Chapter 9

It had been a very, very long time since Dessa felt this calm, this at peace. Five years to be exact. Ever since Elys left.

Maybe it was just being secured in his arms, her cheek pressed against his chest, breathing him in, hands gripping the muscles of his back, but she desperately missed him. Missed his smile and laugh, missed how they could be both silly and serious with one another, even missed the way he smelled. Sandalwood and citrus, that's what it was.

Missing him was what made her start crying as he held her, pressing his face to her hair as if he were breathing her in, holding her even tighter as if he'd missed her just as much, too.

Dessa whimpered and sniffled, not wanting to let go.

"Are you crying?" Elys asked her, trying to lean back so he could look at her face, but she just hid herself before he could see.

"No," she grumbled against him. "I'm just tired and yet you won't let me sleep."

"I think you're lying to me, Dessa Jai."

"Never."

Elys's deep chuckle reverberated through her as his hands smoothed slowly up her back, making her shiver with warmth. Finally, though, she allowed him to push her back enough to look at her, see her tears streaming as he wiped them away with his fingertips, give her a teasing smile even as she glared at him.

"See?" Elys said softly, eyes roaming every feature. "You're lying to me. I thought you knew not to lie to a Seer?"

"I thought you knew not to say too much anymore, even with those damn Seer abilities?"

He had the nerve to wink. "Rambling is a specialty of mine, you know."

"Oh, I know. And it gives me a headache when you do, especially when you say far too much at one time for someone to process."

"Never."

Dessa's smile stretched across her face as she brought both hands up to cover his. "Hi, Elys."

"Hi, Dessa," Elys said to her again. "And by the way you're still holding me, I guess you missed me a little?"

"Just a little," she laughed, wiggling closer, practically curling herself into him. "You could have come home in these last five years, you know."

Giving her a breathtaking smile in return, Elys touched his forehead against hers for a moment before pulling back, though he kept his face close. Gods, she missed those mismatched blue eyes. "I missed you, too," he told her. "You could have come with Lyv and Jai to see me, though I heard you found excuses not to."

"From visions or my parents?"

"Both."

"That's what I get for starting university at sixteen. Barely any social life."

"Oh, I'm definitely sure that's not true."

"Visions?"

This time, he threw his head back and laughed. "Jai, actually. He likes to complain about your many male suitors and tells me I need to help in keeping them away. Of course, I agreed."

Dessa grumbled, turning her head to glare down the hallway at her parents' closed door. "Annoying, overly protective Fae males, the both of you."

Elys laughed again as he took a step back, though his hand quickly secured around hers as he started walking them down the hallway. Dessa wasn't going to complain about how he was pulling her away from bed and sleep, though. She stared at him as he lifted their conjoined hands to his lips, kissing her knuckles. The show of affection made her face flame and heart fluttered in her chest.

Even in the dim lighting, Dessa couldn't keep her eyes off him. So much had changed over those last five years, but he was still Elys, still the same boy she'd grown up with. She watched how his body moved, how he held his head high, shoulders back, with more confidence than she'd seen before. She would have teased him for practically strutting if she could find her voice.

Because he still was shirtless, scars and tattoos on full display for her to see. Those...and his muscles that rippled with every one of his movements.

And she still couldn't look away.

What in the Mother's name was going on with her?

"You do know how early it is, right?" Dessa whispered to him as they continued down the hallway toward.

Elys's fingers tightened around hers as he smiled at her. "Well, it's your fault."

A brow rose. "How's it my fault?"

"You left before we could really be with each other again, before we could talk."

"I...had a date."

"You did not," he snorted.

"Did to. His name is Fin. I've known him for a few months since he came over from Escarral to study for a semester here."

Elys's eyes met hers...and glazed over for a split second, the mismatched blue going fully white. It was long enough for her to see and know what he was doing. "Fin, a nineteen-year-old human from Escarral, who's more infatuated with you than you are him. Just by the look of him...at his pristine past where nothing is out of place...I don't like him. He seems suspicious."

