Page 59 of Light and Shadow
My cheeks heat.
By the time provisions and people are loaded and the ropes released from the moorings, we barely make the next tide as it pulls us out to sea. Who knows what terrible fate awaits us in the depths of the ocean? I stare over the railing, my stomach lurching with the rocking of the ship.
Even though I have little idea of the position of things, somehow pulling away from shore feels as if I’m moving farther away from my life, my mother, and any sense or memory of normalcy.
“I will do whatever I can to get you back to your mother and the life you had before.” Aaran wraps his arms around me from behind. His magic hums around me.
My stomach immediately settles. I press my hand over his. “Thank you, but I thought you weren’t going to linger in my thoughts anymore.”
He never said so, but he’s been closing off his mind more and more.
He kisses my neck where it meets my shoulder. “It’s difficult to do what must be done when I feel every emotion you experience. Even when you’re brave, and you always are, I worry that you will put yourself in danger.”
“My father once told me that I’m a survivor.” I lean back into Aaran’s hard chest. “I was eight, and we went to Bunker Hill to go sleigh riding after the first big snow of the winter. I’d been down a few times and couldn’t get enough. It’s as clear as if it happened yesterday. I ran up the hill, my legs burning from the effort, but I didn’t care. I reached the top, put my sleigh in the snow, and down I went. But with all the other riders, the snow started to melt and turn slushy. I hit a rut, and the sleigh stopped short. I went flying ass-over-head and landed twenty feet down the hill. The next thing I knew, my father was lifting me out of a drift. His eyes were filled with worry, but I laughed. It had been like really flying. He checked my arms and legs for damage and my head for bumps and declared me a survivor.”
“You’ve managed to dodge death several times since I’ve met you.” His thumb slowly rubs just under my breasts.
“But if I die, you’ll return to Earth and find some other woman.” It’s not fair to be jealous of that woman or to feel betrayed by the idea of her, but there it is. My truth. I’m expendable.
He pulls in a sharp breath as if I’d hit him in the gut. “I didn’t make the prophecy, and I don’t know if it’s true. I didn’t even know if you would be real when I went through the oracle’s portal. All I knew was I had to hold the magic in place and get you to come back with me in a short period.”
I’m not sure why the idea of being replaced bothers me so much. If I could be swapped out for another human woman, I could go home and leave the problems of good versus evil behind. Would Aaran tell that replacement that he loved hertoo? Will he forget me as soon as I’m no longer part of his prophetic destiny?
Two of the boys run across the deck.
Aaran kneels and gently takes each by the arm. He says something in their language, and they nod with wide eyes, then walk back to where the other children sit watching the land grow smaller.
I’m sure he told them not to run on deck. “Did you tell them there are monsters in the sea?”
A sad smile touches his eyes. “They’ve had enough monsters in their lives. I told them we didn’t want to have to all jump in after them so they shouldn’t run and promised them a place where they can run for miles at this journey’s end.”
“That must sound like heaven to children who’ve likely been prisoners their entire lives.” Did they even know who their parents were within the group of Aracan who ran away or were killed at the docks? Tired and sad, I step away from the rail and go below, where I’ve been given the smallest of three cabins.
The captain’s suite is quite large and has been given to the children. Cara and Dorian will stay with them and keep them safe.
Bert and Nainsi said they would stay on deck, but Jax insisted they take a cabin as it’s the captain’s prerogative.
I’m happy with a quiet place, even if my stomach doesn’t really love being below deck. With Aaran’s magic, I step inside, and the nausea is gone.
Stepping in behind me, Aaran fills the space.
My pulse thrums fast and hard as I turn to face him.
With one hand around my back and the other cupping my cheek, he stares into my eyes. “You are not replaceable. Whatever Venora or the oracle might think, if you die, I die. Even if I lived, it would be a life of torment.”
There are no words to fill the silence after his declaration. I want to believe him, and I know he believes what he says. “Thank you.”
A short angry laugh pushes from his beautiful lips, and he shakes his head. “I love you, Harper. Maybe that’s prophesied, and maybe not. Maybe I’d be forced to carry out my duty and find another human in your absence. I don’t know. I’m no oracle. I’m an elven man, and I have lost my heart to you, a human woman. It wasn’t smart or planned. This would be easier if I didn’t care for you.”
All I can do is blink up at him. It takes me a few beats to gather enough breath to respond. “I love you too, and probably wouldn’t have come here to help your people if I hadn’t already been in love with you.”
Magic shimmers in the air between us like fairy dust. His eyes shine with so much emotion that I can’t look away or even move. I’m mesmerized by how much he loves me.
I rise on my toes, cupping the back of his neck, and suck his bottom lip between mine. I kiss his top lip, then tilt my head and cover his mouth, exploring with my tongue along his teeth, and when they part, I touch his tongue.
On a growl, he hugs me tight and devours my mouth. Plundering with abandon.
Pressing my breasts to his chest, I can’t get close enough. I wish our clothes weren’t in the way. My clit pulses, needing more than kisses. I wrap a leg around his and pull tighter.
