Elijah
“I’ve removed as much water from her lungs as I could. She will need to rest but I’m sure she will wake in no time,” Nem looked across from Arii’s sleeping form to Elijah, seated nearby. “She’s stubborn. So much so that even death knows she’s not done with this world.”
Elijah’s eyes did not leave Arii’s face. He had not left her side since they hauled her, limp and unconscious from the sea, refusing to change out of his sodden clothing until Nem threatened to cut the cloth from him herself – with or without his permission. Reluctantly he had changed, but he did not dally long before he was back in the room, watching while Nem’s healing touch fluttered over Arii’s still, pale body.
Nem had muttered about how much of a pain in the arse he was, and no wonder Arii liked him so much. Her words, whether he was meant to overhear them or not, had blood rushing to his cheeks and neck. Arii always seemed to be one tick away from shoving a blade through his chest, and the woman saw that as fondness for him? He shuddered to imagine what Arii might do if she designated someone as an enemy.
Now dressed in dark cloth pants and an off-white tunic, Elijah looked and – admittedly – felt like completely different man. Salt-wind-swept hair, cheeks tinged pink and a glimmer in his eyes. He knew that Nem could see a change, but he did not care. He felt changed. Not only because he had almost lost two people who, strangely enough, he was beginning to consider his friends, but he had tapped into the magical side of himself that had lain dormant for the majority of his life.
He was changed whether he liked it or not.
Gods, he had been so close to losing her.
They all had been.
Elijah was observant, partly by nature, and partly as a soldier and guard. He saw the way the recruits acted around Arii, hesitant as if creeping around a sleeping bear – yet energised as if her very presence had them feeling safe enough to let their walls down.
The same could be said for her best friend, Nemesis, who wore a cold mask of indifference most of the time, but it softened when Arii’s flame was near. There was an unspoken respect between them, which told Elijah they had been through a lot.
Then there was Krepth. Yes, he was a hot-headed ass, but he saw a brotherly love there that had him reining in his anger when Krepth insulted him. He was protecting her, and Elijah could not blame him.
He would do the exact same for his own sister.
Thoughts of the dark-haired, wide-eyed girl came to mind – ghosts of memories past that he tried desperately to bring into focus. What he did remember of Ghila was that she was quiet and softly spoken, yet when she spoke, it was for a reason, and those words were measured and eloquent. She was just like their mother. All grace, all nobility – despite her tender age, he knew she would have made an incredible duchess. His thoughts lingered around a memory of her singing – her voice like a haunting song. He recalled her delicate fingers flecked with paint, smiling gently as they painted portraits together in the shade of a willow tree. They had shared a passion for art.
Grief fingered at his gut, a loss he didn’t realise he felt so deeply, from such fleeting memories.
Krepth paused in the doorway, clearing his throat and casting his green eyes over Arii before they slid to Elijah. Elijah expected a smart-arse remark from the Shifter, and he was sure Nem did too by the slight stiffening of her shoulders, but he surprised them both by saying gently, “You saved us today, mate. Thanks.”
Nem’s brows rose, and he could not help the light twitch of his mouth that betrayed his own surprise, before offering Krepth an incline of his head. As quickly as he had appeared, though, Krepth was gone.
Elijah knew that gratitude would have been hard for the stubborn male.
“He’s right. You put aside your fear to save us today. If not for you, we would probably be at the bottom of the ocean.” Elijah’s expression softened ever so slightly as Nem continued, “If they hadn’t been trying to rip our ship apart, I’d say those sea drakes were beautiful.”
“They were,” Elijah agreed, “and to tell you the truth, I had believed their existence was myth and myth alone. Now I feel a fool for thinking our journey would be smooth sailing.”
She flashed him a small grin, and he returned it with his own. “Nice play on words.”
“Thank you.”
Nem slowly stood, before dropping a hand to the man’s shoulder. “The entire journey is bound to be riddled with obstacles, but one of those has already been dealt with. You used your magic, and honestly, I thought that would have been the greatest one.”
