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Landers stepped forward, brushing his knuckles against my cheek as he swept a section of curls over my shoulder.

“We are safe, Hyacinth.Youare safe.”

I let out a huff of air and pressed my cheek into the palm of his hand. “I’m going to talk to Pri again. I really don’t like her out there, all alone.”

“She is not alone,” Landers said, sitting down on the end of the bed and leaning back onto the palms of his hands, the muscles on his bare chest flexing with the movement.

“You know what I mean.” I crossed my arms over my chest, pushing my lips together in a hard line.

“Come here.” He reached his hand out to me and I looked at it, releasing a long breath as I intertwined our fingers and let Landers pull me toward him. He swept his arms behind my knees and pulled me onto his lap. Straddling him, I let my nails scratch at the back of his head as his fingers kneaded into my thighs.

“You have every right to worry—I understand why you do—but my wards will hold. They will give us a warning if anyone tries to break into Locdragoon.”

I nodded, my forehead falling to his. With a sigh, I responded. “I’m exhausted. I think Nithra’s goal in training today was to kill me.”

Landers chuckled as I rolled off his lap and onto my back, the blankets rustling underneath me as he began to unlace my boots.

“I see she failed. So you must be learning something.”

I scoffed. “Learning that puke tastes just as bad mid-air.”

“Lucky for us, you have those beautiful wings to break your fall,” Landers said, a grin spreading across his face as his fingers slid up the length of my legs and hooked underneath my waistband. I lifted my gaze to his and raised my hips, his greeneyes dancing in the firelight as he pulled my leathers down my thighs, letting his thumbs caress my skin with the movement.

My magic flared at Landers’s touch, light radiating out of me. A deep chuckle left his throat as he placed his lips on the top of my foot, planting a trail of soft kisses up my legs, over my hips. and onto my stomach.

My head flew off the bed as he pulled away and I propped myself onto my elbows. “Uhm, excuse me,my King,but your lover demands release.”

Landers laughed, the sound so beautiful against the quiet night air.

“You need rest, Hyacinth. You have not slept more than a few hours in days.”

“No, what I need is you—now.” I raised a brow at him as he lowered himself back onto the bed and climbed over top of me. Our chests pressed together as his breath flowed through my lashes. He pushed himself against my naked thigh, the hardness of him forcing a sharp breath to fill my lungs as I stared into his eyes.

“Rest, and once you have, I promise to fuck the exhaustion back into your bones.” His voice was a low rumble as he pressed his lips against the base of my throat.

I groaned, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“I would just likeThe Storiesto know that not once have you ever listened when I’ve toldyouto rest,” I shot back as he pulled his lips from my neck and smirked.

He pushed himself from the bed and walked over to the desk in the corner of our bedchamber, leaning against the ledge. Propping myself onto my elbows, I watched as he ran a hand through his hair then crossed his arms over his chest.

“Taft is not giving us anything,” he said with a deep sigh as his hands fell to clench the edge of the desk. My stomach plummeted as I pushed myself fully upright.

I knew what they had been doing to him in the dungeons all these months—the torture that was inflicted on him in an effort to retrieve information. Every time Landers or Elric had pushed and bled him for information, the only response they ever received was a request to see me.

“Do you really think he knows anything more than what he told us the night he came here?” I asked.

“I do,” Landers said, nodding as he ran a hand down his face. “He is hiding something, and though I believe his greed and jealousy played a role in his betrayal, I do not believe that is all there is to it.”

“I talked to Asrai,” I said with a sigh. “When Taft arrived at the academy, he would never tell her where he came from, and she’s never seen him use more than lesser magic, even when he was appointed to the War Council and his use of it was approved. He always refused to tell me where he was from, or anything about his past.” I paused, my brows furrowing. “I thought it was odd, but I just assumed it was too painful for him to speak about. Most children that ended up there had horrific beginnings, so I didn’t press him for answers.”

“I think it is time, Hyacinth,” Landers said, his gaze holding mine as my back straightened.

I knew this moment would come, knew that eventually I would have to be the one to pry the answers from Taft, but I wasn’t prepared for the rage that would flood back into me at the thought.

“We can’t just give him what he wants,” I clipped, crossing my arms over my chest. “We can’t let him control this situation.”

Landers tilted his head ever so slightly and studied me.