The Silent Goddess: The Otherworld Series Book 1 (22 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Many Locks Remain Closed

Dawn broke brightly through the windowless room.  The intense light pierced the shield of his eyelids as his conscious thought slowly swam to the surface.  He was warm and comfortable and felt more at peace than he had in a while.  He tried to stretch but found himself impeded by some sort of extra weight that made the movement difficult.  Convinced Knackers had found his way up onto the bed again he was about to shove the furry devil off of him when and unusual sound, or rather lack of sound, alerted him that something was not right.

Knackers snored; horribly actually.  The weight on his chest made no such noise.  His battle senses immediately awoke and he was fully alert though his physical body gave away no signs.  His breathing remained slow and even and to any outsider viewing his sleeping form it would seem as if he had stirred only slightly before falling back to sleep.

He quickly called on his other senses to tell him about his surroundings.  Calling upon his ears first he heard muffled conversation.  He guessed he was in a room with a door and that the door was closed.  If he had been captured his guards had not thought to post one at his bedside.  He could hear birds singing and a breeze drifted over him indicating an open window nearby.  If there was an open window then he was not being held.  He exhaled in relief and when he inhaled the smell was slightly salty and tinged with the faintest scent of …meadowsweet.

“Annie!” he shouted as he bolted upright dislodging and sending a sleeping Annie crashing to the floor.

He was horrified and confused.  He ripped off his shirt searching for a burn or blister and was amazed that no such mark existed on his already battle marred skin.  His body told him no pain existed but his brain continued to insist that there was.  She had been laying against him, on him. He searched for logical reasons that he felt no pain.  Maybe their skin needed to touch?  Absurd the first time he felt the burn her touch caused cloth had been in the way.  Maybe it had not been her after all?  Nonsense, he was standing in her room.  As if to clarify to him once and for all the clarity of the situation her golden red head popped up above the bed.

“What the hell am I doing on the floor?”  She muttered through a sleep yawn.  “Did I fall out of bed again?”  As she pulled herself off the floor she met his eyes and stopped.  Her crystal eyes froze him in place even his chest refused to move to allow a breath in.  She continued to stare at him her eyes moving up and down the length of him a wicked smile flirting with the corners of her mouth.  No one, not ever
her
, had ever looked at him with such open admiration.

“My god you really are beautiful,” she breathed.

He was stunned.  He looked down at his own torso and saw only scars left by battle that crisscrossed his sun darkened skin.  Words failed to form a reply as she slowly rose from the floor and began moving towards him.  He felt his own feet move forward before his brain overrode their direction and revered course.  His back hit a wall blocking his retreat as her hand extended out towards his abdomen their destination particularly thick and raised scar that started inches to the left of his navel and wound around to his lower back.  A parting gift from a traitorous Rider moments before Duncan relieved him of his head.

Her finger tips brushed lightly against his skin causing his abdominal muscles to spasm.  She drew her hand away startled.  “Did I hurt you?”

“No,” he replied without thought.  And in truth he felt no pain.  As his mind pondered this her fingers brushed against the scar again tracing its path around is side and to his lower back.  He allowed his eyes to drift close relishing the intensely pleasurable feeling her cool fingers on his warm skin cased.

“I want you to promise me something,” she breathed against his mouth.

“Anything,” he replied again without thought.

“I want to know about, I want to feel every one of these beautiful battle marks.”

Words, speech fled his mind as he could focus only on her touch.  He nodded his head in agreement and was rewarded with her lips gently pressing against the corner of his mouth.  Thought, sound and sense fled as his lips reached out to return the gentle caress.  Their lips moving shyly, timidly at first exploring and testing each other quickly intensified.  His arms wound around her waist pulling her roughly up against him.  Her soft moan encouraged his hands as they found the bare skin of her back.  The feel of her silken skin against his hands pulled a groan from within his own throat.

Finally she was his, she was where she belonged.  His hands drifted higher, entangled in her hair as he pulled her head back to allow his mouth access to her jaw.  His lips trailed hungrily down on side of her throat before traveling up the other side to recapture her kiss swollen lips.  She sighed; his name escaping her mouth and he greedily ate it up.  Nothing could have stopped his hand sand his mouth from their current path, nothing except the next breathy words spoken into his ear.

“So right…”

Only it wasn’t, she wasn’t.

She was a dream from which he had to awaken.  She was not his, not now, not ever.  She belonged to another man.  The thought pulled a growl deep from within his belly as the battle beast inside him threatened to take over.  His arms gripped her tighter pulling her closer to him in attempt to fuse her to him.

Rational thought declared war on the beast poking and prodding until it returned to its cage surrendering to only one thing, honor.  She belonged to another.  She belonged to the true High King destined one day to be High Queen.  She would soon ascend to a place that he could not follow.

His fingers released their grip on her hair and slowly slid down her neck to her shoulders.  He gave her one last, deep lingering kiss.  His lips committing to memory the feel of her, the taste of her before he pulled his head back and gently pushed her away.  Her head fell back and she gazed deeply into him, almost through him.  His hands forgot to let go and his thumb traced a lazy path around her mouth.   He soaked up her satisfied smile as he continued to procrastinate.  A knock on the door saved him from having to explain why he needed to move away from her.

