Page 68 of Lady Knight and the Thief

“Now who’s being rude, Lass?” Torren asked when they were once again standing amid the piles of Song Stones.

Cypress sent him a glare as a response and marched over to the spiraling staircase.

24

Ride Hard

Torrenwasabsolutelysurehe shouldn’t be having this much fun with his father’s sworn Knight. Caelith’s hold over Cypress would prove to be problematic before long.

Torren knew it with all his heart, and yet.

He was having the time of his life gallivanting across the Wyld lands with Cypress.

Despite trying to forget their night at A'aravos Paravale, Torren couldn’t banish the memory of her touch or the sounds she made. Even now, when Cypress was upset with him for how he’d gotten them out of the tomb, Torren could only think of the feel of her thighs wrapped around him.

As much fun as he was having, Cypress’s proximity now was like the most alluring tease.

To force himself to concentrate on the road ahead, to keep the path unfurling before them as his blood commanded, Torren allowed himself to ponder her heritage instead.

If Cypress was found within the Keep as a babe, Torren had little hope that whoever her Fair Folk blood came from was still amongst the living.

She was about the same age as he, perhaps a few years younger, but even by the time Cade came along, there were already startlingly few Fair Folk amongst the citizens in the Keep. Torren could remember his mother and her guard often making comments amongst themselves.

The Diviner likely wouldn’t be able to discern Cypress’s relatives. Still, Torren would take her to Havanj, who could at least tell Cypress whattypeof Fair Folk blood she possessed. Havanj would be able to determine where in Faerie Cypress belonged, if she ever chose to return once this was all over.

But, with what Torren had planned once they had the Scepter, he doubted Cypress would ever want to set foot between the Wyld trees again.

“We’re about half a day’s ride from Jinemelle, if we can ride hard,” Torren commented, if only to hear her sharp tongue once more.

“Why are you going so slow then?” Cypress countered, the rope between their horses going slack.

Torren smiled wide. “I wasn’t sure howhardthe Lady Cypress knew how to ride.”

She sent him a scathing look, cheeks tinged bright red, the flush spreading down her neck and over her collar bones. “Must you make everything so…vulgar?”

“Fuck yes,” Torren said with a smile, waggling his eyebrows.

Cypress shook her head, then quickly checked the straps on her saddle bags. “Fine, let's go, Thief. Make meride hard.”

Torren groaned with delight and urged his horse to a steady canter. They'd need several breaks for the pack horse, but he would ensure Cypress reached Jinemelle by nightfall.

25

Fire Vine Blossom

LikeA'aravosParavale,thevillage of Jinemelle was situated in the center of a large Faerie ring. The circular enclosure of evergreen trees almost acted like a funnel, making the sun's light and warmth last longer into the day.

Before Cypress and Torren entered the village, twilight was upon the forest, the bioluminescent forest life emerging and illuminating everything as it flitted through the branches. Here, though, it was as if dusk were hours away, yet. Golden daylight still streamed into the clearing.

“Wow,” Cypress whispered, unable to contain the wonder at the sights before her.

A'aravos Paravale had been grand– majestic even. This village was no different in that regard.

The entire settlement was built beneath the surface of a great, tunneled hill, with large open archways on either side. The interior of the hill was entirely hollow; the dirt had been removed, and in its place, cottages dotted the underside of the mound. Fair Folk meandered through the streets underneath the hill, music played loudly from taverns, and voices carried through the clearing. Merrily glowing lights dotted the under hill, and around it.

One singleenormoustree grew in the very center at the top of the hill, roots dangling underneath and down into the cavern below, while other, thicker roots wrapped around the either side, almost acting like a bridge over the village before they sank into the hillside and disappeared.

Cypress couldn’t wrap her mind around how such a thing was possible, but nevertheless, the village lay before her.