Free The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Two: Beyond the Veil by Melissa Collins Page A

take her arm in his. “I was worried you might be leaving the party. Did the Commander say something to offend you?”
    “The Commander is very good at saying nothing,” she scoffed. “I was more disheartened that I was taken away from your company. It seems we have a chance to rectify that, however. Have you ever seen the palace gardens? They are said to be the most beautiful gardens in all of Tanispa.”
    “I fear I will be disappointed then,” Dacian nodded.
    Aiva looked at him, confused by his statement. “Disappointed? You do not think they will be beautiful?”
    “When a man finds himself with you, how could mere flowers even compare?”
    She was taken aback by the compliment, warmth flooding her cheeks. Flustered, she let her feet begin to move forward, leading them into the central areas of the palace toward the gardens. The last thing she wanted was to linger in the foyer. If her friends had seen the display between her and Callum, they might come looking for her. And right now, she had no desire to be found.
    The air in the garden was pure bliss to Aiva’s burning lungs. She’d always felt at home in the courtyard. It had a way of calming her, even when everything seemed to be falling apart around her. It was where she’d spent most of her younger days, training with Cadell and Callum. Memories of being a child again floated through her mind. They were pleasant thoughts. She and Edric running through the flowerbeds to hide from Callum while they played their games, plants pulled up under their carelessness, angering the gardener to no end. The three of them were inseparable then. Often times she found herself wishing she could have it back. To wake up one day and find Callum not gone off to the war, waiting for her with his little wooden sword in the courtyard, taunting her in the way only he could, until they would run at each other, pretending to be their parents during the war, killing the Ven’shal soldiers.
    Shaking her head she tried to clear the thoughts from her mind. Why was she thinking about him? He left her. No matter how much she prayed for it to be otherwise, reality never changed. Callum chose to leave her behind. So why couldn’t she do the same with him?
    Vaguely aware of Dacian at her side, Aiva led him deeper into the courtyard, nearing the gardener’s shed. Things like that little building made it impossible for her to let Callum’s memory go. He was the first boy she’d ever kissed. The only boy she’d ever kissed. In her dreams, it was always him. She couldn’t think of anyone else because he was the only experience she had. He was the only one she had ever wanted.
    Maybe that was it. Maybe that was the key to finally letting it all go so she could pretend Callum never existed. That they had never been friends. She needed to get the image of him out of her head. The feeling of his lips off hers. Turning to face Dacian she smiled, crooking her finger at him, playful, leading him closer to the door of the shed.
    “What are you doing, Your Highness?” Dacian chuckled, following after her, mesmerized by her every movement. She had him wrapped around her little finger. Whatever she wanted from him, she could take. And right now, she wanted him to kiss her. But it had to be there. Inside the shed. Not only for the privacy, but for the sake of creating a new memory, erasing the image in her mind of the way Callum looked at her that day. To associate the place with Dacian instead of Callum. An image she might look more fondly on. She was an adult now. The thought of kissing Dacian seemed less daunting.
    She backed into the shed, laughing nervously along with Dacian as they closed the door behind them. It was darker than she anticipated. Not that she cared. Her fingers were already wrapping around Dacian’s shirt to pull him forward, her back pressed against the wall, feeling the rack of wooden weapons shift under her weight. He gave no protest at her advances. His lips met hers