Storms of Fire - Book 2 of Infernal War Trilogy

Chapter 12 - Loyalty

Loyalty

Elizabeth

I kissed my mother on both cheeks. My arms around her. My knees weakens at the thought of leaving my family again and dreaded for the days that I will not be with them for too long. I breathe her scent, hoping that it will stay with me to give me comfort as I take my journey to the Court of King Pol. A tear left my eyes, and I wiped it away. I pulled away, and I noticed her eyes are blurred with tears. 

“Do your duty, Elizabeth. I wish we had more time.” she said, while shaking her head. “I have so much to tell you.”

“We will see each other again, mother. I’m sure of it,” I said with a nod. Trying to convince her and most especially the guts I feel that I may not be able to see her anymore. I don’t know why I feel that way. It’s ridiculous. There’s still Solstice when the moon turned.

“I wanted to see my father,” I said. Her eyes widened in horror, but refrained quickly and covered by a smile. She ushered me to my father’s chamber. The walls are painted with old brown shade. And the bed where my father is laying on, is the same size as mine. He smiles widely. The grey hair on his head is the result of his age. 

“Lizzy!” he exclaims. I run to him, and fell on my knees as I wrapped my arms around him.

“Father,” I muttered.

“You’ve grown strong, my sweet girl.” he says. “I’ve always knew you’re going to be a stronger Queen.” I smile a little. I have talked to his Mages and the people who are taking care of him. His situation has only gotten worse. They couldn’t find the cure, even Nikolas couldn’t. The melancholy is the only potion that’s keeping him from feeling the pain. But, the consequence of taking too much of it is causing him to hallucinate things that never happened.

“Oh. I love you, father.” I said.

“And, I love you, Elizabeth.”

****

Daemon shared the carriage with me, while my ladies and my guards are in another carriage behind us. Daemon is wearing a velvet maroon suit. On his left chest is his father’s sigil.

“Keep staring, lowborn.” he smirks. I rolled my eyes. He chuckled. 

“I thought if we’re back in Nister we wouldn’t be dealing with fools with swords.”

“I thought the Archmaster Kaerwyn and Katarina are the only people who wanted me dead,” I said with a sigh. Never have I ever imagine a moon turned ago that I would be wield a sword to defend myself. My little brother George was right. Faith has the best of humor.

“No. Honestly, Elizabeth, you came into my life. Everything changes for me, you know.” he said quietly. He almost look shy the way he said it. His cheeks burned scarlet. The carriage halted hard. I slapped hard against Daemon. He groaned.

“Great,” he winces. I pulled away from him, and check what’s going on. I opened the window, Sef who was in charge to take reins of the horse bows. Flashing me a shy smile.

“Pardon, your graces.” he says, “But, the horses are tired. Would it be okay if we standby  just for a while?”

Daemon looked alarmed, and barged out of the carriage, about to draw his sword until I stopped him. Tofan and Tyler followed, mirroring their Prince’s impression as they looked at the surroundings. As if expecting any assassin’s presence.

“That’s okay. You may also take the time to rest, and make sure you feed the horses.” I told the Sef. He nodded. “Meanwhile, Daemon and I will just go to the Greenfall.”

Daemon looked at me with a confused expression. He withdrew his hand from the hilt of his sword, and put it on his hips. “Greenfall?” he repeated. I nodded.

“You’ve never been to Greenfall?” I snorts out a laugh. He shakes his head, “No. Did you really expect my father to just let me go to places with ancient stories?” he says. I started walking towards the forest, passing by the tall grasses. Good thing, the muds are dry and hard. My dress touches the floor as I started to run towards where the sound of the falls are coming from.

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?” he said. Voice full of disbelief.

The river passes through the jungle wide and opaque. The water is green, darker in the shadows and more pale in the light, but still green. Against the noise of the birds that are welcoming the new day the gentle murmur of the water can only just be heard, a backdrop to the musical notes coming from above. For all its serenity there is more danger in its swirling depths than the trees behind. 

We stopped at the top of the largest rock near the river water. I started to unpin my hair, and put all of it in one place. I removed my gloves and set it beside the pins. I reached behind my back, and tugged on the tie of my corset.

“Elizabeth, what are you doing?” Daemon asked in a small voice. I turned to look at him, my hands are still untying the knot.

“Undressing,” I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the seven kingdoms. He rolled his eyes, and sighed.

“I know. But, why?” he asked. His cheeks are flushed.

“I’m going to swim there,” I said with a sheepish smile. He flashed me a ridiculous look.

“In there?” he pointed at the river, bemused.

“Yes. Now please, if you don’t mind helping me untie this. Lady Kendra must have tighten it too much.” I said. He walked towards me, and stop behind me. I feel his presence. My heart quickens. He started loosening the ties. I pulled the dress down to my body. Leaving only my white satin night dress that I used as an undergarment. I folded my dress, and put it beside my other belongings. 

I jumped into the river. Meeting the warm water. I could swim forever, dive forever, be here in this underwater world forever. There is something about the motion of it that becomes natural after a while. I'll always need the air and the sunlight, to feel the saline water wash over my skin and through my eye lashes. I turned to look at him, he was already looking at me.

“Aren’t you going to remove your clothes?” I asked.

He smirked, and shakes his head. “Are you sure that’s even clean?” he said.

“Yes. It’s clear enough to see the bottom, Daemon.” I muttered.

“Don’t make me regret this.” he said. I laughed.

He started unbuttoning his shirt, and tossing them next to my belongings. He unbuckled his belt, and he pushed his pants down. He stepped out of them. Wearing only his undergarment that reaches in the mid of his thighs, which covers the crotch of his manhood. He jumped, and landed a little further away from me. He laughed. His smile reaches his eyes. I sigh. I can’t believe that this man will be my husband.

“Told you, you’ll like it.” I murmur.

He swim closer to me. “It’s actually my first,” he admits.

“Clearly,” I muttered. “It’s more fun breaking the rules, right?”

We both chuckled. He started splashing water against me. I was able to swallow some of it. I retaliated. And we both burst out laughing.

“You just have a thing with this kind of place, aren’t you? You don’t even know what kind of creatures are swimming in here as we are having our fun right now.” he mutters. And, It occurred to me what he was talking about. An image of terrifying river creature flooded my mind. I jump onto him, wrapping both of my legs around his waist and I gripped his shoulders. Daemon’s eyes widened, amusement had escaped his eyes. I gulped. As I realized how close we are. To my surprised, Daemon closed the gap between us. His hands moved to my waist, keeping me in place. He kissed me and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. Perhaps, Daemon can help me forget about Jehaerys, after all.