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My brows pulled. "Our scrimmaging?"

He opened his eyes, his gaze heady while a grin stretched over his lips. "I thought we were past that game and onto a new one." His fingers skimmed up the outsides of my thighs.

"I think you’ll lose that game, too." I grabbed his wrists, stopping his hands before they reached my hips, preventing both his advance and the advantage he'd gain by getting a hold of me.

"I don't know. It feels like I'm winning from down here." His tone dropped deep, carrying a bite.

"You do not know what winning feels like," I warned, not knowing which of us I was warning.

His brows lifted. "I don't? Are you going to show me, Sol?" He broke my grasp on his wrists and grabbed my hips, but his touch wasn't harsh. He was soft, stroking his thumbs over my hip bones, following them until they dipped below my leathers.

I barely restrained a groan. Warmth flooded through me, and it took far too long to come up with a retort. "Is this a new lesson, teacher?"

"You don't seem like you need to be taught."

I leaned forward until my chest brushed against his. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Before I realized what he was doing, he had me flipped under him again, his knees between mine, our bodies dangerously close. I existed between our joined breaths, covered in a blanket of him. A blanket of darkness.

He looked into my eyes and whispered over my lips, "I win."

"Do you?" I breathed, wrapping my legs around his hips and arching into him. He was hard. Goddess, help me.

"The rabbit is burning." He dropped his face to my neck, but only for a fraction of a second before his weight was gone.

I already missed it.

FORTY-ONE

ZARIA

Iwas so tired of travel rations, I could have cried when Nyx told me we needed to stop in a town to replenish our supplies.

The road grew lonelier the longer we were on it. Nyx was quiet, and I didn’t know if it was his concern for Kol, or a new strain between us since our tussle by the fire. I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to depend on Kol and Kiera’s company. Especially now with no one to question about Nyx’s weird behavior.

“This is a good-sized town. They have a tavern. I think we are far enough away now, so we should get a warm meal while we are here. What do you think?”

“I think yes!”

Nyx pointed at a building down the main street. “And they have a butcher. We’ve hit the jackpot. We can get more salted meat to bring with us.”

“Anything for some variety.” We rode at a slow pace, taking in the town. It bustled around us, fae going in and out of shops. We drew attention, but I guessed that was because Nyx was larger than most fae—and one of the most attractive males I’d ever seen. He would draw eyes anywhere. It wasn’t like when we went out in the capital and fae stared because of how he and Kol resembled their father. Or because they all knew he was the flyer who would be the next general. This was curiosity, not staring.

We went into the butcher and then a bakery for fresh bread, followed by the general store for more dried foods. Our packs were bursting by the time we finished, and my stomach growled. I turned to head to the tavern when a colorful display caught my attention.

I took a few steps away from where our horses were tied to look in the window of a shop. All kinds of colorful little pieces were displayed. They shone like jewels. Farther in, I watched as a female rolled out what looked like colored glass.

“What are you looking at?” Nyx said, coming up behind me, close enough that his breath was warm against my ear.

“This colored glasswork. Are they making windows?” I guessed that must be the case, but I couldn’t figure out what the little pieces were for. Maybe jewelry? I glanced back at him.

He stared, then started laughing.

“What?”

“Are you making a joke?”

“A joke? About what?” I asked, gesturing at the window. I really hoped I wasn’t hallucinating.