Ascension: The Affiliate Part 24

Her eyes fluttered closed, and the taste of him consumed her. His lips were tender and appreciative, covering her mouth and perfectly fitting against her. He drew her against his broad chest, and she circled her arms around his neck.

The kiss intensified. Their mouths moved in time together, leaving her head dizzy. She wobbled on the tips of her toes as he held her in place. He started walking her backward into the bedroom. His hands dug into her dress, bunching the material around her waist. Her knees. .h.i.t the footboard of the ma.s.sive bed, and she could barely breathe as she realized where this was all going.

And still, she didn't stop. The spark had turned into an inferno, flames engulfing them, and they were trapped in the blaze that was their pa.s.sion.

His hands slid up to cup her face before easing into her hair. "Cyrene," he murmured between kisses, "stay with me."

She pulled back from his lips and stared in disbelief at what he was so boldly asking. The surge of emotion welling inside of her shocked her. Sensation seemed to build up and then ripple out through her body. Her breathing was ragged. Even the tips of her fingers tingled.

"Stay?"

"Here. Tonight."

She closed her eyes to try to calm her racing heart and get the echo of his words out of her mind. She couldn't do this. She couldn't be his mistress. She deserved more than that.

"I...I think I should leave," she stuttered out.

"You should stay."

She shook her head and stepped around him. "No. No, I should go."

"Cyrene..."

"It's improper," she muttered, wishing for nothing more than his lips to be on hers again. Even as she backed away from him into the entryway, she couldn't look at the bed behind him.

"To h.e.l.l with propriety!"

Her gaze wavered briefly and then held. He had kissed her! She had been kissed before, but none of them were anything compared to this. Her very insides had quivered at the touch of his lips on hers. The King of Byern had given her the best kiss she had ever had in her entire life.

Yet she couldn't continue like this.

She could not be his Queen, and she would not be a mistress.

Her skin crawled at the thought.

"I'm sorry, Edric. I can't."

"I cannot force you to stay."

She didn't believe that.

"But I would prefer it if you did. I have only four days without an entire court full of people watching my every move, four days with only Daufina to judge me."

"Four more days until the gossip begins, you mean," she said softly, taking another step away from him.

"Just by your mere presence on my ship, the gossip will ensue whether you want it to or not."

Cyrene turned her face from him. "Please do not make me, Edric."

He strode across the room and took her hand. "Tell me you do not feel as I do."

"My feelings are inconsequential."

He brushed his lips against her knuckles. "Never."

Cyrene looked up into his pleading eyes.

He could have forced his hand at any point. As the king, he could have commanded her to do what he said. He could have used her. He didn't need to consider her feelings to get what he wanted.

Yet he was.

She said the words anyway, "You are the king. You have a queen and a court and a country to run. I have nothing to offer."

"You."

Her eyes begged with him to be reasonable. "I cannot give you that." She turned to leave.

"Your time then," he said, reaching for her once more.

"My time?" She slightly turned her head to the side to judge his words. "Just my time?"

"I require nothing further."

Could he hold to that bargain after that kiss? She wasn't certain she could.

Time with him would only endear her to him more completely. Perhaps he knew that. His offer was tempting. She enjoyed his company, making it difficult for her to hold any kind of resolve. He might be the courtier Kael insisted he was, but he hadn't pushed past any boundaries she hadn't consented to. Edric was asking to get to know her. Is that such a bad thing?

"What else do you have to do during the next four days?" he asked with a smile.

The next day, Eren stopped in when Cyrene was with Maelia. Cyrene told Maelia that she would return to check on her later and left the two of them alone with a sneaky smile.

Maelia's sea legs never returned, and without much effort, Cyrene found herself fulfilling the request the Consort had made of her. She and Edric paced the deck, discussing everything from geographical formations to ancient history to gardening. Over meals, they found themselves contemplating various cultural differences between the cities of Byern, and at night, they practiced languages and read aloud late into the night. They listened to a minstrel on board, danced their favorite jigs, taught each other card games, and watched the sun set over the Taken Mountains.

Cyrene felt alive again for the first time since she had become an Affiliate. The Queen had sapped the life out of Cyrene with the boring agricultural regimen and forced paralysis in her education. Suddenly, she felt like all the studying and tutors had been worth the effort. Edric, in particular-if not the other courtiers aboard-found her interesting and knowledgeable.

"You bloom like a rose," Daufina said in pa.s.sing one evening.

Edric was dancing with Affiliate Neila, a favorite of Daufina's. He kept glancing in Cyrene's direction and smiling. It was hard to keep the euphoria from her face. They hadn't kissed since that first night, but it was times like this when she wanted to ignore the rationality of her mind and listen to the thrum of her heart.

"Thank you," Cyrene said, tearing her eyes from the King's lingering gaze.

"I believe Kaliana made a mistake in placing you in agricultural studies. It is such a waste when you would make a wonderful Amba.s.sador or court advisor."

Cyrene's cheeks heated, and she smiled. She couldn't disagree. From day one, she had believed the Queen was wasting her talent.

"Thank you, Daufina."

"It's a shame that Kaliana lost the baby, or else she might care less about Edric's affections," Daufina said offhand.

Cyrene startled forward. The gla.s.s she was holding jarred and splashed wine onto the deck. "What?"

Daufina a.s.sessed her. "Have you not heard?"

"No," Cyrene whispered.

