Page 77

‘Perhaps I’m going mad.’

It was only natural to reach for her. He hugged her to his chest, resting his chin on the top of her head. ‘I won’t let that happen.’

He felt the tension ease from her shoulders as her body relaxed against his.

Thea sniffed. ‘How would you stop something like that?’

Wilder gave her a squeeze, for his own reassurance as much as hers. ‘I’m a fucking Warsword, Princess. I can stop whatever I damn well please.’

Thea gave a broken laugh at that. ‘I think that might be wishful thinking.’

‘Apparently I’m all about that.’ Wilder helped her up, regretting the absence of her warmth instantly. ‘Let’s get out of here?’

His apprentice shivered. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

As they continued the ride, Wilder wondered if he should have asked Torj and Esyllt to permit Thea’s friends to join them. No doubt they could have made light of this dire situation; they were always laughing and carrying on like fools. He and Thea could use some of that energy right about now.

‘What are you hoping happens when we get to Delmira?’ Thea asked him out of nowhere.

Wilder kept his eyes on the trail ahead. ‘It’s a long shot, but… I’m hoping it might trigger some memories for you, or unlock a part of yourself that you buried long ago.’

‘Wouldn’t that have happened when we fought the reapers at the ruins?’

He shrugged. ‘Not necessarily. You didn’t know who you were then.’

‘I still don’t,’ she murmured, the words laced with a vulnerability he was sure she meant to hide.

‘You will.’

‘How can you be so certain? It took me over twenty-four years to discover a single fragment of the truth.’

‘You’ll get there.’

‘How?’

Gods, he wanted to tell her to trust him, that he could feel it in his bones that she would be something great; something the midrealms had never seen before. But those were not the words of a mentor. They were the words of a lover, and he was that no longer, if he had ever truly been.

Instead, he settled for: ‘A hunch, Princess.’

Suddenly, nightmares and half-wraiths were forgotten, because her answering glare at the pet name was searing. ‘That’s hardly helping me.’

Wilder rolled his eyes. ‘What do you think I’ve been doing all this time? Braiding your hair?’

Thea scoffed. ‘I’d like to see you try with those big fingers of yours.’

‘You didn’t seem to mind these big fingers when —’ He cut himself off, instantly horrified. He’d completely forgotten himself. The words had just flown out.

Thea was staring at him, her mouth slightly open.

Heat bloomed in his cheeks and he started to stammer. ‘I – I didn’t mean —’

But Thea only gaped at him a moment longer before she threw her head back and laughed. The sound was rich and deep. She actuallyclutched her stomach.

‘Here I was thinking you’d forgotten what those fingers have done,’ she said at last, grinning.

He felt a smile tug at his own lips. ‘There’s no forgetting anything with you.’

Then, because he couldn’t stand to be near her for a moment longer without touching her, without kissing her, he filled his gaze with challenge. ‘Race you to the rise?’