Tale of the Heart Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #4)

Chapter 29

C HAPTER 29

LOR

W HO THE F UCK K NOWS? —P RESENT D AY

I huddle against a log hidden in the trees, tucking into myself as the chill in the air seeps into my bones. Night fell hours ago, and I’ve been pushing in the direction that I’m pretty sure is south, though I must admit my inner compass could be skewed. My feet and body and soul are so sore and tired, and I need a moment to rest. I need a moment to feel sorry for myself.

Nadir. Is he gone? Can I use the arks to bargain for his life? Or was the moment I lost control the moment I lost him for good? My chest is so tight, I can hardly breathe, and I suck in mouthfuls of humid air, wishing all of this would end. I want to die too. I want to give up. I just want it all to stop hurting so much. My head bounces before it snaps up again as I try to fight off a wave of bone-deep exhaustion.

Adrenaline has kept me moving for the past two days, but even my rage can’t keep me upright anymore. I found water and an apple tree yesterday, so I’m not entirely starving, but gods, what I wouldn’t give for a thick slice of buttered bread and a platter of roasted meat drowning in gravy.

I nod off again, my temple smacking the log before I rest it against the surface with a groan. Thunder rolls in the distance, reminding me I need to find shelter. What’s the worst that can find me out here? I’ve faced down the vilest monsters already. But I really don’t want to be eaten by some wild animal. What an undignified way to go. I snort at my stupid joke and stupid self and resist the urge to start crying again.

My hand tingles with the sparks of my magic. It saved me again, but I have to find a way to control it. I didn’t care if I hurt Zerra. I wanted to make her suffer, though I realize that plan might have been shortsighted. I can’t kill her if I want to avoid becoming her. Surely as long as she’s alive then I’m safe? Or do the Empyrium plan to do away with her first? Why did they leave me with so little information? I broke through whatever enchantment she attempted to use on me, which also means I’m at least as strong as her. A fact she won’t have missed.

I squeeze my eyes shut and whimper.

Why is everything so complicated?

My mind blurs out, dragged down by exhaustion as I fight the pull of sleep, blinking as I shiver. More thunder rolls overhead as rain starts to fall. I curl tighter into myself, sniffling as the temperature drops. I should get up. I should keep moving.

Nadir. I miss you so much.

Lor.

I dream of someone saying my name in the distance, and I twitch, my eyes fluttering open like I’m falling. They slide shut as I continue shivering. The wind has picked up, knifing through my thin clothing as rain mists over my skin. Idly, I wonder if there’s some way to start a fire, but I’m too cold to move.

Lor. Can you hear me?

There it is again. It sounds like Nadir, and my heart twists in my chest. In the darkness, I reach for him, but I feel nothing. I want to touch him. Hold him. I want him so much.

Lor! Tell me you can hear me!

Wait.

My eyes snap open, and I sit up.

Lor! Can you hear me?

I blink, looking around. I’m awake. Did I just imagine that?

Can you hear me? Please hear me.

“Nadir,” I whisper, pinching the skin on my arm hard.

“Ow!” I hiss. Okay, I’m definitely awake.

Nadir! I shout back in my mind, and then a wave, like warmth and honey and sunlight, washes over me.

Lor!

I’m already up and running, weaving through the trees, every ounce of pain and fatigue forgotten.

“Where are you!” I scream. “Nadir!” I’m crying so hard I can barely see where I’m going. The rain falls harder, making the ground slippery and blinding my vision.

“Nadir!” My voice cracks. “Nadir!”

“Lor!”

I alter my course at the sound of his voice, crashing over brush and rocks, my already battered feet tearing up against the rough forest floor.

And then I feel him. I sense him. I remember that night in the settlements when Rion’s men captured me, when a wave of something sharp and warm filled the space behind my heart. Desire and rage and every longing course through my limbs, threatening to tow me under.

A distant rustle in the trees has me picking up my pace.

“Nadir!” I scream again, needing to feel his name on my tongue.

“Lor!” comes his voice, and I’ve never heard anything so beautiful in my life.

Then he materializes through the dim light, running towards me, and my heart nearly stops.

“Nadir,” I choke out. “Nadir . . .”

