Chapter 9

9

D amon

After foraging, I return with my arms full. Kyrie is busy hanging her freshly washed clothes on a nearby tree. She turns, a scowl on her pretty face. I almost drop what I am carrying and proceed to swallow my tongue as my eyes pop out of my skull.

Kakara, save me.

I’ve seen Kyrie in her shift many times, but it’s never been soaked through before. I can make out the dark of her nipples. Her breasts are high and full. They’re fuller than I ever realized. She’s always worn loose garb. Her curved frame was always hidden. I’ve never really looked…not like this. I shouldn’t be looking now.

I swallow thickly, the sound filling the silence. May the gods help me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks in a clipped tone.

“I um…I… You’re still wet.” It’s a stupid thing to say. Of course, she’s wet; she only finished bathing not so long ago.

“What are you wearing?” Her eyes narrow, and she looks angry. “What’s wrong with you? Do fae walk around naked? Is that normal?”

“I’m not naked. I’m in my braies. My clothes are drying, too, same as you.” I point at a tree on the other side of the clearing; my clothes are all still hanging in it.

“You may as well be naked. They’re undergarments.”

It’s true. I am practically naked without pants and a tunic, but what else can I do?

I throw out a laugh. “I’m sorry to have to point this out, Ky, but you’re in your undergarments as well.”

“It just won’t do.” She shakes her head.

“It’ll have to do. There is no other way that doesn’t include wearing wet clothing. I’m not doing that.” I’m doing my best to keep my eyes on hers. I refuse to leer. To make her feel uncomfortable in any way.

I caught Kyrie staring earlier, so I didn’t think she would mind too much. She’s already seen me in far less.

Her expression relaxes. I can see that she agrees. Her gaze drops to my arms and what I am carrying. “What have you got there?”

I smile. “I found some fruit for us to eat.”

Her eyes light up. “My mouth is watering. What fruit? I can’t remember the last time I ate fruit. We had apple trees on the farm, but they no longer gave fruit after…after…” Her eyes turn hazy, and she bites her lip.

“After Snow took over the realm and poisoned the kingdoms,” I fill in for her.

She nods. “After the fae brought evil to all the lands.”

“It’s all because of her. I know it is. I think it might have something to do with these magic taxes.”

“How, Damon? How does one person make an entire realm do her bidding against their will?”

I would dwell on the fact that she finally used my name, my real name, but I don’t. Not right now. I do see it as a victory of sorts. “In the same way that she tainted all of the lands. How she banished the kings. I’m not sure how, only that it happened. Her reach is far. She’s immensely powerful, even though she shouldn’t be.”

Her eyes lift in thought. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. There is sense to what you are saying. Why shouldn’t she be powerful?” She narrows her eyes.

“Snow is a human. Humans shouldn’t be able to wield magic.”

“I always thought she was a fae.” Kyrie rubs her chin absently.

I shake my head. “No, she’s just as human as you are.”

“You sound so sure; like you met her yourself.” Kyrie laughs. “That would be absurd. I hear she’s taken the Ice Court and is using it as her own, but that doesn’t mean you’ve met her.” She laughs again, not sounding so sure this time.

I don’t say anything. Not only have I met Snow, but I used to know her, and very well. She was like a sister to me once. Then everything changed.

It feels like another lifetime.

“We should eat,” I tell Kyrie, wanting to change the subject. “I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Do you really have fruit?”

I nod. “I have dates and figs. I saw coconuts on the other side of the oasis; I will fetch some to have with our dinner.”

“I’m so excited to eat fruit again.” Kyrie gives me a radiant smile that warms me all the way up. I smile back. I can’t help it. “We should check on Cyrano. He might be awake.” She fetches a waterskin as she talks.

I nod.

Then we walk to the grove of trees where we left the male earlier. He is propped up against a palm tree.

“You’re awake,” Kyrie says. “We brought food and water.”

He looks at me warily. Then he turns to Kyrie, his gaze heating as it tracks over her body. The shift isn’t clinging to her nearly as much, but it’s revealing enough to have the human take an interest.

I instantly bristle.

Kyrie must notice him looking because she hands Cyrano the skin. “You should keep hydrated,” she tells him, then she walks away. “I’ll be right back,” she yells over her shoulder.

