Page 113 of The Courting of Bristol Keats
They watched Tyghan approach the recruits, congratulating each of them on their drills, and then he grabbed Bristol’s hand. He pulled her a short distance away into the shade of an oak tree before drawing her into his arms and whispering into her ear. She laughed and pressed her hands against his chest until he pulled her tight and kissed her. A prolonged kiss.
Dahlia huffed. “And that. He should at least keep his public displays in check. It is not wise. It could—”
“Why is it not wise?” Eris asked. “They’re lovers.”
The High Witch replied with silence.
“Love is not a bad thing, Dahlia,” Eris added. “He’s learning to trust again.”
“Is that really prudent at this time? What if he lets his guard down and tells her everything?”
A weight pressed down on Eris’s shoulders. He shook his head. “No. I’ve spoken to him. He knows there is too much at stake. He’s a king first. He wouldn’t jeopardize the future of Elphame.”
“It’s still a risk. Besides being Maire’s daughter, she was raised in the mortal world in a very mortal fashion. I’ve had enough interaction with her to know she’s an outlier at heart and always will be. Her ways are not our ways, not to mention lovers have quarrels. We need her. If things shouldn’t work out between them—”
“Let’s believe that they will.” He reached over and pulled Dahlia’s hand into his lap.
She snatched it away. “Please. We don’t want to create talk.”
Eris suppressed a moan. “Dahlia, my love, I can assure you, everyone already talks about us. We’ve been together for almost eight years. When will you believe that I would never betray you?”
“Why wouldn’t you? Because I might turn you into something dreadful?”
“Because Iwouldn’t. There is not a creature in all of Elphame that could turn my head from you. I am the scorched earth, and you are my rain.”
She looked sideways at him, both brows arched and one corner of her mouth curved upward, but Eris knew that was her version ofI love you, too. Maybe one day she would actually say the words to him. He was a patient man.
A thunderous gallop of approaching horses roared through the air, commanding everyone’s attention.
It was Quin and three knights from the garrison.
Eris could already tell by the troubled expression on Quin’s face that it wasn’t good news, and he wondered how long it would take Tyghan to pull away from Bristol to speak with him privately. What excuse would he give her this time? There were endless things he couldn’t discuss in front of Bristol—the kinds of things Dahlia worried about—but so far Tyghan had maneuvered well around difficult questions. When he didn’t let his temper get in the way, his foresight and acumen were impeccable. Eris took great pride in that.
Kasta, Dalagorn, and Cully were already breaking away from the recruits and heading over to Quin. It was news they were all waiting for. Dahlia sucked in a disapproving breath as she and Eris rose to join them. “What are we doing, Eris?”
Doing.After eight years together, he and Dahlia had a canon of inflection between them. He knew what she meant, and heard the dirty nuance behinddoing.
“We’re trying to save our world in the most honorable way we know how.”
“But is it? Honorable?”
Eris winced, and left his answer at that.
CHAPTER 77
Bristol leaned into Tyghan’s embrace, not trying to hide anything from anyone anymore. She happily breathed in the dust and sweat on his skin, and the scent of pine and juniper ground into his clothes from when she sent him crashing to the forest floor during drills. The dirt smudge across his cheekbone somehow managed to make him even more handsome.
“You were ruthless today,” he whispered in her ear. “Will you be that ruthless tonight?”
She plucked a piece of grass from his hair. “Is that what you want? Not an ounce of mercy?”
“I don’t need sleep,” he whispered as his mouth met hers.
But she knew by tonight, it would be she who was at his mercy. His mouth knew every curve, every dip and hollow of her body, every quivering nerve, and he seemed to take great pleasure in helping her discover them all, too. His hand discreetly eased beneath her shirt, his thumb stroking her breast, fanning embers already burning inside her.
The sound of galloping horses interrupted their kiss, and they both looked to see who it was. Quin was back. Bristol wondered what had taken him so long. After only a few days of making Cat “suffer and stew,” Bristol broke down and wrote Cat a letter, one with far gentler words than her parting ones had been. She was eager to hear everything Quin had to say. Eris already told her Quin wouldn’t be speaking to her sisters—the fewer who knew Danu knights were in Bowskeep, the better—that he’d only be leaving the letter in their mailman’s bag. As the Choosing Ceremony drew near, it seemed everyone was growing more cautious, guarding their actions like spies were everywhere. Still, she wondered if Quin had seen her sisters. “Let’s go see if—”
Tyghan cut her off. “No. I’ll speak to Quin.”
