Page 23 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

Chapter nineteen

Elora

I 'm told it will take us two weeks to reach our next destination, which is the Lords in Elderwood. After the ogre attack, the next few days start to blur together.

Draven goes back to practically ignoring me, as if he hadn't saved me by revealing his secret.

I try to flirt with all of them, especially Blaze and Arrow, since they seem the most receptive. But it’s always shut down quickly by Ranger, who either pulls us apart or gives the guys a warning glare that has them backing off.

I’ve asked about the Elderwood lords, but the others have never met them and haven’t heard much. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

It’s early afternoon on the fifth day when Ranger directs us off the main road, if you can even call the dirt trail we’re following that, and down a narrow side path where the branches scrape along the sides of the carriage.

After about five minutes, the scratching stops as we pull into a clearing. I can only see the treeline from inside the carriage, and I do my best to wait for someone to let me out instead of climbing out on my own.

The door opens and Ranger appears, his hand outstretched.

“Princess Elora, I hope your ride today wasn’t too bumpy?” he asks.

I press my lips together to bite back a retort. I hate when he’s so formal. I wish he would relax a little, after all, we both know I’m not really a princess.

Deciding to help him loosen up, I place my hand in his and let him help me down.

“It was okay,” I reply. “Although I’d much prefer to ride with you.” I try batting my eyelashes, which only causes him to frown.

“Do you have something in your eye?”

Now it’s my turn to frown. “No,” I say, turning my head away as my cheeks heat in embarrassment. I guess I’m not as good at flirting as I thought. No wonder none of these knights seem interested. They probably think there’s something wrong with me.

He lets go of my hand quickly and ushers me around the carriage. But when I see where we’ve stopped, all thoughts of embarrassment vanish .

“Hells bells, this is amazing!” I exclaim, taking in the twenty-five-foot waterfall and the surrounding pond. The water is a beautiful turquoise blue. The urge to jump in is strong, I haven’t had a proper bath since we left Ravenbrook.

“I thought you might like it. I figured you could use a little break from the journey,” Ranger says, stepping up beside me.

I look at him in surprise. He brought us here... for me?

“Yeah, it’s amazing. Can I go swimming?” I ask hopefully.

He hesitates, his eyes searching my face. Eventually, he nods. “Yes. But not alone. It should be safe enough, but I’d feel better if someone was in there with you.”

I assume they’ll all want to take a break. “Why don’t all of you come in? I’m sure you’re itching to get clean just as much as I am.”

“Someone needs to keep watch.”

“Come on, Ranger,” Arrow says, stepping to my other side. “We can keep an eye out while we’re in the water. Elora will be with us, no one’s getting to her.”

“I’ll stand guard,” Draven says. Of course, he would be the one to stay back. It figures. He always keeps his distance, even after holding me through my most terrifying times. I thought maybe he saw me differently in those moments, but now he’s back to barely speaking to me.

“Thanks, Draven,” Ranger says, nodding. “Once we’ve finished bathing, you can take your turn. ”

We spend the next half hour setting up camp. The decision is made to stay the rest of the day here, letting the horses and ourselves take a break before continuing the journey.

When I dig through the trunk of my clothes, I find nothing resembling a swimsuit. I can’t swim naked, but I have no idea what women wear to swim here.

I groan in frustration. “Princess? What’s wrong?” Blaze asks, appearing beside me.

“What am I supposed to wear in the water? Nothing here resembles a swimsuit from my world.”

“Oh,” he mutters, frowning at my trunk. “I’m not sure either. We don’t usually see women swimming publicly.”

“Maybe I should just go naked?” I smirk, watching for his reaction.

His eyes dart to mine, heat flashing in them before he quickly looks away, licking his lower lip. Oh, he likes that idea. My smile grows. But he shakes his head and clears his throat, turning back to the trunk.

“I think this will work,” he says, lifting a slip the color of a summer sky. The fabric is soft, the straps slender, and it looks like it will skim just above my knees.

I take it from him with a smile. “Thanks.”

I doubt he realizes this will be completely see-through when wet. Do I care? Not really. Maybe this will finally help them see I’m not some untouchable princess, I’m just a woman who wants them .

