Esterpine

Koldis woke to a gasp. Not his gasp, though. Taylynn was sitting upright in bed. For a moment, he could only stare at her, blinking lazily. The shimmery, translucent gown she wore had slipped. The strap holding the left side up had fallen off her shoulder, leaving it bare.

His mouth watered. He would have leaned in and kissed her skin, tasted her, even, were it not for her wide eyes. She stared blankly at the opposite wall of the sleeping nook. "What's the matter, little witch?" He leaned in, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear.

She blinked, then turned to him. Her eyes focused, as if only just now seeing him. "The forest. It's...awake."

His stomach dropped as the realization sank in. He sprang from the bed, suddenly wide awake. His body was ready to move, to do something in response to the news. "They're back? She's back?!"

Taylynn exhaled, far more calm than he felt. "Back in our world, yes." A faint smile tugged at her lips as she witnessed his distress. Then, with feigned exaggeration, she flopped onto her back, nestled among the pillows and blankets.

"But...but, we need to tell the others. Bedelth. Saffra. We need to finish making preparations. We need—"

"Yes, yes, by all means," she groaned. "I'm going back to sleep. Someone kept me up half the night." She turned on her side, dragging a pillow to her chest to cuddle it. Suddenly, he was very very jealous of that pillow. Perhaps telling the others could wait. But...no, it couldn't. He had too many questions. And so much energy all of a sudden. The need to move, to act, gripped him.

It was time to take back their kingdom.

"Is Claire—did she come through the Kengr Gate like we anticipated?"

"Hmm?" Taylynn's hooded eyelids were already fluttering.

"Gods, woman." He bounded to the bed and ripped the pillow away, lowering himself into the cradle of her thighs. "You can't just drop that kind of information on me, then go back to sleep. I need details."

She blinked up at him, then offered a slow, lazy smile, like a cat who'd just caught a mouse. He didn't like being the mouse, so he growled. But...it was such a sweet smile. He brushed a kiss against the corner of her lips.

"There is not much to tell, really," she said, running her fingers through his hair. "I can feel it. The forrest has woken up. The king tree's focus is back in our world once more, which means so is the queen." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I guess that means I really ought to rise. I am certain the king tree will wish to speak with me."

Oh how the tables had turned. Now he was the one who wanted to keep her stuck in bed. The feel of her against him, soft curves against his hard muscles was divine. He pressed his hips against hers and a flutter of a breath left her, tickling his lips.

He kissed her once, twice, savoring the feel of her mouth, then pulled back. "She's really back," he said, blinking. "After almost a year."

"Indeed." Taylynn trailed her fingers down his cheek, along his jaw. "You really ought to tell the others. They will be beside themselves. Plus, if you wouldn't mind speaking with Tasar. He will want to know."

"Can you not meet with him?"

"King tree, remember?"

He exhaled, pressing his forehead into her neck. "Fine. Fine. Just let me savor you a moment longer." He'd had weeks upon weeks to do exactly that. Every moment had been equal parts torturous and wonderful. He had a feeling that once Claire reached them, there would be no time left for savoring. That this was going to be a race to the finish line, to see things through. The final stand. But...after that?

He kissed down the column of her neck, hesitating at her clavicle, then flicked his tongue against her skin like a serpent, tasting her. She hummed with delight. Flattening his tongue, he licked a trail over her skin, up, up, up, until he reached her chin. "Mine," he breathed. The primal, animalistic side of him, the dragon lurking beneath his skin, took great pleasure in reminding her that she was his, and that he was hers.

"I shall never forget it," she breathed, before guiding his face to hers. Capturing his lips with hers. Their kiss was languid and exploratory. There wasn't time to be hungry—not this time.

Eventually, he dragged himself away to ready for the day. They parted ways on the outskirts of Esterpine. She gave him no definite answer as to when she'd return. Now that the forest was truly alive again, he worried there'd be long stretches between seeing her. She had a reputation for disappearing.

He dragged a hand through his hair in frustration.

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her—no, beg her—not to stay away, but he stopped himself. She was a creature of the forest. This was who she was. Asking her to be something else would be a travesty. So he put his selfishness aside and trekked into the city.

Bedelth and Saffra were still sleeping when he reached them—presumably sleeping, anyway. He had to pound on their door repeatedly until he heard sounds from within. The toppling of something. A thud as it landed on the floor. A muttered curse that followed. Footsteps. Then Bedelth was at the door, glaring. "Is there a reason you have interrupted my mate's sleep?" His voice was a growl.

"Gods, do I sound like that when I get protective?"

Bedleth only blinked, then relaxed his shoulders. "I think you're probably worse."

