On elven land, it felt as if it were spring. Leonie was still wearing the thick, oversized clothes and cloak Dorian had given her, and she was beginning to feel unbearably warm. She looked around in wonder at the green, vibrant landscapes teeming with life. On human land it had still been winter, but here everything seemed alive—and not only nature itself, but her magic as well. Along the road, the elves had complained often that their power was restricted over there, though until now she hadn't understood what they meant. Now she did. Her magic surged powerfully over her skin, just as it had when Dorian had kissed her. Her thoughts circled back to the gate, to the moment before they had crossed. He had said he wanted her to remember—and she remembered every detail with painful precision. The way Dorian had gently threaded his fingers into her hair, their bodies pressed together, the touch of his wonderfully soft yet determined lips… his partner. Could it truly be so? Were they really a pair? Had that kiss been sincere? In it, she had felt as if he needed her, as if he hungered for her taste. At the thought, a wave unlike anything she had ever felt before stirred low in her belly, making her press her thighs together as she nearly moaned.
"Whatever you're thinking about, stop it immediately," Dorian murmured in a strained voice, and his arm tightened noticeably around Leonie. His body reacted at once to the crackling magic surrounding her. What had come over Leonie, that her thoughts should wander now of all times? She always surprised him. It took tremendous self-control not to gallop off with her to some deserted place…
"I'm not thinking about anything," Leonie whispered, but her body betrayed the obvious lie. She blushed deeply, shifting about in embarrassment.
"Believe me, I'd enjoy whatever is going on in that pretty little head of yours," he murmured into her ear in a low voice, making Leonie's body grow even hotter. She swallowed hard, and Dorian could only hope she didn't notice the physical proof of how seriously he meant it.
"But unfortunately, I can only make your lustful thoughts come true later—after we're done meeting my father. Until then, it wouldn't be wise if you couldn't control your magic."
"I don't have any… lustful thoughts," Leonie blurted. She found it utterly absurd to be having this conversation while riding under military escort toward a tribunal. It didn't feel right at all. And yet every part of her thrilled at the promise. Did he truly mean that he wanted to be wanton with her? And did she—Leonie—really want that? Kissing Dorian had been wonderful, but going further… she scarcely knew what an intimate relationship even looked like. Of course, she had heard and seen many things, and experienced some herself, but all of it had been frightening and painful. Would it be the same with Dorian? At the memories, her body tensed at once, and Dorian immediately felt the change. His expression darkened. Had he gone too far? Leonie was not like other women, and somehow he never knew where to draw the line. He had almost forgotten how to approach a woman emotionally. Besides, Elora had been entirely different. Elora… she had been hard, and never relied on him. He had loved her—she had been a wonderfully strong woman—but Elora had never made him feel that she needed him. She rarely allowed emotions to take control. Leonie was different. She acted from instinct and feeling. She was incapable of hiding how tender her heart was.
"I'm sorry. I know this is a lot for you right now," Dorian said softly, but Leonie did not answer for several minutes. He was beginning to think she wouldn't speak to him anymore when at last she did.
"Will you visit Revna?" Dorian was startled by the sudden question. How had that even occurred to her? He couldn't follow Leonie's train of thought at all. He had no idea how important this question was to her. Revna's mysterious figure had haunted Leonie ever since she had heard the elves talking about her.
"Yes, I will visit her. I imagine she'll already be waiting with a grand dinner tonight." Leonie's breath caught for a moment. So she would be waiting for Dorian with dinner. Had she seriously thought that Dorian would choose her over Revna in a matter of days—Revna, with whom he might have been together for centuries? Then why had he kissed her? Why had he said such face-flushing things to her? Why had he called her his partner? Perhaps among elves it was normal to interpret partnership so freely. After all, they spoke of bedding all sorts of women as if it were perfectly natural to change partners in bed… perhaps Dorian only wanted her as a bedmate, and that was entirely natural between them.
"Why do you ask?" Dorian inquired, but Leonie did not speak to him again. Lost in her thoughts, she spent the next two hours of riding watching the landscape and the settlements. They weren't truly villages. Everywhere, the houses seemed to grow out of nature itself—of stone and wood—and no two looked alike. The elves everywhere appeared healthy and happy. The air was filled with the scent of flowers. This land bore no resemblance at all to the baron's castle, where people lived in misery, filth, and oppression. And yet humans believed elves to be monsters. If they saw this abundance, they would surely turn against their masters.
After two hours, the fairytale-like, spacious, graceful stone-and-wood buildings began to thicken around them. Leonie could have sworn she had seen one carved from a single enormous tree. She found it astonishing that even upon entering the city, greenery flourished everywhere—wooded groves lined the paths, and a small river ran through the city, along whose banks children played and horses grazed freely. At their arrival, children ran toward them in curiosity, while adults bowed their heads. From the smiles that greeted Dorian, she dared to assume they loved him. The baron had rarely gone among his people, and when he had, they had knelt before him in terror… these elves were different. They held themselves proudly, and there was not fear but contentment in their eyes. Many stared at her as well, and Leonie most wanted to pull her hood over her face; instead, she offered a timid smile to the elves who examined her curiously. They clearly had no idea who she was or where she came from. News of her arrival from human land likely hadn't reached the people yet, which eased her somewhat.
"That's the castle," Dorian said suddenly, drawing her attention to the towers rising before them. Leonie's jaw literally dropped. She stared open-mouthed at the structure they were approaching.
"Was this built by elves?" she whispered, barely audible. The entire castle was built of light, nearly white stone that reflected the sunlight. It was a vast, graceful structure that seemed to defy every law of physics as it rose toward the sky with sweeping, arched walls. It was as if the whole thing had been carved from a single block of stone; its towers resembled the stems of flowers, their tops bending like petals toward the domes.
"Our ancestors built it millennia ago. They may have gone a bit overboard, don't you think?" Dorian asked. He was relieved that Leonie spoke at all; a great weight lifted from his heart.
"It's wonderful," Leonie whispered with awe in her voice as they rode through the castle's front gardens, filled with vibrant flowers she had never seen in her life. Most striking of all was that neither the settlement nor the castle was surrounded by walls, as human cities were.
Leonie was so engrossed that she didn't even notice they had reached the castle entrance, which towered far above their heads, as if it had been designed for giants.
Before the gate stood a single older elf, his long dark-blond hair braided back into a single intricate plait. He wore elegant deep-blue trousers and a matching, finely embroidered knee-length tunic, its wider hem seeming to billow around his knees even though there was no wind.