Page 134 of A Tale of Ice and Ash
Night came all at once and far too quickly, the silence of the camp as loud as a waterfall. Unending. Crushing. She could not sleep. The dark had edges, the cold blistering and overwhelming.
She gave up after an hour and tip-toed into the tent Cole was sharing with the rest of the rebels, feeling especially grateful he’d not been shoved in with any of the dwarves. Onyx would have been on her like a cave crawler the minute she’d crossed the threshold.
She crept towards Cole’s bunk and crouched down by his side. He was barely visible beneath the piles of furs, with only a single cheek exposed to the air. As much as she wanted him awake right now, she also just wanted to watch him, felt like she could pass hours just fixating on each perfect curve of his face.
She should probably tell him that, shouldn’t she?
There was so much she wanted to tell him...
“Cole,” she whispered. “Can you wake up?”
He said nothing, and she was worried about raising her voice any higher. She stroked his cheek. He moved slightly under her touch, but didn’t rise.
She bent forward and kissed him, deepening the kiss until he started to press back. A hand slid from the blankets and gripped the back of her head, pulling her closer. He murmured something against her lips.
“Snow,” he said, a lot more intelligibly, “am I dreaming?”
“No,” she said. She glanced around them. “Would you… would you come with me?”
Cole’s eyes were large and intense. “Of course,” he said. He pulled on his boots without another word, wrapping his cape over his shoulders and taking her hand all too readily as she steered him outside and back to her own tent. He said nothing as she sat him down on her bunk and turned to face him, her fingers still laced in his.
“I’m sorry for waking you,” she said.
“It’s all right. Is something the matter?”
“No. I just… I didn’t want to be alone tonight, and… and there’s no one I’d rather be awake with than you. Sorry. That’s selfish–”
“No, it isn’t,” he said. “I’m actually rather honoured. There’s no else I’d rather be awake with, either.” He stroked a lock of hair behind her ear. “No one else I’d rather be with at all.”
Eirwen leaned across and kissed him, moving her hands to his cheeks as his arms slid around her waist, gathering her closer.
“Stay with me,” she said.
“Tonight?”
Always, always, always.“Tonight,” she confirmed, and slid her fingers down towards where his shirt parted. “Stay with me tonight and… andbe with me.”
Cole’s throat bobbed. He looked slightly nervous. “Are you sure this is… the right time?”
“It might be the only time.”
“I don’t think I can bear that to be the case.”
“Me neither.” Her throat grew tight. “I don’t think… I’m not sure if…”
“What?”
“I don’t think any amount of time with you would be enough,” she said, with some difficulty. “But I don’t want to waste what we have. Please. Stay with me.”
Cole kissed her, long and hard, and she slid easily into his lap. “I picked up the proper, er, precautions,” he said. “Earlier in the week. Just in case. Slightly presumptuous, I know, but if you want to–”
“I want to.”
“We’ll have to keep the noise down.”
Eirwen felt warm for the first time in days. “I’m not entirely sure how it all goes.”
Cole grinned. “Luckily for you, I’m an excellent teacher in that department. I don’t mind showing you the ropes.” He placed his hands against her waist. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
