“Yes,” Kull answered.
“All right. What’s the plan from here?” I asked.
“We’ll leave in the morning,” Maveryck answered. “Lucretian can create a portal that will take us to a forest outside the city walls. I suggest we get some sleep while we can. We’ve got a difficult quest ahead of us.” Maveryck stood. “I shall show you where you can sleep, if you’ll follow me.”
We stood and followed Maveryck into a large room in the mountain’s interior. There were no windows, so he lit several candles placed on tables throughout the space.
“Lucretian doesn’t get many visitors out here,” Maveryck said, “so I’m afraid there aren’t any spare beds. But we’ve got rugs on the floor and you can unroll your sleeping packs here.”
“It beats sleeping in the desert,” Rolf said, slinging his pack off his shoulder. The others did the same. At least we wouldn’t have to take watch. Maybe I would actually get some sleep for once.
Kull laid out a blanket near the back of the room. The candlelight turned his skin bronze and glowed over his blond hair.
My heart gave that familiar flutter, yet as it did, nerves pinched my stomach. I wasn’t sure how to sort out my emotions. I knew I loved him, yet I couldn’t doubt I feared him at the same time. However, was it really me who was afraid him? Perhaps that piece of Theht inside me feared him, because it knew he would be the one to bring its end—which meant he would most likely bring my death as well.
I tried not to let those thoughts bother me, but knowing someone would kill you wasn’t an easy thing to shake off. Kull wouldn’t really kill me—and I knew it—but he had admitted that if the thing inhabiting my body wasn’t me, he would have no other choice. Even after talking to Lucretian, I still hadn’t figured out how to avoid the prophecy. Either I would destroy the world or Kull would kill me—that still hadn’t changed—but at least now, with Lucretian’s revelation that time could be a factor, I had a place to start.
Pushing my unease aside, I crossed the room to where Kull set up his sleeping arrangements. He looked up and smiled.
“Hey,” I said. After unrolling my pack next to his, I laid down beside him.
He turned to face me. Behind us, I heard the others talking in quiet conversations. Rolf was informing Brodnik of his wife’s extraordinary cooking skills, and Maveryck and Heidel spoke quietly. It was good to see them reunited, even if it had happened in a place like this.
Kull took my hand, giving me a slight smile. When I looked into his eyes, my reaction wasn’t what I expected. Fear made my heart skip a beat. I knew it was Theht who feared him, but the closer we got to the prophecy being fulfilled, the harder it was to sort out my emotions from Theht’s.
He kissed my knuckles, and I prayed he hadn’t noticed my reaction. His lips were soft, and the familiar scent of sandalwood came to me, helping to calm my fears. I shouldn’t have feared him. I knew better. But I wasn’t sure I was completely in control of my emotions anymore.
“You know,” I said, “sometimes you really are one scary brute.”
His knowing smile sent my thoughts in a completely different direction. “Do I scare you, Olive?”
“Yes,” I answered. “Very much so.”
“You shouldn’t be scared,” he answered quietly. “Not yet, anyway. Not until our wedding night.”
I laughed, hoping to ease the tension. “Are you teasing me?” I whispered.
His hands wandered, cupping my cheek, trailing around my ear, and then his warm fingers traced down my neck to my collarbone. “I want you so badly,” he said. “More than you can imagine.”
“I can imagine pretty well.”
His eyes lit up. “I could take you now.”
“That might not be the best idea, seeing as how we’re in a room full of people… including your sister.”
“You might be right, but I will have you, Olive.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes, it’s a promise.”
I leaned closer, our faces only inches apart. “Then it had better happen soon.”
He took my hand and slowly kissed my knuckles, his lips lingering on my fingers, making desire well inside me. “It will.”
“Well,” Brodnik bellowed from the other side of the room. “What do you say, Kull, do you believe Rolf’s wife is the best cook in the kingdom?”
“No,” he called back. “Olive is better.”
“You’re lying,” Rolf’s voice echoed. “We’ve tasted what she cooks.”
Kull propped onto his elbow. “She cooks in Earth Kingdom all the time.” He leaned toward me. “What’s the name of a dish you cook in Earth Kingdom?”
“Something I cook?”
“Yes, give me the name of something that sounds exotic.”
“But Kull, I don’t cook.”
“I know, but there must be some sort of dish you prepare occasionally, right?”
“Okay, how about… Ramen noodles?”
“Yes, that’ll work.” He turned to the men. “You haven’t tried her Ramen noodles,” he called to them. “They’re unequaled. Not even your Bryn can make a more delicious dish.”
“Is that so?”
“It is! I stake my reputation as king on it.”
Good thing his reputation had been suffering lately.
“Tell her to make this dish for us now,” Brodnik called.
“She can’t,” Rolf answered. “She’d need ingredients from Earth Kingdom to do it.”
“Is that so?” Brodnik asked. “That’s awfully convenient, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s a shame, really.” Kull winked at me as the two men continued their conversation without us.
“Ramen noodles, huh?” I said. “Just wait till you’ve tried those. I forgot to take them off the stove once. I almost burned down my apartment.
