Good Night Read online

  Kovis rubbed my behind before placing his member at my entrance.

  “Yes…” I sounded half awake.

  He eased himself into me. He’d been large before, but he was even bigger now, and I thrilled in how long it took him to seat himself fully. I instinctively clenched, and he moaned.

  “Oh, Ali…” He kissed the length of my back between my wings, all the way to my neck. “Let me touch your breasts.” It came out breathy.

  I furled my wings and lifted up on my elbows.

  He reached forward and found my ladies then let out a breath, no doubt a chuckle, at my use of the name I’d given them. He fondled them, thoroughly and completely loving them as he pulled out, then pushed back inside of me. Again and again and again. Faster and faster and faster.

  “Oh, Ali!” he roared as elation and ecstasy took him on a ride of his own. Spasms wracked his body as he found release not long after.

  I had to admit, with his new size, I felt discomfort between my legs, but I smiled. It was definitely worth it. And I’d definitely need to find some tonic. I’d worry about who to ask later.

  Kovis collapsed onto the floor, utterly spent, and I joined him.

  “I missed your magic—no plants flying or water spouts—but your wings unfurling was a nice touch,” he joked, despite his voice sounding sluggish.

  I yawned my laugh.

  We surrendered to sleep in each other’s arms.

  “Oh! Oh, excuse me!” Nald, one of the stewards, woke me a while later. I recognized his voice even though the door had shut again by the time I roused enough to look. Warmth rose in my cheeks.

  Kovis snorted. “It’s not like we made it any secret what we were doing. No different than when my guards overhear us.”

  I remembered the grins on a few of his guards’ faces when I’d left Kovis’s suites, and the whole palace had known in quick order. My whole household would know before long. The warmth spread to my ears.

  Kovis stretched and yawned. “Let them be jealous.”

  He joked at a thing like this. He didn’t know Mema. Wait until she learned of our exploits.

  “She’s done it too.” He grinned.

  I scrunched my face. “I really didn’t want to think about that.”

  “But you owe your life—”

  “Stop! Just stop!”

  He kissed me and thankfully changed the subject. “I haven't felt this free, this light in... forever. I never thought it was possible. I never even hoped for what I'm feeling for you. You complete me.”

  I exhaled. I loved hearing his words. Somehow Aunt Dite had broken through to him as I'd never been able. Perhaps I'd been too hasty when I'd not trusted her. She'd returned my Dreambeam to me. How could I not?

  “So it seems we have a visit to make to your aunts, books and all.” He grinned, then put up a finger as his expression turned serious. “But first we must prepare.”

  “Prepare? We’ve got the books.”

  “I’ve no doubt your father knows we're here.” My stomach clenched. “I may have lost my magical abilities, but I can still wield a sword. And you’re not half bad with a dagger either, my love.”

  I cuffed his arm.

  “If we’re to fly to your aunts, we’ll go prepared.”

  All was silent as we stepped out of the sitting room and made our way down the hall. Sun streamed through the clear, domed ceiling of the foliage-filled atrium, and the pair of pure white calandrias flew past, mirroring each other’s flight and warbling happily. It appeared everyone had retired. Just as well. It would make our trip that much easier as I wouldn’t have to overcome their objections.

  I wrote a quick note telling everyone where we were going and not to come after us, leaving it on my pillow. We changed into our newly repaired leathers—they’d been retrofitted to accommodate our new wings—put the books in a flight bag, then headed down the three flights of stairs to find a guard or two to accompany us. I figured if Father might be after us, we’d take every possible precaution.

  Wyke stopped us as we reached the armory hall at the back of the palace. “Princess Alissandra, Prince Altairn, can I help you?” He looked my leathers up and down, not used to a female in such gear.

  I ignored his perusal and explained our plan. I was met with large eyes when I told him our destination, but he didn’t try to dissuade us. It wasn’t his role. He knew the threat Father was, for he’d been part of the search efforts to locate Velma and Alfreda.

