Page 39 of A Kingdom of Sand and Ice (Kingdom of Gods #2)

‘They’re still frozen,’ she said. ‘They saw nothing. Heard nothing.’

He retrieved a short length of rope from his belt—the kind used to restrain prisoners—and stepped forward, binding her wrists. Her smile didn’t fade. If anything, it grew, as though the rope were little more than a formality. As though it amused her.

‘You’ll be kept as a prisoner. Out of sight. If you step out of line, I’ll cut you down myself.’ Kai seized the end of the rope binding her wrists and gave it a sharp tug, drawing her forward. ‘Unfreeze them. I’m taking you to my tent. You’ll remain there. You will not wander.’

‘Oh? Do you want me all to yourself?’ she asked, her voice lilting with mockery.

Kai’s jaw clenched. She shifted again, no longer the frightened girl, nor the grieving lover, but something altogether more dangerous: amused, unbothered, entirely in control of the moment. A woman who enjoyed watching men squirm.

‘You will hold your tongue unless spoken to, witch.’

‘And how exactly do you intend to keep me quiet?’ she said, one brow arching, the challenge in her eyes unmistakable. ‘I’ve told you, I’m here to help.’

‘That remains to be seen,’ he replied through gritted teeth.

He gave the rope another pull, more forceful this time, and Dawn stumbled forward.

Her purple gaze sparked with restrained fury, her fingers twitching faintly with green light.

A heartbeat later, the soldiers around them blinked back into awareness, glancing about in confusion, trying to make sense of the gap in time.

But by then, Kai and his captive had already vanished into the shadows.

…

‘Charming little arrangement,’ Dawn muttered as Kai thrust her through the flap of his private tent. Without hesitation, she strode towards the bed and climbed onto it, sprawling with deliberate insolence.

‘Off,’ Kai growled.

‘I’m not a dog.’

‘You’re right.’ He yanked the sheets with a swift tug, sending her tumbling to the floor. ‘I respect dogs.’

She hissed, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits as she remained seated on the ground, pride dented but unbroken.

Kai unbuckled his twin hook swords and placed them just inside the entrance.

No one entered his tent without summons, and certainly never without calling out first. He had always been fiercely private, and his tent, pitched slightly apart from the others was a symbol of that.

As a commander, his strength and prowess meant he didn’t require guards standing sentinel.

In wyverian culture, such a thing would be seen not as caution, but as cowardice.

‘Tell me everything,’ he commanded, sinking into a nearby chair. ‘Are there witches still hiding in the wastelands?’

Dawn wrinkled her nose. ‘No invitation to supper first?’ she said, feigning offence. ‘How rude.’

‘Drop the performance. I want information. Without it, you’re worthless to me.’

‘I want to see Ash.’

‘Absolutely not. If you truly care for him, start by helping me.’

With a huff, Dawn cast her gaze around the tent, her purple eyes drifting languidly over the space before settling on him. When they did, Kai felt his body instinctively tense.

‘Do I make you nervous, commander?’

‘No.’

‘I smell a lie.’

‘And I smell a witch roasting if she doesn’t stop playing games,’ he snapped.

He expected her to flinch. To falter. But instead, her eyes shimmered with amusement. The ease with which she seemed to drink in his fury only served to deepen his own.

‘I’m hungry.’

‘Information first.’

She lounged back against the footboard of the bed now, deliberately arching, her back curving just so, her gown slipping slightly up her legs—long and dark and maddeningly smooth. The provocation was clear. A trap.

‘You’re not my type, witch.’

‘Oh?’ she purred. ‘Do you have a type? I can be anything you desire. I’ve heard you’re rather partial to the drakonian form.’

At that, Kai shot to his feet, rage etched into the lines of his face.

For the first time, he saw a flash of fear in her expression.

He should have felt shame, but didn’t. Instead, he drank it in like a man starved of justice.

And that terrified him more than she ever could.

The old Kai would never have taken satisfaction in watching a woman tremble.

But witches…Witches were different. And all he could think of was how easy it would be to break her neck.

‘I’ll have guards stationed outside. If you try to leave, even glamoured, they’ll hunt you down. You’ll never see Ash again. Is that clear?’

Dawn gave a dramatic pout. ‘Will you spank me for misbehaving, commander?’

‘Witch…’ he growled, voice edged with warning .

‘All right, all right. I’ll be good,’ she sighed, rolling her eyes as she settled herself with mock decorum. ‘I promise not to move. Cross my little heart, witch’s honour.’

Kai grunted, the sound low and disgruntled.

He could no longer stand to be in the same space as her.

Without another word, he turned on his heel and strode out, barking an order to two nearby soldiers to keep watch over his tent.

It was a dangerous gamble. If anyone caught so much as a glimpse of her, chaos would erupt.

But if she truly meant what she said about wanting to help Ash, she’d behave herself.

He muttered a string of curses under his breath as he marched into the morning light, needing to be far, very far, from those infernal purple eyes.