Deliciously Frightening

It was hard not to feel like a pawn on a larger chessboard, one where the players were deviant enough to remain masked. They didn’t play by acceptable rules nor even the ones they themselves laid out.

The merchant was so desperate in this last attempt, he had sent his own son. I wasn’t a fool. He was cold enough, he would spare his own flesh and blood for this quest but I knew Neva would not return. I saw it in his eyes that he was not so much a part of his father’s game as he was merely a pawn himself. The cities would be turned over, every niche and crevice. I had no doubt that Turia had already seen the influx of trade caravans. The fact that the hunt continued told me that they had not found what they were looking for. The key. This alone gave me some sense of relief. I would keep faith in the warriors that had taken responsibility to see the treasure safe. To keep the Tribe safe.

Rusty had given his life for this and I would if and when the time came.

How I wanted to saddle up and ride ... to look one more time but I quelled that yearning and held tight to the comfort that if I could not find him … they could not either.

The adrenaline rush was beginning to fade. Fatigue came swift like a vortex pulling me inside of it. I managed to settle on the platform of my wagon and bury my face in the crook of my arm. Just a moment to rest, I told myself. Just one moment.

I gave in to the dreams that touched along the edges of my world. A pair of brilliant green eyes so kind, so filled with tenderness there before me. The comfort I so needed right now. I lay my head in the strong lap and felt the drift of fingertips into the wealth of my hair. I felt the firm hands pulling me up, lifting my chin, baring my head back until I knew the rake of teeth against my throat that transformed into a suckling kiss. I heard my own whimpered moan at the feel of it. I heard the voice I knew well.

You are perfect. You should have waited for me.

I felt him pierce the barriers of my innocence. My nails grated into flesh rending it. I felt all the pain welling up. I felt all the anger infusing itself into my bloodstream. There are no tears, No feeling of guilt, Nowhere to channel the anger, Nowhere to leave the pain. I was a dream. Only a dream. What was so precious to me ... what had been so precious to him that he would not dare to touch until we had been pledged together for life ... had been taken not by the one with those beautiful emerald eyes but by a flash of a slave goad simply to torture another man's psyche. As if to wipe away the past, to right a heinous crime, I now pictured it all … differently.

You should have waited for me.

Those green eyes amidst the delicate sounds of a larl's mew I whispered in my sleep. I wanted to. I think of that now and then.

You should be wrapped in a cloak of sweetest dreams my angel.

Edmund was a memory. How could I tell him that all I had now were restless nightmares?

Deliciously frightening night terrors.

I woke to the feel of Deenyet’s hand on my shoulder.

Come harta. Its Zarna. She has packed and made up her mind to go with the merchant.

By the time I got to Pashal’s wagons, he had chained the young woman to the wheel. I looked in the man’s eyes to see if he held me responsible for his daughter’s actions, but there was no blame to be found. His words fell quietly drenched in the pain of a father’s heart. All women … wonder. It is the vulnerability of their hearts that make them so beautiful, such treasures that we need to protect.

I knew well when he saddled up and rode out that a man was about to lose his only begotten son for the wrong sin.