“Well, the situation forced me into it,” he grumbled.
“Be that as it may, we are all grateful to you, Elijah.” With a gentle squeeze, the Fury slipped from the room – the soft click of the door sounding in her wake.
Elijah shifted to prop his elbows on his knees, before resting his forehead against his palms.
When he had stood on the deck of the Murderous Lust against the sea drakes, he had reached into a part of himself which he had been fearful of touching for as long as he could remember, a part of him that was always there, just beneath the surface. He had no idea what he was doing, but when he reached down into the rippling silver pool and grasped the power between his fingers, the rest seemed to come naturally. It could have been the adrenaline, the fear for Arii and Emerson in the dark sea below them, or the crew of innocent people around him, but as he threw that charged power in the beasts’ direction, Elijah had felt a thrill unlike anything he had ever felt before.
It had felt good, like stretching a tight muscle he did not know needed stretching.
He would not admit that to anyone, and definitely not to Arii. He could imagine the smirk on her face, her hands on her hips as she exclaimed a cavalier told you so.
He had been so close to losing her. And until that moment he had not realised how much he did not want that to happen.
How far he had drifted in the space of only a few weeks.
Their conversation as they had stood in her childhood home only days ago returned to his mind.
“If not for the orders, if you had the choice, would you still have done it?”
“Yes.”
That single word he had uttered in the heat of the moment had become the single word he had regretted ever since. He had wanted to inflict pain, his own inner demons reaching out for someone to blame for the hurt and confusion he felt inside. He had never regretted a moment more than that one, the weight of his words like a dark mass in his chest. It wasn’t true, and she had almost died thinking he wished that upon her and her kind.
Their kind.
While in the service of the King, he had followed orders blindly, blanketing his ears to the whispers of doubt that rose after every mission. He had wanted was to prove that he was a loyal soldier, a man with purpose. But truly, in his heart he was lost. With every order, every stroke of his sword, the darkness yawned wider, threatening to swallow him whole.
Elijah’s eyes lifted from his callused palms to look at Arii, so peaceful on the small cot. Without her scowl, without her cocky grin, sharp tongue and even sharper blades, she seemed like any other human woman. But she was not.
She was a Fae. Strong, fearless, resilient, foul mouthed and incredible.
She challenged him, and an undiscovered part of him was thrilled by that, as if he were searching for someone like her all along but hadn’t truly realised it.
He realised then that he did not want her any other way.
Ariiaya
Arii began to stir, lashes fluttering as she regained consciousness. Vision blurring, she lifted her hands to paw her stinging eyes, stifling a cough as she tasted salt on her tongue. She remembered filtered, musky darkness all around her, the drone of her eardrums as they compressed beneath the water, liquid shooting up her nose as she drowned.
And then he was there, breathing life into her lungs.
Elijah.
“We have got to stop meeting like this,” she forced past her parched lips, wincing as new pains began to bloom over her body. As her vision focused and consciousness fully took hold, Elijah moved to sit on the end of the narrow cot, his intense stare focused on her.
His lips twitched in a small smile.
Gods, she wanted to see that smile more often, preferring it over a scowl.
“Only you would take on two sea drakes while trying to save a friend from drowning. Are you mad?”
“I think you know the answer to that question, Elijah.”
A knowing smile reached his eyes then, and she had to keep from melting into the cot. Before he could agree that she indeed possessed qualities of madness, she faltered and whispered, “Emerson?”
“He’s fine, shaken… but fine. Tikkani and Luc are with him.”
“Thank fu–” She froze, eyes widening as they fixed on him fully. “You used your magic!”
Elijah shifted, his expression turning uncomfortable. “Yes.”
“You saved me, you saved all of us.”
“No, Captain Valerie’s quick thinking saved us – I just provided a distraction.”
“Elijah–”
He leaned forward; his silver eyes dark as he said, “I had no idea what I was doing, for all we know I could have been simply tickling the bellies of those beasts.”
