The Drifting (32 page)

She stands again anxiously, “What?  I have to learn an oath?  To the clans?  A coronation…you mean I have to stand and speak in front of a crowd?  I…I thought this was…was a private event.”

This isn’t exactly how I wanted this to go, but it seems that I’ve pushed her into a corner where panic is her only response.  I stand and walk over to her as she sways in place, her eyes large and distant.  I take her by the shoulders, “Lily, snap out of it.”

She slowly looks up, shaking her head, “Tharin, I can’t…I can’t talk in front of people.  Oh my God, I think I’m going to be sick.”

She’s serious.  I watch as her face turns pale and then a shade of green and just when I’m about to tell her everything would be all right, she throws up on me.  I step back without letting her go in case she faints.

She wipes at her mouth, “Oh God, Tharin…I’m so sorry.”  She looks up at me again, almost pleading, “I can’t talk in front of people…I can’t…I won’t.”

I would take her in my arms and comfort her, but the front of my jersey is a mess and to make it worse, she throws up on me again.  “Okay, that’s it, come on.”  I grab her by the wrist and pull her after me.  We make it out the thela and the sisters instantly stand back from me.  Glynnis actually makes a face.  When they see Lily behind me, they curtsy deeply.  I stop as Lily tugs at my hand, stopping to look at the women, now in their golden form.  I watch as she blinks in recognition of the two and is stunned at their current state.

The clearing now has a large running pond with a small fall coming from underground.  A week ago, I opened a tunnel several feet below ground connecting to
Cini
Falls
.  The fall is the only evidence there is water in the wide opening since the water is clear as glass.  Again, Lily tugs at me to stop as she stands in the middle of the clearing taking everything in.  I release her wrist and head toward the pond – stripping as I go.

~ * ~

Chapter
Twenty-Three

~
Lily
~

As soon as Tharin pulls me through the thela doorway and out into the clearing, the cool air clears my head.  I take a couple of gulps of fresh air to completely cleanse my system of any nausea when I notice movement to my right.  I pull back from Tharin to look at the two figures in front of me and realize they’re the same women who attacked the trees at the clearing.

I stumble along behind Tharin seeing in stunned disbelief a clearing made of crystal and gold.  Along the edges near the trees are gardenias in full bloom.  They’re about the only green plants here – everything else is crystal and gold.  That is until I see an area where a ten-foot waterfall cascades down glistening rocks with large ferns among different shades of foliage at the farthest point of the clearing.  At the end of the fall, the water hits a rocky ledge, running into a pond so clear that I can see the bottom.  It took my breath away…that is until I see Tharin in front of me pulling his soiled jersey over his head.  If the water took my breath away, the site of the elf I’m to marry stopped my breathing altogether. 

I stand still watching how the muscles of his shoulders and back ripple with every move he makes.  He turns slightly sideways and I get a glimpse of his abs tightening as he moves and his chest is muscular and broad.  The black panther tattoo seems puckered along the edges as if it was burned and scarred onto his skin.  The cat dances as Tharin continues to undress.  At the top of his wrist, there’s a hollow spot as if something
is
missing – the Malainisi stone.  He bends to pull off one of his boots
– first one,
then the other, his socks immediately follow.  All my focus is suddenly on his feet.  When he straightens and begins to take off his pants I shake myself out of my self-hypnosis and step forward, reaching out to him, “Tharin!”

Instantly, Tharin is in a low crouch looking about him.  I slap my mouth with both hands as I see him for the first time for what he really is – a man.  Elf.  Man.  Oh crap, I don’t know.  All I know is that the definition of a real male species is crouched in a fighting stance before me and my stomach is doing flips just looking at him. 

Once he realizes there is no immediate danger, he straightens slowly and my knees do that I’ma-gonna-buckle-and-fall-over-now thing.  There he is, standing before me and he’s beautiful…everything I would imagine he’d look like undressed. 

He gives me a puzzled look, “What is it, Lily?  Are you all right?” 

When I don’t answer right away, he moves toward me and suddenly I want to bolt.  He continues
to approach
me with that puzzled look still on his face.  When he reaches me, he takes hold of my shoulders peering at me carefully.  “Hey, you okay?”

“Um, yeah…I just…I was just…surprised at this…place,” I lie stepping out of his hold.  I wave around me, looking at gold trees, gold grass, gold rocks; I look at anything but his very hard and golden chest.  Turning to him, I lower my head, finger
at my lips as if I’m thinking
only to stare at his bare feet again.  Slender with long toes, and if there is such a thing as feet with muscles, his feet have them.  Oh, God…look away, look away…it only reminds me he’s standing in front of me with only his pants on, which he was about to remove.

“You…we created this place.  Don’t you remember?”

“Um…yeah, no…I think so,” I stammer, keeping my eyes on his feet.  There’s a moment of silence in which I’m trying to figure out what else to say or do.

“Lily,” he calls quietly and a vibrant thrill dances through my entire body.

“Hmmm?” I answer still looking at his bare feet.

“Look at me,” he softly commands, and my stomach takes that elevator that always seems to go to the top floor and then drop, speeding out of control.

“Uh-uh,” I answer shaking my head, taking a step back.  I continue to stare at his feet, but they remain where they are.  Suddenly, the reality of my situation with Tharin hits me full force.  This is who I will be married to.  I’m going to be married to him.  We’re going to be married…man and wife…I mean elf and wife. 

And then reality steps in again.  Where does Kalis fit?  I can’t stop seeing them together in an embrace, him holding her against him on horseback.  I feel the panic rise and I take
another
step back.   

