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Still watching her, he slid his fingers from her body, revelling in the raw hunger in her face as he brought those fingers to his mouth and sucked on them.
Her eyes grew wide as he groaned at the taste of her, his cock pulsing against his pants.
‘You want to know what you taste like?’ he growled.
Slowly, Thea nodded.
Wilder lunged for her, kissing her savagely before he pulled back, breathless. ‘You taste like you belong to me. You always have.’
Thea was staring at him as though seeing him for the first time. Her eyes smouldered with longing, her hands breaking free from his grasp at last, pulling at his belt.
He stopped her, a smile tugging at his lips. ‘I believe we have a war to plan… The others are waiting. Not so patiently by now, I imagine.’
Her eyes narrowed as she tugged him closer. ‘We have unfinished business, you and I,’ she told him, the very words he’d once spoken to her in the Bloodwoods of Thezmarr before everything had changed between them.
He kissed her again, lingering in her space, relishing the warmth of her and the intensity of what raged in her eyes. ‘That we do,’ he said.
Wilder gave her a moment to gather herself, hiding his amusement at the muscle that twitched in her jaw. He’d gotten under her skin, and that was exactly where he intended to stay.
When she was decent, he laced his fingers through hers, savouring the simple act of intimacy. ‘To battle we go, Princess.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THEA
Every nerve ending in Thea’s body felt completely frayed as Wilder led her into the meeting. She could still feel the imprint of him in her body, on her soul, so much that she kept stealing glances at him, wondering if this was some Warsword magic she’d yet to uncover. Just glimpsing his handsome face, just the stroke of his thumb across the back of her hand set her alight again. She wasn’t nearly finished with him.
A smile quirked the corner of his mouth, his dimple showing, and she knew he could see every thought written plainly across her face. She didn’t care. She wanted him to know what he’d done to her, andexactlywhat awaited him when she finally got her hands on him.
As they entered the enormous tent, Thea spotted Anya first, at the end of the table. Her sister’s wings were nowhere in sight, nor were her shadows. But she looked just as cutthroat without them, with her harsh features and shaved head, her sharp gaze piercing them all. The hesitancy and sadness from their conversation last night was gone.
‘About time…’ Anya said, her voice laced with innuendo and a note of amusement.
An unwelcome blush stained Thea’s cheeks as she accepted the chair Wilder offered her, sitting down and surveying the rest of the strange group gathered around the table, noting the knowing smirks on their faces. Wilder was to her left, and Adrienne was sitting opposite them. A young man – a teenager, really – with a mop of unruly dark curls and a lumpy woollen jumper was knitting in the corner, glancing up every now and then with the same bottle-green eyes as Dratos. There were several rangers Thea didn’t recognise, but she guessed they were from Naarva, as was most of the camp.
On the back of a chair was Terrence, the hawk who’d played the role of emissary between Wilder and the Naarvian forces for some time. He was perched regally, his yellow eyes boring into Thea as though he were annoyed, as though he had somewhere better to be.
Then there was Dratos, his wings tucked neatly behind his back, his shadows dancing close by. Thea couldn’t help but flinch at the sight of them. For so long, she had seen both things as the epitome of evil, and yet here they were… as much a part of Dratos as the hand that raised a pipe to his lips.
He caught her staring. ‘Something to say, would-be Warsword?’
Thea didn’t shy away. Instead, she met his gaze. ‘Can you hide them? If you want to? The shadows and wings, I mean?’
The green-eyed ranger blew a perfect ‘O’ of smoke from his lips. ‘And why would I want to do that? I hide my true nature for no one’s comfort.’
He seemed to wait for her to argue. But Thea simply shrugged. ‘Fair enough.’
‘Yes, yes.’ Anya rolled her eyes. ‘We all know how dark and mighty you are, “Dratos the Dawnless”. Now if you don’t mind,can we make some fucking plans for this war? There have been enough delays.’ The last she said with a pointed glance at Wilder.
The corner of his mouth tugged upward again, and Thea elbowed him, sitting up straighter. But the mention of war had her mind churning. Had it only been a matter of days ago that she’d been honoured in the floating domes of Vios as a defender of the realm? Where she’d left Cal and Kipp in the middle of an arachne skirmish? Wilder had assured her they were safe with Torj, but that didn’t make it right. So much had happened, so much that she needed to talk to them about. Everything had changed. Her world had been turned upside down, and she wanted them by her side.
Anya glanced at her, gaze full of understanding, as though she too couldn’t quite believe it. She offered Thea a tentative smile.
Thea returned it. There was a lifetime of secrets and experiences to share, but they would not get the luxury of time together, not with the midrealms in tatters around them, not with the fate stone hidden beneath Thea’s shirt. And yet, Thea wanted to know her sister. She hoped that showed in her smile now.
Anya nodded, seeming to gather herself before she turned to the group and banged her cup on the table three times, glaring around at them all until the chatter died down.
‘Welcome, welcome, and all that shit,’ she said gruffly, waving her hands unceremoniously to them. ‘I hereby bring this war council to order. There is much to discuss.’
