Page 75 of Wings of Cruelty and Flame

Rage poured through me at that thought and I straightened.Iwas the only one who got to threaten my husband.

“Calm,” he breathed against my ear. “And don’t move. They’ll spot movement.”

I began to nod but stopped myself, resting my head on his shoulder so I could glimpse the mountain path beyond us. The drumming of warriors’ boots grew so loud they were undeniable, and little shivers skated down my spine. Why would we be hiding from Ithanysian warriors?

The answer came quickly—because we didn’t know theywereIthanysian. My breath strangled in my chest, images of Wyfell burning my mind, but when they came into view, they wore the black and purple striped djellaba of our army. I expelled a gust of air, relaxing against Varidian. His hands only tightened on my body, his frame like iron against mine.

“Do not,” he whispered, “move.”

Panic struck my heart into a sprint. I barely even breathed until they passed, the drumming of their footfall fading into silence again.

“What is it?” I finally dared to breathe minutes later.

Varidian’s bronze throat bobbed, a muscle feathering in his stubbled jaw. I reached up to run my thumb along it, soothing his panic. “Their route is unusual. They should pass through Willow Green and across the plains from Morysen. It’s too slow to take the mountains; I haven’t seen anyone use this pass before. And they’re going from east to west.”

“Which means what…?” I peered up at him, his stress making my pulse trip.

“They weren’t going to the wall. They were coming from it.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

AMEIRAH

We’d seen two more groups of ground warriors crossing the mountains in the last week, and with each warrior Varidian became more and more uneasy. His legion had moved into the Red Star, filling the halls of the Diamond with chatter and jokes and, more often than not, bickering threats of severing someone’s manhood. Rawiya was thrilled for the company. Sabira was very vocally not.

Now, Varidian refused to let us fly out of Red Manniston. Other cities were put on similar lockdowns, even the capital on high alert. Word had spread, at least among the legions, gentry, and top-level clergy. Something was happening, Kalder sneaking warriors in under the guise of Ithanysian uniforms, spreading lies wearing our clergy sigil, and nobody knew what it was for.

To make matters worse, the lightning soul hadn’t been found, and more panic spread every day.

To make matterseven worseVaridian was running me hard in flight lessons today.

I spat a curse as my fingers slipped from the fine scales on Raheema’s leg, my body pulled towards the ground so fast that I couldn’t tuck my lower half the way Varidian was attempting to teach me. I landed on my ass so hard my bruised tailbone screeched in complaint.

“Again,” my dearling husband commanded.

I gave him a scowl so hot it could melt metal and got to my feet, rubbing my backside.

“You’re getting faster,” he said, softening the blow of his harsh tone.

I wasn’t, but I appreciated the attempt. It would take weeks before I could run up Raheema’s leg, throw my hands up to catch the scales on her back, and pull myself onto her the way Varidian could.

“How long until your meeting?” I asked, wincing at a twinge up my spine.

“Three hours. I leave in an hour.”

Anotherhourof this—climbing, slipping, falling, bruising my ass. I groaned, a scowl darkening my expression when he hooked an arm around my waist, pulling me closer.

“Thirty minutes more practice,” Varidian compromised, his eyes shadowed the way they’d been since Wyfell. He had moments where he smiled and joked and flirted, but he was jumpy. Paranoid we’d be attacked in the night. If my nightmares weren’t keeping us awake, his hyper-vigilance was. We were both run down and irritable, but strangely I felt closer to him than ever. I understood his panic and he understood my trauma.

Varidian was already leaning towards me when I stretched up to kiss him, slow and deep and full of affection. The taste of him soothed my bruised heart with every kiss, a comfort I wasn’t sure when I’d come to rely on. I desperately loved having him here, holding me, his lips on my lips, his focus and attention all mine.

It would have been so easy to resent him, to blame him for all the horrors and atrocities I’d seen in such a short time, but I should have realised what being a warrior’s wife entailed. I should have realised what I was asking for when I begged to ride to the Last Guard with him. After the storm, I was just glad to have him with me, at my side no matter what fresh horror confronted us during the day, refusing to move more than a few inches from me at night.

His hands flexed on my back, pulling me flush to his body, a gentle hand angling my face so he could kiss me deeper. I groaned, falling into the sensations, losing myself in him, and for long moments there were no armoured tigers, no blood and fire, no screams filling my head.

“Thirty minutes,” Varidian said against my lips, unable to resist another kiss. “And I’ll reward you for being a good girl during training.”

I gave him a dark look. “Rewarding me doesn’t give you an excuse to push me even harder.”

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