A Breath of Sunlight Page 17

  “I claimed him first!” Inari argued. “In the Pits.”

  “No, you didn’t. Not officially.”

  They argued further. Skaja kept her sword raised.

  In all his life, he had never been fought over by two women, and definitely not by two valkyrie women with one intent on taking his life and the other intent on protecting him. Although he had no desire to harm Skaja’s friend, he would if it meant keeping his locks of hair off her staff. He’d come too far to end up a valkyrie trophy.

  “So...what?” Inari finally said when she threw up her hands in resignation. “You’ve been hiding out here? With him? Is he your lover?”

  Skaja’s ears turned red. “No. He’s my...friend.”

  “Friend?” The other valkyrie’s expression twisted into shock and appall. “You’re willing to die for him and kill me for him. He’s not just your friend.”

  Her ears turned a brighter shade of red, and for one moment, hope slithered past his trembling fear. Perhaps she returned his affection more than he realized.

  Sticky blood trickled down the side of his face, blinding him in one eye. He wiped it away, only to realize his head stung and ached. Inari had given him a good beating. Exhaustion weighed down on his shoulders. Exhaustion and dizziness. She’d clubbed his head hard.

  “Put your weapon away,” Skaja ordered. “Go back to your home.”

  “It’s your home too. You’re coming with me.”

  “No, it’s not. Not...anymore.”

  Thankfully, Inari tucked away her dagger, and Skaja lowered the blade. He took several staggering steps toward the river where he’d left the weapons. A ray of sunlight broke through the trees above, and he latched onto it, breathing it into himself until it smoldered in his core like fire. Magic healed him enough to walk straight.

  But what he wouldn’t give for somewhere to sit. Or lie down.

  He glanced over his shoulder to find Skaja watching him with worry in her eyes, but she remained standing between him and the other valkyrie.

  “Then I’m not leaving here without you,” Inari continued, arms crossed. “And I promise I won’t harm a hair on your beau’s head.” She muttered under her breath as she stared at his hair. “No matter how much I want to.”

  Through the haze of red still dripping in his eye, he pointed one of Skaja’s daggers at her. “Don’t think I won’t be ready for you next time. And why would you try to kill me if you think I harmed your friend? Wouldn’t you try to get information first?”

  Inari grinned. “Kill first. Ask questions later.” But then her smile fell. “Skaja, what happened to your wings?”

  “It’s a long story,” she sighed.

  But even so, she gave a quick summary on their way back to the cottage. Calle followed behind the two valkyries, not daring to turn his back on Inari for a single second. His dizzy mind still spun. His body ached. More than one cut leaked trails of blood. Although Skaja kept glancing at him worriedly, she did nothing to help. Almost as if she were afraid to show any amount of concern in front of her friend.

  When they finally reached the cottage, he slumped onto one of the few logs surrounding a dormant fire pit. A fierce ache pounded in his temples, and his caution of Inari flew out the window as he lowered his head into his hands.

  How many times had Skaja saved his life now? He was useless without her. His fighting skills were average, and somehow, he ran into danger at every turn. On his own, he couldn’t imagine himself surviving a single fortnight.

  “Here,” Skaja murmured as she sat beside him and pressed a cold cloth to his head.

  He winced at the pain, but kept his eyes closed to hide the way the sting summoned tears to his eyes. She dabbed at the wound before moving to the one on his cheek.

  “A shallow cut,” she commented. “Might not leave a scar on your pretty face.”

  “Huh?”

  He opened his eyes to find her blushing from head to toe. A grin twitched at his mouth.

  “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” Her gentle hands continued to dab at the cuts, but her gaze evaded his. As if to change the subject, she said, “Inari went off to find the griffin she left behind. She promised not to kill anyone while here, especially not you or Joel.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. Also, I think you are beautiful.”

  The red in her cheeks darkened. Once again, she tried to change the subject. “I was right. You would never make it on your own. I’ve had to save your sorry arse too many times now.”

  True and true.