"You're so nosy. And I don't care if you don't like him."

"You should."

"Uh-huh. Whatever."

They continued down the hallway hand in hand. Dessa found herself getting to his side, drawn to him in the same way she always had been but even more so now. And that jolt she'd felt before...well, it was stronger now that she was touching him. She couldn't concentrate, not when all she wanted to do was look at him, at his dark olive skin stretched over muscles, at the scars that hadn't changed and the few more that had been added, at the tattoos that went front the stop of his shoulder all the way down to his wrist. Mostly just swirls and lines of black ink, but the closer she looked, the more she could make out. The lines that went from wrist to elbow all around his forearm weren't just lines. They were the names of their family.

Elys, of course, caught her staring, stopped, and held out his arm for her to get a closer look. "You like them?"

Dessa bit the inside of her lip, eyes tracing the names with her eyes, then fingertips...and then shuddered out a breath. "They're all of our names," she whispered.

"So...you like them then."

"Elys..."

He turned his wrist slowly, allowing her to read each and every one. "Of course, I would get everyone's. Our family...gods, I wouldn't be who I am, where I am without them. And I love them immensely for it."

Both of them watched as Dessa continued reading each and every name, from her family there in Dalcaine to her human side in Escarral. Even his own parents' names, Alekos and Tasia, though they'd passed when he was barely two. She recognized the name of her grandfather Bence, who she'd never gotten to meet and still felt like she knew. Eamon, Archer, Mik, Allel, Kalla, Thia, Gideon, Jai, Lyv, even Len's though he'd only just met her...and, finally, right there on the inside of his forearm – Dessa. Hers, though, was a little more intricate than the others and stood out, though in a subtle way. There was space for more names below, almost like he'd known he would want to add more.

Dessa lifted her eyes to his, finding him already staring at her, gaging her reaction. Her fingers didn't stop moving over the lines and swirls, not until she twined their fingers together again and gave a slight squeeze in appreciation.

Finally, Elys nodded back down the hallway. "Come on. There's something I've been missing after five years of not being in Ayveri...but I have a feeling Lyv will be mad at us afterward. I'll just buy her another, plus maybe a few more."

Before she could stop him, he started tugging her down the hallway toward the kitchen again. It would only be a few hours until the staff came to start cooking breakfast for not only the royal family, but everyone who worked there as well. The marble countertops were clear, though a large basket of bread baked just the day before was sitting between where the oven was and the massive refrigerator, which Elys was going for then as he dropped her hand.

Dessa made herself comfortable at the large center island, sitting on one of leather, swivel barstools. There were many mornings she would sit there, watching as her uncle Mik and aunt Allel attempted to teach Gideon the art of cooking, which he was still absolutely horrible at. Mostly, it ended up with Gideon and Mik halfheartedly arguing before the latter took over at the stove while Allel rolled her eyes behind them.

Now, though, Dessa watched as Elys pulling open the refrigerator door, searching inside before letting out a soft ah-ha. As soon as he spun back around, she started shaking her head, looking down at the boxed chocolate mousse cheesecake that even had her mother's name written along the side, along with a bold 'Don't you dare touch it!' written underneath.

Dessa shook her head as he walked over. "Oh, no. Just like her warning says, I don't dare touch Momma's cheesecake from Sherine's, not unless she's offering...which she rarely does. I've gotten in trouble so many times..."

Elys laughed, placing the box on the counter in front of her before going over to a drawer to pull out two forks, handing one to her when he was back at her side. "Last week, right? She caught you red-handed scarfing one down with Milena in your room..."

She glared at him, sticking out her tongue. "Shut up, Seer."

His answering grin was wicked as he winked. "Maybe since it's the two of us, we won't get into so much trouble."

Rolling her eyes, she took the fork he held out to her. "Sure, like that will happen. We'll more than likely get double Momma's wrath."

