Page 29 of Journey to the Elderoak (Daughter of the Earth #2)

“I don’t care about power,” he explained. “I care about peace.” He looked at her intensely. “So, like I said. You are not alone. We are in this together .”

She pulled him close, stopping their dance as she gave him a hug. “I’m proud to call you my brother.”

They were interrupted by Quinn and Casimir approaching.

“Switch partners!” Quinn announced.

Thorne let go and continued his dance with Quinn as Casimir strode toward Ava eagerly. He grasped her waist and yanked her close, entwining his fingers into her other hand. She couldn’t slow her heartbeat and he didn’t break eye contact while he led her through the crowd, spinning and dipping.

The feel of his hand low on her waist shot warmth through her body as she lost herself in his eyes. Those eyes. They were beautiful. Everything about him was beautiful. His smile, his soft hair, the scar running from his jaw to his collarbone. She wanted to touch it, to kiss it .

They were so close, bodies barely a breadth away as he led her through the crowd as if no one else was present.

Breaking the silence, she whispered, “You’ve been quiet tonight.”

“I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

His eyes dipped to her lips as she cleared her throat. “Like what?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he answered as he pulled her closer.

She inhaled sharply. “Yes, I would.”

He dipped her low and pressed his lips right above her collarbone. Her skin came alive as she gasped. He lifted her and spun her around.

“Does that answer your question?”

“Yes,” she breathed, her stomach tightening. “But?—”

“But what?”

“You haven’t acted on anything since dinner at Jorrar’s house.”

“I was respecting your boundaries.” He leaned in and whispered into her ear. “This is me acting on it.” He placed a kiss on her neck, and she arched into him, eliciting a quiet growl from his throat. They looked back at each other as they continued their dance and Ava remained silent.

“Say something,” he whispered after several minutes, concern in his eyes.

“I—” She had no idea what to say. Why couldn’t she talk to him? Tell him how she felt? They’ve talked about so much together, opening up about their pasts, but they’ve never talked about this. About them.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to push you.” He let go and took her by the hand. “Let’s go sit down.”

He led her back to the table, this time sitting next to her. Arm on the back of her chair, he toyed with her hair, sending goosebumps down her spine. The way he was so gentle when he touched her made her want to cry.

The rest of the group joined, seats all switched around. Thorne and Quinn could barely keep their hands off each other as she sat in his lap, kissing him. Ava glanced around and saw no one cared that the king was in the tavern, making out with one of their captains. As if this was normal.

“They’re cute together,” she whispered to Casimir.

“They are. They’ll never make it official though. Too complicated.”

She glanced over at Jorrar and Kai, who were whispering with the promise of pleasure in their eyes.

Raine had brought over the couple he had pointed out earlier, the woman in his lap while he was kissing the man’s neck sitting next to him.

It seemed everyone had their own personal plans for the rest of the night.

“This is…”

“Getting awkward.” Casimir chuckled. “Would you like to leave?”

“Actually, yes.”

Casimir rose, Ava following suit, and they both said their goodbyes.

Raine caught Ava’s eye and winked. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, you two.”

“That means nothing’s off the table,” said Quinn.

Raine grinned. “Exactly.” He turned to the woman and kissed her.

Ava led the way through the crowd, Casimir’s hand on her lower back. They left the tavern and walked through the streets, quiet now that it was late. He took her hand, interlocking their fingers, as her stomach fluttered with nerves.

“What’s the deal with Raine?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“When we were dancing, I asked him about his love life. If he ever wanted to settle down. He got quiet and said something about it being too late for him and changed the subject.”

“Oh. He doesn’t like talking about it.”

“What happened?”

Casimir sighed. “I’m not going to tell his story. Just know he lost someone very special to him many years ago.”

“Did he love them?” she asked.

“Yes. They were supposed to be married days after it happened.”

“I should never have asked.”

“It’s alright. He’ll tell you about it when he’s ready. You didn’t upset him.”

“He hides it well.”

“He does.”

They walked along the cobblestone street, hand in hand, savoring each other’s silent presence. The buzz of insects hovered around them as the leaves rustled, tickled by the cool breeze. Ava shivered and Casimir let go of her hand and placed an arm around her waist, pulling her to his side.

“Did you have fun tonight?” he asked, breaking the silence as they approached the castle.

“Yes. I’m a terrible dancer but that wasn’t too bad. I enjoyed it. Do you all do that often?”

“We used to do it all the time. But not as much recently.”

They continued through the entrance and made their way to the suite. Ava smiled at Pax and he nodded back as they entered the living room and walked toward Ava’s bedroom door. Casimir turned to her and placed both hands on her hips. Her heart sped up as she looked into his eyes.

She desperately wanted him to kiss her, but she was terrified of what it would mean. Where it would lead. He stood before her, eyes taking her in, and cupped her face.

He leaned in, their noses touching but she tensed.

Noticing her hesitation, he pulled back and gently smiled at her.

Before she had a chance to change her mind, he kissed her forehead and pulled away.

“Goodnight, Mi’ra V?ssa,” he whispered, turned and walked into his suite, closing the door with a soft click.

Dammit. Why did she hesitate?