Kingdom of the Northern Sun by Clara Martin

Author:Clara Martin [Martin, Clara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction > Fantasy > Dark Fantasy
ISBN: 9781643881454
Publisher: Luminare Press
Published: 2019-09-11T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

I had strange dreams all night—dreams where I was chased, where I fell out of a plane, where a strange man grabbed me and held me. But in each dream there was Charles—always there, always a comforting presence. I woke smiling slightly. In the last dream Charles and I had been kissing, slowly, passionately.

He’s not for you, Sheldon whispered in my mind. You’ll never have him.

“I know,” I said out loud, sighing softly. Dreams were fine, but I could not deny reality. I got up and padded to my mirror. My long brown hair was in disarray, my brown eyes wide and still faintly starstruck. My skin, usually pale, was flushed. I took a long look at myself, pulling on my shirt. It was an old university T-shirt, from when I’d been a student at the University of Fair Isle. Considered one of the best universities in the thirteen states, it also had a stellar Reserve Officer Training Corps program. It was were I’d earned my commission. It seemed so long ago, now. A completely different lifetime.

I sighed, smoothing down my sweatpants. Not bothering to fix my hair, I walked out of my room and into the hallway. I glanced down at the sofa. Charles was awake, sitting there with a steaming cup of coffee, flipping through his phone.

“Any news?” I asked, coming down the stairs. He looked up at me and smiled—tenderly, I realized with a jolt.

“Good morning to you too.” Getting up from the sofa, he walked up to me and traced my face. He bent down for a kiss—I stopped him with a hand to his chest.

“Not while I have morning breath,” I said with a slight laugh. He nodded, eyes grave.

“As you wish,” Charles said. He waved his hand toward the kitchen. “I made coffee.”

I felt myself smile at him, a gentle, tender smile. “You know the way to my heart,” I said with a slight laugh. He gazed back, mouth slightly open. I stepped back and laughed uncomfortably. “Thank you.”

Charles shook himself visibly and gave me a soft smile back. “Of course, Eileen,” he murmured. My name sounded like a caress, coming from his mouth.

It was my turn to shake myself. I turned and went into the kitchen, filling up my favorite mug—a mug from a vacation to Chincoteague, home of the wild horses—with the coffee steaming in the pot. I loaded it down with creamer and took an appreciative sip. Tingles shot down to my toes.

“That’s quite a reaction,” Charles observed from the door. I smiled into the cup.

“Back in the army, I drank six cups a day,” I said with a laugh. “One of my soldiers gave me a bag of coffee for a birthday present.”

“Oh?” Charles asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes,” I said, still smiling. “She was originally from Guatemala, and she went on a trip to visit her family there. When she came back, she brought me this giant”—I laughed, holding my hands wide for emphasis—“bag of coffee. She said it’d be enough to keep me busy for at least a week.

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