"Bring it," he dared as he opened the top. Lifting their forks and clinking them together, Elys made a toast. "Here's to being home and for this chocolate cheesecake Lyv is totally unaware of giving to me as a welcome home gift. And if she's mad that we've managed to eat the whole thing by morning, I'll just be my sweet little self, call her Lyvi, and tell her she's the bestest in all the lands...then run like hell when she doesn't believe a word I'm saying."

Dessa's laugh echoed through the kitchen. She couldn't stop, not when he turned those not-so-innocent eyes on her, giving her the sweetest of smiles. "You're absolutely impossible."

As if she were drawing him in, Elys took a step closer to her, the warmth of his body brushing up against her. "And you're beautiful."

She froze, eyes dropping to the opened box as her face flushed bright red. He used to always call her that when she was little. Beautiful and smart and kind and funny and...and the list went on. Now, there was another hint of something in the way he'd said it. It didn't help that he was still so close, that she could feel his eyes on her...and not just her face. Everywhere.

"A lot has changed over these last five years," Dessa said quietly, still not meeting his gaze. She shifted forward, leaning against the counter to get a forkful of cheesecake. The cold marble against the bare skin of her chest made her realize just how revealing her dress was and she quickly sat back, attempting to cover up with one arm crossed.

Elys took a second before going in for his own forkful. "Tell me everything that's been going on."

"Really?" she snorted, glancing up at him. "I'm sure you've seen and heard it all."

"But I want to hear you tell it to me."

"Only if you tell me everything in return."

"Deal," he smiled. He nodded down to the cheesecake. "I think we'll finish this thing off by the time we finish our tales, though."

"We're both going to have to be extra sweet to Momma then."

But she did.

Dessa started with telling him all about finishing her schooling with her tutor at the palace, then how she'd started at university soon after. How she loved every single one of her classes but turned her nose up at the mention of her current one, one that even featured the Seer of Ikreus himself.

"So, I'm famous," Elys grinned, winking at her. By then, he'd taken the stool beside her, angling himself in her direction while casually leaning against the counter.

"Please," she snorted as she rolled her eyes as she stabbed at the cheesecake. "However, the female who drew your name to do her paper on did ask me if I knew when you'd be back. She's always wanted to meet the Seer in person." That last sentence came out in a high, whiny voice just like the female's, making Elys chuckle at her poor attempt. "Of course, I didn't know at the time when that would be. I helped her with all I could, though. She had to look up all your training and military advancements over the last few years, though."

"You didn't keep up with them with your parents?" he winked.

"I say again...please."

"You did. I know you did."

Her silence was answer enough, which made him start grinning again.

"Your turn with the military stuff," Dessa said, pointing her fork at him.

Elys told her then about what had been going on for him, from the training camp where he and Eamon both had to earn the respect of the other guardsmen no matter how much they'd already heard and known about the pair. With the two of them, though, that was a quick matter to be taken care of. Elys and Eamon had been training as a pair since they were children, just six and nine, and under the watchful eyes of Dessa's father, Gideon, and Mik. Dessa herself remembered watching them train, Elys with his manipulation over time and using his visions to his advantage and Eamon with his magic from all four lands of Dalcaine. The older they got, the more in sync they became...and the deadlier.

"It wasn't all training, of course," Elys continued, twirling his fork around and around between his fingers. "After two years, Eamon got his orders to command his own unit, to basically be a peace envoy going across all three lands and even into Laria. He made me his second-in-command not a breath later. There were only about two dozen males and females, but now...now we're practically family. They're the ones who you saw us riding in with."

"So, you saw us," Dessa grinned.

"Of course," he said with an overly exaggerated roll of his eyes. "There's no getting past two massive dragons flying overhead, you know, especially when you're not in Eld."

"I'm actually surprised Milena followed behind me when I turned back for Ayveri."

"Has she been a massive headache for you just as much as Eamon's been for me since they were mated?"

