Violet had dreamed of what her first kiss would be like, but she’d been far off. Areon swept her off her feet, pulling her to her tiptoes and into his arms, catching her lips in a kiss. Whatever Violet had thought kissing would be like, it smashed those images to pieces. The Prince’s hands kept her firmly in his perfect embrace, but the kiss was soft against her lips. Soft, but demanding and deep, his tongue catching hers in a fiery dance that left her tingling down to her toes. He drank from her mouth, deepening the kiss. It became so forceful it nearly hurt, but Violet found herself pressing her body against him with every ounce of strength she had. She wanted to get lost in that kiss, to feel the Prince’s mouth nip softly at hers every time they broke for air.
With the first wave of desire resolved, she drew back a bit, like all of the
calayas
did. They’d tasted the first of many kisses, but something as intimate as that demanded more privacy. Violet wanted nothing more than to be away, alone somewhere with Areon, getting to know what it was to be really touched by him.
Areon’s eyes shone like stars when he looked at her, an image she knew was mirrored in hers. His hands around her were firm and solid, keeping her safely wrapped in his entire being. He smelled like water with a hint of blood and sweat, but all of it together was undeniably masculine. Despite her need for solitude, Violet found herself completely unwilling to ever move, but the Prince had other plans.
Placing a final soft kiss on her lips, he pulled away. When Violet began to protest, he smiled that secretive, maddening smirk of his.
“Don’t think for a second I don’t want to hold you forever,” he said. “I will prove to you I do soon enough, but right now I think we need to go. The tournament is not over.”
Violet looked at him, confused. Around them, the champions were preparing to leave with their new brides, to get to know each other at last. Violet couldn’t tell if all of them were with the one they liked most, but none of them seemed unhappy. It was very difficult to be sad at that moment. This was the tournament’s natural finale. She told Areon as much, but the Prince only smiled.
“Officially, yes,” he allowed. “But don’t tell me you think the Overlord is done with me.”
Violet didn’t. It must have shown too, because the Prince chuckled. “I thought as much,” he said.
“Reim!” he called.
Her ache for him was so bad that Violet nearly suggested throwing caution to the wind, but then nodded instead. The Overlord didn’t handle defeat well – it just wasn’t in his nature. It was better they were gone before he came up with an excuse to detain them.
Areon looked at her, smirking. “Oh Violet,” he said. “You will make our escape really hard, looking like that. Very distracting.”
Violet smiled. “I doubt that,” she said. “My father’s guards are used to seeing
calayas
.”
“I was talking about
me
,” Areon grinned, making her smile even wider. Safety couldn’t come fast enough. Three years and they still had to wait.
Reim walked up to them, his hand in Marelle’s. Violet noticed the smile on her face – unlike any she’d ever seen before – and the same frustration that she felt. The Overlord had almost ruined their tournament, now he was ruining the first moment with their champions.
“I’m guessing it’s better if we make ourselves scarce,” Reim said.
“Yes,” said the Prince. “I doubt the Overlord is overjoyed with losing two of his daughters to us.”
As if on cue, Irmela appeared at the end of the walkway. She ran over to them, unable to fight either her smile or her concern.
“I’m so glad for you both,” she told Violet and Marelle and then sent a reprimanding look to the Raiders. “No tricks from you two when it comes to my daughters.”
“No, my lady,” Areon said seriously. “No tricks with them.”
Irmela seemed satisfied with that. “Now you must go,” she said. “The Overlord and Rumeon are rounding up their guards. The tournament is over and the rules are a bit foggy from here on out. I told them that if you were allowed to come here, you should also be allowed to leave, but you,” she pointed at the Prince, who grinned in response, “have a knack for making enemies.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it,” said the Prince.
“Mother…” Violet began. There was so much she suddenly wanted to say, three years of silence resting heavily on her soul, but Irmela smiled and hugged her.
“I know, my dear,” she said. “I’ll see you soon, once the Overlord has accepted your champions.”
“So not for years,” Marelle said, but she still couldn’t stop smiling.
