Below the Peak (Sola)(102)

His attention was drawn back to the man that had been his admiration, his hero. Sadness etched on Nikolas' face.

“I have summoned you here” Abasi spoke with difficulty. His whole body burned with the fire of pain. The pain pressed down on his skull to the tips of his toe bones. He was dying. He didn’t know when his soul would depart, but he was aware that his time with the living was up. That’s why he had to say it now. He glanced at his son for a long moment, wanting him to see in his eyes that he was proud of him as he was also sorry for everything. His throat ached, words that he wanted to tell him failing to find a voice to carry them. He was also losing his voice. Somedays he could hardly utter a word whilst other days when the pain was merely tolerable, he could string a few sentences. With a labored breath, he moved his eyes to his wife, the queen. “As you can all see my situation I am not fit to rule the kingdom anymore. Thus, until I recover I pass all the throne duties to the queen. She will bear the matters of the kingdom” he stated.

Nikolas staggered back, his mouth parting with shock only blinking from the shock when Dagny spoke. “My king, please reconsider your decision. The prince is the heir to the throne.”

“My decision is final, and I’ll have my word decreed to the council” Abasi declared. Slowly he leaned back his head on the mountain of pillows behind him and closed his eyes for a moment to catch a breath.

“May I be pardoned your Majesty” Nikolas gritted the words, his fists clenched to control his anger. He was speechless. His jaw twitched with resignation. He surrendered his futile hope he’d been holding that his father would see the true nature of the woman. He snorted, drawing other’s attention to him. Shaking his head, he leveled his gaze onto his father, his voice cold and laced with pity. “You wanted freedom for our people? You just brought misery upon them.” With those words, Nikolas dragged himself out of the room.

He was striding down the hallway when the insulting words woven in that familiar sensuous voice chased him down and gripped his spine with terror. “That’s right, run to her arms.”

*****





Chapter Fifty


Uruloki


Nara twirled the quill between her middle and index finger, dropping tiny droplets of ink on the sheet in front of her that she had been writing elvish words. She twirled it another minute then decided to put it down on the table and then turned her thought filled eyes to Calemir who was sitting across her diligently drawing. Her eyes raked over his face and falling to the tiny tip of his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. That bugging feeling spread over her skin again. The elves have been nothing short but kind to her for the last three months. Indeed, she had argued with the prince one time, but that had been it. Their hatred against human she had been fearfully expecting, she had yet to see. They seemed to prove all the assumptions she had of them wrong. Well, except for their beauty that rivaled the sun. Their actions confused her, especially when she thought of the elf who’d saved her and the boy from the cursed spirits. It had her questioning why people this kind had once tried to annihilate her race. Small doubts of seeds planted in her mind about the truth to the stories she had been told of them. The truth about the Dark War.

“You are staring,” Calemir said without looking up from the paper.

Nara blinked, averting her eyes, embarrassed. “Sorry” she muttered.

“I was told the mattress was delivered this morning” Calemir commented.

“Uh yes” Nara confirmed, picking up her paper and started folding it.

“Is it comfortable?” he asked.

“It seemed fine, but I will surely know by tomorrow” Nara shrugged lightly.

Calemir lifted his head and met her eyes. “If it is not, you’re always welcome back to share my bed with me.”

Gulp. Nara’s brows flew up. Her skin flushing a soft hue of blush as she gazed back into those green eyes that vividly reminded her what had transpired the last few days when they had slept together. More than twice had Nara found part of her limbs sprawled over him in one form or another. First time when she had woken up in the grey dawn she had been feeling hot. Her back had felt so warm but not scalding warm only to find the source of the heat was him. Somehow, she had rolled to him, or he had but either way, her back was pressed against his firm chest and an arm thrown over her waist. She had tried to quietly as possible move his hand from her so she could get up but his hand on her had flexed tightly and turned her tense until a few seconds later when he had withdrawn his hand after realizing what had happened. It happened another night again reversely, her chest pressed against his back and her hand tucked under his forearm and pressed against his chest. Her face reddened even more. The third time, she had basically been hogging him. Her body twisted and almost entirely sprawled over him with one hand over his torso, face pressed against his bare chest and leg thrown over his thigh. During some point in the night, he had removed his tunic since she clearly remembered seeing him wearing one when he had been getting in the bed. Her knee had been dangerously close to a place that it shouldn’t have been. She’d decided against withdrawing her leg, knowing that even the slightest moven could wake him up. And Nara had had no plan of finding out his reaction when he woke up. She couldn’t go back to sleep even with her eyes shut. She was too wound up with nerves and eventually her knee and back of her thigh had begun to cramp from being in one position too long. Biting on her tongue, Nara had miniscule tried to lower her leg when she’d suddenly felt his fingers sift in her hair. Her muscles still felt the shudder that had coursed through her as she came to awareness he had to awaken.