He keeps his gaze on her the whole time; his mouth is hanging open. He’s practically drooling, which irritates me.

“Don’t look at her like that,” I growl.

“Like what?” he mutters. “What are you talking about?”

“You know what I mean. Like she is a piece of choice meat. Have some respect.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. You have no say over me, fae. I can look at Kyrie any which way I choose to look at her.”

I chuckle. “Actually, I have every say over you, human ,” I spit out the word. “I get to say whether you return with us to civilization or whether you are left here for the next group of fae passing through. You’ll end up back at the salt mine if I choose to leave you.”

“Kyrie wouldn’t do that to me. She would never allow it. We humans need to stick together. We need to stand strong against you filth.”

“Kyrie will side with me,” I bluff. “We are a team. We’re still close friends. The fact of the matter is that she and I would have a much better chance of making it if we left you behind. Don’t tempt me to do that,” I speak under my breath when I hear her approaching.

“I will not stand for—”

“Is everything alright?” Kyrie asks. She’s draped her still-damp linen scarf around her shoulders. It does a good job of protecting her modesty.

“We’re doing fine,” I tell her. “Cyrano was just thanking me for saving his life.”

Kyrie smiles. “Good, I’m glad.” She sits next to Cyrano, who takes a long pull from the skin.

I offer Kyrie a big bunch of dates. They look ripe and sticky.

Her eyes light up. “Those look amazing.” She picks one, puts it in her mouth, and groans. I’m ashamed to say that the sound shoots straight to my cock, making me no better than Cyrano.

I change my sitting position so that the growing bulge isn’t obvious. I notice how Cyrano is staring, too. I don’t like the way he is looking at her. I don’t like it one bit.

I hand him a bunch as well, but he hardly acknowledges me as Kyrie puts another plump date into her mouth. Her eyes flutter shut, and she moans again.

Cyrano’s mouth falls open, and he licks his lips.

Bastard.

I almost don’t want Kyrie to have any of the ripe figs. I hand her two, anyway, making sure to pick the best ones.

Her eyes go wide. “These look so good.” She bites into one, juice running down her chin. She licks it up, smiling.

She doesn’t seem to notice that neither of us is eating. Right now, all of our focus is on her. Although, that’s not quite true for me, as some of my focus is on Cyrano as well. On how he is leering at Kyrie. I narrow my eyes.

I hand him a fig. “Eat your fruit,” I tell him, scowling. My jaw tightens. Everything tightens. I am sure to project my feelings with my eyes. I sincerely hope that they are shooting daggers.

His eyes flare with fear. Good! He should be afraid. I healed him, but I can break him again just as easily. I know I have no right to be possessive of Kyrie, but I can’t help it. I’m used to protecting her. It’s become second nature. It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t see herself as my friend anymore.

We eat in silence for a while, ending our meal with a piece of meat jerky I took from the saddlebag earlier.

Kyrie pats her stomach. “I’m full. I haven’t been full in forever.” She smiles. “I could get used to it.”

“I feel so much better.” Cyrano yawns.

“You should rest,” Kyrie tells him.

“Kyrie is right. Get all the rest you need because we leave in the morning,” I tell them. “Do you think you’ll be ready by then?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Yes. But understand that the longer we stay, the more chance we have of being recaptured.”

Cyrano purses his lips. Then he puts his tongue on the roof of his mouth. I can see he’s being difficult just to get a rise out of me.

It doesn’t work. I wait him out.

“I should be fine by then,” he finally pushes out, like he’s doing me a favor.

“You can ride one of the camels,” Kyrie tells him. “We’ll take plenty of breaks.” She touches the side of his arm.

Cyrano smiles at her. “You’re so sweet, Kyrie. You’ve taken such good care of me.”

I clear my throat. “We’ll set up camp in the rocks next to the pool so that the wurms can’t get to us.”

Kyrie’s eyes are wide, and her face pales in an instant. “That was one of the worst experiences of my life. You’re lucky you slept through it,” she tells Cyrano.

“What exactly happened?” he asks.