Arii’s laugh quickly turned into a snort. “Oh, you were definitely doing damage. If you learned to control your magic, I think you could have turned those overgrown sea snakes into fish food.”
His head tilted slightly, and a strange look passed over his face. Arii suddenly felt self-conscious under his heavy gaze. “What?” she asked gently.
Elijah’s face was dead serious as he said, “I almost lost you.”
Cue the crazy stomach butterflies.
“I’m surprised you didn’t let them eat me… one less thorn in your side,” she said, shifting as heat bloomed at his words.
Elijah’s look turning stormy as he leaned toward her, “I need you, Arii.”
His words had her pausing, her eyes dropping to his mouth, his lips that had saved her. Arii had never needed saving before, had never wanted saving. Why was it that he continued to do so – despite all the trouble she caused him? She swallowed audibly; her attention drifted back up to his eyes. He hated her kind, had admitted so back in Evergrave. Spindly fingers of doubt held on to that thought, no matter how hard she tried to send it away.
Elijah’s hand lifted to brush a damp lock of hair behind her pointed ear, his fingertips caressing her cheek as he murmured, “Who will teach me to control my magic?” he added. Breath locked in her throat, making it difficult to speak.
Oh, his magic… right.
Shivers shot down her spine at his touch, at the fire that skimmed along her skin. Her fingers lifted to take his hand, to study his strong fingers. Her fingertips glided over his palm as she spoke. “So… now you’re willing to learn?”
“I might be open to it, yes,” he whispered, his attention on her fingers as they danced along his palm to his wrist. She could feel the power thrumming beneath his skin, his magic fluttering restlessly underneath her fingers as her eyes lifted to his face. He was still reluctant to admit what he was, the colossal potential he wielded, but she felt a renewed sense of purpose to help him get there, despite what he had admitted in Evergrave. She would confront him about it again, but for now – while he was looking at her like this – she decided that would be a conversation for another time. Perhaps a time that involved some wine. Lots of wine.
She felt the beginnings of confidence, a golden pinprick of light against the darkness. His words hinted that he was not as immovable in his beliefs as she had first thought.
“I won’t go easy on you,” she whispered, her voice coming out gentler than she had intended.
“I wouldn’t want you to, nor would I expect you to.”
His voice was as quiet as her own as she drew his fingers to her mouth without thought, touching the tips to her lips. The air around them hummed, and she could feel a shift in the salty fibres as the ship groaned beneath them. Gently, his index finger brushed the bow of her lips, and Arii felt heat begin to pool in her stomach.
Not to mention other places, too.
Alone, they were finally alone.
He stroked his thumb over her bottom lip, and she saw his eyes darken like the sea beneath them. Her breath stroked his thumb as she rasped, “Water?”
Elijah was still for a moment, staring at her mouth before snapping out of his trance. Letting his hand drop, he rose to pour her a cup of water.
For a time, the only sounds were the crashing of waves against the hull, the creak and moan of the wooden structure around them and the thud of boots above. Voices sounded as the crew went about repairing the damage to the Lust, Captain Valerie’s barked orders a muffled sonance. Arii surveyed Elijah’s broad back before he returned to hand her a banged-up pewter cup.
“Thank you,” she saluted with the cup, “and thank you for saving my life – again.”
His lips twitched in the hint of a smile, but his eyes remained dark. “I guess you can call us even.”
She downed the water quickly, her throat completely and utterly parched. “No, I’m pretty sure you have saved me three times now.” She began lifting fingers as she spoke, “The bandits on the road, Bonemire and the sea drakes.”
He quirked a brow at her, taking the cup for a refill. “I didn’t save you on the road. You were more than capable in getting yourself out of that situation… I just did not know it then.”
“True, true.”
She downed another offering before handing it back to him with a thankful smile. She paused. “Wait, when did I save you?”
Elijah took a seat on the bed once more, his fingers curling around the cup as he stared into the trembling liquid. “In Viridya… when I destroyed the throne room and you tossed us from the waterfall.” He paused to glare at her sideways. “Perhaps that reckless act cancels out your rescue attempt, which means I am two notches above you on the tally.”