  “I will have you know...I fought against three chupacabras and lived. You were definitely wrong.”

  When her gaze darted to him in her initial surprise, his entire being melted. He desperately wanted to close every last inch between them. He caressed her jaw with the non-bloody parts of his fingers, holding her face captive between his hands. Wide, brown eyes stared back at him, but rather than a frigid storm glaring back, warmth burned hot and bright. Her lips parted, and even in her injured state, her wings moved slightly in response to his touch.

  His words escaped as a husky whisper. “May I kiss you again?”

  “Calle...” A sweet vulnerability claimed her expression, and her hand covered one of his. “You are covered in blood. Perhaps you should worry about healing your injuries first.”

  “I can’t. I’m saving my magic for you.”

  “You shouldn’t.”

  He opened his mouth to say he loved her but shut it just as quickly. Too soon.

  Much too soon.

  Instead, he jested, “I rescued your dagger from the sea, and a pack of wolves stared at me as I did it. Not to mention facing the wrath of a valkyrie. A kiss on the cheek then? Hand maybe?”

  Her eyes closed and her chin trembled, inciting a frown rather than a smile. “I was so scared,” she whispered. “Inari is my friend but being on the other end of her blade is a dangerous place to find yourself.”

  “How did you find me?”

  A shrug lifted her shoulders, but then she placed her free hand over her heart. “I felt it in here. My heart was calm, and then suddenly it wasn’t. As if I was feeling your fear.”

  Gingerly, he removed her hand from her chest and replaced it with his own. His other hand rested on his chest. Surprise jolted his heart, and in turn, hers skipped to the same beat.

  “Synchronized heartbeats.” His smile grew wide, and despite how the action pained his face, it remained steady. “My healing magic is flowing through you, still attaching you to me. It’s only temporary. But we can make it permanent.”

  The coy innuendo hugged the space between them.

  “What do you mean...permanent?”

  “By binding two souls with a blood exchange.”

  For several long moments, she stared back at him as if trying to understand it in her mind. “It’s magic?”

  “Perhaps a magic of the universe, but not my magic.”

  “Have you...done this with anyone else before?”

  Her voice betrayed her hesitancy and wariness, and he knew she thought of a certain young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. “If you mean Nyana, no. I haven’t done it with anyone. But I’m willing to do it with you.”

  “Why?”

  Their hearts beat quickly as one as he lifted his hand to hers. Finger to finger. Palm to palm. “I thought I already made that plenty obvious.”

  Someone a little way behind them coughed gently, and then hacked before they jumped apart.

  Joel.

  That bastard.

  “Oh! I didn’t see you there,” he wheezed, coughing once more into his fist. He stood at the edge of the clearing, dressed in a green tunic with brown pants, boots, and a matching forest green cloak over his shoulders. A packed bag was slung over his arm.

  Joel’s eyes widened when he glanced at Calle. “What in the hell happened to you?”

  Inari chose that moment to walk into view with one hand carrying her staff of hair and the other leading a griffin by leather reins. She grinned from ear to ear the moment her gaze landed on Joel’s hair. “Well, hello there.”

  Skaja pulled Calle to his feet and led him away from the other two. He glanced over his shoulder, his heart racing with concern.

  “We shouldn’t leave them alone.”

  “Inari promised to play nice,” she reassured, finally pulling him around the corner of the cottage and out of view. “I wanted to give you something before I can’t anymore.”

  His eyebrows furrowed quizzically before he inhaled sharply as she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Sparks of heat burst to life where their lips touched.

  Despite her bold advance, her hands hovered with uncertainty. He grabbed them and placed them on his shoulders. His fingertips skimmed her back, her sides, and then he pulled her closer to him by the waist.

  Every ache, every fear, every uncertainty fled his mind as he wrapped his arms tighter around her, never wanting to let her go. He dug his fingers through her silky hair and pulled gently to tip her head at an angle to give him better access. His tongue skimmed the seam between her lips, requesting permission.

  Her body froze against him, once again uncertain.