We crash into one another at top speed. He picks me up, wrapping me in his arms as my legs circle his hips. We spin around and around, squeezing one another so tight that I fear we might shatter.

“Oh, my gods,” I sob into the curve of his throat, inhaling the scent of his hair, reminding me of crisp winter nights and falling snow. “You’re alive. I’m so sorry.”

He buries his head against my throat and says, “I’m sorry, can you ever forgive me? ”

I pull away, framing his face with my hands.

“Forgive you for what?”

“What my father said about helping him—”

“I know it wasn’t true,” I interrupt.

“You’re sure?”

“I only doubted for a moment. He got under my skin, and I’m so sorry. Nadir, after everything, how could I doubt you? From the second we met, you’ve done nothing but share every truth and give up every secret in your heart. Of course I’m sure. I know you would never have done that.”

“Oh, thank gods,” he says. “I thought . . . I worried . . .”

“He was just trying to drive a wedge between us, but that will never work. Do you hear me? I don’t care what happens—nothing could ever make me stop loving you. Do you understand?”

He nods, his eyes searching my face as though he’s trying to confirm I’m really here.

“I’m sorry I killed you,” I say, choking out a sob.

“That really happened? Zerra told me, but—”

“It was an accident. But I did it, and Nadir, it killed me, too. I died in that moment and have been dying through every moment since. I’ve been doing everything I can to get back to you.”

“What happened with her?” we both ask at the same time.

“Fuck, she’s insane,” he says, and I nod. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

Then he kisses me, our mouths clashing together as we drink in the calming power of each other’s presence. “Gods, I was so scared I’d never see you again,” he murmurs against me, his hands gripping my thighs .

“Me too,” I say. “When I thought you were dead—” I can barely get the words out, but he swallows them down, kissing me again like a man drowning in the abyss.

We kiss, and we kiss until we can barely breathe as the rain coats our skin and lightning flashes overhead, thunder shaking the earth. We don’t need words to convey how much we need each other as he drops me to my feet and tugs on my leggings, pulling them off before he lifts me up again. I reach between us, fumbling with the laces of his pants, shoving them down, freeing his already erect cock. My hand wraps around it, and it’s so warm and soft and hard, and he groans into my mouth.

“I’ve missed you so fucking much,” he murmurs into the curve of my throat. “I thought you’d hate me forever.”

He moves me against a tree, my back hitting the rough surface as the curve of his thick cock dips into me. It slides in slowly, spreading me apart as my head tips back, and I cling to his shoulders. He thrusts his hips, filling me with a long, deep sigh.

Thunder and lightning continue flashing overhead as rain drenches us in sheets. But I don’t care. A few moments ago, I was cold and scared and lost. But Nadir is here, and I have been found.

“Fuck,” he hisses. “Fuck, I was so scared, Lor.” He pulls out slowly, each inch like an awakening before he thrusts back in so hard I feel it to the depths of my very spirit.

“Me too,” I sob, unable to hold back my tears as we move together, our heartbeats, our souls, our minds once again whole. “When I thought you were dead, I died too, Nadir. I never, ever want to feel anything like that again. ”

His hand grips the back of my neck as he brings my head towards his. Our foreheads touch as his other hand digs into my thigh, and he churns his hips.

“Never,” he says. “We will never be separated again. I don’t care if I have to chain you to my wrist.”

“Okay,” I say, not caring how ridiculous that sounds.

As we continue fucking, our movements become more erratic. I cling to him like I’m falling, knowing I nearly lost him. My magic sparks under my skin, red lightning twisting up my arms and legs as his ribbons of light filter out, both forms of our power melding together. I remember this from the last few times we had sex, but my magic is no longer locked away.

“Nadir,” I whisper as he thrusts into me. “My magic. I can’t control it.”

“I’ve got you,” he whispers back. “Look at me.”

Our gazes meet, and he buries himself into me as his magic wraps around mine—not to repress it but to soothe it. It responds to his power, my sparks lining up into some form of order. It sings against his magic, and for the first time since we left Aphelion, it doesn’t feel like it’s spinning out of control.

