𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅

chapter eighty-five

Emriana

"It looks beautiful,"

"You look more beautiful," Zeke smirked, pulling me closer to him, and I smiled.

I sighed, inhaling his intoxicating musk as I watched the colorful leaves on the tree pass by as the carriage pulled us through the forest.

"Why do the leaves change color?" I asked him, and he shrugged, making little shapes on my waist.

"I don't know. Drakkar would probably," we both chuckled.

"Yeah, probably," I smiled, moving my head to kiss his shoulder before putting my head back into the crook of his neck.

"We should be arriving in less than an hour, you should rest, princess," he laid another kiss on the side of my head, and I hummed in happiness as I pulled him closer to me.

The carriage moved through the narrow dirt road, the occasional branch grazing the carriage as we pass. Akira was snoring as he slept by our feet. It was early morning, and my family was expecting us at noon.

Drakkar and Zander were originally supposed to come with us to Nelovia, but they got held back by an unexpected issue with the renewal of the treaty with Nodad Kingdom. The triplets had been in communication with the King of Nodad for several weeks now, but they couldn't get on the same page. I kept telling them that they should invite him to Ekudal so we could solve this easier, but my men were stubborn sometimes.

Zeke offered to accompany me as the two were handling the situation well and didn't need his help. Although they wouldn't admit it, I knew they also didn't like me to go alone. I wasn't complaining, as traveling with Zeke was very fun. We would talk about so many different things, and we would spend all our time laughing together.

"I'm not tired," I smiled, shifting on his lap. He was lying across the seat, and I, of course, was nuzzled against him under a heavy blanket. Nelovia was much colder than Ekudal, and the clothes we left in were not enough to withstand this different climate.

"I could make you tired, princess," he muttered slowly against my ear, and I bit my lips as I held back a moan when his hand slipped under my dress.

I flipped myself around, my knees now straddling his waist as my hands gripped his chest for stability. My heart fluttered when our eyes met, his beautiful playful blue eyes dancing with mine.

"Later, Zeke," he pouted at my words, and I lowered myself to kiss his lips, kissing his pout away.

"Why, princess? It's been forever since we did anything," I rolled my eyes.

"You're so dramatic. May I remind you of last night?" I said, and he smirked, his hand still roaming way too close to my liking for being supposed not to fool around.

"Of course, I remember last night, but I can't get enough of you, princess," he whined, trailing kisses down the side of my jaw, and I glanced outside, seeing the tall walls of the entrance of the kingdom.

"We're going to be caught if we do anything. We're almost there," I pointed out, and his smirk grew.

"That's the fun of it," his hand slipped inside my underwear. His long fingers ran up and down my front, and my knees buckled as I stabled myself on his chest.

"Zeke," I warned him, and he pouted. I kissed the pout of his face again, and he smirked.

"Why are you always smirking?" I chuckled, and he laughed.

"Why is the sky so blue?" He replied, and I shook my head with a smile.

I pulled his hand into my lap as I glanced outside, watching the different little streets of the kingdom come into view. I smiled, noticing how some young children began to wave at the carriage, and I waved back even though I was pretty sure they couldn't see me from up here.