“At least let me go in first,” he says.
Alarm rings in my mind. “Absolutely not.”
I’ll not risk him.
“Phoenix—”
“No.” I cut him off. “I understand your desire to keep me safe, but I won’t stand down. You’ll have to deal with it. I’m the Decarios, after all, I can handle myself on a damn battlefield.”
Jax’s mouth snaps shut. He stands there, quietly. A muscle in his jaw ticks. For a second, I think he’ll push again. I refuse to stand down, though. He better deal with the fact that I will not change my mind.
I’m so certain that he’ll storm out of the tent and leave me alone that I don’t react immediately when he says, “Fine. Move over.”
I blink at him, frozen in place. When I don’t do as he says, he gestures at the brazier in the corner, the warmth from it barely reaching my cot. “That surely won’t be enough to keep you warm at night. Move over, darling.”
I look over at the brazier, and then back at Jax. And then, I make space on the cot next to me so Jax can climb in. He tosses his shirt aside and pulls off his boots. Once he’s under the fur blanket, he lies down on his back and pulls me into his embrace.
I rest my head against his hard, naked chest where the large tattoo of an eagle spreads wide. His heart beats steadily beneath my cheek. I close my eyes…but sleep doesn’t come.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
JAX
Iwas raised in a household full of strong, independent, fiery, stubborn women. All of them equally terrifying if you got on their bad side.
Yet…Phoenix surely takes the crown when it comes to being stubborn.
Once she falls asleep in my arms, I close my eyes and try very hard to find peace, too. Her soft breathing, and the warmth of her body against mine, is comforting. But it’s not enough to ease the anxiety that claws at my chest.
I’ve dealt with Talbots enough to know this won’t go down the way she imagines it. No way will Reizei stand down and surrender.
It will be violent.
My mind runs a thousand miles per hour imagining all the possible scenarios. I try to run over different plans and strategies Reizei may employ.
He’s less like the honorable Ezkai Phoenix knows and much more like my father. Someone who only pretends to play by the rules.
There’s no way on earth he doesn’t know we’re coming. He must have been anticipating it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept Vera in the same location.
Unless he wants Phoenix to come for her…
I scarcely get any rest during the night. Once the dawn breaks, I give up trying.
Careful not to wake Phoenix, I slide out of the warm cot into the cool morning air and put my boots back on. It takes me a minute to find my shirt in the dim light, but once I do, I push my arms into the sleeves and head for the exit.
With my shirt still unbuttoned, I walk into the crisp morning air…and Ezkai Bjorn stoking the fire I built right at the tent’s entrance. Light drizzle wets my hair immediately.
Slowly, his gaze rises from the tips of my boots all the way to my face.
I guess now everyone will know for sure we share a bed.
Oh, well.
“Morning,” I say to the grumpy Ezkai.
He grunts and returns his focus to the fire pit.
I don’t linger. Buttoning up my shirt, I head for a walk to stretch my legs.
