Read Online Moon's Flower: Book 6 (Kingdom Series) by Marie Hall - Free Book Online Page B

sun. Even in its weak form, the sun was too much.
    For a split moment the shaded mirage of Siria appeared before him wearing a shocked expression on her face because he’d never stayed outside this long. Head throbbing, mouth tasting like cotton he knew he couldn’t stay any longer. Weakened, he shot like an arrow back to the safety of the castle and gulped in mouthful’s of air as his body shook with a run off of adrenaline and pain.
    He slept fitfully all that day, waking from dreams much to real. Panting because he realized he hadn’t been holding Calanthe, hadn’t been inhaling her sweet perfume, and hadn’t been pushing deep into her pliant and silky, wet body. By the time the veil of night called to him, he jumped from his bed and ran to dress.
    It took only seconds. He wanted to take more time, wanted to shave his whiskers and make himself look as presentable as he possibly could, but he’d waited so long and the anxiety of the moment was simply too much.
    Pulling out the same outfit he’d worn the first night they’d met, he tossed it on and brushed his teeth and that was the extent of his primping.
    Running to the railing he knew, damn the consequences, he would not be jumping in between realms tonight. He was going straight to her.
    But in his rush, he’d forgotten all about Siria, which should have told him just how reckless he was being.
    “Jericho!” She called to him as he’d sped by, his name on her tongue made his body freeze mid-step.
    Frowning, he whirled, a hundred different thoughts crowding his head. First and foremost among them, Siria could never know.
    Tonight she wore a scarlet and gold robe that fell to the floor in a silky wave. The sash was tied loose enough that with each step she took he caught a glimpse of her lean, naked form.
    “Siria,” he drawled, then bit the inside of his cheek.
    Was Calanthe even now waiting for him? Had she counted down the days, did she know what today was? He shifted on the soles of his boots.
    Her brows quirked. “Where are you going tonight in such a hurry?” her words were soft but with a flinty edge beneath.
    Grinding his molars, he plastered on a tight smile. If he said he wasn’t sure, she’d know it for the lie it was, since it was obvious to anyone with half a brain that he was in a hurry. But if he actually told her where he was going, he didn’t see it ending well either.
    “To the sea.” He was deliberately vague.
    Licking her plump, red lips he could just see the thoughts moving like cogs behind her eyes. “Which sea, love?”
    Hot beneath his collar, he slapped at his neck and swallowed the growl that threatened to choke him. “Why does it matter?” he chuckled, pretending as if he didn’t have a clue why she questioned him this way. But it’d been two months now that he hadn’t gone to visit Siria during the lifting of the veil.
    The times he’d gone to see her hadn’t been anything other than an effort to keep their strained relationship from fracturing completely, but he wondered if maybe she’d hoped for more than what he’d offered. Maybe he shouldn’t have done it, but Jericho didn’t want there to be nothing but hate between them either. It was no way to live for the next three hundred years.
    “Because you seem reckless in your attempt to get away.” Her smile was broad, open, showing most of her teeth. “Who is she, Jericho?”
    He didn’t like the insinuation that it was any of her business, nor did he care for the way her words sliced the air. Like she was spitting out a curse.
    “Siria,” he said in his most patient tone, though it was wearing extremely thin at the moment, “we’ve talked about this before. What I do, who I see, it is none of your concern. But if you must know I go to see a friend, that is all.”
    She wasn’t buying it and he knew it. She was too smart and he’d been an idiot to let his temper show.
    Siria’s temper was as fiery as the sun she controlled. The last thing he needed was