Page 102 of Silver & Smoke
‘I’ll take that as a compliment,’ Kipp replied.
‘I don’t think it was meant as one,’ Torj told him.
But to his dismay, murmurs of agreement sounded all around him, and before he knew it, he was watching as Wren mounted her horse and looked out over the lands before them. She took his breath away, fierce and fearless in her armour, the jagged scar at her throat peeking out from beneath. Her belt of potions and poisons was secured around her waist, while her hands were steady on the reins, her chin held high.
Alchemist. Poisoner. Queen.
‘Bear Slayer,’ she commanded, seeming to sense his attention, ‘my army is yours to command. When you see my signal, you will take Dorinth in my name.’
For a moment Torj stared at her.Thiswoman...Mywoman...For the first time in his long, battle-ravaged life, he feltworthy.Of the time he’d been given, and of her.
Gods, he wanted to go to her, to take her face in his hands, to put his mouth to hers and pour everything he felt into a kiss.
Instead, he bowed before her. ‘It would be my honour, Your Majesty.’
Wren nodded, then scanned the rest of their company. ‘On my signal, then.’ With that, she motioned to Cal and Kipp, who rode out behind her.
Torj watched them go, fists still clenched at his sides.You’ll be the death of me, Embers, he called out through the bond.I can’t bear the thought of you out there alone.
Dust rose in their wake as she and the others rode away from him, but her voice came back, clear in his mind.I told you, I won’t be alone.
No? I won’t be there with you.
You’re always with me, Bear Slayer.
In answer to her words, the bond hummed between them, a golden song in the dark. If they’d been together, Torj would have pressed his brow to hers and desperately tried to breathe her in, to let the power of her settle in his bones.
Soon this will be over.Her voice wavered through their connection.And when it is, we need to talk about the future. We need to plan for all the good things...
Such as?He didn’t want to let her go, didn’t want to watch as she rode off into danger. But no man commanded Elwren Embervale, and he wouldn’t have her any other way.
Having a home of our own. With a garden. Where we can grow flowers and herbs...
When this is over, you’ll be a queen, he reminded her gently.
So a home and a garden should be more than feasible, she told him.And I want a cat.
He suppressed a groan.Not a cat... A dog.
We can argue about it later.He heard the smile in her words, along with all the promise in the world.
I will come back to you, she whispered into his mind.Always.
Torj sent an image into her mind then, of him deepening a kiss between them. He traced the line of her jaw and held her in place as his lips moved over hers, as his tongue explored her mouth, committing her taste and the hitch in her breath to memory.
You’d better,he told her as the image faded.
With a final glance towards the horizon, Torj swung himself up into his saddle and joined the others.
I love you, she told him through the bond.
The words eased something in his chest, ever so slightly.I love you too.
CHAPTER 52
Wren
‘The perfect strategy exists only in the mind; the necessary one exists only in the moment. Wisdom lies in building the bridge between the two’
