Page 70 of A Kingdom of Sand and Ice (Kingdom of Gods #2)

Her eyes, wide with surprise, darkened almost immediately, masking the embarrassment with something sharper, as though she could not bear for him to see her flustered.

‘Is this your usual method of luring a lady into your bed, commander?’ she teased, laughter bubbling from her lips.

It danced into the trees around them, dispelling the heavy quiet of the forest. And yet, even to his ears, the sound rang hollow.

He wondered, idly, what her true laugh might sound like, unburdened and real.

With a grunt, he shoved her aside, the spell of the moment broken. ‘Stop being absurd, witch.’

She giggled still, unfazed, and returned to the hut with an exaggerated sway, collapsing onto the bedding in a sprawl that spoke of stubborn comfort. Kai remained by the fire, eyes sweeping the shadows that encroached around them, ever alert.

But he felt her stare, those maddening purple eyes watching him from across the firelight, curious and quiet. He told himself not to look back.

He reminded himself they were just eyes. Perhaps nothing more.

…

‘Are you certain? ’

‘If I weren’t, I wouldn’t have said a word,’ Dawn replied briskly, brushing past Kai as they forged deeper into the forest. ‘I have just enough power to get us out of this wretched place.’

‘I still think we should wait.’

‘For what, precisely?’ She stopped in her tracks, planting her hands firmly on her hips with a dramatic huff. ‘Shall I grow old and silver-haired by the time we return to your precious army?’ Catching the look on his face, she softened the statement with a grin. ‘I was exaggerating, commander.’

‘I should hope so. I cannot imagine enduring your company for quite that long.’

‘You wish you were so lucky as to find a wife as marvellous as me,’ she said, sticking her tongue out like a petulant child.

‘Continue poking that tongue out, witch, and I may be tempted to cut it off.’

‘Oh, truly? With what? That enormous wyverian cock of yours?’ she said, voice wickedly innocent.

Kai’s onyx eyes sharpened into something molten. ‘Vile woman.’

‘I had heard rumours about wyverians being rather... what’s the word?’

‘Remarkable?’

‘No, that’s not it.’

‘Gorgeous?’

‘Now you’re just listing things you think describe you, commander.’

He scowled. She smirked.

‘The word I meant was... uninhibited.’

Kai stopped abruptly, staring at her as though she’d grown horns. ‘Do you even know what that word means?’

‘Do you?’

He chuckled and resumed walking, his tone dry. ‘We wyverians are hardly prudish. But that doesn’t mean we spend our days spouting filth for fun.’

‘You do love that word, don’t you?’

‘Which word?’

‘Vile,’ she said, drawing it out with exaggerated drama. ‘Viiiiiiiiiiiile.’

‘Stop that. You’re not five.’

‘Vile,’ she repeated, gleefully.

‘Witch, do not—’ He stopped again, their faces inches apart now, his frustration evident in the tension of his jaw.

‘Vi.’

‘Don’t—’

‘Le.’

‘Enough,’ he growled, though there was no real anger behind it.

Dawn rolled her eyes. ‘In any case, I’ve enough magic to get us out.’

‘And go where?’

She hesitated, lips forming a pout. ‘That part is... tricky to estimate.’

‘So we could land anywhere?’

‘Not anywhere,’ she muttered, looking away. ‘Just... not here. That’s something, isn’t it?’

Neither of them said aloud what they were thinking. That anywhere was better than being trapped in a forest they could not seem to escape, stuck with each other and their thorny silences. Dawn bit her lower lip so hard it began to bleed.

Kai noticed. He always noticed .

Without thinking, he reached out and gently brushed his thumb across her mouth, wiping the crimson bead away with a tenderness that surprised them both. The moment the gesture registered, he pulled his hand back as though scalded and cleared his throat, staring elsewhere, anywhere but at her.

‘Very well,’ he growled, the sound rough as gravel. ‘Let us hope we end up somewhere you can finally scamper off and make yourself useful. You’ve given me no information worth the breath spent asking for it.’

‘Oh, I was rather hoping you’d forgotten about that.’

‘I do not forget, witch.’

‘Good,’ she said, her tone softening. ‘Because I’m not going anywhere. I meant what I said. I want to help Ash.’

Kai’s face twisted, something sharp and wounded appearing behind his onyx eyes. ‘If you truly wanted to help him,’ he snapped, ‘you’d stay far, far away.’

Her chest tightened, breath catching mid-lungful.

She turned her gaze aside before he could glimpse the pain his words had carved into her.

If he wanted to believe she was nothing more than a soulless spellcaster, a cruel-hearted creature unfit for loyalty or love, then so be it.

She would not offer him the satisfaction of seeing her break.

Dawn had always been skilled at hiding the ache behind a smirk. At making herself small, invisible, unseen.

Without another word, she lifted her hand towards him—palm up, steady. It amused her, just a little, to watch him eye it like a dagger poised for his throat. In her case, perhaps it wasn’t far off.

‘You don’t have to trust me,’ she said quietly, voice barely a whisper, ‘You just have to want this more.’

He didn’t move at first. Just stared. Then, with the hesitant grace of a man who has been burnt too many times, Kai stepped forward. His hand hovered above hers, close enough to feel the warmth but not yet making contact. Waiting. Choosing.

She wouldn’t force him. Not this. Not when it came to belief.

At last, he gave a nod. Subtle, but enough.

Dawn breathed in, calling to the thread of magic buried deep in her core.

What little remained kindled beneath her skin, sparking to life as green smoke curled lazily between her fingers.

The moment it appeared, Kai flinched. But before he could protest or draw away, she reached out and clasped his hand firmly in hers.

The world twisted upon itself, folding inwards like a dying star as magic was wrenched from her veins. The pull was violent, exhausting, but just enough. Enough to tear them free from that cursed forest and hurl them, breathless, back into the waking world.

Dawn gasped, her spine arching in protest as the old ache of dormant power surged through her bones. It hurt, yes, but oh, it felt good. She had missed the sting of it. The sweetness of being whole again.

Drawing in a lungful of scorched air, she turned and found Kai Blackburn on his knees, retching.

With a dramatic sigh, she crouched beside him, brushing earth from her sleeves.

‘They really ought to rewrite those stories about wyverians,’ she mused, a smile tugging at her lips. ‘You're not half as spectacular as the bards made you out to be.’

Kai groaned through a grin. ‘Are you suggesting we’re a little bit spectacular, then?’

‘Twist my words however you like, commander. If it soothes your pride, who am I to stop you?’

She offered him her hand. Surprisingly, he took it without hesitation.

They rose together, surveying their surroundings with cautious curiosity. Heat hit them almost immediately, dry and oppressive. Dawn frowned, her brow furrowing beneath the haze.

‘We couldn’t have travelled far,’ she said. ‘I didn’t have enough magic to take us halfway across the kingdoms… But I don’t recognise this place at all.’ She reached out, palm up, her voice softening to a whisper. ‘What is this?’

Kai coughed, watching the grey flakes drift lazily from the sky.

‘Ash.’

Dawn turned slowly, her eyes sweeping across the barren expanse. There was nothing. No trees, no life. Just endless open ground blanketed in ash that fell like a twisted mockery of snow.

‘Something’s burning,’ she said quietly, as if speaking the words aloud might summon the flames themselves.

Kai pressed his palm to the cracked, ashen earth, the heat pulsing beneath it. His expression hardened.

‘Yes,’ he said grimly. ‘Something is burning.’

Dawn looked to him, confused, until he raised his hand and pointed into the distance.

There, black smoke coiled into the blood-red sky, and in its heart, a city, flickering like the last breath of a dying flame.

‘Fireheart.’