“Come off it!” she chuckled.
He smiled, before his expression turned to utter calm. “Perhaps you have been saving me every day since we met. I just didn’t realise it until now.”
Arii’s smiled faded as Elijah leaned toward her, his eyes glowing in the murky light from the small window. His lips brushed hers, and she felt the beast rising under her skin once more. Her body, her lips, responded immediately. Slowly, oh so slowly, his hand slid to cup her nape as he brought her head forward.
Like the night at the School of Fate, his lips brushed hers delicately – almost as though he was afraid to take the leap. Was he afraid? Or was he hesitant because, just like last time, she was recovering from another near-death experience?
Arii’s fingers lifted to slide into his hair, tugging at the thick strands as his scent washed over her. Sea salt, mild soap, and a rogue spiciness that she was coming to know was just him. Fire ignited in her stomach, slithering to her nerve endings as she pressed forward, deepening their kiss – opening her mouth to him. Weeks of pent-up frustration and emotion began to surface, snatching her breath as she brought her other hand to his bicep, nails digging into the fabric of his shirt. Beneath her fingers, his muscles tensed.
Everything was building, everything she currently felt and had been feeling for weeks. The need, it was like an insatiable ripple in a river before a raging waterfall. Arii had known for a long time that she wanted Elijah, truly wanted him since the night he had helped her slay the bandits on the road. Much of their time early on was filled with hot bickering, but despite the fact that she could not see his face, his voice and deadly grace alone had her spine tingling and her toes curling, speaking to the beast beneath her skin.
She had to hold back with Lorch, had felt there was an itch that could not be scratched, no matter how hard she tried. She did not regret sleeping with Lorch, gods no, not for a moment. But she did regret the pain in his eyes the last time she saw him.
What she had felt with Lorch was the beginning, a tiny gap in the gates holding back her emotions.
Now, perhaps she could open those gates a bit wider, but as that thought manifested, she also felt hesitation. Old habits had her internally withdrawing, unsure of how she was supposed to feel inside since she had suppressed her feelings for so long.
Even now, as Elijah kissed her like she was made of glass, his comments from Evergrave lingered in the shadows of her memory. No matter how much she trusted her gut feeling that the venom in his words did not match the uncertainty in his eyes, she couldn’t shake the little fingers of doubt that pricked her.
Despite that, in this moment, she wanted him.
She pressed closer, deepening their kiss and allowing the thin sheets covering her to fall. Someone had changed her from her sodden clothing and into a cotton shift. Despite her state of undress and the lightness in her head, she pressed her position – their lips never parting as she pushed Elijah back against the wall next to the cot, propping herself on his lap. Beneath her, she felt his body shudder as his hands buried in her hair, and she braced her hands against his broad chest. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth and heard his sharp intake of breath.
“Arii, you need to rest...” he rumbled, his voice tinged with gentle disapproval.
“Outside of the castle, you no longer tell me what to do, Master Wolfe. Besides…” she nipped his lip, “…you started it.”
She pressed her weight against him, and a small groan escaped him. It clawed at her insides, the Fae within her rising and her pulse quickening. His hand slid to her lower back, and she skimmed her lips against his once again.
“You said you needed me…” she dipped her head to his neck, placing a gentle kiss just below the lobe of one delicately pointed ear. She felt him stir against her, felt the hardness of him press against her inner thigh as he groaned again. That sound alone almost had her spiralling, let alone the feeling of him so close to where she wanted him.
She circled her hips, the motion possessively wanton, stoking the fire within them both.
The lanterns above flickered and swayed, before the entire ship quaked around them. His hand moved to grip her upper thigh, fingers skimming the exposed skin, just below the hem of her sleeping shift.
Gods, she wanted his fingers higher – wanted them all over her body. He was so powerful, not just his body but the magic he harboured inside. It made her quake, not with fear, but with incredible, incomprehensible need.
