Page 5 of Heart of Fire (Royal Ice Dragons #3)

KAELAN

Smoke curled from the chimney of the ramshackle cottage that was our next safe house.

When Thorne knocked on the door, I waited with my hand on the pommel of my sword. A slender Fae with brown hair wild around his unusually long ears threw open the door, looking flustered. “Welcome! Come in, come in.”

I glanced over at Hanna; as soon as we were in the door, she stripped off her gloves, blowing on her fingers to warm them. I worried about this creature of sunshine, stuck in my kingdom.

Not that I would’ve admitted it.

“Alden,” Thorne said shortly, by way of introduction, though he had told us about him on the road.

Inside, there was a glowing fire, and the cottage felt close and warmer because of the piles of books everywhere. The smell of slightly-burnt toast mingled with the scent of old pages.

“Welcome!” Alden sounded awkward, his voice creaky with disuse.

His parents had been scholars with unpopular opinions before Edric’s paranoia had claimed their lives. He had followed in their footsteps, although he had been afraid to continue at the university after his parents’ murder. He’d continued his education alone.

Glancing around at the sad little room and the narrow loft upstairs, it seemed as if he had been alone in every way.

“Thank you for taking us in,” Hanna said warmly.

I studied the small room, then turned to look out the fogged window. We’d have to keep our own watch. I didn’t trust this man’s wards, no matter how much he wanted to believe he could keep my father from finding him and his home.

“Anything you need,” Alden’s voice was soft but resolute.

“For now, we just need a few hours’ rest and peace before we head out again at dusk.”

“Easy enough,” Alden said.

If only peace was easy.

Alden headed to the narrow kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Hanna admitted.

Soon, he’d set out slightly damaged toast with jam and butter next to a platter of smoked meats and cheese and a bowl of glistening red apples. Alden bustled around serving tea.

“I don’t have many visitors,” Alden said. “I’m sorry about the toast.”

“It’s just how I like it,” Hanna said, picking up a piece and biting into it with a crunch that sounded loud enough for it to hurt her teeth. But her cheerful smile never faltered. Gods, she was sweet. When she wanted to be.

“You’ll find you have the support among most of the scientists,” he said, his eyes meeting mine across the table. “But not all.”

I nodded. “I understand. My father probably should’ve frozen fewer scientists into ice sculptures.”

Hanna shuddered.

“He thinks he can rule through fear,” Thorne said.

“I’ll teach my father to fear,” I promised.

“Fear hasn’t been enough to keep everyone loyal to him. Merely obedient on the surface,” Alden replied, sipping his tea thoughtfully. “But you must avoid the skies. A friend told me Edric’s guards took over the university’s astronomy lab to devote all its resources to finding you.”

“Then we’ll walk,” I said, though I hated the thought. I felt safer in the sky, and I didn’t like the pressure I felt when we were on the ground as if something terrible could happen to Hanna at any moment.

We wouldn’t walk long. I’d find a way to prevent the lab from threatening us. But still, his warning settled like a lead weight.

“And you must watch for bandits,” he added. “They’ve been particularly brutal this year—babbling on about serving the gods, even as they murder everyone for the contents of their carriage?—”

Hanna, having finished her breakfast, stifled a yawn with the back of her hand. Talk of the gods usually made her yawn, but her face was etched with fatigue.

“You can take the loft,” he said. “I’ll get clean sheets on the bed.”

“Thank you,” she said gratefully. She pushed back from the table, stepped over a stack of books, and followed him to the ladder that led up to the loft.

Thorne hid his own yawn, and as he rose, I caught his arm. “I’ll take the first watch.”

“Thanks,” Thorne murmured before following Hanna. Alden moved around to set up the bed for them.

Thorne gently tucked a stray lock behind her ear, his movements tender and protective. Her smile up at him was sweet as she turned her face into the palm of his hand.

I felt an unexpected surge of jealousy. Thorne was so good at caring for her. He made her feel safe in a deeper way than I did; maybe I never could care for her the same way.

Alden came down the stairs, bowed low to me—as if I were already king—then carried his book outside to give us privacy. I watched him through the window to be sure he wasn’t running to my father. But he sat in the icy garden, mindless of his threadbare coat, drawing his worn knit glove off every time he had to turn the page.

