Iwasn’t laughing today.Instead, my gut clenched at our horrendously slow pace, andIwondered just how long she would last out here.
Chapter 8
Pallas
Istood up from the dying fire asCommanderAvlynput out the last of the embers.Extendingmy hand toJun,Ihelped him stand.Hewas still unsteady, soIgently slung his arm over my shoulders, letting him use me for support.
IfeltPrincessTorigiving me a pointed stare, butIignored her.Ididn’t trust her.Ifshe really cared for her brother as much as she said, she would have come for him sooner.Shewould have tried harder.TheDragonKingdomalways had its secrets, and it seemed she fit in perfectly.Idon’t know how she helpedJunor start that fire when she had no magic of her own.Hadeonwould have known if she had.Shecould keep her secrets.Theonly thing that mattered to me now was gettingJunsafely out of here.
Ifollowed the commander as they led us deeper into the forest of the cavern.Theground was permeated with roots, rocks, and other obstacles, and my poorJunkept faltering.Ifound thatIwasn’t much help either.TheshoesIwore were some of my finest, the short heels perfect for dancing at court.Theywere not built for the thick mud of wherever the hell we were.
Afterabout the fifth time a heel sunk so deep into the mudIhad to stop and wrench it out,Ifinally released a curse of frustration.Iripped the shoes off my feet and tossed them as far asIcould into the brush.CommanderAvlynturned around, giving me a curious glance, butIheardTorishifting behind me and turned to see her offering her own shoes to me.
“I’mfine.”Ididn’t need help, least of all from her.
Hereyes practically hit the back of her skull. “Oh,I’msorry,Ididn’t realize you were so used to walking barefoot on rocky terrain.Maybeit was the haughty attitude or the fine clothes that confused me.”Whata bitch.
“IsaidI’mfine.”
“Look, you will injure yourself, and it won’t bother me one bit to leave you behind, so take the damn shoes.”
“Tori…”Junlooked at his sister with soft eyes, and it drove a spike into my heart; she didn’t deserve his kindness.ButIhad no doubt she would leave me the first chance she was given.Iwasn’t about to make it easy on her.Iheld my hand out and took the shoes, slipping them onto my feet.Theywere made of leather with a firm sole, likely making them ideal for sword fighting.Ipulled the laces tight; they fit well enough.
Istood and gave her a quick nod before following the commander.Theystill gave me that concerned look, soInarrowed my eyes in annoyance.Theygave a small chuckle, andIthoughtIheard them mumble something about “birds and feathers.”
Thecommander guided us to a small tunnel that led out of the cave.Thedeeper we went, the darker it became until everything was pitch black, slowing our progression even more.Thiswould be the perfect place for a predator to ambush us,Iassumed, not thatIhadmuch firsthand experience with hunting.Ilet my hand trace along the wall to keep my bearings.Itwas wet and unnervingly smooth like thousands of hands had polished it by tracing over the surface asIdid now.Thatthought was very discomforting.
Unsurprisingly, the princess couldn’t keep her mouth shut and started babbling to the commander about something.Theyquipped back and forth at each other.Ijust ignored it all, trying to focus on placing one foot in front of the other, but their talking was incessant and grated on my ears.Igritted my teeth, andJunlooked at me with concern.Itseemed my reaction didn’t go unnoticed byTori, either.
“Let’sswitch.Ican help him for a bit.”Shelifted his arm from over my shoulder.Iwas about to protest, butJunleaned on her readily.Havinghis weight off me was much more relieving thanIwanted to admit, soIsaid nothing.
Thesurrounding air was rapidly growing cold, and soon, withoutJun’sbody against me,Ibegan shivering.Mydress was torn to shreds.Ithad been one of my finest.Iwould have mourned it hadInot been shivering so fiercely.Anicy blast came down the tunnel, andIclasped my arms around myself.Wherewere we?Itwas summer on the continent, so very few places felt this cold.Wecould be in theAshenMountains, but since the king brought us here, it seemed more likely we were far north in theDragonKingdom.
“Letme know if you need someone to cuddle up with, my lady.”Thecommander had snuck up beside me without my notice, andIjumped at their proximity and flirtation.
Icouldn’t see their face in the dark, but their voice sounded apologetic as they said, “Sorry, old habits die hard.It’sgetting quite cold.Wemight not have a choice soon.”
Ididn’t respond.I’dfound throughout my life that my responses never mattered.Everyonehad already decided on their actions without my consent.Sowhy bother wasting theenergy?Ishivered violently at the cold as we kept walking, andIexpected the commander to wrap me up in their arms at any moment.Iknew what would happen.Therewould be a not-so-subtle caress of a finger over the curve of my breast as they pressed their hips into the curve of my backside.Ilost count of the timesIdealt with that and much, much more.Butthe commander’s advances never came.
Wekept walking, and the temperature kept dropping.Myteeth were chattering so loud the sound echoed off the tunnel walls.
Thecommander surprised me again by speaking very close to my ear. “Look,Iunderstand this isn’t ideal.Butif you keep this up much longer, your body could start shutting down, or you might just rattle those teeth right out of your skull.So, my lady, canItouch you?”
Myfeet froze, but not from the cold.Icouldn’t remember the last time someone asked before touching me.I’dbeenHadeon’splaything for so long.HadIreally forgottenIdeserved that basic decency?
“Yes,Commander.”
“CallmeAvlyn.”
Theirarms were muscular and unbelievably warm as they wrapped around me from behind, pressing their whole body against my back.Itwas glorious, but the embrace was very restricted and professional.Theywere just stopping me from going into shock.
“What’sthe holdup?”ToriandJunhad caught up to us.
“Nothing.”Thecommander shifted away, and a tiny whimper fled my lips as the cold air whipped between us.Ifelt them hesitate, then wrap their arm around my side so that we could walk together, still touching.Theygently pushed me forward, and we continued our descent.
“Thankyou,Avlyn.”
“Ah, she speaks!”Achuckle fled their lips. “Butdon’t mention it.Historywould show thatIam way too lenient for beautiful women with bad attitudes.”
