Page 88 of Oath of War
I wished I could stop him, but he continued. ‘When I saw you in the throne room, weak yet so powerful, defending your fae ... I’m sorry lara’mei, I know you can’t understand it. Some things even I can’t explain,’ he said with a tired smile before inching closer.
‘I keep asking myself if there is anything I could do to sway you, to make you give me a chance to earn everything he has—a domina who would fight for me against the odds. You can’t blame me for wanting to be a part of that.’
‘I don’t blame you,’ I muttered, flinching away when Valaram reached out to stroke my hair. ‘But you don’t know me.’
‘I want to know you,’ he said softly.
I sighed. ‘But youdon’tknow me. You see me as I am because I’m healed, at the peak of my power, bound to a dragon and twoexceptional men, but would you be interested in the drunkard who slept in the gutter and trusted no one?’ I asked.
Valaram had helped me so many times, but what he wanted was impossible.
‘You are a decent man, Val. I would like to be your friend, but my heart is taken, and nothing will sway me. That is my final answer.’
The tent flap opened to reveal Ormond’s massive figure blocking the weak sunlight.
‘Annika, I’m glad you’re awake,’ he said. ‘Ambassador, your empress is requesting your presence.’ The deep frown on his face left no doubts that he’d heard at least part of the conversation and expected Valaram to leave the tent immediately.
‘You will always have a friend in me, lara’mei,’ Valaram said, bending and kissing my knuckles before standing up and addressing Orm. ‘Ensure Lady Annika drinks plenty of water, Lord Commander. I will check on her later.’
The moment my tent’s rough fabric dropped behind Valaram, Orm was beside me, pressing my head to his chest.
‘I know he saved you, but the audacity of that fae ...’ he said, shaking his head. ‘What happened when you collapsed?’
Orm wasn’t jealous, and although I was glad, I didn’t know how to take it.
‘That’s all you have to say after a stranger declares his intentions?’
‘And you declared yours. What else is there to say? I trust you, Annika. Yes, his actions angered me, but it is howyourespond that matters, and you said all the right things.’
‘I’m being childish, aren’t I? Caring for such things when the world is burning around us,’ I said with a sigh. Before I knew it, I was sitting on Ormond’s lap while he towelled my wet hair.
‘No, love. Sometimes, our minds wander to insignificant things when reality is too hard to bear. Will you tell me what happened?’
‘The Lich King has his new body, and they used my Anchor bond with Alaric to achieve it,’ I said, biting my lip while Orm cursed behind me.
‘How is that even possible?’
‘I think Rowena did it,’ I said. ‘The other day, I think Alaric connected with me. I didn’t tell you because it didn’t feel real. I remember Ari telling me his sister was a dreamwalker—that must be how he managed it. His message, I think he said they were coming home ...’
I swallowed hard, my next words not wanting to pass through my parched throat. ‘I’m betting she tricked him into connecting to me, that ... Gods, what have they done to him?’
Orm gently sat me back on the cot before standing up. I watched his muscles bunch as he clenched his fists and took slow, measured breaths. I’d rarely seen him so unhinged, but the silent fury that radiated from his every movement was more worrying than if he’d trashed the tent in rage. When he finally turned to me, the golden rim of his irises had overtaken his eyes.
‘Is he alive . . .?’
‘I think so. I can still feel the shard of his soul.’
He was silent for a moment, his breath slowly calming down as he regained control.
‘As long as he’s alive, we can fix it. Stay here, Nivale. I will send someone to guard you. I need to tell Reynard. If the ritual is complete, an attack is imminent,’ he said, taking my hand and placing a soft kiss on the palm. ‘I’ll be back shortly, so try not to die in the meantime. I don’t think I’m strong enough to let Valaram touch you again.’
He left the tent, and I struggled over to the table where the pitcher of water promised to quench my thirst.
‘There you are.’ Katja’s voice interrupted my chaotic thoughts, and I coughed, choking on the water. ‘The commander said you were too weak to stand. What are you doing at the table?’
‘Trying to drink, but clearly, I can’t even manage that right,’ I said when I could finally speak. ‘Do you know where my dress is? I need to meet the mages.’
‘Your dress is nothing but rags. It burned off of your smoking hot body—pun intended. If you pull such a trick again, I swear I’ll keep you sedated until the end of this war. What the fuck happened, Annika? I’ve seen you in horrible shape, but that was a whole new level of awful.’