  Once over his initial surprise, he suggested, “If you don’t mind, I think it best we bring Rowntree and Baldik with us as well.”

  “I agree.”

  “Let me go rouse them and ready myself,” he said. The guard departed, and we walked into the armory to procure weapons of our own.

  The pair of additional guards had been picked more than once because of their large builds, and I was glad they’d be joining us. I would have insisted on it if Wyke hadn’t suggested it first.

  Kovis scanned the walls lined with a host of swords and pikes and daggers and all manner of sharp implement. He strode to a rack of daggers that rose like a tree at the end of the long bench stretching down the middle of the room. “They’re well equipped. It’s good to see.”

  He extracted several knives, one at a time, feeling its weight and balance before settling on four and handing the first to me. “How’s it feel?”

  I tested all four and found them to be equally comfortable.

  “Take all of them,” Kovis said.

  I set about adding them to my leathers while Kovis headed for the swords. By the time Wyke returned with Rowntree and Baldik, Kovis had a sword holstered on each hip and two daggers secreted away in his leathers.

  The guards sent questioning looks at Kovis while they grabbed their own arms.

  “Prince Altairn is commander of Wake’s armies,” I said by way of explanation.

  The three nodded then refocused on their own preparations. We launched as the sun was halfway to its peak. If everything went well, we’d reach my aunts as the sun hit its zenith, maybe a bit after.

  Kovis smiled at me as we leveled out. My best takeoff yet.

  I grinned back. You’re really getting the hang of wings.

  Too bad I won’t get to keep them, he added.

  My heart panged. I’d given no thought to what would happen after we found and freed my sisters and stopped Father. Our mission had consumed me. And my other sisters… I’d just gotten them back. I couldn’t think about losing them again.

  Let’s figure it out once we succeed, Kovis suggested.

  I nodded.

  Fluffy clouds joined us as we crossed the bay and grew progressively darker and lower as we flew over Selova’s palace. I hoped she’d figure out a way to somehow disconnect whatever Father had done to keep humans in a dream state. How many sand people had Father sequestered or worse? It seemed they were the root of the rebels.

  We were a ways out yet from the Palace of Time, emerging from a particularly dense cloud when Wyke, who flew to my left, whistled in alarm before flying upward. Rowntree and Baldik, in front and to my left, respectively, dove.

  Two uniformed guards shot from the clouds above, four rose from below.

  Mares! I shouted through the bond. Can you see them? I prayed he wasn’t fighting blind like in Wake.

  I can! Kovis already had both swords out and brought one crashing down on one of the enemy who approached from below. The thing shifted shape, becoming a turtle with spikes on its shell as Kovis’s blade connected. While its new weight compelled it toward the ground, it shifted in the blink of an eye and became a giant hawk with long talons.

  I barely dodged the sword of another mare, this from above. I wasn’t used to fighting without footing, and I hoped my aim was true as I released a dagger at where I anticipated its eye would be as it leveled with me. I connected. The mare clutched at my knife, but blood was already pouring from the wound as it fell away.

  That’s one.

  I got one too, K
ovis reported from beside me. Look out! Above you!

  “Ahhh!” I cried.

  The falling mare nearly took me with it as it succumbed to Rowntree’s blade.

  Just the ones from below left! I said.

  But I’d spoken too soon for the mare that had become an oversize hawk swooped down from above. The dark clouds had hidden its rise.

  Kovis! Above you! The thing extended its talons toward one of his wings. Kovis wasn’t yet nimble enough to avoid it.

  I sent a dagger at its eye and another at the claw that was a mere handbreadth from his wing. Blood sprayed as its foot fell away. It shrieked as it tumbled, but my second blade had missed.

  Baldik’s sword met it before it finished shifting into a dragon.

  Two to go! Wait, where’s Wyke? I couldn’t see him anywhere, but another mare in the form of a guard drew my attention below.

