IARA

Once Telvin left, Malachi came. I wanted him to be near me, but I didn’t want him to see me like this. Especially after talking to Vi. When Malachi entered the clearing, I turned away quickly, wiping my face with my dress sleeve. I was crying myself into a mess, my eyes swollen and snot dripping from my nose.

“What happened?” came his gentle voice. I stepped in front of me without so much as a sound. I didn’t even hear the grass brush against his boot.

“Malachi, I’m sorry,” I whispered. My voice still shook, cracking and squeaking my words.

“I should be sorry. I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that,” he replied quietly. He reached up and brushed some of my hair out of my face. The leather of his gloves was soft and felt nice across my skin.

He shouldn’t have grabbed me like that. It was humiliating. The looks on Telvin and Charlotte’s faces were horrified. It was as if I was some piece of meat on display. But I knew I was just as much in the wrong. I knew Vi didn’t kill anyone, and neither did Charlotte, but they helped assassinate the king. They helped release husks during the festival. And without even considering anything else, I agreed to help them. I was following Rey’s words without even considering any other variable. I desperately wanted to know which direction to go in. I was willing to follow anyone.

Malachi must have seen the swirling thoughts in my eyes. He took my face in both hands and made me look up at him. “I will never do something like that to you again,” he assured.

I rested my hands on his sleeves and took in a deep breath. I willed my voice not to shake again. “It isn’t that. I should never have agreed to come.”

“Something we agree on,” he sighed. I gave him a frown. He pressed his lips together and stepped closer to me. “We’re here now though. I won’t complain about traveling with them, so long as they respect my boundaries. Our boundaries.”

I weakly smiled at him. “And what are your boundaries?”

Malachi let my face go and crossed his arms. “Well for one, if Telvin could not constantly stare at you, it would make me feel better.”

My cheeks warmed. “He was staring at me?”

Malachi’s face twisted into disgust. “Oh, was he. I had half a mind to take his eyes out.”

That must have been why Malachi grabbed me. If Vi was staring at me like he had looked at me just moments ago, it would make anyone uncomfortable. His eyes had been filled with so much longing and sadness. Seeing a jealous side of Malachi flattered me though. I felt awful for thinking it, but it was almost endearing. I couldn’t help but smile, my cheeks hot. “I didn’t take you for a jealous man.”

“A jealous fool,” he corrected me. His brows knitted together and his eyes pierced into me. “I trust you, Iara, but why did you jump to help them? You know the crimes they commited better than I do.”

“Rey said we should be nice to them.” I reached out to him, tugging at the edge of his sleeve. “If you want to know what we talked about just now, I’ll tell you.”

He laced my fingers with his and pressed our hands to his chest. “You don’t have to. Just as soon as this trip is over and we get on a boat to Oreshire, I need the full truth” He turned his face to the sky, the soft light of the moon casting him in a silver glow. He knew I was hiding something without even using a blessing like mine. It made me feel guilty. Malachi didn’t deserve to be lied to.

I reached my free hand up, stopping centimeters away from his face. “It’ll be over before you know it,” I whispered to him.

He leaned his face into my hand, his eyes closing. I could see his cheeks darken even in the night air. The fog spiked up my arm and flooded my mind. So many emotions swirled around his head, it was hard for me to sort through. He liked Yula at least. He felt better now that we talked. And that horrible thought he had before we fled was gone.

“Can we talk about what happened before we left?”

His eyes didn’t open as his face became troubled. His thoughts turned dark then, remembering what he felt in that moment. He didn’t pull away from my touch as the things passed through his head. He wanted to get away from this mess, to end the struggle he was facing. The idea of him wanting to hurt himself made my chest constrict. I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like without him now. He was important to me. I knew he had so much potential to do great things. It was painful to imagine him taking that away from himself.

“I’ve thought about. . .” he began. He cleared his throat, pulling my hand away from his face. His eyes met mine as he spoke. “It wasn’t the first time I had ever considered. I have been unhappy for a long time. Everything that keeps happening only serves to remind me why.”

I squeezed his hands tightly. “We can get through this together though,” I whispered. “You’ve made progress. You are better than before.”

“I don’t feel as though I’ve made progress.” Malachi turned his face away and dropped my hands.

