yet, but I bet the trees and bushes will change, the farther we get from Bitterburn. I never once left the town I was born in, until I went to the keep.
And that choice changed everything.
When the stars are up fully, Njål halts Bray and Bellow and we make camp in a clearing that’s been used by travelers before, enough that there are stones set and the remains of previous fires evident. I gather enough wood to build our own blaze, big enough to cook on. We have fresh veggies from the kitchen garden—I was a little sorry to leave it—and dried fish. I can make a nice soup to finish the day.
Belatedly, I wonder how my wards will impact the looters. Since I’m no longer in residence and they’re not trying to hurt me, it should be fine. In time, my magical mark on Bitterburn will fade since I’m not there to strengthen and feed it. One day, there will only be fallen stones, spiders, bats, and mice left. That’s a melancholy realization.
While I’ve been absently poking at the fire, Njål has tended the animals, feeding them and setting out water. Quickly, I fetch the cookware and ingredients to prepare our supper. At night, it’s a touch chilly, and I wrap up in my gray cloak as I stir the bubbling soup, acutely aware that I’m a witch tending a pot beneath the open sky. I laugh softly.
Was the world always so beautiful? Above, the stars spread out like crushed ice, thickly dusting the deep blue of the horizon. The moon is a coy, yellow crescent, hiding the rest of its curve from my admiring gaze.
“The soup is delicious,” Njål says as we eat. “But I miss your fry bread.”
“Thought you must be tired of it by now. I can make some in the morning if you like.”
“Just as I’m patient, I’m also loyal. I love what I love forever.” Setting his empty bowl aside, he takes my hands. “May I tell you now?”
I remember how I stopped him from saying it before. “I wish you would. I haven’t mentioned it since then, and you haven’t either.”
“I tried to show you because actions speak louder than words. But words matter too. I love you, Amarrah. Always and forever, you hold my heart in your pretty, precious hands.”
My hands are rough as rawhide, scarred from years of work and callused on the palms. But the way he studies them, you’d think they were exquisite, the delicate fingers of a princess. I suppose love makes us beautiful to those who cherish us. He slips a ring onto my finger; it’s carved from wood, a treasure he must’ve been working on secretly as winter faded into spring, long before we left the citadel. I wonder if this is what made him act skittish and secretive, not the silent fears I imagined.
“Am I truly enough for you?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve lived for so long, seen so much, and I—”
“I existed,” he corrects. “I didn’t start living until I met you.”
With my heart overflowing, I whisper my love against his lips, and he takes my mouth in a ferocious kiss, all delving tongue and absolute desire. I can’t stop touching him—his wild hair, his strong back and broad shoulders, the silver hoop that ties past to present and lets him move freely, a prisoner no more. When I dig my fingers in, Njål groans and arches into me, burying his face in the curve between my neck and shoulder.
“I fear I’m about to scandalize our travel companions,” he whispers.
“Hm. I’m willing to risk it.”
Since I’ve granted permission, he tumbles me back, using my cloak as additional cushion on top of the soft grass. Starlight, moonlight, and his mouth, I tip my head back at the stars as he works utter magic on my throat, my breasts, my nipples, his strong hands working lower. It seems that only my pleasure matters, and I squirm, breathless.
“Take your dress off, beloved.”
Shameless witch that I am, I do, and then I lie back. There’s no muffling my moans and no need to either. When we’re not traveling, I want his mouth down there and I want to do it to him too, but not until we take a proper bath. Still, this feels amazing, and—oh. He kisses the tip of my breast, sips and nuzzles, and teeth, oh, the teeth.
I’m tingling all over, so wet that I’m tempted to rub myself to verify how this is