When his feet move toward me, I’m startled and look up at him quickly.  He gives me a worried look, but there is also a glint in his eyes that makes my heart skip a beat.  I feel myself tremble as he steps closer to me, almost, but not quite touching.  Now that I’m staring, I can’t take my eyes off him.     

He leans sideways capturing my eyes with his own, pinning me to the spot with just his gaze.  He leans in and lightly kisses me – so gentle, so sweet.  I feel high and I know that the sensation I felt when we past the mountains in
Utah
was only a taste of what true flight really is.  From somewhere deep inside, I remember I had just thrown up on Tharin and I instantly become conscious of my breath.  I reach up to cover my mouth and discover that he had taken off my coat and is now working at removing my jersey.

Hit with the realization of what’s happening and how easily he was doing it, I slap at his hands stepping back.  He holds on to my jersey, “No, Lily.  You’re going into the water…with me.” 

I pull at his hands, “No, Tharin, I’m not.  I’ll take a bath inside the thela, but thanks anyway.” 

He gives me a look, letting me know that’s not going to happen before picking me up and tossing me over his shoulder.  “Damn it, Tharin, put me down!”  He suddenly comes to a stop and I lift myself up twisting to see what’s happening.  The two women stand before us, blocking our way.

Tharin adjusts his hold on me, dropping me from his shoulder to cradle me in his arms, my own arms automatically going around his neck.  No one says a word as I look at the women curiously.  Tharin obviously seems to know them as he says with quiet authority, “Move.”

The tallest of the women shakes her head, “I’m sorry, our prince, but we can’t allow you to take the princess against her will.  If you could just be a little more patient until after the wedding, I’m sure she wouldn’t resist you as much.”

I look up at Tharin, his face hard and unhappy.  I’m starting to get it now.  This is Tharin’s realm, his world.  He was raised by his father with one thing in mind…to prepare him for when he becomes king.  Since he’s known me, all I’ve done is challenge him…and now the women I come in contact with seem to challenge him on my behalf – Cessa, Sema and now these two. 

I turn back to the one who spoke and I can’t help but notice the appreciative look she gives him as her eyes roam along his shoulder, chest, all the way down to his bare feet.  What the hell?  Those are my feet.  The shorter one seems to have the same idea as she casually checks him out appreciatively.  That
’s
more than enough.  Is this what I’ll have to deal with every time another woman looks at Tharin?  I reach up and place my hand along his cheek forcing him to look at me.  “Please put me down.”

He gives me an arched look, “Why?”

“Because I don’t like the way they’re looking at my feet.”  Tharin quickly turns to look at my booted feet, and then turns back giving me a confused look.  I glance over at the women and they give me lopsided grins, obviously catching my meaning.  I can’t help but grin back at them.  Tharin puts me down and I stand with my back toward him trying to straighten my clothes when he pulls me back against him
by the waist
, startling me.  I wasn’t expecting him to do that and causing me to lose my train of thought. 

With his arms still around me, I reach out my hand to the women to shake theirs, “I’m Lily, and um…thank you,” not sure what to say.  They each take my hand by my fingertips and turn it as if they would kiss it on the knuckles, but instead they bow before me. 

The one who spoke makes the introductions, “I am Milina, and this is my sister, Glynnis.” The two give me a curtsy and continue to stand before us now smiling.  As they step back, I turn slightly to Tharin whispering, “Let me go.”

He lowers his head to whisper in my ear using my response from earlier, “Uh-uh.”

Frustrated and bit fed up, I turn to Milina.  “I’m sorry, Milina, but can you guys give us a moment?”

“Of course, my princess,” she answers, but they stay where they are, not moving.  Glynnis steps forward and gives me a canister made of wood.  I stare at it for a second, not sure what she wants me to do with it.  “It’s water, my princess,” she offers with a smile.  It’s then I taste the bile.  I take the canister and I rinse and spit.  Tharin chuckles and usually I’d be embarrassed, but not today.  I rinse once more before finally taking a drink.  I didn’t realize how thirsty I was and the water tastes so good.  I hadn’t had any breakfast, and I’m suddenly starving. 

“Do you have any food?”  I ask as my stomach growls. 

“There is fruit in the thela, Princess.  Would you like us to bring it to you?” asks Glynnis.

I hand the canister back to her. “Yes –,” I answer when Tharin’s arm tightens.  “Um…Milina…could you give us a
private
moment, please?” I ask as his hold becomes tighter.

“Of course, Princess.  How much privacy would you like?” she asks with a smile.

I sigh, trying to keep my patience, “Just some privacy.”  I look over at the thela and indicate with a nod of my chin, “Over there, please.”

The sisters curtsy low and then move toward the thela, but not before giving Tharin a warning look.  Again, I hear him chuckle at their challenge.

Once they’re far enough away I try to twist out of Tharin’s hold only to have him laugh at me.  “If you want me to let you go, Lily, why don’t you show me what you’ve learned from Ziri?” 

It’s a challenge, of course, and I lean away trying to look up at him.  “Not that that’s the only thing you learned –” I didn’t let him finish.  I threw a left punch across the shoulder he was leaning over, hitting him on the mouth.  As his head flies back, I slip my left foot behind his ankle pulling my leg through at the same time pushing with my shoulder into him.  I land on top of him as he hits the ground with a grunt.  I push myself off to roll away, but I forgot about his speed.  He catches me, pulling me back to him and rolls the opposite direction taking me with him until he’s on top of me.  Damn it.  Tomorrow was the day Kulzo was going to teach me how to get out of a pin.