“Something like this doesn’t happen overnight,” I said quickly. “You’re a truly beautiful person. Even seeing the deepest things you think, I still believe you’re kind hearted. I see you as the king you’re meant to be.”

He tried to hide his expression with an eye roll and a wave of his hand. I saw the pink in his ears though. “The king of nothing.”

“We’ll get our home back. It’ll just take time.” I reached out to touch his shoulder, but paused when I saw the dark stain running down his sleeve. “Oh, your shoulder is still hurt,” I gasped.

He covered the wound with his hand. “It’s fine,” he grumbled.

“Let me fix it,” I said, stepping closer to him.

Malachi’s eyes nervously darted to the tree line. Just beyond I could still see the faint glow of the campfire. “I don’t think-”

I tugged on his sleeve to make him look at me. “I would like it if you took blood from me as well.” I looked up at him through my lashes, pulling his hands to fall at my hips.

“When you say things like that, it’s hard for me to hold myself back,” he sighed.

“I don’t want you to hold back.” I let my hands reach up and tangle into his dark hair. Even though it had been a long day, his hair was still as soft as the first time I touched it.

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“Are you sure about that?” He gave me a devilish smirk.

I nodded in response. I didn’t have time to say anything before he shoved me back. I collided with the rough bark of a tree. I gasped as he lifted me up, my legs going around his waist. I pulled my skirts out of the way and grabbed his unbloodied shoulder for support. I untied the binding of my dress, loosening it as fast as I could. He yanked at my loosened neckline and exposed my chest. I shivered at the cold night air, goosebumps forming. I would have lied if I wasn’t already aching for him. The way he grabbed me excited me. He ran his tongue across the sensitive skin on my breast. His desire burned into my chest, making me all the more dizzy. I sighed in pleasure when I felt his sharp teeth graze me. I wanted him to tear into me so badly. I wanted it almost as much as he did.

“Do it,” I moaned.

It didn’t take much convincing this time. He bit into my breast without another warning. The pain was sharp and hot, but only lasted a second. It was replaced with my pleasure mixing together with his. As he drank, I let my head fall back against the tree. I bit my lip, trying to keep quiet. It was next to impossible though.

When he pulled away, he took in a gasp of air as if he forgot to breathe. I could already see his face looked less ghostly than it did before. His arm must have been fixed just as easily as well. He lifted me up higher with both arms as if I weighed nothing. He bit the fingers of his gloves and threw them to the side. My hands fumbled as I reached for his belt, but I managed to undo it. Malachi held me firmly against the tree as he pressed into me. I held myself up with my arms tightly wrapped around his shoulders. His breath was hot on my neck, his sounds of pleasure music to my ears.

When we finished, we fell into the tall grass. Malachi hugged me tightly to his chest, my head tucked neatly under his chin. I could hear his heart racing. This time felt more intense for me. I didn’t know if I was more in tune with his emotions or if we were getting to know each other’s bodies more, but I felt like I was flying. His fingers ran through my hair affectionately as we laid together. I never wanted moments like these to end.

Even though I was exhausted, sleep never came. I closed my eyes and stayed cuddled next to Malachi, but I never rested. I knew he didn’t either. It felt unnatural to fall asleep when the moon was still out. Just a year ago I knew I felt the opposite. It was easy to forget how things were before moving to the palace. My life from then was completely different. If the Iara from then met me now she wouldn't even recognize me. Change at first seems so scary, but after it’s all done you can see how good it was. Even knowing what I knew now about all the dark secrets, I wouldn’t have changed anything. I would have made the same decisions I did now to bring me here. Malachi and I had each other. Nothing could be better than that.

When I saw the cool toned sunlight bleed through my eyelids, I sighed in annoyance. I would change the fact I never got sleep anymore though. When I tried to sit up, Malachi groaned and tightened his arms.

“Just a moment more,” he muttered.

“We can’t,” I whispered into his ear. I bit at his soft skin gently and then pulled his arms off of me.

He sat up with me and rubbed his eyes. “If we can spend every night like that, it wouldn’t be so bad,” he admitted.

I rolled my eyes at him and stood. My knees almost gave out from under me though. Malachi jumped up, grabbing my arm to steady me. “Are you alright?” he gasped, concern playing in his eyes.

