Druidess Found (Druidess Trilogy Book 1) by Machelle Hanleigh (interesting novels to read txt) 📕

did that make? It wouldn't have changed the outcome whether she knew before or after the ceremony.

He sighed. "The Queen demanded that I take a bonded mate."

She thought Moto seemed reluctant to explain himself or that he was waiting for something, something from her she wasn't willing to give him.

He continued. "Sari agreed so the Queen wouldn't choose someone else for me. Kaily, it means nothing. It doesn't change anything, between the two of us."

Kaily glanced at Moto and looked away. How could he say that? She was sure that it meant something to Sari. What female would be okay with, what did he call it? Ah yes, his bonded mate being nothing? It meant something to Kaily, and it did change things between them, not that there had been anything between them in the first place. She kept all of her thoughts to herself. For one, he was the only one who could take her home. She had to be careful not to alienate him. For another, she couldn't deal with another loss in her life. She felt it. She felt it as deep as if he died, but he hadn't. He was right there touching her. His warmth and scent permeated her senses and settled into her soul. It would be so easy to just forget about the ceremony and just lean into him and give him whatever he wanted to take from her. She couldn't do that. She needed to remain strong.

He finished his porridge and set the bowl aside. She could feel him watching her and felt he was waiting for a response. She didn't give him one. She finished her porridge and handed her empty bowl to him. He took it and set it on top of his.

Moto stood and pulled Kaily to her feet. "I have something to show you."

She stood and followed him outside of the cave. Not that she had a choice. He kept her hand in his. It seemed she didn't have any kind of choice. She tried not to feel anything. She reminded herself that it was possible to find the place where she felt nothing. She found that place after her foster parents' deaths. There had been a period of time that she felt nothing. An emotional numbness settled over her from the shock of their unexpected deaths. She tried to obtain that level of emotional detachment as she followed him outside the cave, and as he led her to the side of the cave down what she guessed was a path. It seemed way to narrow to be a true path and while she couldn't see an edge, she had a sneaky suspicion there was one that was hidden by trees and boulders that acted as a barrier.

"There are pools, or so I'm told, that this path leads to. It will help you feel better." He called over his shoulder.

That seemed to be his theme of the day. It will make you feel better, yeah right! She doubted anything could make her feel better. It might help her body feel better, but emotional pain was far more difficult to heal. A simple swim in a pool would not heal that pain. The emptiness inside a person from that kind of loss left a gaping hole that just never seemed to find anything to fill it to take the place of that loss. She was all too familiar with that kind of hole inside. She still felt hollow where her parents once resided in her heart.

They stepped from the path into an open clearing, Moto let go of Kaily's hand. She could see a pool in a wide stone basin. There was a ledge on the far side that opened out into nothingness as if it sat on a ledge of a cliff. There were trees but not as dense as the trees along the path to the pools or near the cave. The sky could be seen from the clearing, and soft grass of sorts covered the ground leading up to the rocky lip that surrounded the pool.

It was breathtaking.

She never saw anything like it in her entire life. It was incredible. As she looked up at the sky, she realized she had not had a clear view of the sky since she was brought to the Kahoali village. The planet she saw from the Agenors castle hung huge and bright in the sky. It was closer and more vibrant than she observed at her last sighting of it. Before it was a faint visual planet, almost illusion like, now it was clearly visible to the eye and filled the sky. It was beautiful and gave her a measure of comfort. She glanced at Moto and noticed that he did not once turned his face towards the sky. In fact, it seemed like he was doing his best to ignore the sky and that planet's existence. She frowned and looked back up at the planet. For a brief moment she thought about saying something about it to him. She had so many questions, but something prevented her from asking them.

"Shall we?" Moto asked. He caressed the side of her face drawing her attention to focus on him.

Kaily shrugged and tried not to feel the pleasure that she received from his tender touch. She tried to remain detached as she watched him. He stopped at the edge of the pool and shed his clothing; all of his clothing, then jumped into the pool. Kaily couldn't help responding to the sight of him, and she hated that he could elicit that kind of reaction from her without any effort at all. She walked to the edge by where he undressed and touched one of the straps of her dress. He watched her but remained silent.

She blushed. She tried not to, but under his scrutiny she couldn't help it, and she hated that too.

After a moment longer, he turned his back to give her privacy and swam to the far edge