Page 91 of The Road to Hell

Jorek nudged his shoulder again, saying something I couldn’t hear, and the rest of the soldiers in his group chuckled. But he barely acknowledged them, his attention still fixed on me.

Calder bumped my shoulder, shattering the spell Rathiel’s gaze held over me.

“You know,” Calder said. “If you stare at him any harder, he might spontaneously combust.”

I scoffed, elbowing him hard enough to knock him sideways.

Calder grunted and rubbed his arm. “Rude.”

Sareth snickered. “Keep your nose out of their business, and maybe she’ll stop bruising youroh so fragileego.” Then, with a sly glance in my direction, she added, “He isn’t wrong though. The two of you sizzle. Sometimes it feels like I’m intruding on something intimate just by being in the same camp as you.” She tilted her head and grinned. “Not that I mind. He’s certainly a treat. Definitely a pleasure to look at.”

I shot her a glare, and she had the good sense to lift her hands and scoot back a few inches.

“Well,I mind,” Varz grumbled. “Sick of watching you two eye-fuck each other.”

“I’ve considered walking into Lucifer’s palace and offering myself up to him just to be spared their oh-so-longing looks,” Calder added in, chuckling.

Sareth smirked. “If that’s all it would take…”

Varz groaned, rubbing his temples. “For fuck’s sake,go.”

I needed no more encouragement than that. But when I stood, laughter and cheering rose from my ragtag group and Sareth practically high-fived me as I strode past her. “Get it, girl!”

I turned away from them and started toward Rathiel, weaving through the camp with easy strides. The farther from the celebration I strayed, the quieter it became—less raucous laughter, more hushed voices, more subdued conversations about the battles to come.

Rathiel watched my approach from over the rim of his cup, his smile never once wavering. When I stopped in front of him, he lowered his arm, then leaned down and brushed a lingering kiss against my lips.

Jorek, still at his side, let out a chuckle before finishing her drink and clapping Rathiel on the shoulder. “That’s very much my cue to be elsewhere.”

She and the others strode off without another word, leaving us alone—or as alone as we could be in the middle of a rebel camp.

Rathiel set his drink aside and inclined his head slightly. “Something on your mind?”

I tilted mine right back. “Come with me?”

“Lead the way,” he said without the slightest hesitation.

I took his hand in mine and drew him beyond the encampment and toward the lookout tower that loomed ahead, built just outside the walls. It wasn’t much—just a raised platform with a crumbling stairwell leading up the side—but it gave a clear view of the surrounding wastelands. A necessary vantage point. The rebellion had made a habit of keeping someone stationed up there at all times, but with everyone celebrating tonight, it was empty.

Or at least, I wasreallyhoping it was empty.

This did tend to be a place others used when seeking a moment…alone, after all.

I climbed the steps, the stairs groaning faintly beneath my boots, and when I reached the top, I turned, watching as Rathiel followed. His gaze tracked me, and he didn’t ask why I’d brought him here. He didn’t need to.

He already knew.

We had met here before. Stolen moments between battles, between endless war meetings and exhaustion so deep it felt like it would consume us both. It was one of the few places we could be alone, even if it never lasted. But tonight, we hadallnight. And I planned to make the most of it.

I stepped back, leaning against the makeshift railing. He stopped just in front of me, close enough to feel the heat radiating off him.

For once, I wasn’t in the mood to be patient. I reached for him, my fingers curling around the loose fabric of his tunic, tugging him just a little closer. He let me, but only just, his hands bracing against the railing on either side of me, caging me without actually touching me. His warmth pressed close, his breath fanning against my skin, but he didn’t move any farther.

Testing me. Teasing me.

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you going to make me do all the work?”

His mouth quirked, but he still didn’t touch me. “Maybe.”

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