Page 96 of Feathers and Thorns

He was relentless, and the thread of pleasure that was building inside her was pulled so taut she feared she would snap from the ecstasy of it all.

The meteors blazed overhead as Rook ignited the inferno inside her. She exploded around him like a dying star, her orgasm going supernova as she screamed his name.

As she came down from her climax, he crawled up to her face to claim her mouth. She could barely breathe as his tongue danced with hers.

She fumbled to unclasp his belt, and he sucked in a breath as her hand slipped into his trousers to grasp his firmness. She stroked him from root to tip as he palmed her breasts, his breathing getting more erratic by the second.

“I can’t wait anymore,” she said, pushing his trousers past his hips and grabbing his length, pulling him toward her.

“Impatient little bird,” he chided, reaching a hand down to guide himself into her. She was so wet for him, and he growled in appreciation, the sound rumbling low in his chest.

“Fuck, Soren,” he groaned as he pushed in deeper. He grasped her hips hard enough to bruise and started picking up the pace. He leaned back to look at the stars as he pounded into her and she cried out in pleasure. The meteors streaked past in a stunning display, and he clenched his teeth together. He would not last much longer.

“I’m going to … Rook … please,” she begged. “Come with me.”

He could feel her tighten around him, and his eyes met hers. “As you wish, little bird,” he managed as his climax crested. It was as if every nerve ending lit up at once, and the stars in his eyes matched those above.

After finishing, he collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily. Then, once he was able to catch his breath, he rolled off of her, using a corner of the blanket to clean her off.

She slipped her training pants back on, and they returned to their seated position with Soren between his legs to watch the rest of the meteor shower, bodies sated and hearts full.

“Rook,” Soren said quietly into the night.

“Yes, little bird.”

“I lov?—”

She was cut off by an earth-shattering boom in the distance.

Both of them were on their feet in an instant, Rook grabbing the hunting knife he had placed in his ruck for emergencies.

The ground shook as more booms sounded, this time coming from all around them.

They took a moment to face each other. An understanding passed between them. Soren’s eyes were wide with fear, and Rook’s had iced over. They knew that sound. Soren had only heard it once before, but it was a sound that had haunted Rook’s dreams since he was a child. The sound marked the arrival of a Celestial in Entheas.

As if needing to hear the confirmation herself, Soren looked at the field before them and said, “They’re here.”

Soren’s lungs ached as she and Rook sprinted down the rows of tents to gather their armor and weapons as they screamed into the night.

“The enemy is upon us!”

“Gather your weapons!”

They did not have time to make personal stops, and Soren’s heart clenched. She wanted so badly to go to Baz and Enara, or Jai and Adaryn, but she would be no use to them without her weapons, and Rook’s hunting knife would hardly be enough to fight off an army. She sent a silent prayer to the Maker and trusted that her friends would be able to fend for themselves.

They tore the fabric of their tent aside and assembled the thin metal plates as quickly as possible before Soren used her thigh sheath to arm herself with her new daggers. She tied back her hair swiftly then slung her bow and quiver over her back, the arrows rustling together. Rook was already in his armor, and he looked every bit the son of Adriel. A god.

He gripped his rapiers tightly in his fists and turned to her. “I hate you,” he said, a smirk trying to make its way through his now stony features.

She gave him a swift kiss. “I hate you, too,” she replied before they ran in the direction of the closest screams.

All the plans of formations and battle groups went out the window as they sprinted to the far end of the war tents. The ground shook beneath their feet as thousands of celestial bodies marched in the hard-packed earth toward them. The gate to Irefeld was close. They had planned to use it as a bottleneck to take down Celestials as they arrived, but she already knew this plan was folly.

They hurried back toward the training area to join the fray. The gate lay just beyond the next field, and by the time they made it back, their friends were already clashing swords with the enemy.

“Gather your horses!” Jai yelled to the group of riders who were fighting their way through a group of enemies whose armor bore the red sun of the Xian-Dao empire.

That’s not possible, Soren thought as she nocked her bow and took out a man who was attempting to swing at Jai from behind.

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