Page 31 of A Kiss of Hammer and Flame

Terryl exhaled through his nose. ‘Raiden, I cannot keep letting you put my life above all others. I shall not,willnot, do it – I cannot be responsible for any more d—’ Terryl raised his own eyes to her then, as if also remembering she was there. ‘We can make it back as one, if we exercise caution, correct? We have done so before.’

She looked to Merali, who was cleverly focused on packing her satchel.

‘Yes. My lord,’ Raiden said, shoulders stiffening as the veins of his neck bulged. Cahra looked between Terryl and Raiden.

Was this normal? She couldn’t imagine a Kolyath lord stomaching dissension in his ranks. She’d seen Commander Jarett backhand his guards and leave them bleeding in the street for less.

Terryl did say Luminaux was different.

‘Merali, would you tend to Cahra’s leg? She was injured when she fell.’

Cahra began to protest, but the healer was already peering at Cahra’s knee through her ripped trousers and reaching into a satchel. Merali unscrewed a little, round tin, saying, ‘Now, this may hurt,’ as she smoothed a balm into Cahra’s purpling knee. Cahra ground her teeth, silent.

Raiden watched her bite back the pain, a new light of respect dawning in his eyes. ‘That was quite the leap you made, back there.’

Cahra looked up from her leg, her eyes meeting Raiden’s. She couldn’t help but grin at his acknowledgement. ‘Oh, I know,’ she said with pride.

CHAPTER 14

When the coach pulled off the road again – Raiden’s people clearing a screen of brambles, only to carefully replace them once the caravan had passed through – it was close to sunset. In the Wilds, Cahra felt the same edge, the same crispness to the air, as Kolyath at twilight, the sun’s beams cooling as they cascaded from the sky that faded to a cornflower blue.

Cahra tumbled out of the coach with her satchel. Would she ever get used to travelling like this, squished into a tiny movable box? Oh well, she thought drily, it wasn’t like she’d get the chance again once they arrived in Luminaux. This journey was funded by Terryl’s coin, and a lordly high-born she was not.

She turned, and two hills rose like horns behind her, the coaches, wagons and horses of the caravan tucked into the valley they formed. The air was a song of mist and soil with the evening’s arrival, and Cahra inhaled it deeply, her eyes on the lord’s people as they lugged items from the wagons to the mouth of a cave.

Terryl joined her, graceful hands clasped neatly at his back. ‘My apologies,’ he said. ‘I had every intention of delivering us to an inn, but after this afternoon, Raiden believed it safer to make camp at a secure location than chance being seen.’

Cahra stretched, her muscles aching. ‘It’s okay,’ she told Terryl. ‘I’ve had worse.’ Her stomach dropped. It was getting harder to hide her past, and it didn’t help that she was painfully aware of being the only low-born. No one else here was ex-beggar material.

Raiden arrived before she could dwell on it. ‘Supper is on the way,’ he told them as she watched Queran, Siarl and a few others scale the steep hills above the cave.

She turned to Terryl. ‘What can I do to help?’ Hours of sitting had left her eager to move.

‘Nothing,’ he cut in, the lord’s gaze falling to her knee. ‘Simply rest.’

Giving him a flat look, she pointed to Raiden. ‘What about him?’

‘Excellent point.’ Terryl called out, ‘Raiden!’ The Captain looked up, handing off a stack of plates to Piet. ‘Mind your stitches. Leave the setting up for us tonight.’ He smiled. ‘My orders,’ he added, strolling off before the man could argue.

Raiden exhaled, eyeing Cahra. ‘I suppose I have you to thank for that?’

‘I didn’t expect him to actually do it,’ she said, surprised.

Raiden turned to her, saying slowly, ‘Indeed,’ then moved for the cave.

Cahra scanned their surroundings. ‘How safe are we here?’

Despite Raiden’s injuries, his attention was on his lord. ‘As safe as we can be in the Wilds. This is one of our securest camps, regularly checked by locals, people we can trust. If there was trouble, they would leave a signal for us.’ Cahra and Raiden passed the threshold, the entrance smaller than a door and edged in porous-looking rock that scraped her knuckles.

Cahra was relieved at the idea of resting properly. Her body had been on high alert since they’d fled, and she could feel the bone-tiredness starting to creep in. She’d sleep soundly knowing Raiden’s people were on watch. If she’d been in Kolyath, on its cobbled streets, well, any rest would’ve been fitful, one ear cocked for danger, a sharp rock or stick cradled to her chest as a weapon—

She could feel her shoulders tensing at the thought so she cut it off, asking Raiden, ‘Since Terryl’s deemed us the lame horses, now what?’

Raiden’s mouth twitched, amusement in his eyes. She’d nearly made him laugh. ‘Assuming I’m fit to start a fire, perhaps that?’ The others were heaping wood and kindling by the entrance, so Raiden went to fetch some.

Cahra didn’t know what to do next. She wondered if anyone had a pencil and paper, in case she was struck by the urge to sketch.

Would a Luminaux smithy even take a Kolyath apprentice?

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