Page 50 of Crown of Iron (The Crown Trilogy #1)

Twenty-Nine

I open the door to the hub, nod in greeting to the few stragglers completing their work for the day, and head to the back of the building.

The soldier guarding the corridor leading to the offices says hello and steps to the side, allowing me to breeze past. I wring my hands, listening to my steps echo around me.

The closer I get to the office at the end of the hallway, the more erratic the butterflies in my stomach become.

I reach Kyron's door and my palm itches to turn the knob and throw it open, but I lift my fist instead.

“You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow.”

I spin around and find Leif leaning against his office doorway with his hands in his pockets. “The letter I received said today, and Ulric came for me this afternoon,” I say, walking toward him.

“We don’t leave until tomorrow morning. Someone is going to notice you’re missing in the palace tonight.”

I shake my head. “I’ll be fine through tonight. No one will come looking for me.”

Leif hums while dragging his gaze over my uniform. The drab attire is a vast contrast to the finery awaiting my return to the palace. “Are you sure you want to do this, Elle? There’s no turning back once you step foot on Stigian soil.”

“I know, but this mission is more important than it was when I set out to put it in motion.

I won't turn my back on the soldiers risking their lives to prove the armor works, and I won't squander the chance to save my father. Once Esmeray knows we're a formidable opponent, she’ll never let her guard down again.”

“You're right,” he says with a smirk.

“I know I am.”

“He's not in there, by the way. Every night he takes off just before sunset, and we don't see him until early the next morning.”

I glance back at Kyron's door. “Oh. Do you know where he goes?”

“He used to ride into the nearest town and spend his nights there when things piled up on him here.

I heard he was quite the stallion, according to the ladies who work in the local tavern.

But he stopped frequenting the establishments a couple of months ago.

The best any of us can guess, he's camping out in the woods at night.”

A lump catches in my throat, and I struggle to swallow it down.

Those nights when I saw him riding out of camp, was he heading for a tavern or to lose himself in the rainbow of colors painting the night sky?

It shouldn't matter. We hadn't confessed our feelings for one another, and even now, I wouldn't shackle him to me. But something deep inside me tells me that he didn’t go to town.

“Maybe. Ulric said Kyron has been extra brooding the past weeks,” I say.

Leif shrugs. “I know that's how I feel when I'm away from the person I ache to be physically close to.”

“Wel,” I say with a smile.

“Yeah, Wel.” He takes my hand, saying, “Not that you need it, but I'm giving you my blessing to find your happiness. I see the spark in your eyes when you're with him. He brings out a side of you I've never seen before. It's all right to follow your heart.”

I bite my bottom lip, holding back the swell of emotion inside me. “I want you to do the same.”

“I am. I found the greatest source of my happiness.” He leans in and we kiss each other on the cheek.

I throw my arms around his neck and bury my face in his chest. No friend has loved and supported me the way Leif has. He has continuously proven that his motives are purely run by his desire for both of us to be happy. And there’s no cost too great to obtain that joy.

I walk out of the hub and turn my face to the night sky.

Smoke and laughter lace the crisp air, reminding me of the freedom I found in this place.

This is where I learned to be bold and demand the things I wanted most. The people here taught me so much, but one person opened my eyes to the things I thought were impossible.

Something glows in the corner of my eye, and I turn to the treetops in the north. Teal and lime fluttering lights kiss the top branches of the pines, and my feet move of their own accord. I rush to the stables, saddle the first horse I see, and set off for the river.

My hair breaks free of its tie and whips around my face as the horse gallops toward the forest. My heart drums against my chest, anticipating what lies ahead.

Where I'm headed is more than a destination.

This place isn't found on a map. The directions have carved themselves into the very fiber of my being.

I will never forget this route because he is as vital as home.

The trees swallow the horse and me, and we weave through the maze of bark and stone until the bank of the river comes into view.

The horse races upstream, and I giggle with excitement when I spot Samson grazing on a thick patch of grass.

