Page 25 of The King's Man
Shit.
I took a deep breath and stepped back, giving the man room. But unrelenting warning in my eyes.
Jhonas blinked and looked around, obviously remembering that we had an audience. He raised his chin and nodded, tugging down on his uniform jacket. “Of course. Thank you for the message. No one wants Lady Istral safe more than me,” he muttered.
I huffed, but kept my mouth closed after that, turning to Diadre instead. “If they aren’t here, we should keep going. Are you ready?”
She looked sad, but nodded and took the bags I handed to her, slinging them over her shoulders so they fell across her chest. But her brother balked.
“You should both stay for the night. Rest. Eat. Leave tomorrow.”
“No,” I snarled at the same moment Diadre shook her head at her brother.
“You take our horses. We’re flying from here. We’ll be at the Palace tonight—or tomorrow morning at the latest.”
Jhonas’s eyes narrowed. “Flying? What do you—”
“I’m ready,” Diadre whispered, stepping up to stand between my toes with her back to me.
Grimly, I wrapped both arms around her and under the bags, manifested my wings, launching straight up and into the mists as the Fetch men shouted alarm.
I could feel her quivering as I pushed up and over the tree-canopy, but I couldn’t resist a wicked grin down at Jhonas as he leaped forward to grab for her far too late.
9.Let Them See
~ DIADRE ~
Once the trees disappeared into the mists under our feet, I discovered that flying in the fog was less frightening than open air. With the mists closing around us it never felt like we were so horribly high up. Of course, it was also freezing. For the first time I was grateful for Jann’s thick arms and body behind mine. They kept me warm. But I still shook—with anger.
Fucking Jhonas.
He might have supported my rise in the ranks, but he wouldneverstop being my brother. He was usually much better at treating me like a Captain in front of the troops. But he was stressed about Jann and the Neph in general, and when I’d told him about Gall and Istral it had only made himmoreconcerned that they had nefarious plans for me and Yilan.
His barking and coming after me like I was a child wasembarrassingwhen the men watched it. It lowered their view ofme as a commanding officer.
And itpissed me the fuck off.
“Easy,” Jann murmured, his voice was warm and soft… like I was an anxious horse?
“I’m fine,” I muttered.
He chuckled in my ear. “You, my dear, are far from fine. Why do women always use that term when they don’t mean it?”
“Because Idomean it. Iamfine—to handle this alone, without some arrogant, male bullshit,” I said through my teeth.
He flew on silently for a few minutes except for a few, brief questions about the direction he should take to bring us out of the fog as close to the Palace as possible.
Even though it was strangely awkward beingheldby Jann, I did take the time to breathe deeply and work on letting my anger go. To remind myself that Jhonas was only worried for my safety.
After a few more minutes, I groaned and wriggled in Jann’s arms, trying to avoid thoughts of how high we must be, and how he could fly meanywherein the mists, and I wouldn’t know until it was too late. That made fear jangle in my veins. And that made me squirm. A motion Jann clearly took as my continued agitation with my brother.
“You know, ten years ago when I was rising in the ranks—”
“I’m aCaptain, Jann. I, too, had my first promotion almost a decade ago,” I ground out. “Please stop speaking to me as if I am a child who has been petted and made to believe I was important. I haveearnedmy rank.”
Jann didn’t answer right away. Then he cleared his throat and spoke in that measured voice again. I rolled my eyes, but was soon lost in his story.
“I was almost twenty-five the first time I had to take orders from a childhood friend. A friend who’d always followed me, striving to beat me. And until that year, I had taken pride in that.I didn’t lord it over himtoomuch. But I enjoyed teasing him. Until the day he was promoted and suddenly I was standing for roll, and he was barking the orders thatIhad to take. It was… humbling.”
