Page 204 of The Eye of the Fifth
Those eyes gently opened. Naal pulled away just enough to see the breath of submission in the depths of them. To see pain, and the walls keeping it from spilling out, melting away. Enough, just enough, for Naal to press her lips to Win’s and have her kiss her back.
Even the deepest, most wondrous of dreams could not compete with the desire that sung through Naal in that moment.
She became untethered to the world. Stripped of all titles, naked from who she was. She was unwound yet put back together.
Win’s lips, a soft pad against her own, were her solace. The arms that enfolded her, the hands that held her face, the eyes that lamented, the body that pressed against her own.
Her home absolutely.
Naal longed to lie bare with her. To worship her as she had once done. But even as Win melted further into her, Naal sensed her hesitancy. She knew Winvara. The scars of their relationship ran too deep to be smoothed out by a single kiss.
Minutes later, when Win pulled her lips away, Naal did not stop her. They held each other, foreheads pressed together, and Naal imprinted every small miracle to her memory. Win’s honeyed breath on her face. The feel of Win’s fingers sliding through her hair. The salty scent of a floodgate that had finally been opened.
‘Kyrawillreturn,’ Naal swore to Win. Being home, as she was in her presence, had rekindled the embers of hope. She was resolved to believe in those words now. ‘She has the strength of her grandmother. And the damned resilience to go with it, I might add.’
Win’s lips twitched but did not bloom into a smile. ‘Why was Kyraena in Avaldale?’
Naal told her of Kyra’s bargain with the Lady of Shadows. She told her of her grandson’s enslavement. She told her how Kyra had found the Eye of the Fifth, how she had stolen it right from underneath Naal’s nose.
Though the subject was a heavy one, she relished every second of retelling the tale to Win. It may have been as though the last one hundred and fifty years of estrangement had never happened.
‘Kyraena did all of this… to free her brother?’ Her face was ashen with regret.
‘She did,’ said Naal softly. ‘She is reckless, but none can deny her loyalty to those she loves.’
‘She was right in what she told you. About Avaldale. The fae are tormenting the city.’ Win heaved a heavy sigh. ‘Hostile though I know my father to be, I highly doubt he is behind the terrorism. It is clumsyand reeks of miscreants, rather than a true attack. Still, they were relentless. It frightened Aeliah, the little mouse, half to death.’ She looked down at her hands. ‘It is why we fled. I failed Oslan and Kyraena. I tried to do right by Dovella and Aeliah by leaving. We took our time though. I thought it might be good for the girls to see a bit of the world before coming here.’
Naal gingerly thread her fingers through hers. Their entwined hands sat on Win’s knees. ‘There is courage in admitting defeat, Win. Truly I did not think I would ever see the day you left the manor. You are changed, my love.’
‘I am not so changed to forget, Naal. I came here for my granddaughters’ sake. Not for us.’
‘How much more time must pass us by for the past not to haunt you?’
At that, Windidsmile. ‘Perhaps a little longer. I am waiting to see what lengths you will go to appease me.’
The certain playfulness in her voice threw Naal off guard. Low in her body, a long-awaited desire stirred. ‘So, this is to be a game?’ She tutted. ‘You are a whirlwind, Winvara Daeiros. I have no hope of keeping up.’
Win laughed. Shelaughed. The sound was a blessed miracle. Heat rose in Naal’s eyes for an entirely different reason.
The laughter faded, and a squeeze of her hand had Naal staring into her mate’s eyes. Win said, ‘I spoke wrongly before. My anger became me. I do not blame you for Kyraena’s leaving. I must believe you are right, and that she will return unharmed.’
Naal arched a brow. ‘You agree with me?’ She drew the back of Win’s hand to her lips and murmured against her soft, freckled skin, ‘Thatisa first. Never have I loved you more.’
Win laughed again, and though the world around them was aflame, Naal could not remember the last time she had felt this light.
Chapter Fifty Five
Murder At The Inn
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Ousca, Vrethian.
Gedeon.
The quaint village of Ousca was one of the sea-towns south of the Sarlal Plains. Oysters as big as Gedeon’s hand were their delicacy, washed down always by a rich red wine. It was a wonder anyone could walk straight and talk coherently; the wine seemed to replace water as an essential thirst quencher.
Busy boardwalks filled with merchants’ stalls stretched around the horseshoe shaped coastline. Frost dyed the wood a limpid white in the early morning, and though the sky was free from clouds and painted with the pastel pigments of dawn, the sea below was a murky green and sure to be colder than the air.
