Page 59 of Unseen Eye (Aetherian Chronicles #1)

“Oh darling, would I ever do something like that?” he murmurs as he leans in to kiss me again.

“Oh, definitely,” I say with a laugh.

“I must admit, I enjoy this much more.”

Another random thought pops into my head. “Are you jealous of Garet?” I blurt out.

“Yup, moment over,” Cal says, straightening up but still between my knees.

“Are you?” I press. “You looked like you wanted to say something earlier but didn’t.”

“Because every guy loves hearing the girl he’s kissing say another guy’s name.” His sarcasm evident, but then adds, “Last I checked, I got the girl.” He chuckles, but I can see a storm brewing in his eyes, like he’s fighting a battle within himself.

“Fine,” he admits with a sigh. “Maybe? Kinda? Sorta... It’s just, he’s known you for years, kept you a secret from all of us. And from what I can tell, you two were closer than I’d like to admit.”

I bite back a laugh, but there’s a flicker of something else—surprise, maybe even a little awe. I didn’t expect him to admit that.

“I never pegged you for the jealous type.”

“Because I don’t get jealous,” he corrects. “It’s just the thought of you with that bastard... It really sets me off. In all my years, I’ve never felt anything like this.”

Raising an eyebrow, I ask, “How old are you?”

He chuckles. “Three hundred and twenty-seven.”

My jaw drops slightly. “Okay, definitely way older than me.”

“Only slightly,” he jokes, before deepening the kiss.

This kiss is more intense than before, more urgent, as if each breath he takes is a silent plea for reassurance that I’m his.

His hands move down to the hem of my shirt, finding skin.

Using his freakishly fast reflexes, he pulls my shirt over my head in one fluid motion.

“Cal,” I say against his lips, “what if someone walks in?”

With a flick of his wrist, the door locks. “Problem solved,” he says, then goes back to kissing me. His hands roam over my skin, working their way back up and pulling my bra straps down, exposing my breasts. His fingers idly stroke them, wasting no time he replaces his fingers with his mouth.

“I’ve wanted to do this since the first time we were in this room,” he admits between kisses. “So fucking sexy.”

I briefly notice the tattoo on his arm again, the one that matches mine. I pull away, ready to ask about it, but just then he deepens the kiss, and just like that, I’m gone—nothing but a puddle of moans and whimpers in his hands.

When his hands roam back down my waist, I know what is coming next. He slips a hand in and smiles against my nipple when he realizes how wet I am. Soaking wet for him. His smile turns predatory as he plays with my clit and eventually sticks one, then two fingers in me. His lips are back on mine.

“Let go,” he says. Then his mouth latches back on. My climax finds me and washes through me hard. Savoring the feeling, I lean back on the table for support, unable to stand. Cal enjoys the view, clearly proud of himself.

“I am never going to look at this room the same,” I finally say.

He laughs. “Agreed.”

I’m just about to return the favor, eager to leave our mark on this room, when a knock at the door shatters the moment.

“I told you it would be locked! Remove your body parts from each other,” Theo jokes on the other end.

“Are you two done? We don’t have all day,” Izzy adds sarcastically.

I glance down at myself and try not to laugh. Cal, clearly annoyed that our moment was interrupted, sighs as I reach for my shirt. Jumping off the table, I lean forward and give him a quick peck. “We’ll continue this later,” I say, heading toward the door.

“This better be good,” Cal grumbles behind me.

Izzy looks at me, then at Cal, then back to me. “I was totally right,” she says to Theo, holding out her hand. Theo sighs, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a few coins, dropping them into Izzy’s hand.

“Know-it-all,” he mutters.

They’ve both changed: Izzy now wears leathers similar to mine, and Theo is dressed in all black like Cal. Each has a backpack slung over their shoulders, and they’re holding two more—presumably for Cal and me. “Time to go, sunshine,” Izzy says with a smirk, tossing a backpack to Cal.

“Yeah, yeah,” Cal replies, catching the pack and starting to fill it with books and parchment. Izzy watches him, then turns to me with a raised brow.

“I’m assuming he didn’t tell you anything about how this is going to happen,” she says.

“I really don’t know why you ask questions you already know the answer to,” Theo chimes in while picking up papers that fell from the table.

