Bounty Hunter (The Black Tulip Chronicles #1)

37. Ikar

Chapter 37

Ikar

W e’ve been flying for several hours now, and the first sun has almost set, taking its light with it. After seeing Vera almost slip from the monster, I instinctively pulled her to me and held her close in relief. But instead of putting the usual distance between us right after, this time she relaxed. Her small frame in front of me, safely tucked into my coat and sharing my warmth, feels too right for a man destined to marry another woman. I swallow tightly. To her, I am a criminal, a bounty. And sometimes I wish that’s all I were because then I could choose to be with her, and I would.

I gave her a mocking smile when I saw her stand on that platform so proudly in this strange dress, but the mocking was to hide my awe at her beauty. Even wearing animal heads and ruffles that most women would die before wearing, she draws me. Now, the fabric is all tucked around her, revealing shapely, creamy legs, and with the wind, her hair no longer covers what she attempted to cover on the platform. I keep my eyes safely on the horizon and distract myself with questions. Unlike most Originators, Vera does not dress to show her mark. Now that I think about it, usually every inch of her, from ankle to wrist, is covered in clothing no matter the heat, and I wonder why. There are many things I don’t understand about her. I sense the secrets she holds so close, I don’t completely trust her because of it, but I’m drawn to her anyway.

I’m not sure how far this creature will take us, but I know that it has saved us many days of travel through a forest that turned out to be much more trouble than we ever expected. Our last stop is the Fae Kingdom, as Vera has so stubbornly required, before I can get to an authority to get the bounty situation cleared up. I feel torn between my rush to get to Moneyre to, hopefully, meet up with Darvy and Rhosse to continue my mission and lingering and spending more time with Vera. I remind myself that these moments are all we have, and then we’re done. It’ll do no good to develop further feelings for a woman I can’t be with.

An hour later, as the second sun begins to set and we are left with the little light given off by the third, the sharp flyer begins to descend. It was not at my guidance, so I assume we’ve gone the distance it will take us. Vera shifts and wakes before me with the change in speed and direction. She tilts her head up with a smile, warm from sleep to meet my eyes, and she pauses there. Time stops. Her mouth is mere inches from mine. If I lower my head, my lips will meet hers, and I imagine she tastes like the warm glowing sunshine that is drawing out the gold in her hair and reflecting a hint of orange in the gray of her eyes. Her lips part like her thoughts are one with mine, and I nearly groan. With torturous restraint I didn’t realize I had, I pull my eyes from her lips back to her eyes and then out to the sky ahead of us.

“We’re about to land. Our sharp flyer has taken us as far as he can go.” My voice is rough with want of her. I swallow it down.

She straightens wordlessly and once again shifts forward in the saddle, and I feel cool air where moments ago there was warmth. Necessary distance . The creature circles and slowly brings us back to the ground, landing gracefully even with its odd, insect-like legs. I watch as Vera leans forward, presses her hands to its neck once again and seems to thank it. In the meantime, I dismount and scan the field where we’ve landed. It looks safe enough, no immediate danger. The flora and trees seem more fae than shift forest to me now.

After determining which direction to head, I turn to reach for Vera, but instead of accepting my help, she hops to the ground beside me. Back to the usual then.

“You can remove the cuff now.” I offer my wrist to her. I’ve more than earned my freedom at this point.

She pushes my hand away, rolling her eyes. “If you’re so capable you can kill an armored bear without any of your weapons or magic, you’ll be fine until you can prove your innocence.”

I’ll take that as an odd sort of compliment.

“I just saved you from marriage to a shifter,” I argue, dropping my arm heavily.

“Thank you.” She smiles too sweetly, then grabs the fabric of her dress and hitches it to her knees before making her way forward.

I shrug, less disappointed than I should be that I’m still her bounty, and quickly catch up to her.