"Don't even get me started," she groaned. "She's been horrible."

Elys agreed with a nod and a smile, which then dropped slightly. "You could have landed there. We could have seen each other sooner."

True. But she hadn't been ready then. Apparently, she hadn't been ready whenever he came into council room either. And maybe she shouldn't have been so rude to him then, but it was the shock of seeing how much he'd changed over those last five years...and how much she'd appreciated that change. Third time was the charm whenever they met again in their doorways across the hall from one another.

So, she was honest with him. "I wasn't ready."

Silence settled around them and Dessa did the one thing she usually did when her nerves got to her.

She ate.

Maybe she finished off the rest of the cheesecake before Elys could have another bite. As soon as she finished that last bite, though, she instantly regretted it, leaned back, and putting a hand to her stomach.

Elys, of course, found this hilarious. "You're regretting that, aren't you?" he laughed.

All Dessa did was groan. "Why did you have to suggest this?"

"Because I knew you needed it."

"And now Momma's still going to kill us...but I think she'll enjoy seeing me suffer from eating practically all of it myself."

Dessa leaned her head against the cool marble countertop, closing her eyes and breathing in deep through her nose. Though she didn't move, Elys did, hiding the evidence of their middle of the night snacking, before coming back to sit beside her just a few minutes later.

"Tell me about Lenora," Elys said to her then.

All she wanted to do was sleep then, but her smile stretched across her face in the same moment. Oh, her sweet and sassy baby sister...who she just realized she didn't get to kiss goodnight before she went to bed. She didn't realize she was smiling until she looked back up at Elys. He was staring again.

"I still remember when Momma and Daddy told me. It was actually on my fifteenth birthday. Momma had been hiding it for a few weeks after she found out, but I knew something was up when Roshan wouldn't leave her be. And don't get me started on Daddy. He didn't either, practically growling at anyone who even looked at her in a different way. I was the first to know besides them, though...and I'm assuming you, too."

Elys met her smile with one of his own. "My letter of congratulations got to her the day after she told you."

"Of course, you did. But with Len...gods, she's one of the best things that ever happened to me. I think I cried more than Momma when she was born and took her anytime Momma and Daddy needed a break in those first few weeks. I got to bond with her in those early morning hours when I did, just holding her closer, talking with her. I still do it and probably always will. Then there's Silas, who's been with her since she was born. Those two get into more trouble than Len does with me and definitely keeps all of us on our toes.

"Momma used to always tell me how she and her sisters were growing up, plus I've seen them when we're all together in Escarral. Though I love Len at the age she is now, as crazy and sassy and sweet as she is, I can't wait until she's older, when we get to have the same relationship as Momma and her sisters do. Until then, I'll just continue to steal her away whenever I want some big sister and baby sister time."

"She told me how you take her for flights on Eria," Elys chuckled. "And how Lyv and Jai still freak out when you do."

"They freak out when I'm by myself, too. Well, maybe they have a right to be since Eria and I like to try a few tricks in the air that might have ended up with a few broken bones Momma had to heal. But I've been bloodrite bonded with Eria since I was two. She's just as overprotective of me as they are...and I wonder what she's going to do when she sees that you're back. You want to go with me to see her tomorrow? We'll take Len with us and you know Milena, Eamon, and Archer will come along with us, too."

Elys smiled and nodded, wiggling in his seat in excitement. "I miss that dragon, so definitely."

"She's always loved you."

"Everyone's always loved me."

"Good gods, your heads gotten a little too big for your shoulders after all these years away from your humble home."

Another wicked grin. "I will say again...never. Not when I have you and your sass to knock me down, right?"

"Well, at least you know who can still put you in your place. I've gotten exceptional at it over the last five years we've been apart when practicing with others."

"Five years that were way too long if you ask me."

"You can say that again."

He snorted, then leaned his forearms against the counter, taking a deep and steady breath. "You hated me when I left."