Page 113 of A War of Three Kings

“I won’t. Not anymore.” My grandmother pulls away and stalks from the room.

I am left watching Aldrin as he gently pours wine from a goblet between Drake’s parched lips while his eyes slowly blink open. I am flooded with love for this man who fights for his people with brutal ferocity, and is also capable of such gentle kindness.

Chapter 29

Keira

We leave Windkeep Stronghold in pursuit of Finan’s army the next day. The long column of our force exits the city gates and travels five warriors abreast across the meadows beyond, like a dark snake marring the landscape. Even the birdsong has disappeared under the indistinct rumble of so many boots striking against the road and the clamor of their plate armor.

Caitlin’s horse whickers as she rides up beside me, my own tossing its mane. “Are you ready?”

I glance to my father and Aldrin at the head of our troops, wearing matching scowls as they look out to the west, where our enemy tries to sneak past us to Wenchwick Hold. There is such little evidence of their march from our position.

“It is hard to leave them when I know they will be riding into battle again.” I clench my reins hard. “They will be on the enemy’s tail by nightfall.”

“And we will meet them on the battlefield with the fae reinforcements Cyprien musters. If our plan is to succeed, if we want to trap the enemy in our pincer attack, we must part fromthe main army now.” Caitlin rests a hand on her swollen belly. An extra panel has been sewn into her boiled leather armor to accommodate the growing baby, and it now has two rows of buckles across her torso.

“Let me say goodbye.” I spur my mare forward and dismount before she completely stills as I reach Aldrin.

A huge smile grows on his face, lighting up his amber eyes as he holds open his arms and I race straight into them. It feels like coming home. I wrap my arms around his neck and he squeezes me so tight I can hardly breathe, but all I need is his body close to me and his scent embracing me. Aldrin’s lips crash against mine, forcing my mouth open and sliding his tongue inside.

I feel like I am falling and falling, my heart swelling so much it almost hurts.

I don’t care that we are on display as the entire army crashes past. My fingers slip into his hair, half pulled back in a knot, and across the clean-shaven skin of his cheeks. He manages to get a hand under the boiled leather skirt of my armor and squeezes my ass before we pull apart, panting.

I place my hands on his chest and peer up into his face. “Stay safe, Aldrin. My heart couldn’t handle it if you were injured again.” I run my fingers along the lines of his breastplate, all the way to the tips of the spikes on his shoulder guards, becoming very interested in the fae runes engraved in them. “All I want in this life is you. To love you and live for you, without some villain coming along to tear us apart.”

Aldrin tips my chin back up. “I will give you more than that, dear heart. We will conquer these enemies, in this realm and my own, and you will live a life befitting a queen. You already hold my heart in your fist, but I will give you my titles, my wealth and my power. You will want for nothing and never doubt your value.”

I choke out a half laugh, half sob. “Your heart is enough for me, though I do like the promise of the blood of our enemies.”

Tearing myself away from him when we both march toward so much death is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

“I will find you on the battlefield,” I promise, still gripping his hand.

Aldrin runs his calloused fingers over my palm. “I will find you on the battlefield, dear heart.”

I glance up as trotting hoofbeats approach us, expecting Caitlin to be hovering over me like a storm cloud. Instead, my father stares down at us with a slight frown pinching his features and glassy eyes he tries to blink away. He came from Caitlin’s direction.

“Come on, Keira. It is time for you to go,” he says gruffly. “Your display is going to make my hardened soldiers weep for their own partners.” He dismounts in a smooth leap and pulls me into a bone-crushing hug that makes me feel like I am five years old again. “And take care of your sister.”

All three of us turn to Caitlin, spans away, where she is in a yelling match with Gwyneth, the words not quite decipherable.

“Gwyneth, back to your station!” my father commands across the distance, and the Captain of the Protector Guard jolts straight, gives Caitlin one last scathing look, then rides off. Caitlin runs a hand across her face to mask her expression, composing herself.

I give Aldrin one final peck on the lips, disentangle myself from his hands and mount my horse. My heart flutters wildly with fear and the anticipation of loss. When I turn back, my father and Aldrin have already returned to the head of their army, disappearing into the distance.

“Are you okay?” I ask Caitlin.

Hard emerald eyes flick to me. “Other than my murderous rage? Sure. Why wouldn’t I be pissed off that my life partner decided to fight me instead of kiss me on the eve of battle?”

I give her a sidelong glance as we trot our mounts side by side, my heart aching for her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She huffs out a long breath. “It’s always the same old argument, Keira, and I tire of it.” Caitlin gallops ahead of me, and I give her the space she needs.

Our band of five hundred cavalry waits for us, their armor and the tips of their weapons glinting under the sun. Caitlin is already laying down her orders by the time I join them.

“We have selected the strongest riders and best archers to join us in this covert mission,” she says, and many of the soldiers straighten under her praise. “It is going to be a hard ride over difficult terrain, much of it done at speed. Our task is to skirt around both armies and get ahead of them.”

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