  But the moment her lips parted for him, he explored slowly. Carefully. The faintest whimper sounded in the back of her throat. The heat of desire smoldered in his core as he tasted her scent of jasmine and midnight skies.

  The quick taste wasn’t enough. He wanted more. Much more.

  However, he needed to take this slow with her. Agonizingly slow. No matter how fast she slipped into his heart.

  He kissed her tenderly a couple more times, and on the last sweet kiss, she held it for a few long moments before she broke it and hurried away without looking back.

  A so
ft smile tugged on his lips as he touched his mouth and watched her beautiful golden-white wings disappear around the corner of the cottage. His heart thrummed quickly, and he knew his wasn’t the only one dancing to a wild beat.

  And she hadn’t even slapped him.

  The black thorns of trepidation dug into Skaja’s side with each footstep. It ached and festered in the wound in her abdomen. It cut and clawed and cramped. Her wings fared worse. Every inch of them burned. Lifting them to prevent the tips from trailing on the ground proved to be a difficult feat. A part of her suspected only Calle’s constant magic flowing through her made it possible.

  The four of them had been traveling for a couple of days already.

  “I’m nervous,” she murmured, out of earshot of the other two who walked further behind them. Lush, forest floor slowly transitioned into rocky stone. Peeking out of the trees every now and again was a magnificent view of Heulwen in the distance. Bright. Golden. Nestled on top of glistening falls, with clouds that sparkled like rainbow dewdrops.

  She’d seen fewer things more beautiful in her life.

  And this was her home. Her true home. She wanted it back.

  “You shouldn’t be.” Calle gave her a flirtatious grin as he gripped her hand tighter. The moment a ray of sunlight hit him his healing magic grew momentarily stronger. “I’m not that scary.”

  “I’m not talking about you.” With a scowl on her face, she smacked him in the ribs. He winced. “I’m talking about my parents. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to say? What will they think of me? What if they’re disappointed? What if I am?”

  Joel’s slow, calming melody on his flute bounced right off her, unable to take the edge off her anxiety. His music hid the four of them and Inari’s griffin from view in both sound and body, he’d explained.

  Whatever that meant. She still kept her eyes and ears alert for any sign of danger, ready to draw her daggers in a moment’s notice.

  “I can’t see any reason for their disappointment.” Calle gave her hand a gentle squeeze, followed by a reassuring smile. The cut on his face had already healed a great deal with his magic, as if his body couldn’t help but take some for himself as he gave it to her. “You are beautiful and fearsome. Your harpy parents will appreciate how well you wield your daggers. But more than that, they will be ecstatic to meet you. Their hearts have been broken for a long time with your absence.”

  She’d heard harpies in the Sun Kingdom were great warriors. She worried she might not live up to her parents’ expectations, even as a valkyrie.

  She bit her lip and gazed out at Heulwen again through a break in the trees. “What should I do? Hug them? Shake their hands? Do nothing? What do they expect me to do?”

  “Whatever feels natural. Don’t do what you think they expect. But what makes you most comfortable. I know they’ll understand.”

  Shaking her head, she squeezed her eyes shut momentarily and pinched the bridge of her nose. “It’s more likely I’ll do something embarrassing around my father. I’m bad with men.”

  “Not all men.” He flashed her a devastating grin, his expression full of teasing and mirth.

  Before she managed a snarky reply, someone cut across her.

  “Friends don’t hold hands either!” Inari shouted with an irksome, gleaming smirk, dangerous, dark undertones in her feral gaze. Joel’s note stuttered as he snorted, but he quickly resumed the song.

  Skaja glared momentarily before shifting her gaze to their clasped hands. Golden tendrils of magic snaked up her arm and pressed cooling relief to her shoulder blades. If she released his hand, she feared the accompanying pain, and the awful reminder that she may never fly again.

  The thought alone crushed her spirit. She greatly valued her freedom. Without it...the burden would be a painful one to bear.