The door opened and Knackers entered ignoring permission.  His cat eyes quickly took in the scene and embarrassment settled heavily in the room.  Knackers took a sudden interest in his sooty boots, Annie took a few steps back putting some space between them and allowing him room to put his shirt back on.  Knackers cleared his throat breaking the tension in the room.

“Um, Annie if yer feeling up to it Fiona’s laid out some breakfast,” he informed her.  “I’d just like a word or two wit Duncan.”

Annie nodded her head and quickly took the escape route Knackers had given her.  Duncan’s own stomach growled loudly reminding him that it had been quite a while since he had eaten anything.

“Hungry?”  Knackers asked with a knowing grin.  Duncan shot him a fierce angry glare that silenced any further comment Knackers would have made.

“Was there a reason you barged in?”

Knackers twirled his pointy goatee between two fingers as he studied Duncan before answering him.  When Duncan threw the Wag-by-the-Way an impatient look he finally began to speak.

“Aye,” he began.  “I was to come an’ tell ye Finn and Manny,” he said using air quotes as he threw Duncan a wink.  “Would like to see ye whenever yer decent.”

Duncan growled menacingly, “And?”  He gritted out between clenched teeth.

“Well,” Knackers coughed out.  “I’m glad yer well and seem to have retained all yer necessary faculties as I were-“  He never got to finish his sentence as Duncan hurled the first thing at Knackers his hands found which happened to be a vase.

Knackers yelped and quickly dodged the incoming object causing it to hit the wall and shatter.  The noise quickly drew Fiona into the bedroom.  She tore into the room.  Her plump hands rested on her hips a toe tapping agitation as she scowled at Knackers.   When he refused to cower under her gaze she wagged a finger under his nose in preparation for a fierce scolding.

“Where are yer manners ye mangy lump of gray fur!”  She reached out her hand and seized a hold of one of his pointy ears and gave it a good yank.  “Do ye see that mess?”  She asked pointing a finger at the shattered glass that lay on the floor.  “Ye will clean it all up!”

“But I didn’t do it!” he protested.

“Aye ye did! Ye were the cause.  If only it had ‘it yer soft noggin there’d be naught ta clean up!”

Duncan watched the two argue, the ridiculous scene easing some of his anger as Knackers tried and failed to escape his punishment.

“Now,” Fiona said turning her attention to Duncan.  “The King and yer father await ye in the backrooms where ye won’t be disturbed.”

Duncan nodded his head and taking a deep breath followed Fiona out of the room leaving a grumbling Knacker to his chores.

             Finn and the High King awaited him in the back bedroom.  He had passed no one else on his short journey to join them.  He knocked politely and waited until he was granted entry; a lesson Knackers needed to re-learn.  He wasn’t truly angry at the wag; he was more upset with himself.

“Enter,” bade the High King.

Duncan entered the large brightly lit room.  It was devoid of the clutter the other few rooms possessed and contained only a bed, a desk and a few miss matched chairs.  The king indicated for him to take a seat, for the moment he refused.  His limbs felt restless and stiff.  When the king accepted the refusal he motioned for Finn to begin.

“First let me begin by expressing how glad we are to see you healthy and hale,” Finn said with genuine relief.  “We almost lost you last night.  You seemed to have given up the will to live.”

Those last words were whispered by Finn and colored with agony.  Duncan easily forgot how much others cared about him as he often failed to see his own worth.  Outside of his battle skills he saw no use to his existence aside from the love he shared with one other person.  It had consumed him for such a long time that now he wasn’t sure how to be whole without it, without her.  He had tricked himself into believing that as long as she was safe and happy all would be well.  It had been a vicious lie.

“The Battle Crow convinced the Queen to release her curse on you,” the king informed him interrupting his self-effacing thoughts.

That answered one of the many questions but presented more.  If nothing else he would not leave this room until he had answers.  Depending on what he heard, he would then decide his future and chose his own fate. 

“Why?” he asked simply.  It was the most pressing question and he feared the answer.  He feared hearing the words that could condemn him.

“Because she saw better reason and recognized the harm it cause,” the king explained.  “Had she not done so you might not be standing before us now.”

“She spared me for future torture then?” he accused.

“No,” Finn replied confused and looked to the king for an explanation.

“He is speaking of something Bres said last night,” the king said directing a hard look at Duncan.  “Something that only three sets of ears heard, and for the time being shall remain that way,” the king replied his tone suggesting no argument on the point.

Duncan could not let it go away so easily.  Her it was the one thing that could… “Is it true?  At least answer me that!”  He shouted as his anger bubbled up to the surface.

“Yes,” the king replied quietly.  The soft spoke reply knocked Duncan hard, his legs threatening to collapse under him.  His arm fumbled for the back of the empty seat as his strength and energy were suddenly drained out of him.

Finn jumped to his feet in alarm and fearing his son had taken a bad turn assisted Duncan into the empty seat.  The king remained motionless as the truth finally sunk deep into Duncan.  He had been a pawn, a toy, a thing to have fun with and then discard; so much wasted on a lie.

One more question, one more answer to completely seal his fate.  “Did she, does she know?”