Page 59 of Mastering their Maiden

Aria was still, but her shoulders sagged in either relief or exhaustion as she looked around at her village. There were no Skepna left to battle. I saw a few small ones fleeing into the darkness beyond the gate; the rest lay on the ground.

“I wanted…”

Her voice was soft, breathless and weary, eyes still fixed on where Hoval lay on the ground. “I wanted to ask him why.”

I pursed my lips. There was no reason he could give her that would justify his actions. No answer would be sufficient enough. I knew that, and suspected Aria did too, but she still sucked in a breath and her expression twisted in pain. She exhaled roughly and reached up, dragging her knuckles across her cheekbone to wipe away sweat. Maybe dirt. Or tears.

I turned around to see a few Kavari soldiers dragging Skepna bodies into a pile while others waited with torches in hand. Already they’d erected a makeshift pyre, and even though my men were tired from battle, they worked quickly. If we didn’t, this earth here would be completely poisoned by morning.

I kept Aria close to my side and let the other three bark out orders. They were better at it anyway. Half of our forces focused on the pyre, the other began to tend to the wounded. There were plenty of injured Kavari, but no injured women or children. They were all safe. I saw Aria’s friend Summer assure her of that with a nod from across the square. Makan and Kaze were by her side, hands constantly on her waist as they helped the women gather supplies so they could take shelter in the barracks for the night.

Just a fortnight ago Makan called Aria that foul name. Now he was guarding Summer and her little boy like he’d die if anything happened to them. I credited Kaze and Ellis with getting him out of Ryne’s control and training him how to behave properly, but the four of them made a nice group. Just like we did.

Dex was coaching Ellis and a few others on the basics of channeling our healing powers. That way he could attend to the most severe injuries. Kaiden and Umber helped Kaze and a few others set up a place to hold the remaining Elders. There was only Elder Micah and two more. The rest had been slaughtered, victims of their own foolish planning.

Surprisingly, there had been few deaths aside from those. Rober’s body was thrown onto the pyre with barely any remorse from the men he’d once commanded. Elder Hoval’s body was placed there as well. The other Elders, and the women who’d been so loyal to him, were all silent when the fires were lit.

It wasn’t until smoke was rising into the night sky that Aria finally spoke.

“It feels too… simple.”

We were watching from a distance, the other villagers and Kavari closer to the fire. My girl made no move to join them, staying in my one-armed embrace without any struggle. Her expression was tight, confusion tugging at her features along with sadness. I squeezed her tightly, keeping my eyes on her beautiful face and simply waiting for her to speak. To let out the thoughts I knew were swirling in her clever head.

“He deserved worse,” she added after a few more minutes of silence.

“Worse wouldn’t have changed anything,” I said, bending to press a kiss to her shoulder. I could tell by the set of her mouth she didn’t like my reply. My girl wanted her vengeance, and the Skepna stole it from her hands.

Aria let out a slow breath, then wiped the front of her tunic off. My arm was still around her waist, but she pushed me off when I went to kiss her shoulder again. I gave her a curious look, but her face flushed, and her eyes immediately darted away.

“Why did you come running over here anyway?” she asked. Demanded. “You should have been helping the others.”

I raised my eyebrows, taking a moment to consider her question because the answer was obvious. “There was another Skepna behind you.”

“I had it handled.”

I blanched, looking at Kaiden and the others, who were still standing by the square. They hadn’t seen what happened and could offer me no backup now. “You were distracted with Micah.”

She stared at me, firm in her belief that she’d had everything under control. “Aria. That thing would have killed you.”

Her wince of fear was barely noticeable, but I knew her face well enough to spot it.

“I was fine. I had it handled.” She started to walk away, shoulders hunched, then straightening with that stubborn pride I was so familiar with. “I didn’t need your help.”

Irritation simmered in my chest as I stalked after her. Brave girl. Selfless girl. Foolish girl. She was just being contrary to be contrary at this point, practically stomping like a child in her effort to get away from me. Her fingers tightened around the bow still in her hands, and even from a few feet away, I could feel the tension rolling off her body. Unspent energy, overwhelming thoughts.

Aria was like Kaiden. I’d noticed this more than once. Fiercely loyal, infinitely devoted, endlessly affectionate when you got close to him. But he was stubborn and closed off sometimes. And when things didn’t go his way, he’d get pissed and pick a fight, or find someone to spar with.

And with the way Aria stormed away from me, too overwhelmed with grief and rage and an unsatisfied need for vengeance, I knew exactly what she needed. Someone to fight with that would be able to withstand her rage.

I was more than happy to be her punching bag.

“No, you don’t need my help.” I picked up my pace, making sure I was right behind her when I spoke the next sentence. “You just need me to fuck the stubbornness out of you.”

I noticed the flush on her cheeks a hair’s-breadth before she whirled around, rage and defiance dancing in her blue irises. “I should have shot you in the woods!”

“You have the chance now,” I challenged.

“You’re not worth the arrow.”

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