The Commander and Bravo nodded, moving awkwardly toward the telepathically widened door. They were sure to go and report the Destin connection to Kajo immediately. It would get back to General Truloy on Vailstor soon, too. I wondered if she would make a big deal out of it. I hoped she wouldn’t command me back to Vailstor… That was a fight I didn’t want to have.
I looked at Ilisa and smiled. My true loyalty was to her, first and foremost. I leaned in to kiss her, and as our lips touched, shivers ran along my spine and the sensation that all my capillaries were on fire burst through my body. I gripped her shoulders and pulled her on top of me. She laughed.
“Goodness, Ilisa,” I said, looking up at her as she straddled me, marveling at her finely tuned body in her simple tunic and messy hair. “I’m so glad you woke up. I was so afraid…” I couldn’t believe the words of vulnerability that I was sharing so glibly… But, I would share anything with her.
She leaned over me and placed her forehead on mine. She breathed in deeply and I mimicked her breath.
“I can feel your fear, your relief…” She kissed my forehead. “I’m okay, though. I’m better than okay… I’m with you.”
I squeezed her in tight to my chest and kissed her fiercely.
“Always.”
Fifteen
Ilisa
As Skarde squeezed me to his chest, I soaked in the feeling of safety, the immense relief he was exuding, not only that I was safe, awake, and seemingly in recovery, but also a deeper relief within him that some tension had evaporated between him and the other Farians. The way Renin and Damox had challenged him in the last few days was clear. It was surprising they had let him stay by my bedside. I wondered if Kajo had interfered on his behalf. The Beast King was not to be easily thwarted, and he was the one that had put Skarde in charge of this Harthen kingdom: his word was law… It was one reason Duke Fenvitz was rather unfairly unseated and the rest of the kingdom just had to abide. It was not an easy thing that Skarde, my beloved, faced. But I was ready to face it with him.
As I drank in the smell of Skarde, the feel of his cheek against mine, his curls brushing my skin, his fingers kneading into my back, I reached out a tiny tendril of thought into his mind.
“Can you hear me?”
“We are connected. I think I will always hear you now.”
It was stark. Clear. Immediate.
And yet, he hadn’t been able to pull me down from the hold that unseen force had had on me… A chill went down my spine, seeming to combat the warm hold of Skarde’s fingers and radiate through my body, seizing me and reminding me how absolutely powerless I had been.
“What is it?”
Skarde pulled back from me and searched my eyes. He must have felt the transition, whether in my mind or in my body. It was a holistic transition, a full body sensation, the immediate grip of trauma, full and complete.
I shook my head. “That person who held me suspended… I have never felt such telekinetic power before. I didn’t know Fenvitz had anyone so powerful in his small contingent. He must be a mercenary. We will have to find out who he or she is. That could be certain trouble, if someone so skilled in tele arts is leading any advance against you…”
It was Skarde’s turn to bristle and he turned his head sharply away from my words. He certainly didn’t like any reference to his weaknesses. Perceived or otherwise. But, here on Farian, his lack of tele skills truly was a weakness. This elevated level of our connection would hopefully stimulate his tele learning.
I turned his chin back to me and gently ran my finger over his mouth. I smiled at him and flicked my tongue out to trace his lips. “Don’t be sullen…”
His body gradually un-tensed and his tongue responded, slipping out and battling with mine, then crushing my lips into his as he grabbed me and spun me up in the air to have me straddle his waist as he sat on the bed. His hands raked up and down my back as we devoured each other’s mouths. My heartbeat picked up. The pounding in my head that had not really ceased, even with the painkillers, accelerated and I squinted against the pain, but then embraced it as something I had earned in a pledge to protect and defend my Destin.
As we broke apart for air, I pressed my hands into his chest and slid off Skarde’s lap. He grasped my hands as he watched me go, a longing look on his face, but I just beckoned him to follow me.
“I think it has been a few days since I’ve showered…” That sideways grin lit up Skarde’s face as I spoke and he practically leapt off the bed to follow me. I turned to run toward the shower, laughing, but staggered to the side, catching my head in my hands as the world blurred. Skarde caught me. He held me still for a few moments, allowing me to steady. “I’m okay, I’m okay… That was just more movement than I’ve had since waking.”
“Well, that unseen assailant slammed you into the railway tracks pretty hard. You sustained a major concussion. You shouldn’t move around too swiftly for a while. Are you sure you don’t want to lay back down?”
I smiled at him and pulled him toward the bath. “I’m
