Page 101 of The Mirror in the Mountain

The forest was too still. Too quiet as I returned to Nisa, offering her the apple that I had been unable to stomach. She snorted softly, nuzzling against me in comfort, and I rubbed agloved hand against her mane. As I swung my leg over her, my hood fell back. A few snowflakes landed on my braid; its pleats so intricate, they felt like armor.

I felt more than heard Bash approach, Smoke’s steps muffled by the sounds of our armies and the fallen snow. When he came up next to me, our thighs almost touching with how close our horses stood, his gaze had already filled with swirling shadow.

“I don’t like this.”

I knew what he meant. Every part of me was coiled with tension, my instincts screaming that something was wrong.

“A little late to turn back now,” I half-heartedly quipped.

Bash’s attempt at a smile barely managed to curve his lips upward. “I sent a few of my rangers ahead to report back. While I expect we’ll have to defend the mountain against Aviel’s forces, especially depending on how long it takes to locate the Seeing Mirror and for you to go through the Choosing, I can’t help but wish we had a way to track him. Especially when the same likely isn’t true for us.”

I shuddered in a way that had nothing to do with the cold, the memory of Aviel breaking into my mind all too fresh.

A ripple of worry snaked down our bond. Then Bash pulled me off my mount and into his lap atop Smoke’s back, so I sat between his armored thighs. Nisa nickered softly, almost as if she was chiding us. Bash’s hands cupped my cheeks, and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning into his warmth. Savoring this last moment of contact before what was to come.

He brushed a wind-loosened strand of my hair behind my ear, his knuckles trailing down the side of my neck. “Tell me something true. Something real, hellion.”

I burrowed my face under his jaw, closing my eyes as I breathed in his scent—that musk of impending rain I knew better than my own. Wishing we already knew the outcomeof today while simultaneously hoping the looming battle never came.

“I love you, Bash. No matter how this ends.”

That constant, steady love seeped from his soul to mine, warming me to the core.

“I think more than one person knows that, hellion.”

“Then you should have been more specific.” I smiled, the feeling of it almost strange as I leaned in, brushing a kiss against his lips. As I started to pull away, his fingers threaded through my hair to keep me there for an extra, selfish second.

It took me a second to remember how to breathe by the time he let me go. “Try not to die, freckles.”

Bash’s eyes narrowed, and a protective sort of helplessness drifted across our bond. “Right back at you.”

The crunching sounds of hoofs on the frozen ground came closer, but I didn’t open my eyes as our friends surrounded us. Just let myself stay in the comfort of Bash’s arms for one moment longer.

“Eliav’s forces are nearly at Morehaven,” Yael said, and I resignedly opened one eye. She held a piece of parchment, looking startled that the missive had been delivered to her. “He’ll reach them right before we begin our own attack.”

Marin rode next to her, her mount keeping a healthy distance from where Arion had thrown back his head, shaking the snow from his dusky mane. Tobias and Quinn rode side by side behind them. My brother looked tense; his face wan as his eyes darted from us to the dark clouds overhead. Then Quinn said something in a low voice that brought his attention to her, that hint of fear melting into something more controlled. I shot her a grateful look.

“About time,” Rivan grunted. “A battle on two fronts.”

“Don’t sound too excited,” Marin said impishly.

Rivan’s grin was vicious. “Oh, believe me, I am. I’m looking forward to finally finishing the war that was never won.”

I shrugged. “Or die trying.”

“Please save the inspiring speeches for later, Your Majesty,” Quinn quipped, her voice droll.

My lips curved up into a smirk, and I saw Bash’s eyes fix on the dimple that appeared there, looking for all the world like he was memorizing it one last time.

I shifted back toward Nisa, but his arms held me in place.

“This isn’t the end, hellion,” he said in a low murmur, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear. “Not by a long shot.”

His hand turned my face back to him, then his mouth met mine, devouring me. I was breathless by the time he returned me to Nisa’s back as easily as he had taken me from her. He brushed the snow from my leathers before wrapping my cloak more firmly around me. With a grateful smile, I pulled up my hood, tucking my braid inside to keep it dry.

Reaching down to give Nisa a comforting pat, I rubbed my gloved hand up and down the side of her neck as we started forward.

“It won’t be long now, girl.”

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