Page 181 of Forcing Fate

“That’s what they all say, Avyanna.” Niehm reached out, gripping my shoulder. “Don’t do it! I’m telling you, whoever he is, he’s not worth it. He’s not worth you. He’s not worth your future.” The wind picked up, teasing strands of her hair.

“I swear, it’s not like that!” I laughed, hoping it hid my nerves, and danced out of her hold.

Elenor sighed in resignation. “Well, who is the lucky boy?”

“There is no lucky boy!” I turned and headed away from them and their questions.

Niehm groaned and followed me. “There’s definitely a boy.”

I barely made it five paces before she darted to my side.

“Just tell us what they’re for,” Elenor urged. “Tell us, and that will be the end of it.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. Would they understand? Could I spin it in a way they might not realize my deepest secret? I couldn’t tell them how I truly felt. No one would understand. Not even my friends.

“Well, you see Rafe’s winter–”

“You mean, General Rafe?”

Elenor cut in at the same time Niehm let out a howl like a madwoman in pain. People turned to peer at us with questioning gazes. I offered a tight smile and urged them on.

“Niehm!” I hissed, whirling on her and grabbing her cloak.

“That walking pile of dragon dung?! That’s who you’re sneaking around with?!” she shrieked.

“I’m not sneaking around with him!” I growled, looking to Elenor for help.

“Honestly, Niehm. He wouldn’t let her get close to him. He’s a General after all, and no General would be beyond the penalty of bedding a fellow soldier,” Elenor said calmly.

I stared at her, shocked. Her words were spoken directly to me and not Niehm. She held my gaze until I dropped my head in shame, dejected.

“Nothing has happened,” I muttered. “I swear.”

“As nothing will,” Elenor stated with a firm nod.

Her eyes were cold and demanding. She knew what would happen, as I did. Despite my brain’s best efforts, my heart wanted what my heart wanted.

“He lost a button on his winter vest. I thought I could replace them for the Solstice—to show my gratitude for his training,” I explained.

I released Niehm’s cloak, and she turned a weary eye on me.

“But Rafe, of all people? You choose to be nice to General Rafe?!”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The guards stationed at the gate had Jamlin caught up in a game of chance. Returning to the gate, I found him still playing and sipping ale. He sang a ballad I’d never heard as we trudged through the snow to the fortress. He wasn’t drunk, but certainly tipsy.

When we arrived, Rafe’s glare fell on us as soon as we entered. He sat on Korzak’s spare cot that had been pulled next to the fireplace along one wall.

“Jamlin!”

He used his General’s voice, and I knew better than to push at that. I snapped to attention.

“Aye?” Jam was all business. He snapped out of his tipsy haze, focusing his eyes on General Rafe.

“We’ve news.”

I studied the somber faces of the Tennan, all of them gathered and sitting along their cots. Jamlin and I crossed the space, both of us curious.

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