Shades of Power

Chapter Twenty-One

An hour later, clean and in fresh robes, I stood in Liam's room on one of the upper levels of the castle.  The bad butterflies were back, crowding out the fun ones that had started down in the receiving chamber.

It was a nice room.  Plush rugs covered the floor.  Chairs sat before a fireplace in the corner of the room, and a sideboard with crystal decanters of liquor sat beside a row of shelves filled with books.  Wide, partially open windows let in air and light.  

"So, your mother is scary."  I picked at my robes, knowing they needed to come off, but holding on to this last barrier between us out of sheer stubbornness. 

Crystal clinked as Liam poured a small glass of pora.  The liquor, made from a fruit found only in the northern mountains, was rare enough to run a few gold pieces per bottle in the capitol.  I'd never even tried it.  My family's little end of the world certainly couldn't afford it. 

"She can be," Liam said as he handed me a tumbler filled with golden liquid.  "She likes you, though."

I laughed, the sound sharp, and just a little hysterical.  "I highly doubt that.  She called a muftin."

"Do you even know what that means?"  A warm hand ran down my back and settled just above my ass, kneading at the tense muscles there. 

I leaned into it, enjoying the closeness.  I'd missed him the last few days.  I could at least admit that to myself.  "No, but it didn't sound good."

A soft kiss placed on my temple.  "It's a nickname.  We call the young mountain cubs that, when they are being particularly unruly and stubborn." A second kiss on my jaw.  "She would call my—sisters that," he whispered, a slight hitch in his voice on the plural. 

A small girl, blond hair flying behind her as she ran among the trees, playing.  Deni.  The Darkness had known her, Liam had lost her somehow, and Trey had a hand in it.  "How – "

He cut me off with a third kiss, his lips firm, the pressure almost too much, until I opened my mouth and let him in.  When he finally pulled away I was breathing hard, and definitely not thinking about his sister.  "Drink your pora, Ela." 

Right, we had a task.  I cringed and gulped down half the gold shimmering in my glass.  It burned all the way down my throat, spreading that gold through my stomach and further.  Warmth rushed through my veins. 

"Easy.  It can have quite a punch."  He stepped back and unfastened his robes.

I looked away, staring out the window only partially covered by deep blue curtains.  White covered peaks and hills covered in evergreens stretched out, slowly fading to a rolling sea of pale green and gold, the same shade as the pora.  I could just see out of the corner of my eye as violet robes fell and pooled on the floor with a faint swish, white shirt and half-pants soon joining it.

Jaenela Pior, I told myself, stop being a coward. 

Despite the circumstances, and what brought us to this point, I wanted this.  Just the idea of being with Liam, joined to him fully, set my blood rushing.  My core clenched and my breasts felt swollen and tender.  I gulped the last of my pora and set the tumbler aside.  Taking a deep breath, I turned and fastened my gaze on Liam.

He was beautiful.  I'd always thought that, and seeing him standing bare before me, fully on display, that had never been truer. 

Powerful shoulders became a broadly muscled chest with just a light dusting of hair.  My eyes trailed down, over his abdomen, lingering over the clearly defined steel of the muscles there.  I'd felt all of this, scratched my nails over it, marked it during that first meeting in Master Shurra's office.  A faint trace of pink stood out against his tanned skin, four lines on the left, three on the right, and I took it all in.