I nodded and gave him a small smile. “I just need to eat something.”

When we made it back to camp, the others were already packing up their pelts and bags. Telvin had already placed Charlotte in her cart and Yula fussed about, adjusting bags around the dwarf. Vi noticed us first and frowned. He picked up Malachi’s bow and tossed it at him. Malchi caught it with barely a glance.

“You shouldn’t leave your weapons if you were going off the whole night,” he scolded.

Malachi slung the bow over his shoulder. “It’s as if you haven’t met Iara. She single handedly took out both of those men yesterday with ease.” I felt my chest well with pride at his smooth praise. If I didn't feel so weak I would have given him a big hug.

“You what?” Yula gasped. She rushed over to me and looked at me with big, excited eyes. “How did you do that?

I felt my cheeks warm. “Well, I’m a witch after all. I just called upon the power of the gods. If you have a close enough relationship with them, they’ll grant you their power.”

“Wow,” she breathed. “Could you teach me?”

Charlotte’s face snapped towards us. I frowned and looked away from her. Her gaze made me uncomfortable. Malachi must have taken notice. He placed his hand on Yula’s shoulder and gently pushed her away from me.

“Have you got any food to spare?” he asked.

“Why don’t you just drink blood?” Charlotte snapped at him.

“Are you offering?” he shot back. His reply was cool and fast. It was just the right tone to get under anyone’s skin. It certainly made Charlotte more angry than she was already. Her eyes lit with rage. She didn’t say anything back either. Malachi was good at this.

“I have some,” Yula said to him. She reached into a pocket of her old apron and produced a cloth wrapped wad. She handed it to Malachi “I dried the meat just before we left. I don’t know what you like, but-”

“It’s for Iara,” he interrupted. He turned and dropped the cloth into my hand.

“Thank you,” I smiled at them. I unwrapped the cloth and took a piece of the tough meat. It was dry and bland, but it was better than nothing. I had lived off less when Rey and I traveled.

Yula’s eyes widened in understanding. “You drank her blood last night.”

I saw Vi fumble with the bags he was packing. He and Charlotte both looked at me for confirmation. A horrified curiosity one shows to the most gruesome subjects. I felt my face get hot. I had the same sense of objectivity as I had last night. Malachi gave them both a disdainful look and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Are you worried you’re missing out?” he asked, a harsh tone to his voice.

“If we’re going to be traveling, we won’t have access to as much food. If Malachi drinks my blood, he doesn’t need to eat. He doesn’t need to eat anything at all for at least a few days, and he’s stronger in this state. Not to mention, his wounds are completely gone now,” I explained.

“So you take her blood, for inhuman abilities?” Vi asked, his voice slow and measured.

“Well, I’m not human so-”

I cut him off. “I gave him blood willingly. In fact, I like it.” I felt my face get hot at my sudden outburst. I forced myself to continue as I heard Malachi chuckle. “But it isn’t bad. If you want my help, you should be more respectful. If you don’t stop being rude, then we can leave just as easily. You can find another witch to help Charlotte walk again.”

Yula clicked her tongue at Vi as he tried to talk. “Don’t be rude,” she warned. Her smile was still on her lips.

Vi frowned and looked at Charlotte. The dwarf woman pulled the black hood over her head and crossed her arms. “You’re right. . .” she grumbled. “I’ll. . . watch my tongue.”

Telvin looked surprised at her response. His eyebrows shot up and he turned back to me and my husband.

“Are we ready to go then?” Yula beamed at everyone. “If we hurry, there is a town north of here. We could spend the night with an actual bed for once.” She clapped with excitement.

“Yeah, let’s get going then,” Vi sighed. He finished packing his last bag and readied to start pulling Charlotte’s cart.

As we started trudging up the northern road, the sun beat down on us. It warmed my skin, reminding me of days gone by. I missed being in the sun so much, but it came at a price. Malachi and I had lost everything. We had no home to return to. At least for now. I looked over at my husband. He had a black hood over his head, barely shielding his eyes from the sunlight. We had a long road ahead of us, but I swore to myself and all the gods above, we would get through it. After I helped Charlotte walk, we will take our home back.

Malachi noticed me watching him and he reached a gloved hand out to me. “How are you feeling?”

I took his hand in mine. “Fine, as long as we’re together.”