Page 11 of A Wrecking of Salt and Fire

Goosebumps peppered Ember’s skin, despite it being high in the summer months. The closest thing she owned to an appropriate outfit was a thin cotton sleeveless tunic she usually wore to sleep, and a pair of tight cropped navy trousers she stole out of Katrin’s dresser. Ember stood, teeth chattering, outside the main entrance waiting for the commander to grace her with his presence.

Yellow and orange hues began to spread over the cliffs as the sun broke the water’s horizon. Warmth would come soon. At least Ember hoped it would.

Ajax said to meet at dawn, yet he was nowhere to be seen outside the quarters of the Spartanis. Not in the stables she poked her head into, not in the training rings she passed on the walk over, not waiting for her here at the entrance. No noise even drifted out of the doors that led to many sleeping soldiers. She hated being down here, hated walking through the gloomy low-lit corridors within the barracks even more. But her body started convulsing from the slight breeze coasting off the seas and she already made it all the way down here—what was a few more feet into the dirty place?

Ember sighed, grinding her teeth together and pushed the heavy wooden doors of the barracks open, stomping through the muddied floors all the way to the end. To the commander’s chambers. She stuck her ear up to the door, making sure she could not hear any grunts or moans coming from Ajax or that raven-haired girl once more. There was nothing but the faint sound of snoring trickling through the crack beneath the door.

Once. Twice, she rapped her knuckles against the door. Still no sounds of a stirring man. She jiggled the door handle—unlocked. Ember would need to speak to him about that later.

“Ahem—” she cleared her throat, attempting to rouse Ajax from his slumber, but it was to no avail.

The commander lay face down on his pillow, dirty blonde hair shuffled about. One arm hung off the side of the bed and a foot crept out from beneath the covers. He looked exceptionally peaceful, inhaling and exhaling in deep motions. She felt guilty for waking him. Almost. Ajax was the one who said if she didn’t show at dawn she shouldn’t bother showing up at all.

Ember gripped the bottom of his blankets and pulled hard, dropping them down to the ground. “Oh gods!” Ember screeched.

The commander rolled over, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Ember threw up her arm to shield her own eyes, spinning on her heels in the opposite direction. Her whole body glowed a faint red as she tried to wipe the image of what she just witnessed from her head.

Now lying behind her was a dazed and confused Ajax, naked as the day he was born. It wasn’t that she never thought of Ajax this way—she had—many times in fact. But seeing him actually in front of her. It was more than she could have ever imagined, and she could not let the commander know that. Could not let him see what he did to her, the want and need that clenched low in her gut.

“Drakos? Is that you? What are you doing here?” His voice was gravely as she heard him exit the bed and slide on something. She peered back. A pair of low-slung shorts. The opposite of what she needed to see.

“You weren’t at the training rings, or the stables, or outside waiting for me, so I thought I’d check here.” Her teeth rolled over her bottom lip.

“I didn’t—nevermind. Just give me a moment.” Ajax yawned, pulling a loose fitting shirt over his head, aimlessly looking through a pile of clothes on the floor for some kind of pants.

“You didn’t think I would show, did you?” Ember wasn’t sure why the words sent such a pain through her bones. Like someone was scraping a needle along each crevice of her insides. Honestly, Ember did not think she would show herself, but to hear the words out loud. A waft of shame crept across her skin. No one believed in her. Not even the ever-positive commander.

“Did I hope you would? Sure. Did I actually expect you to get up before the sun and traipse down here? Absolutely not.”

“You told me dawn or don’t try to come again.” Ember locked her jaw as she sent a piercing gaze at the now clothed commander. She could not tell if she was still embarrassed or just plain pissed off.

“Gods, Drakos, I was kidding. I figured you’d just show up later, when the rest of us trained, like a normal person.” His words were still groggy as he threw back a glass of water.

“Oh—right.” She chewed the inside of her cheek. “Well, I am here now, so we might as well start the day.” Ember crossed her arms across her chest. It was considerably warmer in his chambers, but the shock of seeing Ajax lying there without clothes, coupled with the breeze trickling in through the windows caused her breasts to peak under the thin shift she’d tossed on that morning.

The commander ruffled his hands through his hair, finally turning to face her and taking her in. Ember’s chest constricted and her breath hitched as he drank her in. His gaze roamed over the curves of her body in the tight cropped trousers, how you could almost see her skin through the sheer tunic. Ajax’s jaw clenched tight and his warm brown eyes took on a feral stare.

“What are you wearing, Drakos?” The sound from his lips was akin to a growl.

Her body tensed, the slight trickle of sweat dripping from her temple. He stalked closer to her, dragging one hand along her collar bone, shaking his head with a long sigh.

“I wasn’t sure what to wear.” Her voice trembled at his touch.

A soft chuckle escaped his throat, circling around her. “Certainly not that, if you thought we’d be in the training rings. You would get bloodied and bruised within a second. Later today we will go down to the market and get you some proper clothing. For now,” he said, stepping back, grabbing a pair of thick leather boots to slip on, “we will stick to a run.”

“Running…right.” Ember tried to think of the last time she did any physical activity. At least any activity that made her really sweat. Maybe it was as a child, when she would prance down the sandy beaches with Katrin. But a run? Gods, she wouldn’t make it a mile.

“Don’t worry, Prytan, I’ll take it easy on you.”

Ember swallowed as a tiny light inside her chest began to warm and glow. Prytan. One word, and yet it carried so much weight. The scowl on her face began to shift into pure determination, eyes flickering with golden amber sparkles. “I’d rather you not.”

Chapter Eight

Katrin

Aweek went by and Katrin barely saw her sister. Ember was avoiding her at all costs.

Honestly, it seemed as if everyone was avoiding her. Kora was nowhere to be seen, closing herself in her study, save for the occasional run-in at dinner time. Each time she tried to speak with Kohl in private, his father slithered out of the shadows and whisked him away, always claiming some important business they needed to attend to regarding Morentius. What little time she did spend with Kohl on their runs was filled with unending silence since the king arrived. Katrin knew he was stressed, knew he suffered from headaches and dizziness when he was overwhelmed, but it was happening more often than before.

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