A Court of Crows (Talons and Tethers Book 1) by Eliza Eveland

Author:Eliza Eveland [Eveland, Eliza]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy romance, romantic fantasy
Publisher: Grim Cat Press LLC
Published: 2022-02-09T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Four

DESPITE HER RESOLVE to sleep until noon, Eris woke at dawn, well-rested. Gray morning crept into Ruith’s room, slanting shadows at strange angles. The fire from the night before had died down to coals, leaving the room chilled. With Ruith wrapped around her, however, it was still almost too hot.

Last night... It would have almost seemed like a dream if not for the pleasant ache between her legs. Had it been a mistake to come to Ruith? What now?

Everything else hurt, too, but not as bad as the day before. At least she could move, though she wasn’t sure she could take another day of fighting on the wall.

Eris rolled over, resting a head on the inside of Ruith’s arm. He was awake, gray eyes focused on her, long black hair falling behind his shoulder. That close, she could make out the swirling starburst of black lines inside his stormy eyes.

He smiled and touched her chin. “Morning. Feeling better?”

“A little.” She reached to caress the outer shell of his pointed ear.

Mercia had suggested Ruith would be... different because he was an elf, but he hadn’t seemed different last night. Of course, he hadn’t let her touch him, and he had stayed behind her. What if...

“Does it concern you?” he asked. “That I look like your enemy?”

“You are not my enemy.”

“But I am an elf.”

She frowned. “I don’t care.”

He lifted her hand from his ear and brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “Others do, Eris. They always will. Some see me as what the zealots of the Divine claim, a herald of your end. To others still, I am a curiosity.” He said the last word with disdain, as if he would rather be feared for a lie than treated as a novelty.

“And what would you like to be?” she asked.

Ruith caressed her cheek again, eyes almost glassy. He smiled, but it seemed sad in a way that threatened to crack her heart in two.

Eris leaned in, kissing him gently at first, and then more purposefully. Neither of them had the energy to enjoy themselves fully the night before, but perhaps this morning...

Ruith broke the kiss first with a small chuckle. “We have a council meeting in a few hours, Your Grace, and I have a wall to defend.”

“Don’t call me that. I don’t want to be the queen when I’m in bed with you.”

“Then what shall I call you?”

Before she could answer, something crashed on the floor below, and Aryn bellowed, “RUITH!”

Ruith’s eyes widened, and he pushed up from the bed, grabbing his sword from where he’d left it and stalking to the door.

Eris rushed to where she’d left her robe and shoes, throwing both on as quickly as she could and following him out. The stairs creaked loudly as she hurried down them. Voices were coming from the kitchen, Aryn and Ruith’s.

“What happened?” Ruith demanded. “Who is she?”

“There are healers on their way,” Aryn said.

Eris rounded the corner, stepping into the kitchen. The scene before her was an odd one.

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