The Crown's Fire - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Just Remain A Sweet Dream
Tarah took her time in writing everything she saw from Priest Saul’s past in her journal. Making sure to keep everything correct, she made sure she wouldn’t miss a single detail even if some parts of what she saw were blurred out. She then also wrote about the previous visions that had recently come to her.

She was still writing in her journal when Ezekiel returned with a deer. Putting away her writing, she was about to approach him when Ezekiel stopped her. “Continue what you were doing,” he insisted. “I can handle this much.”

Tarah simply nodded and continued to write. However, she couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at him as he prepared their meal.

“It’s good that you have new clothes with you,” Ezekiel nonchalantly remarked without looking at her.

“Seer Beirut has a lot of magical things inside his chest. I brought some with me inside the magical pouch. It still amazes me how so many things fit inside of it,” Tarah commented. She then added, “I also brought some clothes for you.”

“I guess you saw all of this coming then…” he murmured.

Tarah didn’t respond. Instead, she quietly watched Ezekiel prepare for now. A blanket of silence reigned between them as Ezekiel seemed unbothered while he busied himself with cooking the deer meat.

While staring at the prince, she couldn’t help but recall the first time she saw him in her dreams. It was a midnight dream the moment she turned eighteen.

Ezekiel was the perfect epitome of masculine beauty, one that anyone would swoon over. He had a striking appearance. He boasted a perfectly lean body with broad and powerful shoulders. He had a piercing look in his eyes that blazed with an intensity that could rival the fiercest flames, both emphasized with dark prominent meticulously groomed eyebrows that bore a hint of untamed wilderness. His nose was sculpted to precision as well with a proud slope that spoke of his regal heritage.

And his lips – full and inviting, possessing a natural allure that…

Tarah unknowingly touched her lips, and her face turned deep red upon recalling the kiss a while ago. She was aware that the kiss that happened a while ago was Vulcan’s doing with how harsh and rough it was that he practically bruised her lips. It wasn’t the first time she had such an injury, however. After all, she would often suffer worse whenever she was with Devon.

It was only a good thing that she was a good healer, which meant that she could easily remove such bruises from her outer appearance. Unfortunately, she was unable to heal all the bruises inside her… The emotional trauma was harder to heal, and Tarah unknowingly bit her inner lip as she thought about her little brother Leviticus.

Devon had purposely told her that Levi would be in Marla’s care knowing how crazy the woman was. There was no doubt that she would mistreat her brother because of how frustrated and annoyed the woman was with her. She also knew he did it so she would call on him often so that she could check on Levi because of it.

Quickly closing her eyes, Tarah did her best to calm herself. She had to… for Leviticus’s sake.

By the time Tarah opened her eyes again, Ezekiel was already staring intently at her, and she quickly removed her fingers that were still unknowingly touching her lips. She then looked away to hide her embarrassment. What would he think of her when she was touching her lips like that?

“I’m sorry,”  Ezekiel suddenly said with a low voice as if reading her thoughts while he handed her a few skewers of meat. “I’ll do my best to not have that happen again.”

“It’s fine, Your Highness,” Tarah insisted as she accepted the food. “I know that it wasn’t you.”

“Does it hurt?” he asked her as he sat beside her at arm’s length.

“Oh, my lips?” she asked back, but quickly scolded herself inwardly for asking such a dumb question. Of course, he referred to her lips that he just crushed a while ago. “No, I’m good. I’m a healer, so I can easily heal myself of light bruises like this.”

Ezekiel simply sighed at her reassuring smile. Some time passed as she began to eat, and he quickly said, “Careful, it’s still hot.”

Tarah smiled at his concern. She loved how thoughtful he was like this even on simple things. He was quite a stoic and moody person, but she could tell how good and caring a person Ezekiel was deep inside.

“You saw me shifting into Vulcan’s dragon form under the waning crescent moon. That usually happens every seven to eight days,” Ezekiel remarked. “If my calculations are right, that phase of the moon will start tomorrow.”

“I will inform you if another vision or dream about it appears,” Tarah said. That was exactly what she saw in the vision that came to her earlier. With nothing else to say, she started eating, and Ezekiel did the same beside her.

“I… I’m not confident that I can get a hold of or control Vulcan for long. You must do what you can so that you can control it once I shift,” Ezekiel suddenly told her. “I don’t want him wreaking havoc on the innocent. Instead, I want him to destroy the armies of Helion. Particularly, the monsters Devon created.”

Tarah simply nodded. She understood what he meant, especially since that was what she also wanted, “I will need to travel to Zion, Your Highness,” she added.

“We’ll need Lurio to create a portal for us then,” he commented.

“Us?” she asked with a gulp. It would’ve been much better if she could do it alone.

“I absolutely refuse to let you venture into the enemy’s lair alone, Tarah,” he firmly answered. “I cannot afford to lose you.”

Tarah stared at the prince with parted lips while her heart beat hard.

“Your worth to me is immeasurable so I cannot afford to lose you.” Ezekiel reiterated, making her quickly pursed her lips in return.

Right, he was just talking about her worth as his Seer. Something was probably wrong with her. Yes, he desired her and that could just be physical attraction like most men. She shouldn’t be hoping for more right now. The relationship she longed to dream of that night when she first saw him in her dreams should just remain a sweet dream beyond her reach.