Suddenly, Edric's words the first night came back to her. "A queen who does not fulfill her duties is no queen at all."

The Queen had failed to produce a Dremylon heir. Is that the duty he spoke of? Is that the reason she had been ill and infuriated the day when I went to ask her to leave?

Despite it all, jealousy hit her in the stomach. Edric had his Queen. He belonged to her so long as he needed an heir to secure his line on the throne.

But Cyrene didn't want to have those thoughts or at least, she told herself she didn't want them. They led to a slew of concerns that she couldn't do anything about. It only frustrated her more.

"If you'll excuse me," she whispered.

"Cyrene, I didn't mean to upset you," Daufina said.

"I'm just going to check on Maelia."

"Shall I tell Edric you will see him tonight?"

Cyrene swallowed. Oh, how I want to get lost with him on our last day on the procession. When would I get the chance to hold his undivided attention again?

But she couldn't. Not with the reminder of the Queen hanging over her head.

"No. I'm going to bed early. I need my rest before we get to Albion."

Daufina sighed and nodded. If anyone knew the war raging within Cyrene, it was Daufina.

Cyrene left the deck and stopped in front of Maelia's room. She knocked once, and Eren opened the door.

"How is she feeling?"

"Today is the best day so far," he said. The day before, Eren had told Cyrene that this was one of the worst bouts of seasickness he had ever seen. "Though she hasn't been able to eat that much. Perhaps you could persuade her to try."

"Thank you so much for your patience and attention."

"Of course. I would help anyone under such poor conditions."

Cyrene smiled, certain that he was being extra thorough because he liked Maelia. She pa.s.sed him and stepped into the cramped quarters, taking a seat in the chair next to Maelia's bed. She heard the door click shut when Eren left.

"How are you feeling? Eren said you're not eating."

Maelia was beyond pale, but she sat up. "What have you been doing with the King?" she demanded.

"Spending time with him."

"That's quite obvious." She folded her hands in her lap. "The entire ship is buzzing about you two. Even as sick as I am, I have heard the maids discussing it. Do you wish to draw this much attention to yourself? How do you expect us to do anything with the King falling all over himself because of you?" Her eyes were stern.

Cyrene winced at her harsh yet true words. "Is he falling all over himself?"

"Cyrene! That is not the point!" Maelia snapped.

She actually snapped.

"It was only in jest."

"Do not forget what we are risking. Just imagine how much more you would be risking if the King catches us," she said. Then she sighed heavily. "I'm just worried. Tell me I don't need to."

"You don't need to worry."

It felt like a lie.

The next morning, Cyrene shot out of bed and hastened up the steps onto the deck. Her feet skidded across the planks until she was at the railing with her mouth agape. Still leagues ahead of them-glistening, pale, and gorgeous in the morning sunrise-stood Albion, the White City.

She had never dreamed Albion would be so breathtaking. Krisana, the central palace, had been constructed to be seen from nearly anywhere in the city as it sat high above the surrounding buildings. Rumors suggested seash.e.l.ls that had been laboriously crushed, molded, and reconstructed into a smooth, flawless matte surface const.i.tuted the entirety of the castle. The sectioned off neighborhoods within the city walls called Vedas that were built around the castle were whitewashed in the same fashion, but none gleamed quite as gloriously as the palace or stayed as perfectly white. The city branched out into a maze of roads and crossroads of white flattop houses and shops. From a distance, it gave the illusion that the city was one white dot on the surface of the Earth.

Their ship rounded the last great bend of the Keylani River leading into Albion and revealed the Lakonia Ocean in all its expansive beauty. Cyrene had never seen the ocean, and a knot formed in her throat at the sight. It was truly an experience that could not be equated with anything else. She had lived her life in the Taken Mountains, believing them to be the most magnificent and imposing thing in existence, and then the Lakonia Ocean shattered every preconception she had ever had.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Daufina asked, coming up behind Cyrene.

Cyrene startled, not having heard her approach. "Stunning."

"You would think it wouldn't be as beautiful returning to a place you lived for seventeen years, but it gets more and more so each time I return."

"You grew up in Albion?"

"You can't see my parents' house from here, but it is in one of the oldest of the Vedas surrounding Krisana."

"Were your parents in the inner circle?"

Daufina gave her a secretive smile, as if the question was controversial.

"Sorry. I don't mean to pry."

"No, it's nothing. Just old scandal." Somehow, she managed to look gloriously regal, even with her dismissive hand motion. "My father was in the High Order, and my mother was working as a seamstress's apprentice in the Third Cla.s.s when they met. He was supposed to marry an Affiliate, but they wed. After my grandfather pa.s.sed, my father left court to return to Albion to take control of the Birket House."

"Sounds like a hopeless romantic."

Daufina laughed. "That is my father. Probably the truest reason he was placed in the High Order."

Cyrene wasn't sure how that made any sense since it was all based on one's education and what was best for the person and society. There was something about the whole ceremony that was beyond comprehension. It certainly made little sense to her why someone like Jardana had been raised to be an Affiliate. If anyone had deserved it, it was Rhea.

At the thought of her best friend, Cyrene's excitement returned in full force. She would soon be reunited with Rhea, and she couldn't wait to see her. A pang hit her heart at the weight of her absence.

"Come along. We'll be there shortly." Daufina paced the length of the deck and took a seat at a small table.

Cyrene sat across from her, staring at the White City as they approached.