Page 68 of Silver & Smoke
She didn’t know how long they rode for. Without sunlight filtering through, there was little way to tell the passage of time. All she knew was that her legs ached and her back was painfully stiff. Wren had never taken this route to Delmira; according to Thea, only she and Wilder knew of it – and Kipp, by his own admission. She wasn’t surprised at the latter. He had a way of navigating the midrealms that hardly anyone understood. Underground passageways between taverns, endless connections... A mountain pass was probably child’s play to the strategist.
At last, Wren spotted the faint rays of light illuminating the end of the tunnel and silently thanked the Furies. As she exited, she took in a deep breath of fresh air and looked to the stretch of land before her. Gilded in the burnt orange hues of dawn or dusk – she didn’t know which – was Delmira.
‘Holy shit,’ she heard Thea exclaim nearby.
Sloping hills covered in verdant grass and vibrant wildflowers paved the way into the kingdom, and a sapphire-blue lake glimmered on the horizon.
‘The view’s beautiful, isn’t it?’ Wren turned, searching for her sister, but met the sea-storm gaze of Torj beside her instead.
‘Yes,’ he said, not taking his eyes off her. ‘It is.’
Her cheeks grew hot beneath the intensity of his stare, her traitorous mind taking her back to those images he’d shown her. His lips twitched upwards, as though he knewexactlywhat she was thinking about.
‘Made an impression on you, did it?’ he asked quietly. ‘That’s good to know, Embers.Verygood to know.’
Before she could reply, Torj was riding to the head of the army, addressing the company that had gathered at the foot of the mountain. ‘We’ll camp here tonight and establish our first garrison. When we depart tomorrow, we’ll leave a skeleton unit of shieldbearers behind until we can afford to send reinforcements.’
Wren watched as the Bear Slayer moved through their forceswith authority, directing his fellow Warswords and soldiers to set up tents and create defensive perimeters.
‘We can use the mountain tunnel as a supply route from Thezmarr,’ she heard him tell one of the commanders. ‘But it needs constant patrols.’
No one questioned him. Here, Torj Elderbrock was in his element. The most senior Warsword remaining among them, more than familiar with the challenges of unknown territory, limited resources and the threat of attack. It was what he had been trained for all his life. Had Wren forgotten that somewhere along the way? That he was more than a protector?
As she and Dessa set up the medical tent, she kept stealing glances at him. Commanding, disciplined and efficient, Torj had everyone marching to the beat of his drum, and there was something incredibly...powerfulabout it, something erotic. Wren blamed the Bear Slayer for the way her thoughts kept coming back to the physical side of things. His offered distraction had a lasting effect, resulting in an ache that had settled low in her belly.
‘He’s quite impressive, isn’t he?’ Dessa commented, following her gaze across the camp to where Torj was using his war hammer to secure a tent to the ground.
‘He is,’ Wren agreed. ‘I was just thinking... We’ve seen him fight, we’ve seen him defend, but this...’
Dessa nodded. ‘We haven’t seen him lead. Was this what he was like in the war?’
‘I suppose he was,’ Wren replied. ‘Though it’s not the thing I remember most.’
‘Oh? What do you remember?’
‘How he irritated me no end. How he was overprotective. How he gave me my first proper pair of secateurs. How he walked into a tent pole at the sight of me in armour for the first time. It’s the little things I remember...’ Wren sighed heavily as Darian approached them, and she saw Torj’s shoulders tense, even from afar. ‘What can I do for you?’ she asked the nobleman.
Darian motioned to the forces building campfires. ‘I thought the question was what I could do for you.’
‘You know I am grateful for your support,’ Wren told him. ‘How are you progressing with the legalities and paperwork on your end?’
‘More complications, I’m afraid,’ he said, glancing across to where Lord Lucian held court with Lord Briar and Lord Pendelton. ‘My father proves to be three steps ahead when it comes to my inheritance, as always.’
‘Well, when you’re ready, I’m a woman of my word,’ Wren assured him.
‘Of that I have no doubt,’ the nobleman replied. ‘In the meantime, I think it’s best we mingle with our supporters, don’t you?’
Wren nodded stiffly. ‘I suppose you’re right.’
Darian offered his arm. ‘There will come a time where all of this is behind us. But for now, we need to present a united front. We need to woo them, assure them they will have our favour as a royal house when the war is done.’
Wren accepted his arm and whispered, ‘And when they discover this has all been a ruse?’
‘You will have won them a war, and it won’t matter,’ Darian told her.
‘I’m not sure they’ll see it like that.’
‘Probably not,’ he admitted. ‘But that’s all we’ve got for the moment. If they’re not supporting us and our union, there’s every chance they’ll go to Silas.’
