Kalona's Fall (House of Night Novellas #4)(17)

Kalona responded to her passion carefully. He wanted to crush her to him and to claim her as his own. But even more than that, he wanted to please her. So, he let Nyx take her time exploring his lips, touching his face, combing her fingers through his long, thick hair. All the while he held her. He kept her safe.

Too soon she paused her exploration, though the flush of her face and the deepening of her breath told him she had enjoyed herself as surely as her words did. “I like the way you taste,” she said.

He smiled, glad that he had tempered his desire with patience. “And that, my Goddess, pleases me.”

“Would you take me out in your boat?”

“It would be my pleasure, but it isn’t my boat. It is yours.”

“Kalona, sometimes you say exactly the right thing.”

He snorted as they drifted slowly to ground. “Sometimes, but not often.”

“I think you’re getting better at it,” she said.

“I could not get much worse.” Taking her hand, he helped her into the boat. “I-I made a mess of the Air test,” he said, pushing the craft out into the water before he got in with her. When she didn’t answer him, he made himself keep busy with the wooden paddle, steering the boat out onto the glasslike surface of the lake.

When he finally looked at her, Nyx was watching him, her expression unreadable.

“You are still angry with me?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I was never angry with you. I was sad and disappointed.”

“Knowing I have caused you sadness wounds me,” he said. “I will do better with the next test. I vow it.”

“It wasn’t the test that made me sad. It wasn’t the test that disappointed me.”

“What then?”

“You were cruel to Erebus. He did not deserve that.”

Kalona almost snapped the paddle in two. Unable to contain his jealousy, he blurted, “You do not prefer him!”

“Kalona, you both were created for me. You both have a purpose and a place at my side. If you do not want to sadden or disappoint me, you will not harbor enmity for your brother.”

Kalona struggled to control his inner turmoil. He wanted to cry out, to tell her that he couldn’t bear to share her, couldn’t bear to think of her covering Erebus’s face with joyous kisses, or exploring the taste of his lips.

“I vow that I have love enough within me for the both of you,” she said, moving forward so that she could press the palm of her hand over his heart. “Trust me, Kalona. I will never break a vow.” Then she kissed him and Kalona could think of nothing but the scent of her skin and the wonder of her touch.

The waters around them exploded with trilling Fey. They leaped over and around the boat in agitation, calling frantically to Nyx.

“Yes, yes, I understand you. I know the place. I will come. I will come.” The Goddess told the creatures, and with satisfied chirps, they disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Nyx sighed and wiped water from her face and his, smiling apologetically at him.

“Let me guess,” Kalona said. “Erebus is ready for his test.”

“You are correct,” she said. “May we continue what we began later?”

“Yes, of course,” he said, turning the boat toward shore, hiding his hurt and frustration from her.

He helped her from the boat, pulling it well up onto the rocky shore. He was silent, already anticipating the joy Nyx would feel at whatever magnificent show Erebus had concocted for her this time, when the Goddess circled him with her arms from behind, pressing her cheek against his bare back and nuzzling his silver wings.

“I wish you would choose happiness. There is such wondrous happiness between us—enough to last an eternity,” she said.

He pressed his arms over hers, loving the feel of her warmth against the moonlit coolness of his skin. He drew a deep breath, and with it made a conscious effort to release his frustration.

Kalona could feel her smile. “There! That’s better,” she said, and kissed first the middle of his back, and then each of his wings. He thought she would release him then, though he remained very still, hoping to gain even one more small moment with her. She took her arms from around him, but she remained close. He sensed her hesitation, and then she stroked each of his wings gently. “They are so beautiful. I could look at them forever and still find different colors within them. Did you know that they’re not really white?”

“They are behind me, thus difficult for me to see.” His smile was reflected in his voice.

“They are like moonlight, of course, but this close their color reminds me of pearls. So beautiful…” she repeated, stroking them.

Kalona turned and caught her in his arms. “That you can find such beauty in me is a special kind of magick.”

“All is well between us,” she said, staring into his eyes searchingly. “Please know that. Your place in my heart cannot be filled by any other being in this realm or the Otherworld.”

Kalona kissed her gently. “Tell me, Goddess, where shall I take you?”

“To the east, and then a little north. If I understood the naiads correctly, which sometimes takes some doing, Erebus has chosen a fragrant spot for the site of his next test.”

Kalona couldn’t help grumbling. “What is he going to do? Water a field of flowers for you?”