you’re telling me you’ve met him?”
“Aye, once. My master invited him to visit and see his newest acquisition. Me.”
“It’s strange to think that you’ve seen him more recently than I have. Stranger still that you see a resemblance. I never saw it. Perhaps while we ride you can tell me about your meeting with him, and I will tell you what it was like to grow up the bastard son of a man who just happens to rule kingdom.”
Lily laughed and altered form, filling the air with the soft sound of silver bells chiming as she did so.
Perhaps one day Kel would get used to her ability to change size so easily, but he doubted it would be any time soon.
***
CHAPTER 11
By the time the capital was within view, Lily was too exhausted to feel anything but grateful that their journey was over. Kel had pushed himself and his mount to their breaking points, but they had made the trip in less than three days. Every night Lily had healed both man and mount, and every morning they had set off again. They had sustained themselves on water and whatever they could forage off the land as they went, and all three were hungry, tired and disheveled.
Kel had taken the risk of slipping into a tavern last night to hear what news there might be, leaving her alone for what had felt like an eternity. When he’d returned to camp, Lily hadn’t even needed to ask what he had heard. The expression on his face had told her all she needed to know. Trouble had followed them. Worse, it had gotten ahead of them. Word of Camford’s death had spread faster than a grassland fire. Kel was now a wanted man with a price on his head. There was no way they could ride into the city openly. He’d be arrested the moment he was recognized.
They needed a new plan if they were going to survive long enough to ask for the King’s protection.
It had taken the better part of the morning for Lily to get Kel to agree to her idea, but in the end he had relented. If he couldn’t enter the city, then she had to be the one to do it. There wasn’t any other option, but he had made it clear he was far from happy about it. They made camp several miles off the main road and waited for nightfall in uneasy silence. Lily passed the time patiently heating water from a nearby stream and using it to give herself a passable washing. If she was going to meet the King, she wanted to rid herself of the road dust first.
Kel paced in ceaseless circles, growing more agitated by the minute. Finally he turned on his heel and spoke. “I don’t like it.”
“I know. I don’t either. But it’s the only way I can think of to get to your father. At least he’ll recognize me.”
“That’s the problem. He’s going to see you. All of you! Maybe I should cover you in mud before you go.” His features knitted into a deep frown.
“You’re unhappy because your father is going to see me naked?” Lily tried to keep from smiling, but it was impossible. Out of all the risks and problems of her plan, Kel was worried about his sire seeing her in a state of undress?
“Yes! I’m damned unhappy about it. You’re mine, little one. No one else should ever lay eyes again. Especially not my father!”
Lily just managed to swallow a giggle at his expression and deliberately hid her elation at his possessive words. She rose from the log she’d claimed as a seat and crossed the clearing to stand before him. “I promise I will cover myself with my wings.”
“One day, you are going to explain to me how that works.” Kel ran a finger down the edge of one wing, making her gasp. He had followed through on his threat to learn her body’s secrets, and now he could bring her to the brink of pleasure with breathtaking speed.
“I told you, my wings are imbued with magic. They are what I need them to be. They allow me to fly, but that’s the magic, not because I have to flap them like a bird would.”
“Well I need them to be opaque for the next few hours,” Kel grumbled and Lily
“Aye, once. My master invited him to visit and see his newest acquisition. Me.”
“It’s strange to think that you’ve seen him more recently than I have. Stranger still that you see a resemblance. I never saw it. Perhaps while we ride you can tell me about your meeting with him, and I will tell you what it was like to grow up the bastard son of a man who just happens to rule kingdom.”
Lily laughed and altered form, filling the air with the soft sound of silver bells chiming as she did so.
Perhaps one day Kel would get used to her ability to change size so easily, but he doubted it would be any time soon.
***
CHAPTER 11
By the time the capital was within view, Lily was too exhausted to feel anything but grateful that their journey was over. Kel had pushed himself and his mount to their breaking points, but they had made the trip in less than three days. Every night Lily had healed both man and mount, and every morning they had set off again. They had sustained themselves on water and whatever they could forage off the land as they went, and all three were hungry, tired and disheveled.
Kel had taken the risk of slipping into a tavern last night to hear what news there might be, leaving her alone for what had felt like an eternity. When he’d returned to camp, Lily hadn’t even needed to ask what he had heard. The expression on his face had told her all she needed to know. Trouble had followed them. Worse, it had gotten ahead of them. Word of Camford’s death had spread faster than a grassland fire. Kel was now a wanted man with a price on his head. There was no way they could ride into the city openly. He’d be arrested the moment he was recognized.
They needed a new plan if they were going to survive long enough to ask for the King’s protection.
It had taken the better part of the morning for Lily to get Kel to agree to her idea, but in the end he had relented. If he couldn’t enter the city, then she had to be the one to do it. There wasn’t any other option, but he had made it clear he was far from happy about it. They made camp several miles off the main road and waited for nightfall in uneasy silence. Lily passed the time patiently heating water from a nearby stream and using it to give herself a passable washing. If she was going to meet the King, she wanted to rid herself of the road dust first.
Kel paced in ceaseless circles, growing more agitated by the minute. Finally he turned on his heel and spoke. “I don’t like it.”
“I know. I don’t either. But it’s the only way I can think of to get to your father. At least he’ll recognize me.”
“That’s the problem. He’s going to see you. All of you! Maybe I should cover you in mud before you go.” His features knitted into a deep frown.
“You’re unhappy because your father is going to see me naked?” Lily tried to keep from smiling, but it was impossible. Out of all the risks and problems of her plan, Kel was worried about his sire seeing her in a state of undress?
“Yes! I’m damned unhappy about it. You’re mine, little one. No one else should ever lay eyes again. Especially not my father!”
Lily just managed to swallow a giggle at his expression and deliberately hid her elation at his possessive words. She rose from the log she’d claimed as a seat and crossed the clearing to stand before him. “I promise I will cover myself with my wings.”
“One day, you are going to explain to me how that works.” Kel ran a finger down the edge of one wing, making her gasp. He had followed through on his threat to learn her body’s secrets, and now he could bring her to the brink of pleasure with breathtaking speed.
“I told you, my wings are imbued with magic. They are what I need them to be. They allow me to fly, but that’s the magic, not because I have to flap them like a bird would.”
“Well I need them to be opaque for the next few hours,” Kel grumbled and Lily
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