“Because I like to remind Cal that despite being the heir, I’m the brains behind the operation.”

Cal stops packing, tilts his head back, and laughs. “Oh yeah, Izzy, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Clearly annoyed, she turns back to me. “As I was saying, because of the protections placed on the city by yours truly, we can only blink so close to it. The shield will only let you through if you have no ill intentions. And just to clarify, wanting to strangle these two out of annoyance doesn’t count.

” She chuckles. “I’m assuming at this hour, Cleary will be at home.

He’s a bit skeptical about people, especially newcomers, so it might take him a minute to warm up to you.

Also, the man loves riddles. Just smile and nod. ”

I nod in agreement. “Are you two finished over there?” Izzy yells over her shoulder. “We need to go.”

I reach for my bag from Cal, but he shakes his head, slinging both over his shoulder.

“Males,” I mutter as I follow them out the back door and through the side gates. Cal blinks us there, and miraculously I don’t feel any side effects at all now. It’s the small victories.

“This is the Forest of Valen,” Cal begins as we walk through it, careful not to trip on the roots. “Legend has it that fauns and centaurs once roamed these woods and called it home. But as far as I know, no one’s ever seen one.”

“Or lived to tell the tale,” Theo mutters.

“How often do you come here?” I ask.

“Not as often as I’d like, honestly. In the beginning, it was a lot more—every week, whenever we could get away without being noticed.

Everyone just assumed we were out exploring or doing stupid shit.

But as we got older, and I took on more responsibility, that got harder.

So now it’s maybe once a month, if I’m lucky. ”

“Do you think your father will ever find out about it?” I ask.

“Sometimes it pays to have a king with little interest,” Cal says and shrugs.

“In the beginning, I was paranoid he’d stumble across it.

But, in reality, he hardly leaves the castle.

And when he does, it’s only to attend events in other kingdoms that he can’t avoid.

So, no, not really. Plus,” he grins, “you need to know where it is to find it. The shields distort the space around it, making everything inside vanish from view as if it’s not even there. ”

“Seriously?” I counter, not bothering to hide my awe. “Exactly how powerful are you again?”

This earns another shrug. “I’ll admit it wasn’t easy. Without an affinity for the ley lines, none of this would be possible. Plus, as there’s no other ley lines affinity out there, I don’t have to worry about someone else breaking the shield, so that’s nice.”

Cal stops walking. “We’re here.”

When I first look up, the desolation is overwhelming.

The land stretches out, barren and broken, where a city once stood proud.

Charred structures remain, some barely recognizable—marble buildings, half torn down and scorched, their elegance reduced to rubble.

A single wall from what must have been a grand hall still stands, its intricate carvings and detailed stonework partially visible beneath layers of soot and decay.

The craftsmanship, even in ruins, hints at a grandeur long lost to time.

In the near distance, mountains rise, their jagged peaks cutting into the dull sky, watching over this forgotten land.

The ground between is littered with debris, blackened stones, and remnants of lives once lived.

It’s a graveyard of a place, haunted by its own history—a stark contrast to what I imagine it must have once been.

“Ready to be amazed?” Cal asks, reaching for my hand with a toothy grin.

We walk forward, and it feels like stepping through mist—at first, everything is blurry, distant, like I’m watching a memory dissolve in the air. But with each step, the world sharpens. Slowly, the village comes into focus, and my breath catches in my throat.

It’s nothing short of spectacular.

What was once a ruin is now a thriving, living settlement, carefully rebuilt from the ground up.

The desolation at the entrance is a mere echo of what lies deeper within—a village brimming with life and ingenuity.

A narrow stream cuts through the heart of the village.

Its water clear as crystal, reflecting the sunlight in a way that makes it appear vibrant and alive.

At one end, a small waterfall tumbles down from a small cavern nestled in the mountain.

Its soft, steady roar filling the air. An intricate waterwheel harnesses the waterfall’s power, its wooden gears turning with a steady rhythm, channeling water into a complex system of pipes that snake through the village.

The homes are simple but sturdy, crafted from salvaged wood and stone that blend into the natural surroundings.

There’s a history in the materials, as if they’ve been drawn from the bones of the old city itself, now repurposed for a new beginning.

Some buildings feature greenhouses, where rows of vegetables and herbs grow, safe from the colder climate that comes with being this far north.