“Probably,” Irmela said. “But I can always come see you. The Prince can’t do a single thing without drawing attention. I’m sure I’ll find you.”
“But father won’t let you.”
“We’ll see about that. He can’t say no to me. He
can
try to kill your champions, however. Go, girls, and be safe.”
Tears welled in Violet’s throat at the prospect of their hasty departure, but it was a natural part of a
calaya
’s life. Their destinies resided with their champions. They were bound together and there was no denying that they had to go.
They only had a moment more to say goodbye to the others before the first sounds of their pursuers started echoing from above them. Violet and Marelle exchanged a worried look, but their champions seemed quite alright with the turn of events.
“Don’t worry,” the Prince told them, smirking. “The tournament was the Overlord’s playground, his arena, his rules. Now we have you and we are no longer bound by his will. If the Overlord wants to hunt the Raider Prince, let him try.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
They weren’t far from the walkway when Ronay caught up with them. It was a delay, but given that the Prince could guess the reason, it was well worth it.
“Is your life always like this?” the warrior asked, a beaming Maige at his side.
“Pretty much,” Areon said. “Does this appeal to you?”
Ronay grinned. “I think I might get used to it. Besides, I owe you a debt. You helped me on the arena.”
“And you don’t think Maige would object to suddenly becoming the bride of a mercenary?”
“Maige does not,” the
calaya
said. “I think you’re a better man than you make yourself out to be, Prince.”
“Oh, don’t say that,” Areon said, amused. “You’ll ruin my reputation. Alright, you two, come along then. Anyone else want to join? No? Very well. Reim, I hope you’re taking notes – some people like me.”
“Yes,” his second-in-command agreed. “They don’t know you very well.”
“You know me and you like me fine. You threw me your sword.”
“That’s different. I tolerate you and you’re welcome for the sword. Mind you, the Overlord could very well have set some champions on me just then, catching me unarmed.”
“Do you always bicker like that?” Violet asked, smiling by his side.
It warmed up his entire soul. Seeing her there, happy in his company, not even a trace of the girl he’d met mere days ago. More like the memory he had of her, joyful and carefree, a perfect match for him.
Once they got to Beren, they wouldn’t leave his bedroom for anything other than a glorious siege. Or he could let Reim handle that and not come out at all. Yes, that sounded reasonable.
“Not always,” Areon answered, still distracted from merely staring at her. He hadn’t lied. The girl was going to get him killed, damn that slender, mouth-watering body of hers and that lovely strand of purple in her hair. The long, flowing hair he desperately wanted to grip, to bury his face in when he pounded into her and…
Priorities – what a pain in the ass. Survival first, Violet later. The Prince felt that the world was being completely unfair. His
calaya
bride should always come first.
“I only fight with him when he’s being like this,” Reim explained. “When he’s being Areon.”
“Isn’t he always?” Ronay asked.
“Yes and no,” Areon said.
“No,” said Reim. “Areon is the one who gets us into trouble way over our heads. The Prince is the one that gets us out of it.”
Ronay chuckled while Reim seemed to remember something. “Do you think we should have taken Sarto?”
Areon laughed, as the
calayas
looked puzzled. “My proxy,” he explained. “Don’t worry about him, the Overlord and Rumeon would never hurt someone so beneath their notice. Worry about
us
, we will have to go above ground at some point soon.”
“Where is that awesome armor of yours? It could come in handy if we run into trouble. Somewhere nearby?” Reim asked.
“Not exactly,” Areon said. “I hid it near the arena. Leave it. I’ll get another one.”
Reim cursed under his breath. “Of course you did,” he said. “Where else?”
He was doing that long-suffering voice of his, but then all of them laughed along with him. It was impossible to be concerned or uneasy or afraid after you’d won a
calaya
tournament. The threats above their heads were, like he kept saying, just things that happened. Everything that mattered was already a fact and the rest was history-to-be.
Reim was leading them through some tunnels he’d checked beforehand. It wasn’t as if the Overlord’s overenthusiastic murder attempt came as a surprise to them. Any mercenary worth his name knew a quick way out if he needed one.