I pull the horse to a stop and dismount.

After tying the animal to a tree, I stroke Samson's neck, whispering hello.

I step around him, and my breath hitches.

A bed of blankets rests upon the flat rocks, and Kyron sits on top with his arms draped over his knees.

His boots rest to the side and his jacket and tunic hang from the branch of a tree.

Droplets of water glisten on his skin, and his wet hair drips down his naked torso, soaking into his trousers.

The colors dancing in the sky reflect in every drop, setting him alight like an ethereal creature.

There’s no word that does him justice. He’s unlike any being I've ever laid eyes on.

But if I have to describe him, I'll settle for beautiful.

The crunching of the leaves under my feet draws his attention, and he follows every step I take toward him.

Once, I would have shied away from his intense gaze.

Now, I relish in it. How can I not when I capture his undivided attention?

It’s like the way the sun holds the planets in its pull.

He studies my fingers as they peel away my jacket and remove my boots, and his body tilts toward mine when I sit at his side.

“What are you doing here?” he asks .

Pulling my thighs to my chest, I rest my cheek on my knees and look up at him. “I was tired of being away from you.”

My words are true. It doesn't matter that Ulric summoned me early. I was tired of the weeks and miles that separated us. I missed the sound of his voice and meeting his gaze. My days are boring without him, and my nights dark and lonely. My world is dull without him in it.

I brush the back of my hand down his arm, and his skin responds with goosebumps.

He grips my fingers and brings them to his lips, placing a kiss on each knuckle.

Turning my wrist to reach my thumb, I stop him and slide the pad against his soft lips.

His tongue flicks against the tip and a wave of desire heats between my legs.

“Kyron,” I whisper.

“I didn't go a second without thinking about you. You were in every task I did, the sting of training, the brutality of battles; you even haunted my dreams. I was lost without you, but now, I'm home.”

He presses my palm to his cheek and his eyelids flutter shut.

The water clinging to the ends of his hair trickles down my fingers as they tangle with the strands.

This man who wears a tough exterior is so soft: his hair, his skin, his heart.

He’ll bleed for those he loves, give every last drop if he must. I know now I fall within those privileged few, and I'd sacrifice the same for him.

I lift my head and stretch my neck, pulling him closer.

Kyron sighs when our lips touch, and he tenderly kisses me.

The warmth of his gift curls around me, luring me closer.

I raise to my knees and position my body between his legs.

His hands run up my spine, taking my tunic with them.

The night breeze caresses my skin, coaxing me to surrender.

I reluctantly part our lips and pull my shirt over my head.

As Kyron runs his palms over my ribcage, I work free the clasp of my flimsy lace undergarment and toss it toward the rest of my clothes.

His fingertips skim my collarbones, the swell of my breasts, and the valley between.

He caresses me like my skin is something delicate and lovely, like it will crumble under his touch.

His thumb traces a faint scar at my side, and his voice is thick with emotion when he says, “Even your imperfections are extraordinary. Every inch of you is beautiful, Raelle.”

His mouth trails down the side of my neck, and his words resonate in my head.

I tip my face to the watercolors sweeping across the star speckled sky and bask in the feel of his tongue lapping at my collarbone.

His hands run along my spine, his touch is soft, confident, and heated.

It surges through me, and every cell of my being burns for more.

My thighs shake as I crawl into his lap and wrap my legs around his hips. When our skin meets, I moan and press my lips to the soft skin under his ear. “I want to give you all of me, and I want to take all of you, Kyron.”

He draws back, searching my face with eyes that rage with a storm of emotion and blaze with an all-consuming adoration.

There’s no hiding; everything he feels for me is on full display, and I want to possess it all.

Never have I felt as sure about something as I do about this moment. This is where I belong.

“Let me have you,” I say, fisting his hair, meeting his emotions with the fierce hurricane of my own. My dedication is a destructive wind crashing into anyone who stands between us. And my desire is the rain I’d willingly drown in.