Koldis chuckled. "Fair. And yes. I've news. Let me in."

They assembled in the small sitting room.

Saffra had tears streaming down her face as he told her the news. She leapt into Bedelths arms, and buried her face in his chest. "I thought...I thought she might never...return," she managed in between gasps. Of everyone, Saffra had taken Claire's disappearance hard. He only knew because Bedelth had confided in him the guilt she felt. It was absurd, of course, to think it was her fault. Kane had done what he'd done and no one was to blame for it. But that's how guilt could sometimes be. It wasn't always rational or practical.

***

Tasar was an unusual sprite. His dark hair was threaded with silver, likely intentional. Sprites were immortal and didn't s usually age—except in rare cases, like Pelwynn—but they did enjoy manipulating their appearance to suit their needs. Tasar's hair made him look older, wiser. Only his eyes made him look ancient, though. The rest of him was flawless.

They were of the same height, though where he was layered with muscle, Tasar was lean. Didn't matter, though, because Tasar outmatched his strength. They'd crossed blades several times after his arrival. The spymaster bested him every time.

But what made Tasar truly unusual was his paranoia. Like others of his profession, he used magic to disguise his spriten markings, making it impossible to know how many he had. It looked like he had none, but without magic, he'd have died a long time ago.

Tasar had a nervous twitch. It was unpredictable. He would still, his head darting to one side, as if he could hear things no one else could, then his body would twitch in response, and then he'd carry on as if nothing had happened. His eyes were never settled, always in motion, as if he expected an enemy to jump out of the foliage. And he insisted on preparing his own food, even brought it with him whenever they gathered for meals.

Koldis met the spymaster at the training grounds, calling him aside to take a walk.

"You must be here to tell me of the queen's return," Tasar said.

"Why am I not surprised that you already know?"

"You know what I am. What I do. You shouldn't be." Tasar clasped his hands behind his back. He stilled suddenly, head jerking to the left, eyes darting in the same direction. "Yes. The forest is finally waking up."

Koldis shuddered. Tasar gave him the creeps sometimes. All the time, really.

Tasar carried on. "If the queen has traveled through the Kengr Gate, as suspected, she should reach us in a matter of days. She will be eager to visit Esterpine."

"Yes, that is our hope," Koldis said.

"Not a hope. It is fact."

"Are your Delles ready?"

"Oh. We are always ready, Drengr." The smile Tasar offered gave him chills. "We've been ready since the princess summoned us."

Tasar wasn't just any spymaster, he was the leader of the Thorios Delles Briahaad, which roughly translated to the Eastern Ghost Unit. Or, Ghosts for short. He wasn't sure where they'd gotten their name, but it fit. They were something akin to a mix between spies and assassins. Though, their services hadn't been much used since the age of the dragons. That didn't mean they stopped training. Nor did they stop watching.

This was the first time the Delles had been called upon in any formal capacity.

"Have you any news of the capital?" Koldis asked.

"Oh, yes. Always." Tasar hesitated. "There have been several rebel...movements. Attempts to rile Kane. Small things, like missing silverware and livestock running the city streets. Several days past, all the Oshean guard uniforms went missing."

"Someone is pulling pranks?"

"From the looks of it."

Koldis swore under his breath. That was a sure way to get killed under Kane's reign. "I assume you know who."

"Oh, I do, yes, but Kane is having quite the time identifying the culprit. He can't just kill all of his subjects. The rebels meet in seedy taverns after dark, plot ways to irritate the king, treat it like some kind of game. It has only gotten worse since..."

"Since what?"

"Since the king demanded to know exactly what was going on. Now he is kept informed of all the little mundane things his subjects do to rebel. It keeps him quite busy."

Koldis snorted. "I bet he's regretting his desire to rule already."

"Perhaps."

Their path branched and they went left, looping around the outskirts of Esterpine. It was Koldis's turn to hesitate. He caught the thoughts of several fleeing critters. The creatures sensed that there was a predator in their midst. He was forced to listen to their frightful mutterings. But he pushed their disjointed thoughts from his mind, focusing on Tasar.

"Perhaps he will be too distracted for what comes next," Koldis mused. He could only hope. "Can you depart in the morning?"

"We are ready to serve our queen, Lord Koldis."

"Good. We are counting on you."

"It will be done."

They parted ways. He suppressed a shiver as Tasar walked away.

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️



Hi Bookdragons!

Another short chapter, I know. But!!! Claire is back and the forest has woken up and things are finally going to be fixed (hopefully).

Next week's chapter is Jovari, and it involves a little game called Two Truths and A Lie. Ever played it??

See you then!

--Mel