  A glint of gold from the corner of her eye broke her out of her foreboding thoughts. She inhaled sharply when Calle presented her with a shimmering, golden rose. She gingerly took it from him, surprised to find it solid with the energy of his magic surging through it. The smooth, glassy stem warmed her fingers, and each petal danced in a shimmer of gold when she tipped it one way, and then the other. Bringing it to her nose, she breathed in Calle’s familiar, earthy scent.

  “This is pretty,” she murmured. “How long can it stay in this shape?”

  Something shifted in his eyes. The amber color swirled with happiness and a sliver of hope. “Forever if I will it. A rose signifies someone’s intention to court another person.”

  Skaja’s heart beat fast as the predator of alarm chased her. Her hand reacted by itself as she threw the rose to the ground, and it shattered into golden dust at her feet.

  Shocked silence. From both of them.

  “Oh,” he said finally as they started forward again. “All right.”

  “I’m so sorry. I panicked.” She lifted her head to stare wide-eyed at him, but instead of finding anger on his face, amusement lifted the corners of his mouth and crinkled the skin around his eyes.

  “At least you didn’t slap me.”

  Her thoughts drifted to the silver sheets back at the cottage containing Calle’s memories. The one with Nyana, in particular. The first time she laid eyes on the memory, she’d wanted it for herself. Badly. She still did. With Calle. If she agreed, she knew a part of her valkyrie self would crumble. When so much of her identity would wither with it, and with nothing else keeping her grounded, would anything remain?

  After a long stretch of silence other than the crunching of shoes against rocks, she said, “Valkyries are like the female Praying Mantis. They have a little fun before killing their mates.”

  He grimaced and rubbed his neck with his free hand. “I’d like to keep my head. Thank you.”

  “What I’m saying is this—courting is not something we do. I don’t know the first thing about it. I’m a valkyrie, Calle. Not a lady. Not a princess. A valkyrie.”

  She released his hand, and the pain from her wings crashed down on her like violent waterfalls. Her body threatened to droop, but she forced herself to remain upright to prove her point.

  Despite directing her message at him, she withered beneath her own words. She’d grown up as a valkyrie. She would forever be a valkyrie. She knew little else. A relationship between them would never work.

  Right?

  The slow, languid beat of her heart hurt nearly as much as her wings. But it wasn’t her heartbeat she felt. It was Calle’s. Despite his warm smile, his chest ached.

  And it was her fault.

  He replied with a change of subject. “Just wait until you see the falls up close one day. When you stand at the top, you feel as if you are standing on the very top of the world.”

  Inari came up behind them and slung an arm around Calle’s shoulders. He stiffened at her touch.

  Her obsessive gaze landed on his hair moments before she ran her fingers through his auburn locks. She gave him a look between a smirk and flirtation. “I’ve been with several men,” she said as she stroked one of the strands of hair, and then another. “Such fun times.”

  His mouth lifted in disgust. “You stay away from me.”

  A surprising prick of jealousy goaded Skaja into stomping toward them. She grabbed her friend’s arm and threw it off him. “Leave him alone, Inari.”

  “Why?” Inari cackled and held up her staff of hair. “He would complete my collection. I think I would be satisfied for a few years after his lock of hair joined the others.”

  “Go home,” she snarled, pointing in the direction of the valkyrie islands.

  “No. Not without you. I promise I won’t kill anyone. Or tell Paula what you’ve been up to. But if you ever change your mind about this one...” Inari licked her bottom lip hungrily as her gaze raked down Calle.

  “Never.”

  “Quiet,” he hissed suddenly as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to the side of the road beneath the shadows of a nearby tree.

  In all her arguing, she hadn’t noticed the crunch of boots on rocks or the clink of weapons against armor. Joel still played his flute, but now his eyebrows furrowed with concern and a trace of fear. The tempo never stopped. The melody remained the same.

  A half dozen soldiers appeared around the bend dressed in red and gold armor. All wore swords on their belts. A few carried painted shields to match their uniforms. She noted four of the soldiers were male, and two were female. She refused to allow a single drop of female blood to stain her hands. But the men were another story.