“He deserves it,” I hear Cleo snap from beside me. I look at her, surprised that she fell back beside me so silently. Her pale blue eyes rest on me and she looks at me soberly. “Trust me. He deserves this pain.”
She flicks the reins and canters away. I watch her back and feel my lips pull back into a confused grimace. I know Sadal has done terrible things. He did terrible things to me. I think of the night he tried to force himself on me, his cold tongue lapping over my throat. I shiver, feeling a flash of anger. But one more look at his bloodshot eyes drives it away.
“We’ll take a break here,” Altair shouts from the front of our caravan.
I look away from Sadal, realizing that we’ve travelled into the dunes. Great monoliths of stone jut out from the hills of sand, casting long shadows over us. We stop under one of the enormous columns. It’s wide enough to fit us all in its shadow. I study the gray stone. Its’ surface has been carved with what I can only equate to hieroglyphs. I feel a surge of curiosity as I stare at them and wish I had the means to translate the pictures.
The old Bloodbane seems satisfied by the place Altair has chosen and she moves across the sand like a ghost to Sadal’s side. I watch as she pats his cheek gently as he shudders with fear. I wonder if she truly cared for him before she left, or if she was only using him as he used her. But her wrinkled eyes are soft and sincere. I furrow my brows.
Determined to put memories of Sadal from my mind, I turn back to the carved column. I scramble up the side of the dune to get a closer look at the hieroglyphs. Out of sight of the group, I feel strangely at ease. There’s so much baggage between the members, so much anger or suspicion. I’m only realizing now how exhausting it is.
I wander away from the column, stumbling down the dune and falling into the hot sand. I giggle, scooting down the dune towards a pile of rubble below the enormous hill. The thought of marching back up the dune stops me halfway down and I sigh, laying back on the sand. It cushions my curves, but it isn’t long before the sand makes my back starts to ache. I sit up, brushing sand from my shoulders and hair.
“Here,” I hear Altair murmur behind me.
I spin, twisting at the waist to follow his voice. He stands just behind me, his hands reaching for the grains of sand in my hair. He brushes some sand from my hair and then holds a lock in his long fingers. My heart pounds loudly, loud enough that I know he’ll hear it with his Fae hearing.
“What are you doing out here?” He asks, keeping his tone light and playful. “Playing in the sand like a child?”
“No,” I say sheepishly even though he’s right.
He smirks. “You thought I wouldn’t notice you slipping away?”
I lift my chin defiantly. “It may surprise you to know that I hadn’t even considered it.”
Altair twists the lock of hair between his fingers, edging closer to me. “How cruel,” he purrs.
I feel a thrill shoot through me from the tips of my toes to the crown of my head. He smiles at the look of shock on my face and closes the distance between us. I try to rise but his hands on my shoulder force me back to the sand. Altair crouches beside me, the sun like a halo around his head. I inhale sharply, intoxicated by the glint of predatory desire in his eyes.
“What are you doing?” I whisper as he leans towards me.
Altair brushes his lips against my cheek and I shudder. He pulls away, wiping his lips off. “You had sand on your cheek,” he says, grinning.
My cheeks flush. I doubt there was any sand on my cheek. Even if there was, Altair used it as nothing more than an excuse to tease me. “Stop it,” I say. Even to my ears it sounds half-hearted. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
“What am I trying to do?” He asks softly, leaning in close.
I freeze as his lips graze my ear. My heart is beating wildly, and my core is throbbing with desire. I clench my hands into fists and close my eyes. “Trying to make me forget that you belong to someone else now,” I whisper.
“I belong only to you,” he breathes. His soft breath tickles my ear and I shiver.
I pause, biting my lip. “Say it again.”
“I belong only to you,” he repeats, but his voice is stronger now, fiercer.
It’s enough to make me forget that I need to move away from him; to let him go. My hands move on their own to wrap around his waist. My embrace is permission enough and Altair utters a low growl. The sound sends a thrill through me and my core pulses with heat. He drags me into his lap, and I straddle him, pressing my chest against him desperately. His lips find mine with ease and he kisses me like a starving man faced with a feast. I gasp when he bites down hard on my bottom lip, but it doesn't hurt. The pain is only pleasure for us now.
I feel him stiffen under my heat and I revel in it. I roll my hips over his instinctively, unable to stop myself or hold back the way I should. After all, his fiancé is only over the crest of this dune. Altair's hands wrap around my ass, guiding me over his pelvis to both our