Once changed, I walk to the far end of the pond, where Arrow and Ranger are already in the water. With no shallow entry, I climb onto a rock that overhangs the pond.

“Can you swim? There aren’t many shallow spots,” Arrow says, treading water.

“Yeah. How do I get in?” I ask, scanning the surface.

Ranger swims over. “I’ll help you. Sit on the edge.”

I dangle my feet over the rock and he moves close, gripping me under the arms. I place my hands on his shoulders for balance as he says, “Come here.”

I let myself fall forward, trusting him to hold me, and he does.

I was hoping he’d pull me close, let our bodies press together. But instead, he holds me at arm's length until I’m treading water, then lets go.

I try to hide my disappointment and swim away. Why do I keep doing this to myself? They’ve made it clear, over and over, that we can’t be together. But I keep hoping that the reason is the class system, not that they don’t want me.

Arrow and Blaze show the most interest, but maybe they’re just being polite. Maybe they’re afraid to offend me because they think I’m royalty.

Draven is distant, but when he does look at me, it sends shivers down my spine. Arrow’s teasing smirks have me biting my lip in anticipation. And Blaze… the way he sometimes looks at me makes me wish he’d forget he’s a knight, just for a moment .

And Ranger? His bossiness makes me squirm in the best way. Because I know it’s not about control, it’s about protecting me.

A splash has me looking back in their direction, seeing Blaze has jumped in the water now, too. It appears they are all dressed in only boxer shorts, and I try not to stare at their naked chests. Their muscular, ripped chests…

A bolt of heat hits my core and I groan, turning away to face the waterfall.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had an orgasm and seeing them all day every day was beginning to be torture.

Especially now when their naked, perfect chests are covered in water, a mere twenty feet from where I’m treading water in nothing but a small slip.

I’ve thought about touching myself in the carriage before, but it’s a bit difficult.

The bumpy ride isn’t really conducive to a good release.

I glance around and wonder if it’s possible to relieve a bit of my tension here, without them knowing.

They were keeping a healthy distance and I could probably manage to stay quiet while touching myself under the guise of cleaning my body.

I move towards the side of the pond, looking for somewhere shallow enough to plant my feet on the ground. It takes a couple of minutes, but I finally find a place where I can stand, the water coming right up to my chin. It’s perfect, giving me as much coverage as possible.

I dunk my head under and scrub my fingers through my scalp, cleaning my hair and creating a shield to help hide my face from view.

I turn away from them as my hands start moving over my body, trying my best to clean myself as I go.

When I reach my chest, and graze my nipples, my body jerks as need pulses straight down to my core.

I toy the line between enjoying the feeling and rushing to finish before I’m caught.

Slowly, I move one hand down under my slip and push two fingers inside.

I manage to keep my moan internal as my body starts lighting up.

I try to picture my four knights, but knowing they are so close has me slightly turning my body so I can see the three of them, shirtless and sexy, only twenty feet from where I’m standing.

They are talking to each other and I’m able to peek through a small gap in the curtain of my hair as I continue touching myself in secret.

Seeing them splash around as they clean themselves, their large hands running over their own chests and shoulders, helps push me over the edge. I bite my lips to prevent any noise from coming out and quickly turn away as my body convulses.

When the shaking finally stops, I pull my fingers out and open my eyes. I glance up and see Draven standing guard at the edge of the pond. But he’s not looking at the forest, his eyes are on me, and I freeze in fear. How long has he been watching me? Did he see what I just did?

I swallow and turn away, not sure that I want to know the answer to that. He must think I’m shameless, doing that right here, while they’re all close by. Maybe that’s one of the reasons they aren’t interested in me. Maybe I’m too forward. Maybe these men prefer to play hard to get?

Whatever the reason, I just hope he doesn’t bring it up. Considering his lack of overall conversation, I have a feeling that if he did see something, he’ll keep it to himself.

I decide to take a few laps around the water.

It feels nice to stretch out my limbs after spending so much time traveling.

I keep eyeing the waterfall and decide that jumping from the top into the pond would be a lot of fun.

After all, what’s the point in coming to a strange new realm if I don’t get to experience a little adventure along with it?