Page 108 of Keeper

“Most girls would’ve settled for a love letter.”

I roll my eyes. “As if you would’ve read a love letter from me.”

Cenric’s arm tightens around me. “Maybe not then.”

Of course not. Seven summers ago, he was practically grown, and I was still a child.

“But definitely later.” He winks at me.

“Liar.”

“I’m wounded,” he says, pressing a hand to his chest. “When have I ever lied to you?”

With my index finger, I tap my chin asI pretend to think. “Well, there was that time you told me the baker’s sweet rolls were poisoned so I wouldn’t eat them.”

“That was for your own good. You would’ve made yourself sick.”

“Or the time you said there were monsters in the lake to keep me from swimming.”

He shrugs. “Also, for your own good. The current was too strong for a tiny thing like you.”

I poke him in the ribs. “I’m not tiny.”

“You’re right,” Cenric says. “You’re mini.”

I grab a pillow and smack him with it. “You’re impossible.”

The playfulness fades from his eyes as his gaze turns intense, scorching me, burning me up from the inside out. He shifts, rolling me onto my back and settling his weight above me.

My breath hitches as I look up at him. His dark hair falls forward, framing his face. The scar above his eyebrow—my scar—stands out against his skin.

My heart races as he beds me again, and I forget about everything else. It will be here later.

Right now, I just want to give myself to him. Again.

Chapter

Sixty-Two

CENRIC

The early morninglight stretches lazily over our camp as I join my fellow Bloodstone warriors. Yesterday, Gabriel and Liam led their men away from the camp to prepare for their part.

Now, it’s my turn. I gather the remaining warriors for my mission in this campaign against the rebels. Each of us has painted our faces with black ash beneath our eyes and mouths—our tribe’s traditional war paint.

Everly stays next to me as I walk through the warriors, checking to make sure everyone is prepared.

Everyone knows what is at stake today. If we fail, the rebellion will spread further into our lands, threatening our people, our homes.

But we will not fail.

We are too seasoned, too hardened, too skilled to be defeated.

My father’s sword hangs at my side—readyto quell this rebellion. My father gave it to me the day I received my first command, and it has followed me into every battle ever since.

We outnumber the rebels, and they are far less disciplined than our ranks. Their rabble is no match for true Bloodstone warriors. Soon, they will learn why our tribe’s military prowess is legendary across these lands. I will teach them that lesson at the edge of my sword.

I move to the horse corral with Everly close behind me. It’s hard not to think about last night, to not remember making her mine.

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