Page 87 of Thorns & Fire
Wren didn’t turn around.Instead, she wrapped a bandage around her arm and hastily pulled her sleeve down.‘Don’t you ever knock?’
‘Not when I feel—’ He cut himself off.
‘Feel what?’Wren demanded.
‘Nothing,’ he bit out.‘It smells like blood in here.’
Another wave of dizziness washed over Wren, and she tried to subtly brace herself against the workbench.‘You don’t say,’ she replied dryly.
The Bear Slayer stalked towards her, taking in the crimson-filled vials.‘Furies save me, tell me this isn’t all yours.’
‘It’s not all mine,’ she echoed back without hesitation.
‘Horseshit.’Torj shook his head, his eyes alight with fury as he turned to her.‘This must be, what – two pints?’
‘Hardly—’
‘Don’t do that,’ Torj snapped.
Wren blinked.They had argued countless times before, across the span ofyears, but there was a note in his voice now that was unfamiliar to her.‘What?’
‘Be reckless with yourself,’ he replied, his tone dark with anger.‘You are too valuable, too important to take risks like this—’
‘It’s part of my work,’ she retorted, her own rage bubbling to the surface.‘What would you say if I told you not to fight monsters, not to wield that hammer of yours?’
‘That’s different.’
An exasperated noise escaped her, and had she not needed the support of her workstation, she’d have thrown her hands up in the air as she demanded, ‘How?’
‘It just is,’ he said stubbornly.
‘A stellar argument there, Warsword—’
‘Don’t push me,’ he warned.
‘Or what?’she taunted, folding her arms over her chest, trying not to wince as she brushed the tender spots at the crooks of her elbows.‘How is it different?’
‘Because I’m expendable!’he blurted.
Wren’s mouth fell open and she stared at the man before her.‘Is that what you think?’
Torj shrugged, but the movement was forced.‘It’s true.If something happened to me while I was performing my duties, there would be no lasting consequences for the world.There are more Warswords now, plenty of people to take my place.But you?If something happens to you while you’re taking stupid risks with yourself...’He shook his head, cursing under his breath.
Wren’s magic was restless beneath her skin like never before.It tended to flood to the surface when her emotions were high, when her mental energy was depleted and, most often, when Torj wasnear.She did her best to ignore it, to stamp it out.She couldn’t afford to lose control; she couldn’t afford another split in her focus – but his words...They broke her.
‘You’re not expendable,’ she said quietly, her gaze meeting his.‘Not to me.’
It didn’t matter how angry he made her.It didn’t matter that he’d broken her heart, or that he was hiding things from her.Not in this moment.For a world without the Bear Slayer was a world she wasn’t interested in.
She closed the gap between them, taking his hands in hers.‘Don’t youeverthink that,’ she told him fiercely.
Torj’s expression guttered.She recognized the grief as though it were her own.Something tugged inside her chest: an ache, a yearning that felt bone-deep,soul-deep.For a second, Wren thought she saw a flicker of gold in the air—
‘Do you know what it’s like to want someone so badly you can’t breathe?’
The words were raw and desperate, bleeding with pain.
‘And to know that no matter what, you can’t have them?They can never be yours?’
