Page 107 of An Empress of Earth & Darkness

It was more complicated than just having fun with her. It was more than just kissing her and letting the temptation of their chemistry unravel. He was her guard. Had he not been burned in a situation like this before? He had jumped in with two feet and sunk straight to the bottom like a broken ship in a storm. He had made so many mistakes before and he had sworn to himself that he would find the better man within himself before he gave his heart to another.

He sighed and ran a forearm over his brow as the Skyelir sun reached his skin. Gideon had set a pace faster than anyone else to get to the Temple of the Gods. By Thorin, he wanted to get this mission done and be granted some alone time.

That was what he needed.

It had been on nonstop training sessions, guardianship, and hunts, fatality after fatality, blow after blow. His soul was being pulled in all different directions between his family’s unrest to the new birth of his brother in the commandership. Gideon’s body wasn’t as exhausted as his mind, but every hunter knew it was your mind that kept the body going. And if his mind had to conjure up any more thoughts of his brother’s marriage consummation or the memory of Sybil’s disappointment, he was likely to drown himself in Rhiannon’s Lake.

They had been trekking for hours, and he had taken a few breaks to refuel. Torin hadn’t questioned it when Gideon had kept walking without them.

Hopefully, with the rate that he was travelling, he would reach the temple before sundown.

Gideon saw the peaks of the Skyelir mountain range, and he knew that he was closing in on the temple. He let himself find a slower pace, and shortly, the clan caught up from behind him. He felt a large hand on the back of his neck, and he turned to find his elder brother walking beside him. “Everything okay, Gid?” Torin checked in.

Gideon kept his hands tight on the straps around his haversack. “I’m good.”

“Are you sure? I normally set the pace for the clan and you scout from our tail for danger. But our tail has lost its best stinger today, and you are marching on like a man possessed—”

“I am fine, brother.”

Torin nodded, acknowledging that he would push him no further. “I have put Marcus at the tail of the formation; he is the second best with a bow.”

Gideon said nothing as he marched on for a few moments, trying to pretend that there wasn’t an unnecessary awkwardness between them.

Torin’s jaw clenched as he strode toward, placing himself in front. He held out a hand, and it hit his brother’s chest gently. “It was never my intention for any of this to hurt you.”

Gideon’s hands fell from the straps of his cargo. “Let’s not talk about this now, especially when we have so much to do. The clan is right behind us.”

Torin’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t give a fuck if the clan is up my ass, I think you should air your frustrations with me. Go on, punch me.”

He sneered. “I am not going to punch you.”

“Then talk to me. I can command you to, you know.”

Gideon pulled in a breath through his teeth. “You don’t want to hear what’s happening in my mind.”

“Believe me when I tell you that I do.” Torin shifted his weight and folded his arms across his chest ready to listen. “I need you to vent. It’s not healthy to bottle up all your thoughts. I know you.”

Distant chatter from the clan could be heard as they moved through the trees a few throws back.

“Honestly? I don’t really need to talk right now. I just need a break. But warriors of Thorin aren’t granted that grace, are we?” Gideon asked his brother.

“No, we are not.” Torin’s mouth slanted as if he knew the feeling well. “You know I am here when you want that chat, Gid.”

“I know,” Gideon assured him, and he was grateful for the effort. “Maybe someday but let me focus on the mission. My head’s a mess and I need it not to be.”

“Okay, then. Let’s talk business. When we get to the temple, I am going to need you to lead some of the clan in a different direction. I need someone I can trust to be my second-in-command, and I choose you to lead them. I know you are tired, and your head might be a mess, but you are my brother, and persistence runs in your veins. You are the one I trust.”

A little shock sprung in his heart. Gideon and Torin had not always seen eye to eye, but they were brothers, and no matter how many fights they had, no matter how many punches or harsh words they threw at each other, they had a bond like no other.

“I would be honoured to be your second-in-command,” he said as he looked to Torin’s icy eyes. “What do you need me to do?”

Torin grinned back. “You were always going to be my second, Gid.” He slapped his upper arm. “I need you to lead a split in the clan and work your way from the furthest entrance of the temple to the front, combing over what you can. If we split up, we’ll cover more of the grounds. You can take the higher sections of the temple and I will take the lower. Do you remember the number of times we studied the Temple of the Gods in the Selection and thought that it was just pointless nonsense? Now it’s a test for us to remember it.”

“I just wanted to leave those lessons and shoot something.”

“See”—Torin’s mouth curved up at one side—“I knew we had something in common. Maybe you will even grow as handsome as me too.”

Gideon finally found it in his heart to laugh. “Fuck you. Everyone knows I am the best-looking Blacksteel.”

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