“Morning.” I kept exploring. Every groove. Every contour. I wanted to learn all his dips and curves so I could trace them from memory alone.
“Having fun?” He raised a brow but didn’t stop my procession.
“Very much so.”
Reaching forward, he brushed back several mussed white locks that had fallen over my shoulder to hide my breast from view. Then he cupped it and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Two can play at this game, love.”
“You won’t find me complaining.” Still, I stopped and flopped on top of him, pressing my chest flush with his and resting my chin on his sternum. “We didn’t get much sleep, though.”
A glint of mischief flickered through his eyes. “We could spend all day doing the same thing. We’d never have to leave this bed.”
A soft moan pushed through my lips. “As wonderful as that sounds, we have work to do.”
“We do?” His brow furrowed.
“The blade. Death. You know, that thing you keep telling me to avoid.” Pushing off him, I stretched my hands to the ceiling and glanced around the room.
He pursed his lips but couldn’t keep his gaze from roving to my exposed breasts. “I can’t persuade you to stay in bed and let me ravage you however you desire?”
A tingling warmth shot through me at the thought. “No, but nice try.” I followed the trail of Rorik’s clothes to the place where he’d torn my pants to shreds. And undergarments. I sighed, then headed back to the bedroom, where he’d propped himself up against the wall and was watching me with a knowing smirk.
“I don’t know if that was your plan all along,” I said as I gestured over my shoulder to the mess, “but I’ll go naked if I have to.”
A dark, sultry laugh filled the air. “Love, if you walk in front of me naked you won’t make it to any destination. I’ll bend you over the first rock I see or take you straight to the ground. Your pick.”
My stomach clenched, and I ignored the wetness that had begun to gather between my thighs. Instead, I headed for the armoire and sifted through the few articles of clothing that had been left behind. It was a mismatched collection of shirts and trousers of varying sizes, but I snagged a few things that looked like they’d fit. The sleeveless black shirt was slim-fitting and a bit snug, but at least the resistance would keep my breasts from spilling out. The trousers, on the other hand, were a touch baggy and slouched around my knees. Thankfully, though, I found a belt and was able to cinch them tightly about my waist.
“See?” I said, twirling for effect. “There’s even a pair of flat boots in there, thank the gods. My feet will be grateful for the lack of heels.” I tucked the flared bottoms of the pants into the lace-up boots. Far from a perfect fit, but manageable.
Rorik sighed. “Who’s the impossible one now?”
“Just accept it. You can either let me walk into Death’s domain alone or come with me.” I looked back into the armoire and found an overcoat clinging to a bent hanger. The leather was worn but warm. Good enough.
“Edira.” Rorik dragged a hand over his face as he padded across the floor, not bothering with his clothes. He came to a halt before me. “I’m not saying we won’t do this, okay? You win. We’ll confront Death and see if there’s a way to get him to call back the blight. But it doesn’t have to be now.” He cupped either side of my face and forced me to meet his stare. “Please. Let’s go home. Let’s regroup with the others and come back with more force. We have no idea what we’d be walking into.”
“More force?” I folded my arms beneath my chest. “We don’t know where Seville is. We’re not going to ask the girls to help, they’re too young. That leaves just Lydia and Clesian, because as shocking as Ossanna’s help has been, I highly doubt her charity goes this far. Do you really want to risk leaving Amalyss and Tasia without their parents? What if something goes wrong?”
I didn’t even mention my brothers. They knew nothing of this plan, and if I told them, the last thing they could do is help. I didn’t want them anywhere near Death to begin with.
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Rorik tugged me closer. “What if somethingdoesgo wrong? What if you get hurt? What if you die? You can live longer now that you know how to blend our magics. Isn’t that enough?”
No.I didn’t know why it wasn’t, why I wanted this control over my life so badly. Beyond that, there was also Rebellyn’s evervow. Just the thought of walking away set the evervow on edge. It constricted around my limbs like a metal chain threatening to strangle me if I went back on my promise. I swallowed twice and pressed my eyes shut.
Don’t worry. I’ll go.I didn’t know whom I was talking to or if Rebellyn would hear my plea, but the pressure ratcheting around my limbs lessened. Slowly, I opened my eyes. The coldness didn’t abate, though, and I shivered in place.
Of course, Rorik noticed. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I hedged.
“No.” He shook his head once. “You bared yourself to me and I to you. Don’t hide from me now.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. But I knew that stalling solved nothing, and there was no easy way to explain the predicament I’d landed in. Before I could second-guess myself, I let the words simply tumble out.
“I accidentally made an evervow.”
Rorik went stock-still. “With whom? What does it entail?”
“I don’t really know for sure, but I’m going to guess Rebellyn.” I forced myself to hold his concerned stare. “The ancestor tree responded well enough to our Fernglove magic. But when I found the blade—rather, found the hand that was holding it—it wouldn’t let go. Not until I promised to help.”
