a few minutes,” he said. “I doubt the ship will suddenly decide to sink without a logical reason.”
“What if my nose itches?”
“That’s some hard luck.”
Accacia sighed. “So you are really going to leave me here like this?”
Zyle kissed her. “Yes,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“I never should have let you do this to me.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” he said with a smile. “But I am very glad that you did.” Accacia watched him walk out the door, leaving her tied to the headboard. She knew he would have released her if she wanted him to. All she had to do was tell him, but she was enjoying the game they were playing and she knew he was as well. She had a lot of making up to do for her past behavior.
The boats rocked lightly in the waves of the sea and the breeze blew the strands of hair from his eyes. The smell of salt infected his nostrils and made them sting. In Suaden, the concentration of salt wasn’t so prominent and the tropical sent of the forest masked the smell. He could hear the slight ring of the bells along the ship as their clasps licked against the shell of the bells almost inaudibly. The nighttime air was a perfect temperature. The breeze had blown away the heat from the scorching sun. Zyle could remove his shirt and still feel warm. Zyle walked down the ramp and saw Aleco at the end of the pier. He was speaking to Roxian and she was touching him lightly on the arm. Roxian walked away into the woods when she saw Zyle approach. Zyle assumed she was headed toward Aleco’s quarters where she would stay for the night. He hated Roxian even more for what she had done to Accacia. Aleco probably had no idea. “She is only sleeping with you to hurt Accacia,” he said as he approached him.
Aleco met his gaze. “I think she is sleeping with me for other reasons as well.”
Zyle flinched at the humor in his words. He knew what he meant. “And it doesn’t bother you that you’re hurting Accacia?”
“It is irrelevant who I sleep with. Anyone I choose will upset her. She knows exactly what to do to get me to stop, if she really cares that much. And Zyle, who I bogg is none of your business, or Accacia’s, for that matter.”
Zyle nodded. Aleco was right. It wasn’t any of his concern who he spent his time with. “What did you want to discuss?”
“The same woman we are always discussing—your beloved queen.” Zyle ignored the jab directed at him. Zyle knew he would never forgive him for allowing Accacia to elaborate on her plan to return to Drake. Of course, Zyle wouldn’t let her go, but he wasn’t going to publicly reject her idea in the presence of others. Aleco was clearly new to politics. He didn’t know when to hold his tongue. He decided not to retaliate. Accacia knew how he felt for her. She was tied up waiting for him, and not Aleco. The only thing Aleco had waiting for him was a backstabbing bitch. “I need your help with something.”
“And what would that be?”
“I don’t want Accacia to fight alongside us in Letumian. I don’t doubt her abilities as a warrior—she has proved that to me, but I can’t risk her life and immortality if we fail. I am the guardian of her soul, as appointed by the Lorunien Tree, and I hav
e to protect it.”
“I am her soul mate, Aleco,” he said. “It is my job to protect it. We don’t need your services.”
Aleco held up his hands. “Don’t get possessive on me. Isn’t it better to have two people protecting her instead of one? I am not challenging you to be with her—I am only trying to save her. You get to return to your lands with her, away from me, and live out your lives together. I’m not stopping you—I am only aiding you.”
Zyle nodded. He had to admit the Nature Priest had a point. “What do you want me to do?”
“Tell her to stay behind. She can come to Paso Robles—the undertaking won’t be nearly as dangerous, but she needs to remain behind when we leave for Letumian. I don’t know what the king will do when he sees her. He is so unpredictable he might spend all his efforts on trying to kill her alone.” Zyle couldn’t live without Accacia. The thought of her perishing was enough to make him take his own life, whether he lost his immortality or not. “I can’t concentrate on the battle if I have to worry about her all the time. I won’t leave her sight and I will always be looking over my shoulder, protecting her. You obviously feel the same way.”
“Accacia would never agree even if I asked her. Our society recognizes equal rights for men and women and we approve of participation of women in battle. I can’t think of a reason to justify leaving her behind.”
