Page 90 of In The Dark

“It’s fine,” Rydian says, mouth tipping into a lopsided grin as words continue to fail me.

“I literally kissed you in the Veil,” I get out.

“Is that all you got from what I just said?” he asks, his scarred lip slightly rising, certainly amused at how flustered I am.

“That doesn’t explain how I ended up in the castle if I’ve never been there.” My brows lift.

“It does because technically you grew up there, which means you’ve already been in the realm. The chamber you ended up in used to be King Andre’s. Subconsciously, you could have just been pulled there out of habit without knowing where you were going.”

“Oh. I don’t… really know what to say to that,” I admit because for some reason, his words leave me speechless. My hand rests on my forehead as I rack through the information and let out a sigh. “I’m going to bathe. I’ll see you soon?”

His brows lower as a seriousness crosses his face, all prior humor dissipating when his gaze locks on to mine, intense and unwavering. He strides forward and without a word, he cups my face, pressing a searing kiss to my lips.Oh, fuck yes.

“I’ll see you in eight days.” He pulls back, my eyes dazed as his gaze locks with mine. He steps into the Veil a moment later.

It suddenly feels way too cold in the chamber without him, though a fire roars from across the room. A large plate of food waits for me by the door. I notice that he lit a fire and brought me something to eat.

Dread settles in my stomach, hands curling into fists at the realization that I’m going to miss him—more than I care to admit—and it’s going to be a long eight days without him.

32

Gods,it’s fucking cold.

I sit shivering in my cloak despite it being lined in thick fur. Even though my scarf covers half my face, I’m absolutely freezing from the biting wind, waiting for Ren to start a fire.

Too frightened to use my magic for fear of being caught wielding more power, I suffer in silence. Although we’ve traveled farther south, it’s still unbearable this time of year in the dead of winter.

It’s been three and a half days, meaning we should be arriving in Nymara tomorrow afternoon and leaving us one more night to camp before arriving in the city close to the Aurelian border. We stopped in little towns along the way, long enough for the horses to be watered and given fresh hay, only staying in one of those towns to sleep. The rest of our time has been spent camping. I shiver again.

Ren briefly discussed our mission, something that’s a little different than our previous ones. Instead of killing this target, we’re to bring him back to the castle unharmed, which I find odd.

We’re to break into the home—where I come in—and bringhim back in one piece. I assume he’ll be bound and gagged by Ren, as it’s his specialty because he’s a ruthless ass. I’ll just leave him to do that part by himself.

“It’s not that cold out,” he grumbles behind me, grabbing logs for the fire and throwing them on the pile in front of us. He finally lights it, and I let out an incredibly loud, exaggerated sigh, pulling my scarf off my face to bathe in the heat.

I throw him a glance and scoff. “Sorry, I don’t have a beard on my face to keep me warm.”

A short beard, but a beard nonetheless. He throws a rabbit at my feet, blood coating its white fur.

Although I’m exceptional at hunting, occasionally going with Ezra, it’s not my specialty. I have no desire to go tromping around the forest, leaving Ren to do that. Not that I can’t do it, I’d just rather not waste my energy. Plus, he has no problem leaving me alone in the cold while he does it, voicing that he doesn’t want to hear me complain about it. He’s better at tracking anyway.

“Thanks,” I mutter.

My hands work the pelt as I skin it from its feet to its neck. Ren tosses me his kill with a devious grin, silently asking if I can skin his rabbit as well. His grin widens when I glare, but I can’t say no, not after he found us a meal, so I just huff and skin his next.

After finishing, he shoves a sharp stick through the length of his rabbit and holds out his hand, urging me to hand him mine so it can cook over the fire.

Ren has been surprisingly decent, mostly remaining silent during our travels. Or perhaps I’m just too cold to throw him any snide remarks. No sign of the mean brute I usually see.

After placing the rabbits above the fire, Ren pulls out his knife and carves into a block of wood like he did in the valley. Only this time, it looks like he’s about halfway done carving a fox. I sit across from him, bundled in my cloak.

“Why am I here again?” I ask.

He lifts his brows. “I already told you, the king wanted to use your skills.”

“I don’t believe that.” I squint my eyes, smoke clouding my vision as I lean against a tree. “Luke is just as exceptional at disguise and infiltration—he could have used him instead, or you could have just gone alone.”

Lukeisexceptional, if not more talented than I am, yet I was sent here with Ren, who hates me instead. So although it could be a believable story, I don’t believe for one second that I was King Elion’s or Ren’s first choice. Not after these last few weeks of not having any missions.