He tells me he loves me, and I do the same, and then we come together in a burst of heat and slick, wet desire, my soul reborn from the earth and molded back together. I’ve never wanted to be anywhere so much. Our magic flares bright, exploding around us in a halo of red and green and blue. There’s no destruction, though—it’s just . . . beautiful. The perfect marriage of our spirits. He helped control it. I knew he could .

Thunder claps overhead, and the rain falls harder as we cling to one another, already soaked to the bone.

“We should try to find shelter,” he whispers.

I want to tell him that I don’t care if we get wet. I want him to take me under the lightning and thunder over and over again as I scream his name. But a chill is setting in, and I’m momentarily reacquainted with the fact that I haven’t eaten properly in days. I shove my legs into my now soaked leggings, which is a feat unto itself.

“Gods, we’re a mess,” I tell him as he takes my hand. Both barefoot, our clothing is torn, and scratches and blood cover our skin.

“You’ve never looked more beautiful, Lor,” he says with every ounce of sincerity, and I feel the delicate seams of my equilibrium pulling apart. I can’t get over the fact he’s standing here, alive and whole. “But let’s find you somewhere to dry off. Then I can finish everything I’ve been thinking about for months.”

“Months?” I say. “It’s only been days.”

He blows out a breath and rubs his hand down his face. “Later. We’ll talk about this later.”

I nod and tug on his hand. “I left some things behind. We need to get them.”

He follows me to the spot where I was sleeping. I scoop up the arks, cradling them in my arms, then turn around to find Nadir’s shocked expression.

“Where . . . the hell did you get those?”

I cringe and hug them tighter. “I stole them from Zerra.”

His mouth gapes. “You did what ?”

“She refused to give you back and . . . Let’s talk about this when we’re dry? ”

“Right.” He takes them from me and stuffs them into the pockets of his loose pants. Then he tugs my hand, and we begin to run through the forest, searching for something to use as a shelter as the rain pounds us from above.

“I see a light,” he says, pointing through the trees, and I squint through the darkness, picking up on the same yellow glow.

“You think it’s safe?” The Aurora King is still no doubt looking for me, and somehow Nadir managed to escape Zerra, and she’s probably after both of us.

“Only one way to find out,” he says, guiding me down the path.

We emerge from the trees to find a small village surrounded by a stone wall, and I almost cry in relief. Of course we don’t exactly look like well-to-do travelers at the moment, but maybe someone will take pity on us.

“Come on,” Nadir says, tugging me towards the gate.

“But we have no money,” I say as we enter. The streets are mostly empty except for a few hurrying people who pay us no mind as they attempt to keep themselves dry. The rain continues to drench us, turning the street into muck. Gods, my feet are disgusting.

“Let me worry about that,” he says. We spy a sign that indicates an inn with rooms for rent.

We open the door and step inside the warm common room filled with travelers eating and drinking. Thankfully, the rain actually washed away a lot of the blood, improving our haggard appearances by the merest fraction.

A human woman stands at the bar, and she turns to face us, eyeing us up and down, her gaze pausing at our bare feet before she places her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow .

Or maybe not.

“Can I help you?” she asks, her voice dripping with skepticism. I have a feeling she’ll throw us out on our asses when she discovers we don’t have a dime.

“A room for the night, please,” Nadir says in his most formal, princely voice. It almost makes me burst into laughter because it sounds nothing like him at all.

“You have money?” she asks.

“Not at the moment,” Nadir replies, and she opens her mouth, about to order us out. He raises a hand and then lets out a tendril of his magic in a swirl of green and purple. Her gaze follows the trail.

“You’re a royal,” she says, not in an impressed way, but in a resigned one.

“I can assure you that you will be compensated more than fairly if you allow me and my companion to spend the night.”

She eyes us warily, but I can see she’s already lost this battle.

“Fine,” she says, holding up a finger. “But don’t cause any trouble.”

“We would never,” he says with a wink that almost elicits a smile. How could anyone resist the Aurora Prince when he turns on the charm?

She hands him a key from behind the bar. “Second floor. Last door on the left.”

“Thank you,” he says, keeping his head high, and like water isn’t literally puddling under his feet.

“Also, could we get some hot food, clean clothes, and about twelve bottles of wine?”