I offered him my hand and pulled him up. “Absolutely.”
The wild cheers breaking out at my stunt barely registered in my mind. My entire focus was on him, on the way he looked at me as he stepped closer, as if he wanted to devour me whole. It was as if I had awakened every dark impulse within him, his control fraying before my eyes.
His hand found my nape, tilting my face up to him. Would he dare to kiss me in front of everyone? Did I even want to stop him?
“I see you’ve learned how to surprise me in a fight, my queen,” he murmured, his voice low and meant only for me. Those strong fingers tightened in my hair, and I gasped involuntarily.
“I had a good teacher.”
Stars, I wanted his lips on mine. I wanted him to claim me in some irrevocable, eternal way that would bind us forever. That would make me his and him mine against all reason, against all rules of gods and mortals alike, because I could not breathe without him. I had been buried alive for so long in a tomb of my own making, and now I was finally breaking free.
“Indeed.” Noctis’s smile was so full of smug male satisfaction that he had surely caught on to the nearly overwhelming desire poundingthrough me. When he let go and stepped away, I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of disappointment, despite the onlookers. I bit my lip, trying to regain my composure, a sudden gust of wind from the river a welcome relief on my heated skin.
Alona soared across the training ground and leaped into my arms, her golden eyes sparkling with pride. She gestured excitedly with her claw-tipped hands, declaring that I was the best fighter she had ever seen. I affectionately tugged at her coppery hair as the others gathered around to congratulate me, my grin widening at the disgruntled expression on Portia’s face.
“Stars,” Tristan exclaimed good-naturedly as he clasped my shoulder. “I always knew you could fight, but I guess I can count myself lucky it was Bele I had to face earlier and not you.”
When I met Noctis’s gaze this time, there was no jealousy in his eyes, only a steady, unrelenting heat that conveyed exactly what he wanted to do to me the moment we were alone. I wasn’t too proud to admit I would let him. He took the inevitable ribbing at his loss with good humor, laughing at the soldiers’ comments. The fact that I had bested him had clearly endeared him to the others, who had been intimidated earlier. It was nice, I realized, to see him like this—talking and joking.
We were just about to resume the training when a sudden commotion between the buildings caught my attention. A lone figure stumbled into the courtyard, dressed in the uniform of the militia, his tunic stained with mud, a bruise covering the right side of his face.
“Calder!” I exclaimed, worry rising within me. He and two other soldiers had been on patrol this morning.
“I’m not hurt.” Calder shrugged off Kyree and Adesh’s hands as they rushed to help him. “I need to find Rada.”
Unease pulsed through me as I hurried to his side and took hishand in mine. “I’m here,” I said, hoping to calm him. “Tell me what happened.” Ria quickly brought over a mug of water.
“It’s Briseis and Varien,” Calder choked out after downing the water in one gulp. “I was patrolling the path to Milford Ridge with Lorna and Kaen when we encountered them heading to the village. It all happened so fast.”
“Where are Lorna and Kaen?” Adesh asked beside me, his brow furrowing with concern.
“Dead.” Calder’s response drew shocked gasps from everyone around us. “They didn’t stand a chance. Light, there were so many… At least two dozen Rakash. They descended on us without warning or mercy. I’m only alive because of this.” His hand trembled as he pulled a piece of parchment from his tunic. “She told me to bring this to you.” He handed me the scroll.
“Who did?” I asked, tearing open the twine keeping the parchment closed.
“Their leader,” Calder spat. “There were three of them, all in black robes with their hoods up. But I could tell they were no Rakash.”
His words did not reach me. An anguished cry tore from my lips, stark fear washing through me as a small object landed in my hand—Varien’s lapis lazuli, a lock of golden hair wound around it. He would never have parted with it voluntarily.
“She has them,” I whispered, meeting Noctis’s gaze. The stricken expression on his face mirrored my own despair.
The letter was written in the distinctive, sharp lines of Aurean script, clearly meant for our eyes only. The message was brief and to the point:
You have something of ours. We have something of yours. If you want your friend and her son back, bring him to us. With the dagger. You have until sunset to come to the Elf’s hut on the Ridge.
There was no signature, but it wasn’t needed. My mind raced as Adesh questioned Calder further. Briseis and her son had at least been unharmed when he had seen them, although it was a small consolation.
Why had Deira kidnapped them? Why not attack Noctis and me directly?
To ensure we wouldn’t try to escape—to force us to come to her, giving her every advantage, I realized. As Noctis had said, she likely overestimated our strength after we dealt with Vultaron and Tharion, unaware of how weak we truly were. I had been terribly right when I told him her little trip into Dalath had given her all the information she needed. She had seen how much Varien and Briseis meant to me, that she could exploit my feelings for them to corner us.
And now those I loved would pay the price formy mistakes.
CHAPTER
44
Noctis