“Arii…” he murmured, the tone of his voice causing her to gently pull back to look at him.
Her breath left her lungs, just like she was once again being dragged under the sea as she stared into his eyes, dark with desire yet glowing from within. She could hear the suppression in his voice, feel his muscles bunching under her fingers as he wrestled with himself.
He wanted her, just as much as she wanted him and that knowledge had her straightening her spine as a smile played at her lips.
She felt… powerful. Desired. Needed.
She doubted he needed her like she needed him though – like a dry field in need of rain, like life giving air to her lungs. Within the turmoil of her mind, he was a beacon of light, showing her the way forward. His destiny also gave her purpose, keeping her from returning to the emotionless shell she once was. How had the land’s most deadly assassin changed so much in such a short amount of time? Perhaps Nem was correct, and Fae were not supposed to suppress their emotions. She had felt stronger lately, stronger with the knowledge that she now had others to guide and protect, and it was not just herself against the world.
Suddenly Elijah flipped her on her back, bed springs squeaking beneath as his weight pressed upon her. His lips were on hers again, and this time they were rough, claiming and hungry. Her nails skimmed under his tunic, pulling it free from his britches, clutching at the ragged ridges of the scars on his back as he pushed against her more urgently. She groaned into his mouth, and he swallowed the sound as if it were doused in honey.
His head ducked to her neck, his canines skimming the sensitive skin there, a hot sigh dancing across her collarbone.
“Elijah,” she whispered, her breath a swift hiss. He was all around her, the air she breathed, the fire in her veins. The room shook as he sucked her skin, causing a low moan to roll from her lips, her hips undulating in kind.
Whatever this was, whatever was causing the inferno storming within her, could only be answered by him and no other, she realised.
Elijah exhaled a shuddering breath, then moved aside to gaze down at her, his chest rising and falling just as rapidly as hers. He seemed to be waiting for something, frowning slightly as he studied her face. The ship shuddered again, groaned and dipped, just as Elijah inhaled another sharp breath. Sweat had begun to bloom on his brow.
Was he the cause of the quaking ship?
Above them, Captain Valerie was bellowing at her crew to find the cause of the disturbance, swearing that if there were more sea drakes she would leap into the sea and wrestle them herself. They had only known the woman a day but Arii felt her words – although maniacal – were somewhat serious.
Blowing out a breath, Arii’s swollen lips began a sultry smile, thinking it best to distract him lest they end up sinking into the sea – as much as it pained her to be the one to stall their heated moment.
“Do you know what the mead in Trader’s Bay and making love in a boat have in common?”
Elijah blinked, eyes aglow, throat working on a swallow as he murmured, “What?”
“They’re both fucking close to water.”
Slowly, the quaking began to ease as Elijah blew out a shuddering breath – her crude joke spearing through the haze of their desire. The ship subsided to gently rocking, and the yelling from above abated. After a few moments, he spoke, but his words dropped away at her triumphant smile, “You are…”
“Crude? Vulgar? Sexy? So incredibly tantalizing that I could make you sink this boat without realising it? Yes… yes, I know.”
Perhaps one day they would indeed cause mountains and seas to shake with their ecstasy.
Literally.
But not today.
He swallowed thickly as she shifted to her knees, pressing a hand to his chest as her lips brushed his jaw line, and then settled against his lips once more as she whispered, “As much as I want… this, I don’t think we should risk the entire ship’s crew…”
Elijah’s hand cupped her cheek as he blew out another shaky breath, “I think that is wise…”
She could have sworn she heard pain in his deep voice – either pain that they had stopped or that he now understood he could wipe out a ship full of people with barely a thought.
She shifted from his lap to lean back against the pillows of her cot.
“Not just a pretty face,” she whispered, only a little of her own pain showing. Deep inside, though, she felt that pain in her soul. She was burning from within, every inch of her tingling with unsated desire.
Alas, it was not their time now, either.
Thank the Gods, because the door flew open, crashing against the wall as Krepth stepped into the room, eyes narrowed and expression utterly livid.