LOGINIt was a dream. Angrily, I went back to sleep.My eyes opened to the faint rays of the rising sun shining into the chamber, and for a few moments, I stared at the ceiling above me.Then I knew that something was not right.The first thought that appeared in my mind was not about my curse. It was not about the pain. It was not about the council, which had been expecting me. It was not even about the border reports that had been lying on my desk for a day.It was her.Aria.To be more specific, her kiss.I closed my eyes again. Maybe I should stay there and try to make the memory go away.It did not.Instead, it became even clearer. I could still remember the very moment when it had happened.The surprise in her eyes.How tight her fingers were clutching my tunic.The heat of her body pressed to mine.And finally, the kiss.I opened my eyes abruptly. "Damn it."I got up.What the hell was wrong with me? I had been thinking about her all day yesterday. Even while trying to work, my mind
The heavy oak door to my chambers opened inward with a muted click of well-oiled hinges, revealing the figure standing in the threshold. Moonlight pouring through high windows illuminated dust motes dancing in the air as they settled upon the shape of the woman standing in the door frame. The woman was Aria. The fragrance of her preceded her. It was of torn leaves of mint, wet earth, and sickeningly sweet night-blooming jasmine from the garden of herbs. The silk robe seemed to adhere to her skin and flow like water in sunlight across the white curve of her breasts and down to her thighs.I lay there, gasping for breath as I waited for her to come to me across the room. It was freezing to the touch, the stone floor of the room, but she stepped as if she had walked upon moss. Her approach was silent, as the only sounds that could be heard were the pounding of my heart as I looked up at her. There was something that happened to us today that passed some line between us at the touching o
Draven's POVI stood right where she had left me. The herb garden was silent once again except for my heartbeat and my thoughts.The wind swirled in the lavender as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened there. Yet everything had changed.Slowly, I raised my hand.The very same hand, which had caressed her waist only a moment ago.The same hand that had gone into the silk of her hair.The same hand that would remember the warmth of her body.My jaw clenched. "What have you done?"The question slipped past my lips before I knew that I was speaking it.It wasn't addressed to her. No. It was addressed to me.Because I had crossed the line I didn't intend to cross.I had kissed her.No.We had kissed each other.She hadn't resisted.She hadn't moved away.Neither had I.Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath as I ran my hand through my hair. Years ago, I had lived by the rules that I'd imposed on myself.Always keep some distance.Never let anyone grow too attached to me.Never forget
My lips touched his once.And again.As if neither of us believed that first brush would be real enough. The warm rush of his breath over my skin made my heart trip. Mine got stuck in my throat. I should have walked away.I knew I should have.Everything that made sense told me to move away before we both went too far and there was no turning back.But instead, my eyelids fell shut only to open up when he leaned away, taking his lips with him.Our eyes stayed on each other’s.Asking.Waiting.No response. But before I knew what was happening again, we were kissing again. I couldn't tell whether it had been him or me who had leaned in.What I knew was that when our lips met the second time, it wasn't a fleeting thing anymore. Soon enough, the gentle touch of his lips on mine turned into something more forceful, something that left me feeling sore in ways I had never felt before.It was a moist kiss, one that slid against my mouth.It was slow.Cautious.As if we were discovering somet
The morning had gone quicker than I had expected.Mother Elara had assigned me the task of sorting herbs gathered that morning, dividing the leaves that could be dried from those that needed to be used immediately. This wasn't hard, but it required patience, which I had realized I had plenty of.I listened more than I spoke.Soon, the older healers had stopped keeping watch over my shoulder, trusting me enough to work alone.It felt...Good.For the first time in a while, nobody treated me like an outsider, either out of pity or suspicion.They just looked at me as I was.A few people visited the infirmary throughout the day. One older lady complained about painful knees. The other little boy had come in because he hurt both his palms after running after some friends through the village.I carefully cleaned his wounds."There," I said, smiling while I wrapped the bandage around his palm. "Like new."The little boy smiled brightly. "Thank you, Miss Aria!" and ran off outside again.Mot
Aria’s POVToday’s morning was different, the sun beamed through the closed curtain while I stretched on my bed. I knew this morning was different because today made it a month since I gave birth to my little Leo.He is not so little anymore.But I wouldn’t be able to tell because it has been exactly three weeks since he had last been in my arms.Since I had last smelt him.Three weeks since he had been in my every dream, holding me tight and then crying when I was about to leave.I wondered if anyone over there would celebrate such a milestone with him. Kael should.Kael.The thoughts of him bring anger to my chest. I do not want to hate him, I have never hated anyone in my life.But the thought of hating him seems justified.He separated me from my lovely child.He set me up to be separated from my child.“Happy one month, my sweet baby,” I whispered as I stood from the bed.Within a few minutes, I had tidied up the room. I had refused to be tidied after, I was treated like a guest







