Page 69 of Tales of Fire and Embers

“The soldiers must be close to the king and their court, which means that their quarters are in close proximity, maybe the same distance as this room.”

“So what are the options?” I asked, not understanding where he was going with this.

“I can either become the soldier they want me to be, play my part just like Marreth does and fool everyone into accepting my loyalty, I get assigned to the quarters and search for the entrance.”

“Or?” I asked, hoping that the other alternative was much quicker. It could take months for Ansgar to gain their trust again, years maybe, if it would ever happen at all, after the killing spree he had been on these past days.

“Or we become part of the court.”

“What?” I jumped up, trying to rearrange the sounds he had just released into a sentence that made more sense.

“They still need information from me, I could negotiate for shelter and safety.”

“What makes you think they will believe it? They tried to gain information from you since they brought you here, why would they think you want to negotiate now?”

“Your presence here changes everything and they know you are my mate. Any male would give up his all to protect his better energy.”

My heart fluttered at the words,his better energy. His starlight. Gods, how I loved this man!

“From inside the court, we can get information. Speak to Marreth. And Rhylan.” He pressed the words, waiting for a reaction on my end. And it came quicker than expected.

“Rhylan? I don't want to speak to that son of a bitch ever again. That bastard kept you here, tortured you, and let me believe you were dead. Also, he fucked Cressida and played with her heart. I hate him!” I raised my voice, finding the most adamant tone I probably ever had.

“He doesn’t hate you, though,” Ansgar murmured, his words soft and barely audible, the opposite of my immediate burst. His tone sounded calm and calculated. “For some reason, Rhylan cares about your safety. You said it yourself, he made sure you don’t faint, he confronted the king in front of the court, he came to stop you from entering my cell, worried that I would hurt you, and now he gave us two days of recovery, food, shelter, and safety. Don’t make the mistake of thinking any of this is for my benefit. Were it not for the fact that I am your mate, he would have probably killed me by now.”

I shook at the words, at the realisation, understanding how close Ansgar had been to real death. I remembered Rhylan telling me about the change of plans, changing the date of our trip. He must have done it so I could find Ansgar before anything happened to him.

“What does Rhylan want with me?”

“That’s something we need to find out, fahrenor,” my prince gripped my fingers in his own and lifted them to his mouth, placing a small kiss on my shaking hands.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The best sleep of my life happened with Anwen in my arms. I could hardly believe that the goddess returned her to me, yet here she was, her wavy hair curling on my arm while her hands grabbed my chest, like a cub holding on.

We took it in turns, she cared for me that first day and let me sleep, cleaned my wounds, and guarded me throughout what seemed like a very delirious healing state. According to her words, I drank four Cloutie tees, but I could only remember having a few sips from the very first one and falling into a deep sleep. Her version of the events turned out to be quite different though. Anwen said I twitched and twisted in bed, woke up shouting several times, haunted by whatever dreams weighed heavy on me, and had to be spoon-fed like a babe, because I could barely swallow the food, let alone take it to my mouth. I apologised several times for the state she must have seen me in, but she waved it off like it was nothing.

“After being in a room full of dead bodies with you the night before, it felt like a blessing, honestly,” she said, eyes averting from mine. I hated myself for being in that state, for letting her see me like that and suffer the consequences of my demons, knowing that I would spend the rest of my life if I had to, trying to make it up to her.

The fact that she still wanted me after all she’d seen was a miracle in itself, I couldn’t even imagine how all of this would be perceived through the eyes of a human female, untrained for battle, who probably never experienced bloodshed. I was surprised and proud of her resilience, the strength she had displayed during these days, and the determination with which she wanted to fight for us, for our escape.My mate.

I caressed her soft skin and admired the features that for once looked tranquil, no hidden emotion haunting her thoughts. I let her sleep for the rest of the night, or until the guards decided to barge in on us and fulfil whatever command they had to execute, while I squeezed my mind for every bit of strategy and planning advice I could recall from my years of training.

“Come to bed,” Anwen murmured, probably awoken by the movement of my fingers along her neck.

“I am in bed,” I whispered back to her, placing my hand on her hair and stroking her scalp the way I knew she liked it. My lips curled in satisfaction at her sleepy moan, enjoying the new sensation. In the span of a few minutes, she fell back to sleep, turning to the side to give me better access to her wild hair.

I had to get her out of here. My instinct urged me to break down the door, to do whatever necessary to get her free, set fire to this place if I had to, whatever to keep my mate safe. But the startled expression on her face, the rasp pants caused by her panic in the cell told me that even though she proved to be strong, Anwen could not endure more of this. That I had to find another way, as peaceful as possible and that she would need time to heal after all this.

My brothers and I had suffered through many anatomy and human society lessons to know that their emotions remained as frail as their bodies. The tutor compared them to a shaken bottle of mead, the tap could contain the liquid for a while, but in the end, it had to burst out, making more mess than if released slowly in the first place.

I feared this happening to Anwen, all the fear she kept hidden, masqued by the bravado my mate struggled to portray. I did not know how much longer she could do it for, but one thing was certain, I had to be there and make sure that whatever way the liquid burst, the bottle would not break.

I grabbed her tighter in my arms and squeezed her tenderly, feeling all the longing and yearning dissipate as she rested in my arms, reclaiming her rightful place. I breathed her in, the soft aroma of her hair, which even after days of captivity still managed to keep a pleasant scent, the way her fingers moved from time to time, twitching lightly in her sleep. Goddess, how I loved her. I let myself drift away in the embrace, craving that union, that bond that exploded between us.

A knock on the door made Anwen jump in my arms, and I jolted along with her.

“You have a minute to get dressed,” a cold voice announced from behind the iron door, which I immediately recognised as Rhylan.Anwen watched me through sleepy eyes, blinked a few times, and settled herself back on my shoulder to fall asleep again. I always loved that about her, how she could fall asleep in an instant, sometimes walking up and not remembering what happened during the minutes she was awake.

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