  Rowntree dove and slashed. Black feathers filled the air as he relieved the thing of flight feathers on one of its wings. It began shifting into who knew what. I threw my last dagger.

  It would shift no more. It tumbled away, one wing flapping inelegantly.

  The last mare beat a hasty retreat.

  Where’s Wyke?

  As if on command, the guard leveled out beside Kovis.

  I sighed. He was okay.

  Kovis took a look at him, and before I could think, hurled a sword. End over end it flew. The guard hadn’t seen it coming, and the blade opened a gash at the back of his neck. It must have cut deeply because his wings went limp and gravity claimed him.

  What did you do? I screamed through the bond.

  Wyke’s wing was damaged. That was an imposter. That last mare shifted to look like him.

  I drew a hand to my chest.

  Is Wyke okay?

  He glided down. I couldn’t watch him the whole way.

  We need to find him.

  Not with the possibility of more mares. We keep going and come back this way once we’re done. In the meantime, we hope he finds help.

  It sounded cold, but I knew Kovis knew best in this situation. He’d been in war, no different than what we were.

  One look at Rowntree and Baldik, and I knew they held the same view. They didn’t look back as they flew on, protecting either side of us.

  Father definitely knew we’d arrived. I only wondered what else he’d try.

  You okay? Kovis asked.

  Yeah, I replied, shaking off the attack. I adjusted the pack of books, making sure they were still safe against my back, and we continued on.

  At last, a thirty-story edifice came into view against the backdrop of dark clouds. I still couldn’t comprehend how it stood, but it did, and that’s all that mattered. A multitude of ornate spires jutted from irregular, wart-like protrusions bulging from its sides. Nothing had changed.

  Rowntree and Baldik, along with Kovis, all stiffened as we touched down in the shadowy courtyard near the massive tree in the middle, but only silence greeted us. To his credit, Kovis executed a near perfect landing. The three scanned the area, but I knew they wouldn’t find any threats. My aunts had a reputation, and only the deranged would trespass.

  We approached the massive wooden door and stopped before its stone frame. There was still no handle so, with my encouragement, Rowntree put a shoulder to it. Unused hinges moaned but gave us entrance.

  Our guards both held up a hand while they surveyed the dark interior, then motioned us forward. I headed for the stairway I’d used the last time. It seemed no one else had paid my aunts a visit, judging by the dust that layered over our footprints from before. At least I assumed they were ours. There were certainly no fresh ones.

  Kovis gave me a long look as I mounted the first step.

  Trust me, I told him and smiled.

  He frowned. He’d told me to trust him when it came to Dite. He mounted the step beside me.

  We reached a landing, then the next flight of stairs that clutched the rounded walls. Up and up we climbed. Around and around. I stopped counting.

  You ought to feel right at home with all these stairs, I told him. I remembered how I’d panted the first few times I’d climbed to the sixth floor where the royal suites were.

  Kovis’s heart was beating faster than usual, right along with mine, with the exertion. There’re only six floors at home.

  Step. Step. Step. It became monotonous, so I turned my thoughts to my aunts. I couldn’t wait to see them again. The thought struck me, and I remembered how terrified I’d been to see the hall the first time. And here I’d thought nothing had changed with this place. No, everything had changed, at least for me. And I’d changed too. I was a force in this conflict. Would I have been had I not changed? I knew the answer—no. The realization filled me with joy. I’d never made a difference. I’d been naïve and bought Father’s stories. But no longer. I would make a difference, right along with Kovis.

  The books shifted on my back as if reminding me of their presence. I’d have snickered if I weren’t panting so hard. It was my first time back, and I’d procured what they’d asked of me. I hoped they enjoyed them—I felt my cheeks heat beyond what our exertion produced at that thought.

  Our guards slowed but kept moving ahead of us. I doubted they’d have breath to defend us if something attacked, but I knew nothing would. We were safer here than outside with Father’s mares.

  How many more flights? Kovis puffed.

  Too many. Don’t think about it. Just keep moving.