After I set my wards, I leaned against the cold wall, arms folded, watching Hanna and Thorne. Thorne’s frame relaxed as Hanna’s breaths deepened into the rhythm of sleep. There was something so careful in the way he watched over her before he relaxed into sleep himself, something that stirred a fierce protectiveness within me for them both.

Dare’s absence nagged at me.

I would do anything for Hanna and Thorne and Dare.

I wondered if they knew it.

* * *

Hanna woke when Thorne and I swapped places hours later.

“Let me take a turn at watch,” she murmured as I pulled her into my arms, feeling her body nestle against mine.

“Thorne will wake you when it’s your turn,” I said, knowing he would do no such thing. Not unless we were desperate. “Sleep a few more hours.”

When she rested her head on my shoulder, I felt like the world was at peace, no matter what was waiting for us in the morning.

* * *

When we left, Thorne led the way, moving quickly but silently, while I lingered at the back, scanning the path and the woods beyond for any signs of trouble.

Hanna pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. I swallowed the impulse to tell her to stay alert, knowing she already was; she was as much our protector as we were to her. It worried me to think she’d plunge into danger to save me.

And this was the worst time, when my father’s spies might have caught a glimpse of us flying through their stolen magic at the university, when Edric’s men might be closing in on us.

“Hanna,” I said softly to her. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Probably not. What is it?”

I couldn’t match her levity. “I told you Edric will come for you, most of all.”

“We are side by side, Kaelan. He will come for us both.”

“Still. This wasn’t supposed to be your war. I was selfish to take you from the Isle.” I had wanted her for myself so badly. And I had thought I could wrest the throne from Edric without open war, but here we were. “If I ask you to run, to hide, to escape to the Isle…”

“Ask?” Her brows arched. “When do you ever ask ?”

I caught her hand in mine. “Enough teasing. For once. I am asking.”

She turned, and her wide-eyed gaze caught mine, all her snark falling away for once.

“I love you, Hanna. I can’t bear to be the reason your light…leaves this world. I’m telling you, I know you are capable, I know you protect us, but…I’m asking you to listen and let me protect you.”

She hesitated.

“I don’t know what to say to that,” she said, sounding as if she were touched and frustrated all at once.

“How about, yes , husband , I’ll do as you say , sir ?” I asked, just to murder the moment, and her eyes flashed, her lips parting in a wry smile to deliver some retort.

“Please,” I added, and she leaned up onto her toes to offer me her lips. I bent my head to kiss her.

Her kisses were sweet, her mouth tender. She tilted her head, letting me take the lead for once. I loved this side of her that she hid from the rest of the world. I wanted to keep on kissing her, lost in this moment with the snow falling gently around us and her lithe body pressed against mine. When she was this close to me, she felt like sunshine.

She pulled away slightly, her gaze searching mine. Her hands were still resting on my chest.

“I’ll consider it,” she promised.

I touched her freckled cheek. “Thank you.”

We walked on in silence, the only sound the crunch of frost underfoot. A bird launched up from the trees in the distance, their wings silent from this distance.

Then another, then a cloud of them, rising like darkness.

Tension coiled in my gut, and I gripped the hilt of my sword, finding comfort in its familiarity, though I didn’t draw it yet. Hanna glanced at me, and her hand went to her own sword.

There were too many birds taking flight from the woods ahead too suddenly.

There were tracks in the snow, barely perceptible as they’d been filled in by the falling snow. Several pairs of boots had trampled through here recently.

Soldiers? And if so—were they mine or Edric’s?

Or could they be the bandits that Alden had mentioned?

“We’re not alone,” I said curtly, pointing at the telltale signs. “Tracks are recent. They could be waiting for us.”

Hanna’s gaze followed mine, and she understood instantly. “So what’s the plan, husband ?”

She sounded a bit too light-hearted for my liking. But gods, I loved it when she humored me. If only she would keep going.

“Thorne and I will scout ahead.” I turned to her. “You stay here, out of sight. If we’re not back within twenty minutes, head back to the safe house and cover your tracks, then get yourself back to the Isle. I know you can find your way back there—you’ve done it before.”

She shook her head.

“Listen.” The word was sharper than I intended. Especially if things did go to shit, and I didn’t ever get to see her again. More quietly, I said, “It’s too risky for me to bear, Hanna. Let me handle this.”

