Page 41 of A Tribute of Fire

He didn’t speak the words, but I felt them in his kiss.

But I couldn’t be his.

This had to stop.

He had braced his arms on either side of my head so that he could kiss me deeply, but I needed his hands on me. I wanted to tug himdown so that his weight would deliciously press into me, leaving his fingers free to wander.

He moved his mouth away and pressed fervent kisses along my cheekbones, my jaw, marking me so that I would never forget that I belonged with him. I burned for him, so brightly and intensely that I worried I might set the bed beneath me on fire.

“Yield to me.” He murmured the words against my skin and I both heard and felt them. “Give in.”

Why was I resisting? I didn’t want to. But I found myself saying, “I can’t. You know that I can’t.”

“You can,” he encouraged me, his hips pressing into mine, and I bit back a groan at the exquisite ache that caused. “Surrender. I want to make you mine.”

He stopped kissing, stopped moving. He held his face above mine, and we stared into one another’s eyes. His gaze never left mine, but I felt his fingers reaching up to push the sleeve of my tunic from my shoulder, leaving scorching trails everywhere they touched my bare skin.

“Lia. Please.”

I was on the verge of saying yes when he disappeared, the bed and the room along with him.

Suddenly I was in the training fields in Locris. Demaratus yelled at me while Andronicus swung his club at my head. I ducked out of the way and reached up to punch him as hard as I could in the kidneys.

He bent over slightly, letting out an “oof” as he dropped his club. Then he grabbed the back of my breastplate with both of his hands, heaving me into the air, directly at the rest of the regiment.

The others were laughing as I fell into a heap on the ground.

Demaratus stood over me, the veins in his neck bulging.

Stupid girl! Stay out of reach!

Everything around me shifted and changed and a field of wildflowers spread out in front of me. I marveled at their beauty. I’d never seen so many in one place, growing out of the ground like this. I reachedout and felt the soft petals of a bright yellow flower with a black center as high as my shoulder.

I saw a tall woman, taller even than Jason. She had long golden hair that hung to her ankles. It gleamed like sunlight, rippling as she walked. Her eyes were bright green, her tunic a brilliant white. There was a strong scent that seemed to come from her robes, sweet but earthy at the same time. The flowers in the field turned their faces toward her, as entranced by her otherworldly beauty as I was.

The sun was rising in the east and she turned her face toward it, bathing in its light, her skin aglow.

She spoke, and the sound of it overwhelmed me.

Euthalia.

I wanted to follow her. To do whatever she asked of me. To promise my allegiance.

The ground beneath me opened up and I fell, slamming into the dust of Locris with Demaratus leaning over me, screaming.

Stupid girl, wake up!

I let out a gasp as I sat straight up in my cell. I had fallen into a deep enough sleep to dream. It had been a long time since that had happened.

Men were shouting. I looked to the porthole to the left of our cell, and even though it was dark, I saw another ship. It was far too close. Swords clanged against each other, and there were thumps from the decks above us.

My heart pounded in my chest and a metallic taste filled my mouth. Were we in danger? What was happening?

I pulled out my sword and crouched into position. Should I wake Quynh up?

While I was debating that, torchlight appeared from the stairs. Someone was coming.

My lungs tightened while my breath solidified inside me.

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