Page 76 of Oath of Rebellion

He trailed off as she moaned and arched her back. Some flying creatures swooped down toward them, and she waved a hand in annoyance.

"Shoo," she said, and the bats flew away. He blinked, sitting up and looking around. Now wasn't the time to be fooling around. They had to stay alert.

He let his hand drop but it fell against her pussy, making her gasp, so he pressed his fingers to her clit then moved his hand to her thigh.

He cleared his throat. "So you shooed away bats. The owl warned you of danger. But the giant eagle hunted you anyway?"

She shrugged. "Most flying creatures like me, but I felt nothing from that giant eagle. I'm not sure why not. I've always assumed it was something to do with being drakin. I can feel things from them."

He nodded. "That's pretty convenient."

"The birds and the shadows help me sneak in and out of the palace."

"Tell me about your escapades, and I'll tell you about mine," he said, kissing under her ear again.

She chuckled, relaxing slightly against him as she explained how she would escape the palace through the cellar and entertain the tavern folk. He handed her some jerky to eat when she finished.

He was just beginning to tell her about the time he took down a rogue lion when the helroses appeared in front of them. A solid wall of thorny rose bushes stopped them in their tracks. They went about ten feet high and choked out the trees.

She leaned forward as if peering into the bushes, but said, "I can't see a thing."

He glanced down at the wayfinder, the faint moonlight barely helping. "If the map is accurate, it's only a hundred feet thick."

She snorted. "Only. How do we get through?"

He turned the horse and lifted his axe, slicing down and cutting neatly through several vines. Immediately they vines regenerated, producing two more for each one severed along with making the thorns lengthen.

Ryder danced back away from the growing wall of bushes. After a few seconds, it stopped.

Knox rubbed his hand on the back of his neck as he thought. Finally he sighed and pulled a glow stick from his back.

Eirwyn watched him and said, "I thought those wouldn't work on plants?"

He nodded, his lips pursed. "Regular glow sticks won't. This one is a flame blade. It'll keep the fire to only what it touches, that way the fire won't spread into the forest."

"So it's relatively safe?"

He nodded. "But the problem is it's only supposed to last a few minutes."

"Supposed to? Haven't you tried it before?"

He shook his head. "No, it's a prototype. But it has to work well enough, or the dwarves wouldn't have sold it to me."

He took a deep breath. "If we get trapped inside the helroses–"

"We'll figure it out as we go," she smiled tightly at him, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. He blinked in surprise, forcing himself to stay still and not turn his head to meet her lips.

She finally leaned back, and she smiled.

He blinked down at her. "What was that for?"

She smiled. "For luck."

His chest swelled with pride to know that he'd made her happy. Another part of him swelled to think of her soft lips on something other than his cheek.

She turned back to face the hedge, and he clenched his jaw in determination. He clicked the small gem on the side and the large gem on the top produced a small, thin blade of fire the size of a full-length sword.

He took the reins and turned the horse, swinging the blade and cutting neatly through the hedge. The vines and thorns sizzled as they were severed, but they didn't grow back. He hacked with a fury, fighting against time more than the vines, and nudged the horse into the hedge.

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