The Priestess and the Thief Kindred Tales 30 - Evangeline Anderson Page 0,69

she thought as she went on with the lesson. The big warrior was back at the palace at the moment, though he usually stayed and took lessons with the grooms. He had never worked with zorels before but he was proving to be a natural—he had a deft touch and the zorels seemed to trust him and love his deep, rumbling voice almost as much as she did herself.

But by the time she got back to the palace, it was almost Supper time and Elli’s head was filled with thoughts of the Mirroring they might have to do that night.

Supper or Bathing Time was also a part of their daily routine. One that Elli secretly looked forward to—though she would scarcely admit it, even to herself. Every evening it seemed that she and Roke were forced to push their personal limits, going further and further down an extremely erotic road, doing things that Elli would never have dreamed of doing on her own.

Often these erotic interludes left her aching for release but Roke was always eager to “heal” her later in their room. The big warrior seemed to love lapping her nipples and pussy and for her part, Elli loved being “healed.” She didn’t even try to protest any more. The minute they got back to their room, Roke had her on the bed with her legs across his broad shoulders as he buried his face between her thighs and lapped until she came for him—often more than once.

Elli welcomed him in. The feeling of his hot tongue caressing her inner folds was addictive. And though she still felt guilty for breaking her vows, she told herself everything she did was necessary to her quest. After all, they had to Mirror the Crown Prince—otherwise they would get kicked out of the Court. And since the Mirroring caused such a deep ache in her most sensitive areas, she had to allow Roke to heal her as well.

To assuage her constant, underlying guilt, she promised herself that the moment she got back to the Mother Ship, she would take a sip from the cup of Mortem Amore and kill all her wrong desires forever. She wouldn’t even wait for the Shriving ceremony first—she knew where the cup was kept so there was nothing to stop her. Then she would beg forgiveness, which she hoped the Goddess would grant her, since she would be saving the life of the old Priestess Superior.

After that, she would live the life of a devout and chaste priestess ever after and never even think of what she and Roke had to do together in order to get the piece of Healing Lattice in the first place.

But what about Roke? whispered a sad little voice in her head. You’ll never see him again. Is that what you want?

It doesn’t matter what I want, Elli told herself firmly. What matters is healing the old Priestess Superior and doing the right thing. I must purge myself of my desires and without desire, why would he want to be with me?

She knew the big warrior enjoyed their physical relationship as much as she did—he was certainly eager to “heal” her all the time. Though he was careful not to push things too far—doubtless because he had no wish to bond with her, as he had stated before.

Even if I did want to stay with him, I couldn’t, Elli reminded herself. He’s half Havoc and they don’t bond. He had no interest in tying his life to mine—or to any female’s for that matter. After this is all over, he’ll fly off and have more adventures and probably forget all about me.

The thought made her sad, so she pushed it away when it occurred and focused on living in the moment. Right now her task was clear—train Demon to carry the Crown Prince without bucking him off or burning him, and get a piece of the Healing Lattice in return. That was what she needed to center all her thoughts and attention on, for she was determined to succeed.

And so the days slipped by and she didn’t even notice she was falling in love…

Thirty-Five

“How are things going with Demon’s training?” Roke asked as they got ready for Supper one night about a week after they’d been introduced to the Court. He had missed that day’s training session because the Duke had invited him on a hunting party.

Roke would have rather stayed and watched Elliliah work—it was fascinating to see how the zorels