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‘Did you miss how Sana dealt with the ice wraiths?’ Tova placed a hand on his hip. ‘She can handle herself.’

I fell onto the bed, and the dry wooden frame creaked as if I were murdering it. ‘She is tired, and you’re acting like toddlers. Go measure your egos on the training field. I need sleep,’ I said, throwing a small pillow onto the floor between them.

Irsha shrugged and walked away while Tova closed the door behind him and picked up my tattered missile.

‘What’s the plan, Drah’sa?’ he asked as he pulled a few blankets from the bed and made himself a nest on the floor.

‘Go to the castle, kill Niersen and hopefully escape with our skins intact,’ I said, yawning. The stifling air in the room and the long ride made it difficult to keep my eyes open.

‘I think we should go straight to the Gate afterwards.’ He looked at me, his brown eyes narrowing with his frown. ‘I can make the key with a few simple tools. So we should go to the Gate.’

I mulled it over. Tova’s rough triangulation placed the Gate’s position closer to Lumivitae’s borders than Tivala’s castle was. I wouldn’t be able to see Reynard before his campaign started.

‘That means travelling through all of Lumivitae, and twice as long to get to Ernesto’s land. It could take weeks,’ I said, even if, in my heart, I’d already decided.

Tova grumbled something under his breath but didn’t argue.

I didn’t have the strength to undress. Besides, we were too close to Lumivitae’s borders to sleep peacefully, even in the garrison.

Instead, I placed a hand on my chest, the Vila’s stone pulsing beneath my skin.

Cinared? Can you hear me?

There was nothing, not even the echo of his thoughts. Despite the distance we’d travelled, his presence had still lingered in my mind this morning. His faint voice in my mind settled my heart. Now the place that held his awareness was empty.

And I missed him already.

‘We’ll go to the Gate,’ I declared, unwilling to face another bittersweet parting.

As morning came, sunlight streaming through the room’s dirty window woke me.

I rolled off the bed, my foot landing on something soft that grunted before a large hand locked onto my ankle.

‘Drah’sa, if you’re trying to end my family line, I’ll break your leg,’ came a grumpy voice from below. I looked down to see my foot planted on Tova’s gut and bit my lip.

‘I would never do that. I’m too afraid of Inga,’ I quipped.

Tova released me as if my skin burned him and backed away. ‘Inga has nothing to do with this.’

‘Aha!’

‘No, seriously, Drah’sa. Why would you even say that?’

‘Aha,’ I repeated, enjoying the blush crawling over his cheeks. ‘Did she give you a proper send-off? With a kiss? Maybe more?’

Tova gasped so hard it threatened to lift him off the ground. ‘Roksana Regnav, you…’ My eyebrow lifted, and he deflated.

‘She kissed me after the ball. Then told me off for fighting the wraiths.’ He dropped beside me, folding his hands in his lap. ‘When we return, what should I do? She’s a noble. What could a tinkerer give her?’

‘Love, loyalty, a space where she doesn’t have to be ashamed of her tears.’ I took his hand in mine. ‘You have so much to give, and Inga sees that. This war will take everything from her. Don’t let fear take away the only man she trusts.’

‘I wish I could just dismantle her mind and see what she’s thinking. Even magic is easier to understand than women.’ He looked so serious I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

‘Please, for my sake, don’t dismantle Inga Tivala. You don’t need to understand her, just let her conquer your heart, one timid kiss at a time,’ I chuckled. Tova glanced at me, a slow smile fluffing up his moustache.

‘I liked it. She knows how to kiss,’ he said.

We both jumped as the door swung open and a fully dressed Irsha entered. He surveyed my dishevelled attire.