Page 56 of Soul Forge

“Then how did you end upunderhim?”

“I don’t know.”

“Stars above,” the ex-captain groaned. “I’ll say this once, Princess.Do not sleep with the demon.Now get outside and help me saddle up Atlas. We’re burning daylight.”

Elda followed on numb legs, stunned by her own traitorous body. Her heart still thundered in her chest, the faint scent of vetiver and leather clinging to her senses. He’d held a knife to her throat. Aknife. He’d almost cut her head off. Her back still stung where the small stones in the mud had scraped it. And she was swooning like a damsel for a prince.

“There’s something wrong with me,” she groaned quietly, dropping her head into her hands. Nox nickered, almost like she was laughing. “Thanks for the support,” Elda muttered, approaching Atlas and reaching for the strap around his midsection that would hold her perch in place.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen Sypher hold a knife to someone’s throat and not use it,” Julian commented, holding out a handful of berries he’d managed to scavenge from the sparse shrubbery. “It’s also the first time I’ve seen him look at anyone like that.”

Elda popped a berry into her mouth and kept her eyes on the leather, pulling the strap tight so the double saddle wouldn’t slip. “Like what?”

“Like he wants to undress you, dear.” She choked on the berry she was eating.

“Can you not?” Reiner complained. “Some of us have just had breakfast.”

“Oh, come on,” Julian argued. “She looked at him the same way! I can still hear her heart pounding.”

“That isnotwhat happened,” Elda protested, pink blooming in her cheeks again. “I was frightened, that’s all.”

“Sweetheart, I’m a vampire. I can smell fear.Thatwasn’t fear.”

“It wasn’t what you think it was either!” she retorted.

The ex-captain glowered. “I would very much like this conversation to end.”

“Sure. You go ahead and live in denial,” the vampire continued, ignoring their protests. “When you and him finally do the deed, I’ll be right here to say I told you so.” Julian’s triumphant grin was accompanied by a wink. When he turned to get Nox prepared for their journey, Reiner fixed her charge with a stony stare.

“To be clear, there will be no doing of any deeds,” she vowed. “I am not afraid to stab him. Just so you know.”

Elda’s face was still burning when Sypher landed. The vampire tossed an apple at him that he snatched out of the air without looking, his eyes surveying their campsite. The princess felt his attention land on her like a physical touch, and a moment later, he planted himself in front of her and folded his arms across his chest, staring down at her until she dared to meet his gaze.

“You good?” he asked, arching an eyebrow. “You’ll be doing a lot of falling today. It’s my job to catch you. Unless you want Nox to give it a try.” She shook her head, alarmed at the idea of staking her life on the tulpar demon.

“I’m good,” she said quickly.

“Good. Ready to go?” She nodded. He turned to the vampire. “Saddle up. We’re leaving.”

In a few wing beats, Sypher was in the air and gliding away. The winged mounts broke into a gallop the second their riders were seated, and Elda’s stomach lurched when Atlas’ feathers caught an updraft, and their trajectory changed abruptly, soaring over the rocky grounds of Falkryn until they levelled out high up enough for those below to miss them flying overhead.

The shifter territory was sparse, with little plant life and no sign of wildlife moving around on the flat plains below. Only scrub grass and the hardiest bushes survived between the unforgiving stone plateaus. Elda couldn’t understand how an entire civilisation managed to thrive in such an environment until she saw the vast, winding length of a river sparkling in the distance.

Julian and Nox kept pace with them for the journey, weaving from side to side while the tulpar demon exercised her wings with a series of excited nickers and whinnies. Julian whooped and hollered, encouraging the horse to act up with glee.

Behind him, Reiner rolled her eyes, patting her Pegasus on the neck and maintaining a steady course towards Saeryn. Elda didn’t dare speak – she knew the valkyrie could force her to starttraining right there in the sky at any minute, and the last thing the princess wanted was to remind her of that.

Another hour passed, the sun rising higher to burn away the cold morning, and Reiner let out a contented sigh.

“There’s nothing quite like this, is there?” she asked, smiling out at the horizon. “I never knew freedom until Atlas chose me. The moment I climbed into the saddle I knew this was where I wanted to be.”

“It is beautiful,” the princess agreed warily.

“I had to learn how to keep my seat though.” There it was: the segue into what Elda knew would be a hellish training session, made all the more awkward by the incident with Sypher in the shelter. “Sypher wants to work on your centre of balance. There’s no better way to learn balance than this.”

Elda gasped when Reinerstood upin the saddle, throwing her arms wide, the wind blowing through the braids she’d left loose down her back. Even without her hands on the reins to guide him, Atlas remained steady. When he banked left, the valkyrie didn’t slip. He dipped, and her knees bent automatically to compensate, her centre of gravity perfect no matter which way he turned.

“I don’t want to do that,” Elda squeaked immediately.

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