Page 110 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
"Ow," he said, rubbing his chest where she had struck.
She rolled her eyes, though a shy grin curled at her lips.
The moment was dead. She would not kiss Laurince with Rian pretending to sleep right next to them—and doing a piss-poor job at that.
With his head propped up on his arm, Rian wiggled his brows at her.
Scoffing, Myra faced the dying fire. However, without Laurince’s hands on her, she couldn’t help but notice how cold it had gotten. Shivering, she leaned forward and held her hands closer to the embers.
Laurince scooted closer. His leg pressed against hers, his side against her side. He leaned into the crook of her neck, his breath warm against her throat. "You still haven’t answered my question," he whispered.
She shivered even more. "What question?"
His lips grazed her neck. He didn’t quite kiss her, but he was close enough for her to feel the smile that formed. He whispered his question against her neck, trailing it up to her ear. "What do you think about when you look at me?"
"If you two are going to flirt, can you at least be loud enough for me to hear so I can make fun of it later?" Rian called out. "I was left at the altar, you know. It’s only fair."
Laurince released a laugh, his head dropping to her shoulder and shaking her. The sound was so pure that it sent an overwhelming wave of bliss over her, and she could do nothing but lean into it. Lean intohim.
Laurince wrapped an arm around her and rested his chin on her head. "You should get some rest, too," he whispered.
Myra hummed in agreement, but she didn’t move. She couldn’t. Because if she moved, she was afraid that this momentwould vanish forever. Tomorrow, they would reach the castle, and the true fight would start. She wasn’t ready to face that.
Gathering her courage, she turned, her lips brushing his ear. Then she finally answered him, her words barely a whisper. "I think about kissing you."
A wide smile stretched across Laurince’s face, and he tucked her closer against him. "Maybe you should."
But she didn’t. She wouldn’t, not yet. Not while Rian was punching the air, at least.
Instead, she stayed next to Laurince for a little longer, soaking in his warmth and trying to delay the inevitable as much as she could. And perhaps hoping she would dream about what would have happened if Rian hadn’t interrupted them. If she had actually kissed Laurince.
Chapter 44
KALLIE
Even milesaway from the clearing, the air remained polluted, the smoke from the fire hanging over the area.
Kallie scanned the stretch of land. The crops across the field had long since turned into dry husks, as if the green hue had been stripped from the world. A single house sat on the property, a house where everything in Kallie’s life had changed. This place was where she had found out Terin and Fynn were her brothers, that she was the daughter of the Queen of Pontia.
Reflecting on that night and the weeks that followed, there were so many things she wished she had done or said differently. She tried to squash the what-ifs and should-haves, but it was easier said than done.
As they approached, Kallie spotted the old farmer standing atop a ladder, a utility belt hanging low on his hip. Menz stretched up and slammed his hammer against a nail sticking out of a white shutter. The hammering must have masked their approach up the walkway because, when Graeson shouted out a greeting from below, Menz jolted. He spun around, about to fall as he grabbed onto the window ledge.
Graeson rushed over to steady the ladder. "Need some help, Menz?" he called up with an apprehensive smile.
Menz barely looked at Graeson, though, his attention immediately snagging on Nyrri and Moris. His foot slipped. "W-what are they doing here?"
Kallie grimaced as Moris straightened, his wings snapping back. Maybe they made a mistake bringing Moris and Nyrri with them. They had debated about having Ellie stay with them in the woods while they explained the situation to Menz, but Graeson had brushed off their concerns, claiming Menz was easy-going enough. Apparently, he was wrong.
Not that Kallie could really blame Menz' reaction. If she had seen a man and an enormous wolf with wings approach her unannounced, she would have had some choice words too.
"Neither of them will hurt you, I promise," Graeson said, his hands raised. "You know I would never bring anything or anyone here who would bring you harm."
Menz snorted. "Tell that to my flock of sheep that was stolen the other week."
"Wait, have you seen others like them?" Graeson dropped his hands as he peered back at their group.
Menz scanned the empty fields just beyond them, then slowly nodded. "A horde of them came through town almost two weeks ago."
