Cities of Power Ch. 02

Talon watched her go. She was such a strange girl, and she made him feel so uncomfortable on so many levels. He was no stranger to women; he had personal slaves, dalliances with women of the warrior caste, on occasion, Why did this girl turn him inside out? He sat behind her tree in the shadows, watching her house and scratching at the bark. When he saw the last light go out hours later he stood to walk back to their camp and turned into the hard body of Venn.

Venn grunted and shook his head, walking with Talon back to their camp, "You are as foolish as all of the ruling families," he murmured, "and I thought better of you."

Talon looked back at the house, "She is unlike any girl I have known before."

"Of course she is," Venn grinned, "Why else would we be here."

Sirrus took in the expressions of the warriors. "No luck breaking the princess out of her tower, huh?" He directed the question at Talon.

Edge snorted and rolled his eyes. "The way I heard it, she was ready to climb out of the tower herself, but he pulled the ladder away."

The three warriors almost in unison threw forest debris at him and told him to go shut up. Venn waited until the others slept for a while, "Edge will take your watch," he murmured gruffly, "Go tell the girl how you feel."

"She is locked in a tower," Talon whispered morosely, "Or close enough to one."

"No risk, No reward," Venn chuckled and kicked Edge. "Talon and I have something to do." Edge grumbled but sat up and blinked his eyes as Venn and Talon melted into the forest.

Venn watched from the edge of the trees as Talon silently approached the window of the room he was certain belonged to Trix. Knocking gently he woke her, and she opened the window pane. He grasped her face between his hands and kissed her, "I think I love you," he murmured, "I came only to see you. You are always in my mind." Talon confessed and kissed her again.

Trix smiled widely, "I think I love you too," she whispered into his kiss. He climbed through the window and held her close, his kisses heated and filled with desire as his hands ran down over the thin, short nightgown she wore, "You can't be here," she whispered, "They will kill you if they hear us."

"Come with me," he said, rashly aware of the adrenaline that ran through him, not just from the risk of seeing her, but from holding her body so close.

She was silent and she felt the hurt in him as his body stiffened, "Not yet," she had whispered, "I cannot leave now." She wasn't quite sure why she couldn't, but she knew it was wrong to leave right now, but she couldn't voice her fears.

Talon's arms tightened around her again as he realised she had not refused him entirely, and his head dipped to kiss her deeply again before climbing back out of the window and standing to look at her, the thin nightgown doing little to disguise her body as he smiled.

"The truth is we have come for Mason this time. Mica wants to show him his new world, they will not be judged in the city as they are here in the wilderness," Talon looked at her; she made him feel his recklessness in his need to see her again and again. He reached through the window to pull her close, and, as he kissed her the last time, he murmured, "Mica deserves to be happy, but I will return for you. Soon."

"I will see you again," Trix whispered, and Talon disappeared back into the forest.

The following morning Mason farewelled his parents and took his tools to work in the quarry. He never arrived at the rocky outcrop, and the search for him revealed nothing, it was as if he had disappeared into thin air. The walls surrounding the town rose with haste as the young men of the village were kept close to home, the taking of Mica and the disappearance of Mason having affected them all.