Page 34 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

I twist my head to look at him, genuinely oblivious to what he’s talking about.“Not helping what?”

A sleepy smile pulls at the corners of his mouth as I catch his scent on the wind. It’s the same as last night, but there’s something else there. Something spicier, tangier. He shifts his hips slightly, and I feel the hard length of him against my tailbone, and my cheeks flush bright red in embarrassment.

“Oh,” I say, mortified.“Sorry!” I quickly sit up as he relinquishes his grip on my shirt, and refuse to look at him as I stalk off to find a private spot to relieve myself. When I return, he’s still got that massive grin on his face, and I narrow my eyes at him.“What?”

“You’re a virgin.” A statement, not a question.

I feel my cheeks heat once again.“That’s really none of your business.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Finn says earnestly.“I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.”

“And why would that be surprising?” I ask, crossing my arms and looking down at him as he leans back onto his hands and stares up at me, squinting at the morning sun.

“Because you’re devastatingly beautiful.” I open and close my mouth like a fish, unable to produce a response to his compliment.“The men in Staghorn must all be blind.”

I clear my throat and shoot him a look, trying to maintain an air of indifference, but I’m finding his flattery increasingly harder to ignore.“You really can’t take a hint, can you?”

“I’ve got a thick skull.” He winks at me and then stands to help me clean up the campsite.

I roll my eyes and gather my things. This is the latest I’ve slept since I’ve left Staghorn, and I want to get moving since I didn’t wake up before dawn. Strangely enough, I also feel more well-rested than I have since I left home, despite having slept on the ground.“Thank you,” I tell Finn, and he turns to look at me.“For letting me sleep last night.”

He shrugs in response.“You needed it.”

“So did you apparently,” I tease, since he obviously didn’t keep watch all night.

“Shadow took the second watch,” he says playfully, and I laugh.

“Is that so?” I pretend to interrogate Shadow and she tosses her head in denial.

“Traitor,” he glares at my pegasus.“Fine. I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but you made it look so irresistible.”

“Just don’t let it happen again, soldier.” I try my best to imitate a commander’s voice.

Finn salutes me with perfect form, his face stoic, but there’s a gleam of mischief in his eye.“Yes ma’am.”

I don’t hold back as I smile up at him, unable to keep myself from admiring his handsome features, my eyes catching once again on the scar on his right eyebrow. Before I can think better of it, I close the few feet of space between us and reach up with my hand, running my thumb over his eyebrow lightly.“Where did you get this?” I ask him, my voice breathy for some reason.

Finn tries to hide the shiver that runs through his body at my soft touch, but I notice it anyway. Just as I notice his breath catching in his throat and hear his thick swallow.“In the Training Ring.”

I cock my head to the side slightly as my thumb continues to trace the outline of his brow, the repetitive motion putting us both in a sort of trance.“What’s the Training Ring?” He said it in a way that makes me think it’s a well-known occurrence, or place, on this side of the mountains, but whatever it is, we certainly don’t have it in Staghorn Forest.

Finn’s hand comes up and wraps around my own, bringing my hand down and away from his face, but he doesn’t let go. He holds my hand in his between our bodies and traces idle circles on my palm as he tells me about the scar.

“The Training Ring is where all aengels go upon turning fifteen, sort of like our version of The Kindling.” Finn stares down at our hands, lost in memory.“We spend ten years there, honing our abilities, practicing our swordsmanship… becoming Skysworn.”

I open my mouth to say something, but I’m absolutely baffled that anyone could spend ten years doing nothing but training… That’s half the amount of time I’ve spent alive. It also strikes me as strange that Finn doesn’t look much older than me, but if he spent ten years at the Training Ring, he has to be at least twenty-five. Although he speaks about his experience there as if it were a very long time ago. I keep my mouth shut, even though I’m dying to ask more questions.

“Over the course of the decade, we’re observed closely, until eventually we’re matched with another fighter who is deemed our closest competition. Then we face off.”

My brows furrow.“Face off? As in...” My stomach drops, suspecting what he’s about to tell me.

He nods solemnly, letting go of my hand.“To the death.”

“Finn…” I breathe, not knowing what else to say.

“The fights can last days,” he tells me, his hands now fisted at his sides.“It doesn’t matter who you are, or where you come from. Once you’re in the Ring, all bets are off. Only the strongest survive.”

“That seems like…” I hesitate, not wanting to offend him or this ancient tradition that’s obviously been around for centuries.

---