Page 54

Chapter 54

Thevin

“ Don’t look at me like that,” Lanna grumbled, leaning one hand against the side of the castle wall with sweat beading down her face, trying to catch her breath.

“ As if you’d look at me any different,” I muttered.

“ I’m fine.” Her teeth gritted in pain as she returned weight to her right leg.

I quirked a brow. “ If this is you at fine, we’re in trouble.”

“ I have time to regain strength before Commander Ashton’s forces arrive, and we push past the Blight Line . I won’t recover that strength, however, if I do not keep training.”

“ Spoken like a stubborn ass,” I huffed.

She rolled her eyes and limped toward her tent.

I followed her inside, irritated that her blood was still splattered over everything. “ Someone from the castle is coming to get rid of this today.” I gestured to the large dark stain on her cot with a cold fear of how close she had been to bleeding out.

“ It’s fine,” she shrugged, gulping water and planting herself over the dried blood. “ If anything, it makes the tale that much more heroic. I caught several Runners sneaking in here last night to see the carnage.”

I hid my broken knuckles in my pockets and licked my split lip. “ Yes , Runners are simply awful at keeping things quiet.”

She rose a brow. “ It’s funny, you know? I saw the condition of Nym and Temmor this morning. I almost couldn’t believe that they had gotten into a fight with each other and ended up such a bloody mess.” She winked. “ Almost .”

“ Lanna ?” Sae’s voice sounded from outside the tent. “ May I come in?”

With a teasing smirk, Lanna called, “ Please do!”

Saelyn lifted the flap and stepped inside saying, “ I’ve brought you some—oh!”

Seeing me there brought a flush to her cheeks, one I certainly hadn’t seen on her face when I’d kissed her last night outside of her room until our lips were a puffy, brilliant crimson.

“ Good morning,” she said lightly, twisting her lips to the side with eyes that sparkled my way.

“ Morning ,” I returned with my own wicked grin on my lips, neither of us bothering to acknowledge Lanna’s stifled laughter.

Seeming to remember why she had come, Sae shook her head and swiveled to Lanna . Holding out a basket, she said, “ I’ve brought you some fresh linens. I’m happy to change the ones that are…soiled.”

Lanna peeked into the basket, nodding and giving her thanks.

“ I also wanted to give you this.” She pulled a dagger the size of her palm from between the fresh sheets.

Lanna took it, looking up in surprise. “ For me?”

Sae nodded emphatically. “ I heard that the hilt of your dagger broke—the one you used to kill the muri that attacked you. Details get around quickly here.”

Lanna eyed me. “ Indeed they do.” She studied the knife further, and I leaned in to admire the hilt, woven in a pattern of ivy, ending in a deep green stone.

Lanna traced the vines with her fingers, tapping the bottom. “ Is this…rhyzolm?”

“ Yes !” Sae cheered, taking a seat next to her.

I took a decent glance at the long length of her legs in the black pants she wore and did my fair share of thinking about how soft the skin of her neck had felt as I’d kissed it last night.

“ My uncle showed me a hidden staircase in the castle. It led to the old castle guards’ quarters and I found this. He said I could keep it and that it’s a sturdy dagger.”

“ Truly , it is. Thank you, Sae .” She bent forward in a wince to hug her. “ I will cherish it.”

Sae returned the embrace, laughing, “ I’d hope you’d use it!”

“ Commander Lanna ?”

We turned at the unmistakable voice of Clairannia .

“ Aren’t I so lucky for such a visit this morning,” Lanna mumbled then called, “ Come in!”

Clairannia lifted the flap, surprised to see the three of us. “ I’ve come to look at your wound and assess your state for duty.”

Lanna huffed, rubbing the side of her leg. “ Must I ?”

Clairannia held up a jar of something pink. “ And I’ve brought a salve to ease the pain and tightness of your wound.”

Lanna tilted her head side to side, deciding, “ Alright . That alone is worth it.”

Clairannia shifted closer and I held my hand out to Sae . “ Shall we? Lanna gets a little cranky if she hasn’t stabbed something in the morning.”

Sae took my hand, grinning broadly. “ I’d say she deserves to be cranky after what she’s been through.” Then noticing the split of my lip, she lifted her hand to touch it. “ What happened to you?”

“ He claims he tripped on the way back from escorting you to your rooms last night,” Lanna called, now lying back in the bed while Clairannia checked her pulse.

Sae lifted my knuckles up to the light. “ And what? You caught yourself on these?”

“ It’s odd,” Clairannia chimed in, “ Aeytah complained about similar injuries she healed from two other Runners just this morning. Though their cuts ran deeper, and I believe some broken ribs were involved.”

They all looked at me knowingly. Sae even put her hands on her hips.

I finally shrugged. “ It sounds to me like this place is a bit hazardous for despicable men.”

“ Clairannia ,” Sae huffed, “remind me of the spell to heal a split lip.”

“ Sarchio ,” she laughed.

Sae turned back to me, and I did little to suppress my grin, seeing her irritation at what I’d obviously done. I bent forward to murmur, “ Is this part of the quarter of the time, then?”

She lifted her finger across my lip, reciting the spell and healing over my skin with her white light. “ I’m so glad you can identify these times yourself, so I won’t have to point them out to you.”

“ Oh , I’d still like you to point them out to me. If only to see this look on your face.”

“ There you go again,” she retorted, but I saw the hint of amusement tugging on her mouth.

I hummed low. “ I’m starting to wonder if your estimate of only a quarter of the time wasn’t?—”

“ Do you two need a minute or something?” Lanna asked, lying back on her cot while Clairannia’s eyes darted between us, her fist at her mouth to stifle her laughter.

“ Sarchio , ” Sae finished over my hands, healing my knuckles back to their tanned coloring.

Before she could pull them away, I took her hands in mine and brought them to my lips, leaving a light kiss on her own knuckles. “ I think we’ve worn out our welcome.” I kept my gaze on her, my eyes flickering from hers of deep blue to her parted lips.

“ No ,” Sae started, “ I think it’s just obvious we do need a minute.”

Lanna roared in laughter, calling, “ It really is about damn time.”

Clairannia rose from the cot, shooing us out of the tent. Hand -in-hand we sprinted back to my own tent where, as soon as the flap was closed, I had my lips on hers. She ran her fingers behind my neck, and up through my hair as I kissed her gently, avoiding falling into the passion we’d shared kissing outside of her rooms the night before. We had neither the time, nor place for anything else.

I delighted in the new sounds she made. Light moans of her breath caught in her throat as I wrapped my arms around her back and along her sides, pulling her up to me.

“ My mother is waiting for me to return for training,” she mumbled, breathless between bouts of her bottom lip pulling at mine.

“ I should already be back on the field in Lanna’s place,” I mentioned casually, nipping at her chin in return.

“ Then it’s best we spend our day as we must.” She tilted her head back to look me in the eyes. “ But I promise, you will see me again at the end of this day. For all your days.”

I chuckled, pulling her in to kiss one more time. “ That is a promise I insist you keep.”