Page 11 of An Empress of Earth & Darkness

Reaching out, he caught her and clutched her to his chest. Her feisty little elbow was quick to swing into his already bruised ribs, and the power behind it could have caused a serious crack. He blew out a breath, still trying to hold on to her.

She pulled back, ready to attack him, Agnes at his throat. Her eyes had that steely fire in them, burning as bright as he remembered, and it almost undid all the numbing he had accepted into his heart.

One fucking look.

The blade almost pierced his skin, but a flicker in her eyes told him she had been so caught up in the fight to notice it was him. And that was the way it should be. He was proud of her. No distractions.

“Put down the sharp weapon, angel. I like my throat the way it is.”

She didn’t.

She secretly loved the chaos, thrived in it, and when he saw her like this amidst it all, it did something to him that he couldn’t explain. He swallowed down another dose of numbness and hoped it travelled to his icy heart.

Their gazes burned for a minute longer than they should have as she lowered her weapon from his throat.

“Your feet are too close together, distribute your weight,” he said finally as the violence still unfolded around him. No one would touch her, though, not while he was there. They wouldn’t fucking dare.

Her eyes narrowed, the glittering fading to something dark and cold. It was the mask he had seen her wear around the Tower, the one she struggled to keep intact. He knew she was hurting too, and he had caused a lot of it. He had finally had the courage to pull away from her, thinking that giving her that space would allow her to give Gideon the chance that he deserved. His brother was good, through and through. She was an empress, and as much as it killed him inside, he knew Gideon could take care of her.

“In case you didn’t notice, Torin Blacksteel, you are not my trainer anymore. You have no right to critique me.” She sneered at him.

Why did he want to kiss her already? It had been two fucking seconds.

“I will always correct you when you are not doing something the way you should. Sloppy foot work never did anyone any favours. Or have you forgotten that?”

“Neither did fighting in the underground pits and drinking yourself into a coma every night, but here we are.” She shot him a dangerous glare.

She was pissed. So entirely pissed off with him, but so fucking enticing. That scowl. Those lips…

It was incredible what she could do to him with a scowl.

He kept his mask on, keeping a casual smugness in place. He didn’t move his hand from her waist, and she didn’t do anything to remove it either. He leaned in, and his voice was rich with danger. “You shouldn’t be here, angel. Tell me which one of my brethren I should stab first.”

“I can be wherever I please.” She glared back at him. “And you won't be touching either of them, you utter ass.”

Just then, a large lump of a man flew through the air, almost landing on her back. Torin pulled her out from underneath the fat beast before she could hit the ground. He swept her up over his shoulder like he had in the Amethyst Palace and proceeded through the crowd, no one daring to touch them. He couldn’t speak to her out here without being interrupted, and that could make him even more murderous than normal.

“Put me down you big…not nice…prick,” she screamed.

He allowed a laugh to hiss past his throat. “Someone needs to rinse their mouth out with soap. Or work on better insults. I can’t believe you have spent months with me and that’s the best insult you can come up with.”

She used her spear to beat into his back whilst trying to knee him in the chest. “Fuck you! How about that?”

“Slightly better. A little mundane.” He tried his hardest not to let a grin appear on his face.

It was cute. So feisty. And so not his to appreciate.

He frowned.

“Stop struggling,” he said as he moved through a dark tunnel. “I will put you down in a second.”

She punched his back this time. “I don’t have a second, you absolute…”

She went quiet.

“Struggling for another swear word that won’t make you feel dirty?” he jested.

She never did like profanity much. And it amused him when she used it.

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