Page 50 of An Empress of Fire & Steel

“Go on.” His tone was overly encouraging, and she bit back a smile.

“I will only reveal it if you promise never to speak of it again,” she said firmly.

“The suspense is killing me, so I am going to agree with anything you want.”

She turned around to find his intense gaze. “I am only saying this because we are hours into this ride and I am growing tired of your small talk.”

A flash of white teeth bit into his lower lip as he raised his strong chin. “You don’t like my small talk?”

She groaned, turning back around and facing a blanket of frost. “I don’t like small talk at all.”

“What about pillow talk?”

“I am not answering that.” She shook her head.

He chuckled again, and this time she could feel it come from his stomach.

“You have three seconds to spill, or I am going to make you ride with Artem,” he threatened lightly.

She rolled her neck and took a deep breath. “I really struggled last night too.”

“I have never been more interested in my life to understand why.” He sat forward, his broad chest pressing into her back. “Please continue.”

“Maybe if you stopped talking for a moment, I would have the chance to,” Emara snapped.

“Consider this my last sentence until you are fully finished.”

She shushed him and let a small giggle drift between them. “I struggled with not saying those two little words.”

He sat back on the saddle, the heat from his body leaving her and the cold invading the space between them. She missed it instantaneously.

“Well, well, well,” he said with tremendous satisfaction, and she already wanted to punch him. “Did I just fall into another realm, or are my wildest dreams coming true?” She promised herself that she wouldn’t look back to see the grin she knew was on his face. “In fact, I know it’s not my wildest dreams, because in my wildest dreams, you would have said those exact words, last night, wearing that little wine dress.”

“Shut up.” She laughed, flinging her elbow back into his stomach.

“I’ve been elbowed,” Torin yelled to his brethren.

“Yes!” Artem chanted a few times as he twisted his body around in the saddle to look. “Pay up, Magin,” he shouted past them.

A curse came from the guard on the horse behind her and Torin snickered.

Emara whipped her head around. “Why does he need to pay up?” she demanded.

Artem let out a laugh. “I bet Magin that we wouldn’t make it to our base camp before you did something violent to Blacksteel.”

Her mouth fell open. “Something violent?”

“You said she would have punched him, it doesn’t count,” Magin huffed from behind.

“Punched him?” Her eyes popped from her head.

“I didn’t specify what direct infliction she would cause.” Artem grinned. “I just specified the timescale. Pay up, Oxhound.”

“Damn it,” he grumbled from behind.

Emara’s jaw almost unhinged as it fell open further. “You were all really betting on me to have inflicted pain on Torin before the night was out?”

“Absolutely,” All three males said in unison. She turned and scowled at Torin.

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