Page 60 of Wings of Cruelty and Flame

I finally realised just what Varidian had planned when we stopped at a massive tailor’s stall hung all over with leather pants, tunics, and coats in every possible colour. My stomach fluttered with a mixture of excitement and discomfort.

“Varidian, this is madness. The sheer cost—”

“Delights me, because spoiling my wife fulfils a soul-deep need.”

Sneaky bastard. I could hardly argue with that.

I smothered my wry smile as the tall, stately woman—who’d clearly been expecting us—shooed me into the tent behind her stall. The interior smelled of leather and talc, a pleasant scent that filled my lungs as the seamstress fluttered around me, barking measurements at the young boy, presumably her son, who waited outside with a notepad and pen. Once she’d poked and prodded me to her satisfaction, my measurements determined, she urged me back outside to choose which leather I wanted made into flight clothes. My head spun a little. I got the sense this woman never sat still for a second of her life; she certainly didn’t like the moment’s delay I took to choose a colour. My surname was now Saber, so purple was a no-brainer,but I hesitated. I certainly couldn’t get far enough away from the Jaouhari gold.

“That dark red there,” I said when the tailor began to tap her foot, scanning the numbers her son had inked in the notebook. The leather was so dark it was almost black, the colour of dried blood. “Can it be sewn with crimson thread?”

For the first time the woman smiled. “Finally, someone with a unique vision. Yes, it can. I can embroider a design across the breast of the jacket and down the leg if you desire.”

The picture formed in my head, and my covetous heart beat faster. But I glanced at Varidian. “I don’t know, that seems exp—”

He silenced me with a kiss, which was both frustrating and hot.

“Tell the woman your desire,” he said with the iron tone of an order.“Anythingyou desire.”

I debated calling him mad, but he already knew what I thought of that. Instead, I let the vision in my head flow and looked at the swath of deep red leather as if I could already see the twin vipers sewn into it. The seamstress grinned as she took down every detail. My husband simmered with smugness, a lightness even reaching his eyes.

“It could cost you a small fortune,” I told Varidian when we walked away, his arm slung over my shoulder, my side glued to his. “You do realise that?”

“I do, and it thrills me.”

“You could spend it on something worthwhile—”

“There’s nothing more worthwhile than my wife’s happiness. Or her safety atop my wyvern.”

“Like rebuilding the Last Guard or feeding the hungry. Isn’t that your duty as prince of Ithanys?”

“I’m very close to being stripped of that title, but you’re right, and I already have a sizable donation leaving my vault. Let me spoil you, Ameirah. I want to.”

I gave him a dry look and shrugged. “If you want to be irresponsible with your—”

A shout cracked through the souk like a thunderclap and I jumped. All levity left Varidian’s face, his body snapping into alertness and readiness to battle. Another roar came, then another, gathering volume in a ripple effect—voices raised in surprise, then shouts of alarm, and other, louder calls that sounded like warriors giving commands.

I peered up at Varidian, uneasy. “Is there a legion here…?”

“There shouldn’t be,” he replied, tucking me tighter into his side. “A handful of riders live in Wyfell, but I don’t see why they’d be shouting commands.”

Because they were commands; I could hear them now.Be calm, do not panic, join us in the Solemn Square for an urgent announcement.

“I don’t like the sound of this,” Varidian muttered, his head swivelling, trying to find the source of the commands. “You don’t leave my side until we know what’s happening. If this is a legion, we follow orders until we can get back to Mak.”

“Do you recognise his voice?” I asked, jumping when the panicked cries surged louder, the commands suddenly closer like the market crowd had parted for someone.

“Move to the Solemn Square for an important announcement,” a male voice yelled, magic amplifying his gruff voice. “Stay calm, all will be explained.”

The crowd parted and I caught a split second glimpse of who spoke—a tall, bearded man wrapped in a floor-length coat in fabric so black it was like he’d dressed in ink, a matching hood pulled over his face. Not rider leathers. On the breast of the coat the clergy symbol was sewn in silver, a minaret surrounded bystars, but I’d never seen a clergy dress like this before. Or issue orders like a legion rider or ground warrior.

A shiver went down my spine, worsening when I realised there wasn’t only one man; there were twenty clergy, herding shoppers and vendors alike, as if we were sheep.

“I’ve seen them before,” Varidian whispered, his head dipped so only I heard. “This is the third time I’ve seen them, but I’ve never seen more than four of them in one place. Or so far from the wall. They’re escalating.”

“Who are they?” My heart hammered a rapid beat into my ribs. Sweat broke out on the back of my neck. I sensed nothing but calm from Varidian, not even the bond of the marriage mark suggesting he was worried. I wished I could hide my panic as well.

“We thought they were Kaldic at first.” He stiffened when the flow of people turned, bodies pressing closer to us, everyone tense with fear. “They attacked a border town when it refused to accept their rule. We thought the tiger riders were conquering the border for themselves, but now…”

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