Kyrie starts to tell him the story. “I was fast asleep when it attacked,” she says. “You won’t believe the size of them. They’re bigger and quicker than you ever thought possible. Their mouths are huge. Anyway, one minute I was sleeping and then…”

Cyrano listens intently, making all the right noises and asking all the right questions.

“There was a big, white flash. The wurm dove back into the sand. Thankfully, Damon was able to use his magic. If not for him, we would be dead right now.”

“So, your name is Damon and not Taylor. Why did you lie to us? Why pretend to be a human in the first place?” Cyrano asks.

“I wasn’t pretending. I was human. A spell had been cast on me. I believed I was human just as much as you did.”

“And the spell broke during that snowstorm.” He lifts his eyes. “How come there was a snowstorm in the desert? Are the two things related?” He looks at me head-on.

It’s a good question and one I’ve asked myself over and over.

“The storm was very strange,” Kyrie remarks. “It was freakish and could not have just happened. That smacked of magic.”

“Why would someone want to cast a spell over you in the first place?” the male asks, narrowing his eyes. “What purpose would it serve?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I tell him. “It isn’t important.” I shrug.

“That’s what someone with something to hide would say. Maybe you did it to yourself. You cast a spell over yourself so that—”

“That’s ridiculous,” I cut him off. “Why would I choose to work in a salt mine for years? What could I possibly gain from that? I was as much in the dark as all of you. I thought I was a human. That my name was Taylor. That I was from Babel and that my family had been captured by the fae, just like all of you. I didn’t know any different.”

“Who are you, then, Damon? What’s your story?” He folds his arms.

I smile. “I’m nobody, and there is no story.”

He snorts. “Why is it that I don’t believe you?”

“Perhaps because you’re not the trusting kind. Especially when it comes to us fae.” I lift my brows.

“You should get some rest, Cyrano,” Kyrie says as the tension ramps up. “You must be exhausted.”

“I am, Ky. I used up a whole lot of energy fighting off that lizard bird. It may have gotten a few swipes in, but I killed it in the end. It put up a huge fight. The thing was ferocious.”

“You’re lucky that rock was right there,” I interject.

“I wrestled the creature for a long time before finding that rock. It was already half dead by then.”

I choke out a laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. You did well.”

“I’m sure it was,” Kyrie says. “You’re very brave.”

Kakara, strike me down!

I stand. “I’m going to go look for firewood.” The sooner I’m far away from this prick, the better.

“Will you help me bathe, Kyrie?” Cyrano asks.

I roll my eyes. Jessop’s tit, but this bastard is pushing hard. It’s clear that he has his sights set on Kyrie, who can do so much better.

There is a moment of silence where none of us moves. I don’t think I breathe.

“That wouldn’t be proper,” she says.

My mouth twitches as I hold back a laugh. The idiot deserves it.

“I’m sure Damon wouldn’t mind helping you bathe,” she adds.

“I wouldn’t mind at all.” I wink at the prick, who blanches. More like drown the scoundrel. His hair could do with a good wash and rinse. For that to happen, I’d have to hold him under for a good long time.

He must see the gleam in my eye and the wicked smile toying with my lips because Cyrano quickly says, “I’m sure I’ll manage after a short rest.”

That’s what I thought. The audacity to even ask such a thing.

I turn and start toward the more wooded part of the oasis.

“Say, what is that on your back, fae?”

I stiffen. Curse on the gods, I forgot about my marking. I haven’t had it for so long that I completely forgot that it was there. It needs to stay covered if I am to keep my identity hidden.

I’m sure to keep my tone neutral. “A decorative marking. Fae like to put ink under their skin,” I say as I start to walk again.

“I thought that only fae of high rank had such elaborate designs, especially designs with gold or silver in them. Yours is impressive indeed for a nobody.”

I shut my eyes, squeezing them tight for a moment. Then I turn, my expression impassive. “That used to be the case, but it isn’t so much anymore, not for many years. It’s become commonplace for us regular folk to get markings, too.” I give a half smile and walk away.

It was stupid of me to walk around so carelessly. I still trust Kyrie. I think she trusts me deep down inside. It might be against her will, but she trusts me.

Cyrano is another story altogether. I will need to sleep with one eye open with him around. I trust him even less with Kyrie.