Page 29 of Null & Void

“Frasteria trees in full bloom are spectacular,” Riley whispers, sniffing the flower he picked.

“I didn’t even know they existed,” I say with wonder as I look around to see the rest of the group has left us behind, and Riley’s giant presence is far too close again.

I look at him. I mean I truly look at the man in front of me, with the new knowledge that he’s the prince and we are trying to rescue his sister. His face goes from peaceful and perhaps slightly amused to deflated and dejected as he sees me studying his face. My rage responds with a slam into my throat.

“I’m sorry, Firecat. I didn’t lie to you, and I never will, but omitting the truth of who I am was still a deceit. One that I had convinced myself was better for you. This is no excuse, and I truly hope you’ll forgive me.”

Riley tucks the flower behind one of my ears, moving his hand slowly toward my face this time, so he doesn’t cause me to flinch. Instead, I soften. But I’m unwilling to verbally accept his apology when I’m not sure that I can speak with the lingering heat from Riley’s fingers brushing my ear.

He then tips his head in the direction of the beach, a wordless reminder we need to hurry.

We reach the edge of the beach and I take one last look at the frasteria trees. We’re not the first to arrive, but luckily, we will all fit on the first barge across.

We’re waved straight onto the barge and told to sit for safety reasons, joined by a dozen or so other travelers. Two large men climb aboard, one Erduborn and the other Nemorisborn. After receiving a signal from the other side, the men begin to pole us toward Erdu, the large chain through the center making a loud clunking sound as each link passes.

Aware it will take at least half an hour to cross, we chat amongst ourselves about nothing important. My mind still reels that Riley, sitting to my left, is a prince. That line of thought leads me to the next until I land on something that makes me smile mischievously.

The barge is loud, so I know I can speak to Riley without anyone—save for Bitty—being able to hear. I lean closer to Riley and signal for him to lean down so I can say something.

“So, if you’re the second Prince Ofnemoris…”

Riley looks down at me, frowning in confusion.

“And the twin of Lyss…” I continue.

His eyes narrow at me.

“The twin of…Amarilyss,” I say with my smile widening, and he rolls his eyes dramatically.

“That means, Riley, your name is…”

“—Aurelius,” he finishes for me, a glint in his eye that tells me I will pay for this later.

“Aurelius Jasper Ofnemoris,” I say slowly, annunciating every syllable perfectly, unable to hide my smirk. “It’s a lovely name, Aurelius.”

He leans down, his arm coming around me to lean on the barge’s wall along my back, breath hot against my ear. “You might think you’re mocking me, Firecat, but I like the idea of my name on your lips.”

He pauses in place after his lips graze my ear on his last word, sending fire into my veins. Then he leans back to look at me with heavy lids, stopping at my mouth before returning to face ahead.

“Well,” I splutter. “I guess I won’t be saying it again.”

I let out an angry huff when I see him try to hide a smile as he reclines against the barge.

He knows he won. What he won, I’m not sure, but we both know that whatever it was, he definitely won. Asshole.

My cheeks are still burning, his breath and lips still tingling on my skin, when the barge reaches Erdu and we disembark. Not another word is spoken between us.

If anyone else, and I mean anyone else, spoke or tried to touch me like that, they would lose their ability to function. Somehow, I clam up and become awkward around Riley. This must be because I haven’t had sex in revolutions. I’m starved. That’s all it is. It doesn’t help that Riley is nice to look at. And to smell.When he’s not drunk.

I’m a creep. A sex-starved creep.

Erdu is a hot and windy place most of the time, but during windstorm season there are days when the wind picks up the sand and uses it to scrub everything raw—including flesh from bone.Luckily, this only happens a handful of times each windstorm season. All gorge and canyon towns are specially designed to withstand them. The native fauna has also adapted to survive windstorms, or they know how to hide.

Early settlers in Erdu tunneled out caves in the ground or the side of unoccupied gorge walls for refuge.When a windstorm is upon you, your best chance of survival is to find one of these and hope that it’s not already occupied as they can realistically only fit two people, three max.

I knew all this. What I didn’t realize was that we were entering Erdu at the start of windstorm season, the deadly season during which Oferdu people don’t usually travel because of the risks.

We sort through our supplies, making sure each of us has everything needed to survive if we become separated from the group. Tovi helps me shift a few things around so my hatchets are still secure but accessible, commenting on their beauty as she holds one.

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