She looked as if she were going to argue with me, and I felt a painful surge of anxiety. I didn’t want to push her away from me or order her around like I had before, but my protective impulses and my desire to show her respect were at war.

And always, always , there was a relentless pounding fear in my heart that one day, I would find myself cradling her dead body. I could imagine too easily those luminous eyes staring sightlessly, her cold body stiffening in my arms…

Her eyes widened as if she were afraid. It sent an impulse to protect through me, and it hit me that the marital bond between us might have sparked her feelings.

She might be picking up on my pain as her own.

“All right,” she said softly, touching my hand. I had the feeling she was trying to protect me . “Be careful.”

“Of course,” I said gruffly, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Had she responded to my vulnerability with…compromise?

Was that all I had to do? Be polite?

“No,” Thorne disagreed. “We don’t split up. What if that’s the trap? What if Edric knows you’ll leave her behind if you think there’s danger ahead?”

He crouched to study the tracks. “I don’t like this.”

I hesitated, feeling irritated.

Hanna was watching me with a look of amusement she wasn’t even trying to conceal, as if she were entertained by my struggle to listen to someone else.

“Both of you, follow me and be quiet.” I moved through the woods. “Thorne, stay close to her. I’m going ahead.”

We slipped silently into the depths of the forest, leaving the trail.

Thorne and I moved with the stealth that had kept us alive in countless fights. The forest was a natural ally, its dense canopy casting shadows for us to move through.

We skirted far around our path, looping around so far that we should outflank anyone lying in wait.

I caught the glint of metal hidden among the foliage, then picked out the first bodies concealed in the snow, waiting alongside the trail. I tapped Thorne’s shoulder, tilting my head toward the ambush site.

“It’s only fair if sometimes the predators find themselves prey.” I replied, my hand resting on the hilt of my sword, feeling the familiar comfort of leather against my palm.

We continued our silent reconnaissance, taking note of the position of each bandit. They were scattered strategically, weapons at the ready, forming a net woven with deadly intent. In the distance, off the trail, a carriage’s wheels were sunk deep in the snow. Those wheels would’ve gouged deep tracks, but they had been covered over carefully.

“A dozen of them, spread out, crossbows and blades,” I told the two of them quietly.

“Good odds then,” Thorne said, a wry smile playing on his lips.

I looked back at Hanna, who flashed me a bright, challenging smile.

I let out a sigh under my breath. “Do you still think it’s a trap, Thorne?”

“It could be. And whether it is or not…Hanna’s rather useful in a fight.”

“Fine.” I hated it, but Thorne wasn’t wrong. “Go.”

Hanna moved in alongside me, raising her sword. Thorne didn’t have to be asked to flank her. I appreciated that she was a skilled fighter, but she was still my wife. I wasn’t that enlightened.

The first bandit barely had time to register surprise before Thorne’s dagger found the gap in his armor, sending him crumpling to the ground.

A shout split the air, warning the others, but it was too late to matter.

One of the bandits darted toward me, teeth bared. He was skilled but predictable; a feint to the left and a quick sidestep had him stumbling forward, off-balance. My blade followed, swift and sure, and he joined his comrade, crumpling silently into the snow.

“Kaelan, on your right!” Thorne’s warning cut through the fray. I pivoted just in time to parry a vicious blow aimed at my back.

Bandits came at us in a flurry of desperation, but they were no match for our honed instincts. Thorne and I had fought together for years, and we had our mental bond; I was surprised to realize Hanna was moving with us in the same quick, easy pattern, one of us throwing an opponent off balance only to push them in the way of another’s sword.

The three of us moved like we were born to fight together.

I ducked a wild swing, my counterstrike sending another brigand to the ground.

There was a cry in the distance as I ran him through. I didn’t have time to see what exactly was happening as I twisted to drive the blade through the chest of a man Hanna pushed my way. But Hanna and Thorne were both on their feet, alive and unharmed.

Hanna lifted her head, focusing on the cry, and ducked the blade of a man who swung at her. She threw her knife, and it lodged in his throat as he stumbled back.

She was already running toward the cry. Toward the carriage.

I tried to follow her, but two bandits rushed at me at once, and I had to trust her to keep herself alive until I could kill them.

“You’re in my way,” I told one coldly, reaching down to wrench her knife out of the throat of the gurgling man—she would want it back—so I could offer two blades to my two opponents. “And you don’t want to get between me and my wife.”