First Forest - Viola Grace Page 0,15
was going to have to speak with the elder for a few minutes, so she had a few minutes to simply clear her head.
The moons were minimal tonight, so her path wasn’t as clear as it would be otherwise. She stepped into the clearing that she had been in earlier, and her mind reeled that it had only been that morning. She followed the sound of the pond and sat next to it, trailing her fingers in the icy water.
The moss under her was soft, the sound of the pond was soothing, and she lay down to look up at the stars. Her body relaxed as she stared up and watched the flickers of light, the march of the constellations, and the crescents of the moons.
She folded her hands together with her skin hidden in her sleeves, and she simply breathed in the scents of the night. She exhaled slowly. So, in one day, she had gone from being the least favourite daughter to the plaything of the local earth god to his mate, and now his honoured partner who was allowed to travel to and from the village as long as she asked permission to leave. More to the point, she had to beg publicly for permission to leave. She really hated begging. She even hated it when she was doing it during sex. It was worse then because then she let her instincts free, and that was her instinct. Begging. Fuck.
She closed her eyes for a moment, opened them, and stared up at the stars. The stars didn’t want to fuck her. They were safe. She would stay with them for just a little while.
Chapter Seven
Abiha woke up in the softest bed she had ever been in. She opened her eyes, and there was soft, silken fluff around her. She was also thirty feet up a tree in a nest.
“Kiloh!”
His laugh came from above her, and she looked up to see him lounging on a tree branch. “You are awake. I thought you needed a softer bed, so I gathered a nest for you to give you some privacy and keep you away from any of the predators that considered you interesting.”
She moved carefully, still wearing the bronze robe and all the underlayers. “I am definitely awake. Now, how do I get down?”
He grinned. “You ask nicely.”
She made a face, shifted to her knees, and bowed. “Oh, sacred Kiloh, could you manage to bring me safely to the ground?”
He snorted. “I love how your requests are sarcastic.”
She looked up at him and winked. “I make my own fun. Would you like me to ask you properly?”
His eyes gleamed, and she could swear that his horns grew a few centimeters. He dropped soundlessly to the thick branch her nest was perched on. He knelt at the edge of her nest.
She gripped the edges of her robe and widened the opening until the curves of her breasts were exposed. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, leaving his mark exposed. She breathed deeply and watched as he tried to decide where to look. She did the formal bow and used a breathy voice. “Sacred Kiloh, please deliver me safely to the ground. I beg of you.”
Her whisper ended with her grinning but still in the low bow.
He threaded a hand into her hair and pulled her head back, looking at her with a narrowed gaze. “You are slightly evil, do you know that, Abiha?”
She nodded slightly. “It has been mentioned in the past.”
He kissed her roughly. As punishments for teasing, she would take it.
In the distance, she heard a gong. She pulled back. “The wedding.”
He sighed. “It was such a promising morning.”
She laughed and rose up on her knees. “It can be just as promising another time since I will have to beg for permission to come and go.”
His eyes gleamed brightly. “Yes, there is that.”
He gathered her in his arms, got to his feet, and simply stepped out of the tree. They dropped quickly, and he walked toward the village with her in his arms. She straightened her robe, and he grinned. “I will help you with that when we are in the village.”
“Not before?”
“No. They need to see me taking care of you. It will matter. Trust me.”
She sighed. “I think I understand, but regardless, it will be a good example for the young men who leave the girls to do most of the hauling.”
Kiloh smiled. “I have always wanted to be a good example.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be