Aleco thought for a moment. “Tell her you need a monarch to remain behind to take the Asquithians back to their lands in the event we fail.”
Zyle shook his head. “That doesn’t work either. Our government expects the king and queen to lead the warriors into battle. And even with that reasoning, I would be the one to remain behind. Her abilities surpass my own. She is the stronger warrior; thus, she is more likely to survive.”
“Then you are going to have to confine her, lock her in your quarters if you must until we return.” Zyle felt his heart sink at the thought. He couldn’t do that to her. He would feel as evil as the king himself for holding her against her will. Zyle knew she would never trust him again if he did that to her. Aleco read his mind. “I’ll do it if you don’t have the nerve, Zyle. She’s already angry with me as it is.”
“She will never forgive you.”
Aleco nodded. He thought about her betrayal of him, and all the other times she had hurt him. He had forgiven her for everything, even for marrying someone else after they had been apart for only a year. Accacia had forgiven him for his past crimes, which contained both slavery and murder, and she had forgiven him for physically abusing her. She would forgive him for anything. “Yes, she will,” he whispered. “She always will.”
“Then do it.”
“I have your permission?”
Zyle sighed. Just because he wasn’t the one actually caging her didn’t mean he wasn’t equally responsible, but he knew the benefits outweighed the cost. He wouldn’t have to worry about her soul. Even if he died in the battle, he knew both her life and her soul were safe. “Yes, you have my permission.”
“Maybe you do care for her, after all.”
“You have no idea,” he said. “Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?”
Aleco turned away. “No.”
“What of Roxian?” he asked. “Are you asking her to remain behind as well?”
“No,” he said over his shoulder. “Roxian is free to do as she wishes. I don’t care what she decides.”
Aleco walked into his bedchamber and grabbed his head. He had a pounding headache. Accacia and Zyle had been going at it all day and they had picked up the slack as soon as he left. Not only did it make Aleco sick but it annoyed him. He could hear the cacophony of the forest in his mind at all times, but he could dim it to the back of his mind if he wished, but he couldn’t get the details of their lovemaking out of his head. It was like a bonfire in his mind. The heat stung him but he couldn’t move away.
Roxian was drinking his storage of brandy directly from the bottle, watching him intently. She was naked under the sheets, waiting for him. Aleco tore off his clothes and crawled into bed alongside her. He didn’t look at her. He couldn’t get Accacia’s feelings and sighs from his mind. Her moans continued to shatter his concentration on anything and everything. He wanted to speak a lie just so he wouldn’t have to listen to it anymore. Roxian ran her hand down his chest and kissed his neck, wanting him to climb on top of her. He knew she wanted him. She was always blunt with him, telling him exactly what she wanted and how she wanted it. He could tell her what he wanted in return and she would do it without question. The relationship was satisfying and convenient even though there was no love or care between them. Aleco cared for her a person, more than a stranger, but not more than a friend. He knew she felt the same. There was a strong physical attraction between them.
Aleco leaned over and kissed her neck then sucked on her nipples. They were plump and firm under his touch. He ran his hands through her hair then she reached down and grabbed him the way he liked, rubbing him the right way. She was as experienced as he was. Aleco stopped suddenly. Accacia was climaxing and he couldn’t get it out of his mind.
Roxian caught his grimace. “What is it?” she asked with a smile. She wrapped her legs around his waist and continued to caress him. Aleco wasn’t ashamed about his thoughts. He told her without hesitation. Roxian rubbed him harder. “Use it.”
Aleco looked at her. He didn’t understand what she meant. She quickened her pace and made his breathing increase. “What do you mean?” He rocked his hips into her, glad that she was distracting him from Accacia.
