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“I’m okay,” I breathe. “Keep going.”
He rubs his hands down my thighs as if to soothe me. “Is it too much?”
“Don’t stop,” I plead.
With every gentle thrust, pressure builds throughout my body, blinding my senses. Ecaeris digs his fingers into my hips, the touch a stark juxtaposition to his movements. I rake my nails across his thighs, the tang of copper filling the air as I break his skin.
Our currents don’t cross, they collide, battling against one another where the estuary meets. Only this time, he is the sweet river water, and I am the uncontrollable ocean storm.
“Breathe, Ada,” Ecaeris reminds me, but I’m too lost at sea to care.
Wave after wave, pleasure batters my core, flooding me with sensations until I’m overwhelmed by each new touch. Tingles run through my body in an unending orgasm, and I arch off the bed as I gasp. All I can do is hold on and ride out the storm we’ve created.
Ecaaeris tumbles after me, his strokes becoming faster as he spills his release inside me. He growls low in his chest as he stills above me, refusing to break our connection while we’re both shuddering in the aftermath. We stay like this for seconds or hours. Time simply freezes until he lowers my legs and pulls out of me with a hiss.
He drops onto his back beside me, tugging me tight against his side, and we rest in the silence for as long as we can. Once the sun fully illuminates the room, this bubble ceases to exist.
“It’s time to go, isn’t it?” I inquire.
I feel him nod before he speaks. “Yes, but it won’t be as dreadful as you’re expecting.”
“Sure,” I drawl, then chuckle to myself. “I’ve been camping before. It wasn’t exactly the time of my life.”
“You’ll be with us,” he tells me in that confident tone I’ve grown to love so much. “We’ll have some fun while we travel.”
“You’re very pretty when you lie,” I snark, batting my lashes at him.
He gives me a dazzling smile. “I’m your favorite kind of liar.”
* * *
Departing from the Mongrel village is more difficult than I anticipated. I’ve not felt this at home in a very long time, and that makes me feel vulnerable. It’s become a comfort zone for me, so venturing this far away, through the foreign edges of the forest, is equal measures of adrenaline-inducing and nerve-wracking.
Our last bit of duties included Talodus and Ecaeris turning over their daily tasks to Rin and Marren… The strangely adorable couple leaned into each other, seeking comfort as they prepared for their friends to leave. I was not expecting them to fit together like missing puzzle pieces finally reunited, but they do.
We also had a long discussion with Isolde and her husbands, making them promise to stay close to the queen and pay extra attention to the guards’ reports. And we asked them to make sure there wasn’t anything odd happening in the forest or on the routes. They couldn’t afford a surprise visit from Nesta without us there.
Rinya and Isolde pulled me aside, hugging me tightly as they said their goodbyes. I almost cried twice this morning. And then Madigan happened… She shot me with an arrow, much to everyone’s shock... Except me. And the Mongrel queen, who simply giggled while we argued.
The consensus is... Yes, it hurts. But not for long.
Hugs help heal it.
Not really, though that was the apology Madi gave me.
I’m going to miss everyone while we’re gone, and that’s a surprising feel that I’m not really used to.
Madi and her Shades have their own tasks to accomplish. And as badly as I wish we could stay together, that just isn’t possible. They’re heading to the Dweller’s village in four days’ time. Ideally, the Shades and the Mongrels will end our trips at the same time, reaching the contact point within a day or so of each other.
I can’t say I’m not a little peeved that they have to account for less travel time. But Connak has assured me countless times that this trip will be less treacherous than the Shades’ trip. I don’t know that I believe him after really studying the map. There’s not much else I can say, though.
We have to make these trips and speak to the other queens.
If we don’t, we risk going to war with more than just Nesta.
Madigan and I didn’t share a goodbye, only good luck. If all goes well, we’ll meet in the Howler’s village to plan our attack on Nesta. And we have to plan for every possible scenario, leaving no stone unturned as we plot our steps for war.
I won’t risk bodily injury to my Mongrels... Not when our relationships already potentially have an end date.
