Page 132 of Wrath of the Dragons
“Immensely,” she responds, mocking my voice and sending a wave of laughter washing over everyone in the group.
I bend down to tap my finger on her lips, lowering my voice so only she’s able to hear. “Keep running that mouth, love. You’re making me think of all the ways I’d love to shut you up.”
“I’m counting on it.” Her eyes spark with a challenge, and she bites the tip of my finger before turning back to the group and snuggling into my chest.
Sorin growls when a twig snaps. “Fucking hells,” another familiar voice bites out, and Elowen calls the dragon off.
“Hello, Zarius,” she says.
“I’m only here because I want to make sure you’re not plotting without me, not because I wish to spend time with any of you,” he says, claiming an empty spot at the base of a tree. “I didn’t expect to nearly be burned alive.”
Elowen rolls her eyes. “Sorin didn’t even lift his head.”
“They can still breathe fire while lying down.”
“If it offers you any consolation, he already had his fill of goats so he probably wouldn’t have eaten you.”
Zarius’s gaze cuts to the green beast staring back at him as he drawls, “Yes, that’s quite comforting.”
“We’re not plotting without you,” Saskia states. “Friends have dinner on occasion, though I doubt you’d have experienced that given your repellent personality.”
“Ifyoufound a way to accomplish this feat, I’m sure I’ll catch on.”
Elowen hides her face in my chest to laugh, but Finnian sees her and it sets him off, followed by Ryder, because Finnian snorts like a damn pig. I wrap my arm around Elowen’s shoulders to hide my face in her hair, but Saskia still sees.
“I hate all of you,” she grumbles.
Her anger melts over the course of the night, and she laughs along with the rest of us at various jokes at one another’s expense and stories we trade. But the pile of logs disappears, and then the second, and the third. When the camp has gone quiet, the gravity of the moment weighs heavily on us all.
The flames die out, leaving only glowing embers, and the cold creeps in. A sliver of the moon hangs high in the sky, and all of us know it’s time to get some rest, but none of us moves—not Finnian, leaning against a tree; or Ryder, with an arm tucked under his head as he stares at the stars; Zale, as he finishes off his ale; Saskia, swaddled in a blanket beside me; Zarius, prodding the embers with a twig; or Elowen, with her head resting on my thigh.
“No goodbyes,” Ryder says, getting to his feet and brushing off his pants. “I’ll see all of you in the morning.” He offers a hand to Saskia as Sorin and Calithea take to the skies again, nodding to us before he escorts his sister to her tent.
“I’ll walk back with you two,” Zale says to Finnian and Zarius. “It’ll save me from the married couple.”
Finnian snorts, kissing Elowen’s forehead as he disappears into the darkness with the princes. I thread my fingers through Elowen’s to tug her to her feet and drape my arm around her shoulders, tucking heragainst my body. Soldiers cease sharpening weapons and conversing with each other to dip their heads in our direction as we stride through rows of tents to get back to ours. I part the heavy fabric for her and let it fall behind me after ducking inside. There’s nothing in here aside from a pallet of furs and a low-burning lantern, but that’s really all we need for one night.
Elowen unclasps the buckle on her coat with shaky fingers, letting the fur-lined mass of dark blue fabric slide to the floor followed by her leathers and tunic. I mirror her actions, as she slips under the furs without a stitch of clothing. I’d probably be panting like a dog if I weren’t so worried about her.
“El.”
“Hmm?” she hums, staring blankly at the canvas wall.
“Angel.” I sit beside her, gathering her in my arms, and tap the side of her head. “Don’t leave me stranded while you’re braving the storm alone.”
She sighs, tracing the markings down my neck and over my shoulder. “You’ll get tired of my ramblings one day.”
“You could read off dry political texts for hours and I’ll still be interested because I’d be watching you and listening to your voice.”
She smiles, but it’s weighed down by too many emotions. “I’m going to war against my father because of what he did to me and my dragons when I was a child, but I can’t stop thinking about the soldiers who will never go home and the grief their loved ones will suffer all because I couldn’t move on like Ailliard expected me to do.”
I quell my rage at the mention of that sick bastard and focus on her. What she needs is not a rant about how much I hated the man. “Imirath has pushed against Vareveth since before we were even born, and before I became commander, they used to regularly raid Ladislava. Many of the soldiers fighting with us now have lost immensely at the hands of Imirath.”
She nods and sucks in a deep breath. Thank the gods I’m getting better at using my words. “Maybe in another life we won’t have to fight wars. Maybe we’ll be happy and unburdened and simple.”
“I don’t want a different life with you.” I press my lips to hers. “I want this one, and after tomorrow we will be happy and unburdened and simple. I swear it. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“What doyouwant?” she asks, still tracing my markings. “What do you think of when you picture the future?”
