Page 39 of Dawn to Dusk
After a long day of walking around the property looking at my wards, I felt sweaty and nasty. I swam under a waterfall to cool off. The soothing water was lost on me as my mind tried to figure out what went wrong this last month.
Both Ziam and Edur disappeared without a trace. Every man, except Balthazar, refused to even look me in the eyes. The population’s fear suddenly amplified, and I couldn’t figure out why.
Floating in the water didn’t give me the weightless feeling I searched for. Not like holding Ziam’s hand or laying with Edur. It stung more than I would admit.
They clawed past my defenses, just to vanish like ghosts. I knew they couldn’t give me forever, but I expected them to give me the respect of telling me I wasn’t entertaining them anymore.
And the likelihood that both beasts suddenly found their mates was so low, I couldn’t even make up reasonable explanations. Balthazar didn’t mention either beast to me, and I couldn’t simmer down my pride enough to ask about them.
They left me high and dry, like I should have known they would. Those sneaky bastards wormed their way into my feelings, and I let them. I knew better. It was my own damn fault.
A nasty taste settled on my tongue that made my mouth twist up. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths to calm myself.
I knew this wasn’t a permanent arrangement. They promised me nothing. They were not responsible for my feelings.
Holding my rage at bay was one of the hardest things I ever did. I didn’t let people get in a position to mess with me this way. And this was exactly why.
So much for beasts being a higher caliber of men. They fooled me.
Gentle, but forceful, waves pushed me, and my eyes popped open in surprise. I found a water witch on the shore manipulating the water to bring me closer to her. She pointed to the sky. “Esmerey! The sun is almost down!”
She was right, Mirneax was hovering over the edge of the horizon. I went to shore, grabbing my clothes. “Thanks for the heads up.”
Even flying, the compound was too far out. Panic filled me until I came across a cave. I put up quick, dirty, but effective wards to protect me. Inside, I made a fire pit and fashioned something together to ease the harshness of the cave floor.
The situation was far from ideal, but it was livable and faster than trying to beat the clock back to my room. It reminded me of so many nights before, where I hid in a cave to get away from my own people. The solitude provided a certain amount of security.
Being alone never failed me, not like people have.
Except, even as I thought it, my mind went back to those two morons. I scoffed to myself and started my mantra over again. I refused to allow them to disrupt my heart.
Chapter 14:
Edur
After helping my mom clean up after dinner, I headed upstairs. I planned my path so I would pass Esmerey’s door. Something I did every night to make sure she was okay. I may be a caveman as Ziam put it, but I liked to think I was a considerate caveman.
When Ziam told me he explained to her what I did, I couldn’t face her. I convinced myself she needed time to calm down. That way, she was thinking with a clear head when we finally talked about it. A completely self-serving idea since it was a vain hope she would not permanently dismiss my sorry ass.
I came around the corner and found Ziam with his ear plastered to her door. Trying to avoid yet another argument with the unicorn, I backed up out of view.
“Wait!” Ziam called out.
Damn.
I peeked around the corner to find him looking right at me. This would be our fourth argument today. “Yes?”
Instead of finding disdain or anger on his face, I realized his hair turned yellow. I never saw that color before, and since his hair color was directly related to his emotions, I felt uneasy about the oddity. His eyes searched behind me. Whatever he wanted was not there, and his mouth twisted. “Her room is empty.”
“What?” I walked over and took the same stance he had before. I closed my eyes to focus, but nothing moved or breathed in there.
He sniffed at the hallway. “Her scent is old, from this morning. I checked on her at lunch, and she was minding thewest border wards. I intended to persuade her to attend dinner with me tonight.”
I meant to check on her earlier myself, but some emergencies came up. “She wouldn’t stay outside her wards.”
“No. She would not.”
We walked out of the compound without another word. A day without a cloud in the sky turned into a night filled with a raging storm. We raced against the clock to where he last saw her, but her scent was already washed away. I used my booming voice to my advantage. “Esmerey!”
