Page 79 of Grounded By Love
"Why?"
"To tempt me into accepting their favors. He must think they would be able to sway my mind away from thoughts of you."
"And would it have?" Claira’s voice trembled a bit.
"Of course not!" He stated sharply. He was clearly offended she could possibly think he would’ve done something like that to her.
Claira felt so foolish. Here she was hoping for a life with Kaeldar, while his parents were trying to come up with ideas on how to get rid of her. It explained the looks she’d been receiving from them at dinner.
They were confident they could sway him into getting rid of her.
How far would they go? She felt they would try to get her gone by any means necessary, even death, if they thought that was the only way to rid themselves of her persistant presence.
Pools of tears built up in her jade eyes. This was becoming a little too much for her. She escaped the villagers only to wind up in danger again.
Kaeldar came up beside her and wrapped his warm arms around her tiny waist. "Don't let what the females said bother you."
She shrugged, uncertain of how exactly she should feel. There was a lot for her to think about. Clearly, she was unwelcome and there was no possible way she was about to win any of them over.
Kaeldar didn’t enjoy the hurt in her sea green eyes, but all he could do was try to prevent her from getting wounded again. He felt such an intense feeling of helplessness and uncertainty.
She’d saved his life, and now he was returning the favor by putting her life in danger. Every second here was another second her life was under attack, but he couldn’t very well leave the castle unexpectedly. There would be questions, when he came back, and he couldn’t send her off by herself. They were a few days into rock giant territory.
But he also felt a sense of selfishness, because he didn't want to let go of her, period. He wanted her to be by his side for a lot longer, yet it looked like he was in a position where he would eventually have to set her free.
He squeezed her a little harder, wishing it was possible to be sure of her safety and her future. His father had gone too far tonight, and Kaeldar was sure it would only escalate.
When Claira stopped in the doorway, and he’d seen her eyes widen, he’d known something wasn't right. After stepping up behind her he also froze in place, when he saw the two rock giant females laying on his bed.
He couldn't contain his pure rage at the females and at his parents for setting this whole situation up. Had he really expected his parents to openly accept a human female? No, but he hoped he might be able to convince them about her healing abilities.
If his father, the king, accepted her, then the rest of the rock giants would accept her. Most of them took their lead by what the king and queen did.
If Kaeldar became king, then they would abide by his ruling, especially if he made Claira his queen, but maybe he was getting ahead of himself. He’d only known her for awhile and talking about her being his queen was a little sudden.
For now, he had to worry about how to get the kingship. He would either have to wait until his father died or challenge his father for the position, which would involve a battle to the death or banishment.
"Claira, are you alright? I realize that was..." He searched for the right word, "unpleasant, but you must believe it would not have appealed to me whether or not you had been here." He picked the females he wanted to be with, not his parents.
He lifted a hand to her cheek rubbing a thumb across her high cheekbone.
Claira lifted her head to look at him. "Perhaps bed would be the best thing right now." One of her hands lifted to her brow, and she gave it a vigorous rub.
Tired from shock and embarrassment, he assumed. Bed would indeed be best for them both. They needed to have a fresh mind in the morning.
"Come I will undress you."
"I don't want to... sleep in that bed." She looked at it and gave a grimace. "Not after those two women have been laying on it naked."
Kaeldar frowned. "What would you like me to do then?"
"Do you have any spare blankets and pillows you could get your hands on?"
"Yes. I can always get my hands on extra bedding."
"Then we can change the sheets, so we don’t have to be on those.”
"Give me a few minutes then, and I will be right back." Kaeldar said, before he left the room. He wanted her to be comfortable, and if changing the sheets did that, then he would get them changed.