  At long last, we reached the top, and we and our guards bent over to catch our breath.

  Once sufficiently recovered, we headed down a dimly lit hallway to the left and stopped when we reached the pair of black-robed stewards, one on either side of a set of open doors from which artificial light and a cacophony of low mechanical noises emanated. So were the way of things with the Hall of Time. Almost nothing had changed, nothing except what truly mattered.

  Kovis wrinkled his brow with curiosity at hearing the sounds.

  I had the same reaction the first time. Just wait, it’s incredible.

  I moved ahead of our guards, and the pair of stewards at the doors looked us up and down just like before. But unlike before, the one on the right smiled and said, “Princess Alissandra, so good to see you.”

  He recognized me? But I looked so different. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.”

  “It’s Jansha, Princess. That’s Rinion.”

  “It’s very good to meet you both,” I answered.

  Rinion raised a brow and gave us an evil eye. “Don’t touch anything.” Absolutely nothing had changed with him.

  “You two will remain here,” Jansha said to our guards.

  Baldik opened his mouth to object, but I held up a hand. “It’s okay. We’ll be fine.”

  “But their… reputations.”

  I smiled. “I am aware. I don’t want to risk your lives unnecessarily.”

  “It’s my duty—”

  Rinion scowled. “You don’t listen very well. Perhaps—”

  “No, it’s okay. They’ll stay here.”

  Rowntree returned a shake of his head to his partner’s questioning look.

  Baldik huffed but surrendered. “Yell if you need us.”

  “We will, I promise.”

  “One more thing before you enter. You will remove your weapons,” Rinion growled.

  Kovis and I looked between the males. They weren’t kidding. I had no weapons left to surrender, but Kovis finally unbuckled his swords and handed them to Baldik, then added one dagger.

  “That’s all of it,” he assured.

  Rinion still scowled as if he considered possessing such implements to be vile.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Princess, Prince. Come.” Jansha turned, and without looking back, strode into the chamber, his black robes swishing behind his onyx wings. We followed.

  Sun streamed through large windows in the far wall, but with the ancient shelves that stretched floor to ceiling, much of t
he light was thwarted. Torch light augmented the dim.

  The smell of incense again greeted me along with the low sounds of the various timepieces that ensured every mortal got each and every heartbeat of life Aunt Ches allotted them.

  What? Kovis questioned with wonder.

  Timepieces. Ours are here, somewhere.

  Kovis gave me a long look.

  We followed Jansha between the ancient rows. Tan-robed attendants still flitted about, ensuring my aunts edicts were adhered to.

  A ways in, nearly on the opposite side of the room, I saw that my aunts Nona, Ches, and Ta still sat on a dais, hunched in rocking chairs, conversing. Their stringy, white hair still fell over their plain gray robes with overlong sleeves.

  The steward stopped, then bowed low. Kovis and I followed.

  “Alissandra, rise child.”

  Don’t rise yet, I coached Kovis as I rose along with Jansha. Despite my familiarity with my aunts, I knew they hid their true selves except when in private. We would show deference to them as if strangers until otherwise instructed.

  “Who did you bring with you?” Aunt Ches asked.

  I knew they knew Kovis. I’d divulged his most intimate secrets to them, but I’d play their game.

  “This is Prince Kovis Altairn of Wake.”

  Aunts Nona and Ta steepled their fingers, elbows on their chairs, before nodding, just once.

  “A human in Dream, how curious,” Ches said.

  “Rise child,” Aunt Ta commanded.

  Kovis rose.

  I hoped they’d take both Kovis and me into their hideaway so we could talk and he could see and experience all I had. I hoped.

  “What are your intentions with the princess?” Aunt Nona asked. Not how did you come to be here, not tell us your tale.

  Kovis’s thoughts whirled in our bond, but he held himself and answered simply. “My intention is to make her my bride, make passionate love to her until she is senseless, and add more work for you with young. I’m happy to give more detail if it would please you.”