“Let it fuel you,” she said. “Stop fighting it.” She ran her hands down his back and scratched the skin, making it turn pink from the microscopic cuts. He moaned at her touch. He liked it when she was rough with him. She didn’t kiss him. They hardly ever did that. “Come on. I don’t mind.” Aleco stared into her eyes and understood her meaning. Aleco let his walls of inhibition down and Accacia’s sigh of pleasure flooded his mind. He lifted Roxian’s hips from the bed and forced himself inside her. He bucked himself and thrust inside of her with all the energy he could. He pictured Accacia under him, grabbing his hips and forcing him farther into her. He could feel her pleasure in her mind as Zyle made love to her but he forgot the man even existed. It was just him and Accacia. Roxian whispered his name into his year but her voice wasn’t rich and powerful. It was deep and beautiful like Accacia’s. He felt Accacia approach her climax and he felt his in turn. He felt Roxian clenched her body around him, getting off to him pounding into her. He whispered Accacia’s name as he released himself into Roxian. He was practically yelling it. It was one of the most intense orgasms he had ever had and he felt no shame in the experience. Roxian knew he had been thinking about Accacia the entire time, but she didn’t care whatsoever. Aleco pulled out of her and lied beside her. Roxian picked up the bottle from the bedside and drank from it. She handed it to Aleco and he practically chugged the entire contents. “Now don’t you feel better?” she asked.
“Yes, actually I do.”
The Canu
24
Accacia and Zyle spent the next day together in newlywed bliss. Accacia untied Zyle’s wrist from the head board on the second day and examined his wrists. They were red and irritated from the friction against the rope. “I’m so sorry,” she said as she kissed each one. “I didn’t know I was hurting you. You should have said something, Zyle.” She had no markings on her body. He had made sure the bindings were loose enough.
Zyle smiled at her. “I really didn’t mind, Accacia. If I was in pain I didn’t notice.”
Accacia blushed at his words. The first time he released her she took the opportunity to tie him to the bed, forcing him against the mattress. She had ridden him like they hadn’t made love in months. She turned a darker shade of red when she replayed the event in her mind.
“I love it when you do that,” he said as he placed his head against hers. “You are a heathen in bed but then you act so innocent when it’s over. Y
ou clearly enjoy it—don’t be embarrassed about it.”
Accacia looked away from him. “I just thought I would never enjoy it.” She rose from the bed and dug through her wardrobe, looking for her outfit for Paso Robles. She needed something comfortable but protective. Zyle felt his heart ache at her words. He hadn’t considered that. She never spoke about her time with Drake, so Zyle forgot that it actually happened. He felt like a jerk for letting it slip from his mind. Accacia pulled out long brow trousers and a long sleeve black shirt, the same outfit she had arrived to Suaden in. She had patched the holes and fixed the attire, making it wearable again. Zyle watched her in agony. He was sad to see the two days come to an end. They hadn’t mentioned Aleco once and it was a breath of fresh air. All the events taking place outside their quarters faded from their minds as they enjoyed each other’s company. Zyle was certain Aleco’s past two days had been miserable, listening to all their lovemaking.
Zyle rose from the bed and began to dress himself, wearing his black pants and green shirt. He snapped the thin armor over it, forged from the same elements that made their swords, both light and strong, and covered himself in his black cloak. Aleco said their identity had to be kept secret at all costs. The aid of the Asquithians was enough to win the battle, but it wouldn’t help if the king knew about it. Accacia snapped the armor to her body and wiped the sweat on her cloak. Zyle noticed her movement. “You don’t have to come, Accacia. No one will hold it against you if you wish to remain behind.”
“No,” she said quietly. “I’m just a little nervous. I fought many opponents at the Battle Academy and completed the Master Challenge, but—none had aimed to kill.”
Zyle took her hand. “If you are nervous about your ability with the blade, don’t be. You are a magnificent fighter. I’m not just saying that because I’m your life partner. I would never let you in the fray if I thought you wouldn’t survive. Secondly, I will be right beside you the entire time. I won’t let anyone harm you. And if that isn’t enough, Aleco will look after you as well.”
