The Priestess' Affair [Books 1 &2]

Book 2: Chapter 22

-HER-

The next morning, when I woke up, everyone was already awake and preparing for the journey for the day. It was still pretty dark, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. The desert air was chilly but freezing, like last night. It was soothing. I wanted to sleep longer, but I knew that wasn't possible.

I got up and got ready with the others. I watched, yawing hard as Alex's men quickly wrapped up the whole camp and put everything on the horses before we began our journey for the day. It was searing hot as usual, but the heat seemed to have worsened as the day passed.

I don't know, but it felt hotter than before.

"We're finally deep into the desert," Alex explained. I tried to stare ahead at the horizon, but I couldn't see anything except endless dunes, and the air wobbled at places where the san grew hotter.

"Where are they going?" I asked, bewildered upon seeing the group split up.

"We are taking different routes," He explained, his voice a whisper against my ear. I felt his tense body behind me. Once in a while, his hot breath would tickle the back of my neck, giving me goosebumps, but I forced myself to focus. Something was up.

"Why?" I pressed, but Alex was busy staring into the distance, watching others disappear over the dunes.

"Sandworms," He breathed. It was enough for me to straighten up and search the dunes. He'd stop the horse abruptly several times before moving in a different direction. He'd stop and turn unexpectedly, with no regularity in his movements.

This slowed us down significantly, but I didn't have much to say. I could tell that he was doing this to avoid the sandworms.

"How long?" I asked him. In response, he pointed at something in the distance. It took a while for my eyes to focus. I almost missed them at first— mountains.

"We need to get there before nightfall," he told me, taking another abrupt turn.

This went on for a while. It was frustrating, but I was too busy searching the dunes and the horizon for something giant we were trying to avoid. We stopped abruptly for a long time. I felt Alex's body grow tenser behind me.

One of his arms left the horse's reigns and went around my waist protectively. I straightened up, feeling the tension in his body flowing into mine. I searched the dunes in the distance, looking for some hints. Everything in the desert stood quiet. Not a single wind blew.

"There," Alex whispered after a few moments. His voice was so low that it almost got lost. I thought I imagined him whispering that until he pointed to something in the distance. I had to squint my eyes to focus on what he was pointing at.

The glaring sun didn't help, along with the wobbly air. Alex must have sharper vision than me because after blinking numerous times, I could finally spot the thing he was pointing at— a sandworm.

At first, I thought it was just another dune, but dunes don't move. I would have missed it if it wasn't for him pointing in that direction. I watched the whole creature emerge from the sand before diving right in.

Its colossal body, filled with black spots, appeared briefly over the surface before sinking back into the sand. Even from such a distance, it appeared to be a giant. A chill ran down my spine. I didn't want to start to imagine exactly how giant of a sandworm it would be up close.

The two of us watched that thing breathlessly. When it disappeared back into the sand, we started moving again in that irregular fashion to not draw much attention to us. The whole day was tense, moving this way.

I didn't speak much. I only watched what was out there and the true nature of a dangerous desert like this. We'd stop very briefly for water breaks, but apart from that, we kept going.

I breathed a sigh of relief only when we were near the ranges, and the sun had started to descend closer to the horizon. Some other group members had already reached there, while others were still nowhere to be seen.

I could sense the tension in the air as we waited for the others before we started to climb the small mountain. Alex's men were already setting up a camp while I stood at the edge of the mountain and watched the sun being swallowed by the horizon like yesterday.

I spotted a couple of shadows heading our way, filling me with some relief. One of the shadows heading our way was Alex's second-in-command, Lars. I watched them get to the camp before I joined them by the fire.

I remained quiet and listened to the others talking about seeing the sandworms. As far as I could make out from their conversation, the sandworms were the only thing we needed to be wary of in that area. The bandits were not a headache for now. Well, personally, I'd take the bandits over the sandworms any day.

Silently, everyone had dinner before retiring for the night. I left first, feeling tired and needing some time alone. The others remained back. I heard Alex discussing tomorrow's plan with Lars before he entered our tent.

I lay still, pretending to be asleep, as I felt him lay down behind me. I waited for his next move breathlessly. There was a pause before he moved closer to me and draped his arm over my waist. Numerous butterflies fluttered in my stomach when his hot breath brushed against the back of my neck.

"I know you're awake, Theresa," He whispered, gently pulling me against him until my back was firmly pressed against his front. I could hear his smile in his voice, making me grow hot. "You don't have to pretend," He whispered.

"I'm not pretending," I frowned even though he couldn't see it. "I'm just... tired," I told him. I was tired, but not as much. I was still on alert after seeing that sandworm in the distance.

"Then talk to me," He muttered, turning me around to face him. His eyes glowed in the dark. I noticed how his pupils were dilated as his gaze fixated on me. It made my heart race faster.

"W-what do you want to talk about?" I asked, unable to focus due to our proximity.

"Anything," He whispered, running the tip of his down my jaw.

"Anything," I swallowed, unable to keep my focus. I was all over the place.

"Tell me where you have been all this time, Theresa? Tell me everything about yourself. I want to know everything about you that is to be known. You're such a mystery to me," He muttered, a hint of displeasure in his voice.

"You know everything," I muttered, not in the mood to tell him how I had spent so much time in the dungeons only to be taken away to become a priestess.

"I don't," He groaned.

"What about you?" I snapped, turning the tables. "Tell me about yourself first. Why does Celsa think her child would become the future king?" I asked. He stilled for a moment before sighing deeply.

"Well, that's a long story," He answered.

"We have the whole night," I urged, turning towards him, supporting my head on a palm and gazing into his glowing eyes.

~

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