They were going as fast as they could, but the pursuers were on their tail. The
calayas
couldn’t be expected to be able to keep up with warriors, but luckily the areas around the arena were as if a maze. The guards pursuing them had to stop at every intersection to figure out which way they’d gone, while they knew perfectly well where they were going.
“Did you signal Beren?” Areon asked.
“I did,” Reim said. “He awaits us home.”
“Does that mean there’s a shuttle waiting for us?” Ronay asked.
“Well, if there isn’t,” Areon said, grinning, “someone is going to be answering some very unpleasant questions. I would rather not battle the Overlord on the ground in his fiefdom.”
“I would rather you didn’t battle him in the air either,” Violet said. “He’s still our father.”
Her voice shook a bit. Areon felt the desire to punch whoever had made her beautiful voice sound like that, but it wasn’t advisable to kick himself in the face.
“Yes, family relations make everything so complicated,” he said, and seeing the look on the
calayas
’ faces, added quickly, “I won’t let this come to any battle. Even I think it’s bad taste to begin our relationship by killing your father.”
Reim glared at him. “You really don’t know how to talk to women.”
“So I’m told,” Areon said. “Be ready now.”
Before them, daylight seeped in through an open pathway. The noise had picked up. The arena was slowly emptying of people and thousands of voices tended to carry. Had the situation been different, Areon and Reim could easily have hidden themselves in the crowd and slipped away unnoticed. It was impossible, however, to hide three
calayas
. And now, Areon’s
calaya
strand was exposed as well, so that made any stealth maneuvers unrealistic – they’d remain hidden for a second at best and would be noticed as soon as they got outside.
“The shuttle will be in place?” Areon asked in his Raider Prince voice.
It was amusing to see everyone but Reim wince at the sudden change. Areon’s easygoing manner was replaced by the stoic, determined stance of the Prince. He could have sworn Ronay was standing on guard – at least he was getting into his new role fast.
The look in Violet’s eyes was everything but startled, though. No, it was definitely undressing him with a fervor he hadn’t seen in the girl before. How was a man supposed to conduct a daring escape like that? He grinned at her.
“Hold on to that idea,” he said.
Then he addressed all of the
calayas
, “You girls might not like this part, but at least you have jumping experience.”
Ronay had been listening intently for a long moment, but that comment made him grin. “You cannot be serious.”
“That’s what I usually say,” Reim said. “But for him, these things tend to work out.”
“For him, I believe,” said Ronay. “What about us?”
His second-in-command laughed. “The Prince looks after his own people.”
Violet was listening too. “We’re above the arena,” she finally said. Behind them, the guards seemed to have picked up their trail again. They had to go sooner rather than later. “I thought we were going upwards because we were
under
the arena, but now we’re…”
“On the last level of the audience seats, yes,” Areon said.
“And where’s the shuttle?” Marelle asked.
“Somewhere below us,” Reim said, smiling to her. “We hope.”
“Your vote of confidence is inspiring,” Ronay said, but he still seemed more amused than worried.
“But why here?” Violet asked him as they made their way to the light.
“Despite what you’d believe, it’s the safest place,” the Prince explained. “They’re all looking for us on the ground. Up here, we have the advantage of surprise. It will take them at least a few minutes to get up here, even more with the moving crowds. By the time they reach us, the shuttle will have seen us and we’ll be gone.”
He thought for a moment, the first rays of sunlight caressing his face. Chuckling, he took Violet’s hand and led her out into the open. “But mostly because I thought it would drive the Overlord insane.”
Judging from the look on the Overlord’s face, he’d succeeded. They came out into the open air almost opposite to the host’s dais. The arena stretched wide between them, but it wasn’t big enough for the Overlord and Rumeon to miss them. The shocked fury on their faces was truly magnificent. Next to the old champions, Irmela seemed quite amused in comparison. They were suddenly plastered on all the screens, standing there on the highest point of the circles around the arena. Already, guards were hurrying their way, but below, so was the Beren shuttle, its sky hatch opened, inviting.
Areon hoped that whoever was piloting that thing had thought to put something down to soften their landing.