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“You did amazing,” Torin assured her. Artem bowed his head in her direction, his face a little less professional than it was a few minutes ago. She smiled back at him, and then to Magin. She wondered if he’d looked at the late Empress of Air the same way he was looking at her now.

It was done. Her fate had been sealed at the hands of the Gods.

She had ascended.

She was the Empress of Air.

Torin had carried Emara back to her room in the palace after the ritual, Artem and Magin flanking him. She had tried to walk back, but her legs had failed her, and without asking, he had picked her up and started the hike back up the trail.

She hadn’t protested.

The elder had told Torin it was normal for her to be limp; he had requested a healer, but it was denied. The elder had insisted Emara would recover with a solid night’s sleep, and right now, she felt like she could sleep until the next new moon reached its cycle.

Torin lay her on the bed, and she managed to wiggle under the blankets as he pulled them up to meet her chin. Her toes tingled under the warmth of the fabric, finally feeling some heat in her bones.

After a few minutes, Lorta and Kaydence, who had also witnessed her ascension from the crowd, filed into the room. She noticed their cheeks blushing at the presence of her guards before Lorta asked, “Is there anything we can do for you, Empress of Air?” Her smile lit up the room.

“Even though I have ascended, you don’t have to call me that,” Emara said. “We are all friends here. Emara will do fine.”

“I will remind you that in the morning,” Artem Stryker cut in, a boyish grin on his face.

She wished she had the energy to strike up a feud with him, as it had been a few hours since their last, but her mind and soul requested just as much rest as her body did. So she glared at him instead.

“It’s all right,” Torin said, his face still as unreadable as when he’d carried her up the mountain. He looked over to the two girls, who now fell under Emara in ranking. “I will see to it that she gets a good night’s sleep. You girls can get some rest too.”

A snorting sound ripped through the room. “Is that what we are calling it now? A few days ago, it was falling into a waterfall, and now it's sleeping.”

Torin’s jaw tightened, sharpening his features. “She won’t be needing you as her guard tonight, either.” His tone was more threatening than amused. “You can take your leave.”

Artem looked to Emara, as did Magin and the girls. Realising they were all waiting for her instruction, awaiting her command, she nodded.

Before heading towards the door, they all bowed, wishing her well and good rest.

As the door closed, leaving them alone, Torin moved from the archway over to the bed. He took a seat at the end of it. The mattress dipped as his weight settled in, and his lips parted, a thoughtful look on his face.

But it was Emara who spoke. “Are you about to tell me that the fearless and ruthless second-in-command of the Blacksteel Hunting Clan is about to tuck me in to sleep?”

He gave a low laugh, but his eyes were still on the floor. “I am staying a little while, so I know that the magic from the ritual hasn’t gone wrong.”

Oh.

He leaned forward, placing both elbows on his knees, and Emara could see his strong muscles move under his uniform.

“I want to thank you for tonight,” she said, feeling more emotional than expected. She put it down to tiredness, but her voice was wavering with something more. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

His gaze in the crowd had steadied her before a nervous vomit crawled up her throat or her knees gave way.

The hardness of his eyes softened as he looked over at her. “Of course, you could have. You don’t need me to be strong. You were strong before you met me.”

Her stomach flipped at the sound of admiration in his voice, and she lowered her lashes.

“I have to ask—”

“Yes,” he breathed quickly, a strain lingering tight on his face.

Her brows dipped closer to her eyes. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask you.”

“Yes, I do.” He lifted his dark, thick lashes, revealing a sincere shimmer in his eyes. “You were going to ask me if I meant what I said tonight at the ascension.”