Page 101 of Fear the Flames
“That’s not how we work. When we were younger, yes. You’re the one that put a sword in my hand, so I understood why you didn’t want me on your,” Ryder pauses and Cayden cringes in the silence, “missions.”
I exchange a quick look with Finnian; both of us are thinking the same thing. What happened in Cayden’s past that they can’t talk about here? Cayden hardly ever cracks his exterior. “I’ve fought by your side countless times since then, and I’m not sitting on the sidelines for the fight we’ve worked at for years,” Ryder adds.
“We understand that neither of you need our protection, but we’re still going to do this together, as a team. Because we’re better off with each other than separated,” Saskia finishes, and the cave is cloaked in silence again.
A strange feeling settles in my chest; it’s not a bad feeling, just a new one. I’ve never been part of a team before. I went from being a prisoner, to a ghost, to this. I was never able to exist. But strangely enough, here, in a damp cave nestled inside of the one kingdom where everyone wants me dead, I’ve never felt safer or steadier. For the first time in my life, I feel like I belong. Existing with these four people makes me feel alive. I reclaimed my life after leaving Imirath. I learned that my body, my choices, and my freedom all belong to me. But this…it’s not something I learned. It just happened. I don’t know when, and I don’t know how, but what I do know is that I would be honored to fight side by side with anyone in this cave.
I nudge a broody Cayden in the side, wiggling my elbow a little. “Come on,” I mutter. Saskia beams at me, and I return her smile. I look up at him. He’s still scowling but struggling to hold it firm. He faces the ceiling of the cave and lets out a groan.
“You’re so annoying,” Cayden mutters to me. “Ryder, I hope you brought extra food because you ate all of mine on the last mission.”
“Hold on…this isn’t just an ordinary mission; this is a heist,” Finnian declares.
“The greatest heist in all of history,” Saskia adds.
“We’ll solidify your entrances into the castle when we get closer and can see their—”
“Wait,” Cayden cuts me off as I was talking about the guard rotations. “Where does everyone think you are? You were our cover.”
“I told Braxton that Saskia got sick with fever, and since we don’t want illness spreading through the camp, you and I are taking care of her with no intrusions. All correspondence is rerouted to him until she has a miraculous recovery,” Ryder says. Cayden releases a breath, most likely erasing all the images of Imirath conquering Vareveth in our absence. It’s a good cover story; it’s something so simple that nobody will look too deeply into it.
“What about you and me? What does Ailliard think?” I ask Finnian.
“He still thinks I’m guarding you, which I am. I didn’t even have to lie to be here.” He looks utterly smug, which causes Ryder to roll his eyes. “Since your rooms are conjoined, everyone can assume that you’ve been exposed as well, and myself by extension.”
Impressive, and it’s believable. As long as nothing drastic happens within the days we’re gone, we should be able to get back into Vareveth without Imirath ever knowing we left…unless we get caught, and they figure out we’re the ones freeing the dragons.
“You should all rest; I’ll keep watch,” I offer, walking closer to the mouth of the cave, but it’s much darker than I expected. The sun’s pastel pink rays have turned magenta. Realization washes over me. I whip around from the mouth of the cave and immediately zone in on Cayden. He smirks when he takes in my angry expression. I stalk over to him and hit him in the chest, “You didn’t wake me up!” He doesn’t even budge; the only thing that budges is his smirk—it gets wider.
“You never specified how long the watch shifts had to be. We never agreed on half and half, so I took it upon myself to allow one hour for me and give you the rest. I didn’t lie; you didn’t nail down specifics.”
“I’ll drink myself to death if I ever encounter someone more vexing than you.” I stalk back to the front of the cave and sit down on the cold stone. It’s a stark contrast to the warmth Cayden provided me. I fasten my cloak around my neck to block out some of the chill. “You’re going to be sleeping for more than an hour because everyone else needs their rest,” I remark.
“Finally, someone to rival your stubbornness,” Finnian mutters, stretching out his long limbs as he reclines on the cave floor. I roll my eyes as sleep quickly overtakes him. I’ve always envied his sleeping abilities. He can sleep anywhere, at any time of the day.
Cayden walks over to where I sit. “I miss blankets.” His eyes trail over my body, most likely recalling the way I draped myself over him. Thankfully, the cave is so dark that nobody can see my face redden as I glare at Cayden to keep his mouth shut.
“Just use your cloak. I miss my mattress,” Ryder mutters, half asleep already.
“There’s just something about blankets,” he sighs while sitting down. “The cloak isn’t as warm, doesn’t smell as nice.” My expression only adds to his smirk.
“I’ll bet you had a really nice blanket before you got stubborn,” I mutter, and a chuckle vibrates through his chest.
ChapterForty-One
Darkness greets the forest like a lover returning home after a long day. Its embrace is gentle yet consuming. The past few hours have been filled with nothing but silence, aside from forest creatures scurrying around. We’re far from the main path Imirath’s soldiers take, so thankfully, there haven’t been any sightings of them.
It’s so dark that I can’t even make out Finnian’s body at the back of the cave. The only one I can sort of see is Cayden, who sleeps the closest to me. I haven’t allowed myself to turn my head toward him. I’ve seen many faces of his, but there’s just something so intimate about watching someone sleep. I don’t want to know that face. Or rather, I hate that I want to, so I won’t let myself.
The first one to stir from sleep is Saskia. She sits up while groaning, and I imagine she’s rubbing the back of her neck to ease the inevitable ache that settled there. Her silhouette approaches the mouth of the cave with clumsy steps.
“Morning,” she grumbles, taking a seat across from me. “My mistake,” she shakes her head slightly, “night.”
“You can sleep more if you’re tired,” I offer.
“No,” she sighs while tying her braids together with a leather strap and leaning back against the cave wall, “I’ve exceeded my limit of cave floor for tonight.” She reaches into her satchel and pulls out a piece of bread. She tears the top of it off and pops it into her mouth.
“Have you ever been to Imirath?” I ask.
