Page 71 of Thorns & Fire
‘Should we ask what the target might actually be?’Dessa asked.
Wren shook her head.‘If he wanted to give us specifics, he would have.I think we need to prepare a compound that can be adapted for several possibilities.We anticipate the additional step in the challenge and work accordingly.’
‘Agreed,’ Zavier said.
Dessa groaned.‘As if we don’t have enough to do with our opuses.’
‘Such is the life of an adept, Odessa,’ Master Crawford said from behind her.
Dessa flushed bright red.‘I wasn’t—’
‘Complaining?’he finished for her.‘That’s exactly what it sounded like.’
‘I—’
But the Master Alchemist had already walked away.
They didn’t get as far along as Wren would have liked, but by the time Master Crawford was dismissing them, her back was aching fiercely, and her eyes were tired and gritty.
The Bear Slayer was waiting for her outside, and Cal was waiting for Zavier.
‘You know,’ Dessa said thoughtfully, ‘it just struck me that I’m rather unimportant next to two guarded royals all the time.’
Zavier shot her a contemptuous look.‘Again, I’d trade places with you any time.’
With the rest of the afternoon free to work on their opuses, Wren, Dessa and Zavier decided to go to the archives.As they walked through the academy, Wren noted the increase in guards at the entrance and several unfamiliar faces who looked out of place in the academic setting.
‘Do they expect another attack on Drevenor?’she asked her friends in a low voice.
It was Torj who answered as they made their way up the stairs.‘Additional security measures have been taken at several key locations across the midrealms.Drevenor, being the potential birthplace of the cure for the weaponized alchemy, is being prioritized.’
‘No pressure,’ Wren muttered, rubbing the back of her neck.She was sore.Sore from being hunched over her workbench last night, sore from the uncomfortable chairs in the poisons dungeons.Her back ached, and no matter how many times she rolled or rubbed her shoulders, the pain persisted.She’d have to make a tonic when she returned to her room later.
When they reached the archives, Wren temporarily forgot the pain as she breathed in the comforting scent of parchment and leather.Having spent many of her formative years in Thezmarrwith its tiny library of warrior and military books, every time she set foot in the archives was like a dream.
Then she remembered the last time she’d been here with Torj, and her face flushed hot.
‘Did you miss me, Embers?Because I missed you...Shall I show you how much?’
He’d shown her.Thoroughly.
Wren barely registered moving through the stacks towards one of the private study rooms with her friends.She was too conscious of the Warsword at her back, the Warsword who had lifted her skirts around her hips and licked her until she saw stars.
‘I could taste you a thousand times and it would never be enough.’
A storm vibrated beneath her skin, as though her magic remembered it too.And when she glanced behind her, the Bear Slayer’s eyes were dark with desire, lost in that exact moment with her.
CHAPTER 28
Torj
‘A soul bond goes beyond an intense physical attraction.It manifests as a soul-deep instinct, almost primal in nature – to protect, to touch, to claim’
– Tethers and Magical Bonds Throughout History
WITH ONE BACKWARDSglance, Wren nearly destroyed him.Her gaze was heated, her cheeks tipped with pink, a beautiful flush blossoming down her neck.
She was thinking ofhim.He could feel it.
