Page 169 of Season Warriors & Wolves

That made me frown. Twice now I was the second choice. “They already know?”

“Yes. We sort of discussed it all together a long while ago.”

I fingered a thin red strap of her nightgown. “So you knew this would work.”

She shrugged. “I had back up if it didn’t.”

“Back up?”

She pulled the edge of her nightgown up to reveal red lacy underwear. “Bought them just the other day.”

“How long have you been planning this attack for?”

“A while,” she revealed, starting to unbutton my shirt. “Moregan proposed it to me back in Isjord actually.”

“You trust her this much?”

“I did and do. With my life and Malik’s. She was going to get him out if you hadn’t. She helped me plan Fren’s…situation.”

“Murder.”

She tilted her head back and forth. “There wasn’t much murdering happening. I really didn’t put much effort in it. Even her own bones were not putting much effort to hold her up at all. She came apart so easily I had to wait for them for so long and ran out of daydreaming scenarios to the point my ears were ringing from silence.”

“That ought to go in the dictionary. Not murder if not much effort is put into it.”

The hellcat snarled. “Are you mocking me?”

“Wouldn’t dare.” I said, leaning in to take her mouth in mine and sliding the nightgown off her body. “You don’t have to do this. I would have listened to you regardless. Whatever insane plans you have, as long as I know them, will always be fine with me.”

She frowned. “This was my favourite part of the whole plan. Pretend you’ve fallen for my seduction so I can gloat victoriously.”

That made me chuckle. “I’m obsessed with you, woman. With everything that you do.” I ran my nose down her neck. “With how you smell. With how you feel in my hands. With how you come apart when I fuck you.”

“Make sweet love to me, you mean.”

“Yes,” I said, tasting the sweetness of her skin on my tongue. “Make sweet love to you. You might gloat victoriously knowing that I am absolutely ruined by one thought of you.”

“This is suicide. When I said find an ally, I didn’t mean this,” Alaric grumbled, staring down at the partial map of Islines that we had. Like me, the man had not been thrilled about Snow’s idea. “These people are vicious, they will dig their teeth in at this. The concept of help will go over their heads.”

Eren tensed a little. “This is their war too. They need to be given an opportunity to fight it just the same as us.”

“He is right, Ric,” Nia agreed, lifting a hand to her throat. “They will understand that Silas will not spare them either.”

Visha and Oryn entered the meeting, the two exchanged a look before she spoke, “There might be a…way to keep Canes and the khamir beasts from reaching Snow before she crosses the Isline border.” She turned to look at me. “You, my king.”

Snow’s head whipped to her. “What are you talking about, witchling?”

“It would be nearly impossible for you to be ten seconds in Isjordian soil without Melanthe finding you. Not even ten seconds. We were lucky last time, and they have now learned what luck we used, they are prepared,” Visha clarified. “However, if there were something else as much as a target as you, keeping them occupied, you could slip through the old temple tunnels quick enough for them not to detect your presence.”

Mal took his feet off the table and yawned, leaning back on his seat. “Silas might be preparing for one of you to do just that. If you think about it,” he said, looking around. “It seems to be the only way. Both of them have some sort of blood track on. And it just happens that when they are preoccupied with one of you, the other doesn’t seem to be of importance. Doesn’t that make you think a bit about it?”

“Father has done it on purpose,” Snow murmured to herself.

Oryn cleared his throat and looked over at Moriko. “What about the Hanaian side?”

Mal shook his head. “We won’t be able to fade within the Isline lands—elder magic surrounds the whole mountain range.”

“Yes. But I am not talking about magic,” Oryn explained.