Page 91 of The Last One Standing (Rogue X Ara #4)

ROGUE

A ra returned to training as my men and I attempted to hash out the details of what was to come, but I couldn’t fully pull my attention from her.

As we barreled toward Winter Solstice, the days grew colder, lakes and rivers freezing solid enough to walk armies across. Even now, snow fell in a slow flurry, but she didn’t seem to notice.

Worse things kept her plenty occupied.

She repeated the same tedious task for hours: lifting a stone with her magic again and again until she was satisfied, then she increased the size. She worked up to a fallen tree trunk and held it for as long as she could—or that was what I thought she was doing.

I narrowed my eyes. Despite the frigid air, a bead of sweat slid down her forehead. A slight tremble had started in her fingers, her body stiff.

With a cry of frustration, she sagged to her knees—and a second later, the ground shook as a dozen tree trunks crashed to the forest floor.

Curious men and women poked their heads out of tents, and chatter rippled through the war camp. I dismissed Lee, Godrick, and my generals.

Ara stood with her face in her hands. I pulled her into my chest and smoothed her hair as she caught her breath.

She dropped her hands and mumbled into my shirt, “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

I cupped either side of her face, fingers splayed in her hair, and tipped her head back. “You looked pretty damned capable from where I stood.”

“No, I don’t know how to be faster. Sure, I can physically move my body faster, but…how do I stop his magic before he infects someone if it happens as quickly as his next thought? I would have to watch him constantly. One blink, one glance away, and he could worm his way into anyone.”

“I have complete faith in your ability, but right now, you’re frustrated, exhausted, overwhelmed, and I can feel that impending sense of doom wafting from you like it’s my own.” I ran my thumbs over her flushed cheeks. “There is no doom. Just one man.”

“But—”

“Just one man.”

“He—”

“One. Man.” My hand slid down, fingers curling around her jaw. “One man versus the two of us, and we have plans together—plans of forever, and that doesn’t end in two days.”

The words fell from my mouth as a reassurance to her, but the desperation in her expression made me want to believe them, too. I wanted to. I had to, but it wasn’t just a ritual we were up against.

It was a prophecy , one I wasn’t destined to survive, but neither was Adonis. She would, though.

Ara would live, and as long as I took Adonis to hell with me, that would have to be enough.

“I won’t let us end in two days.” I brushed my lips over hers. “I won’t let us end ever . Understood?”

Death was not the end. If I died on that battlefield, then I would wait for her on the other side of the veil. Years, decades, centuries, it made no difference. My heart and soul belonged to her, regardless of where or how long I awaited her.

Wrapping her arms around my waist, she melted into me and nodded into my chest. “Understood.”

Footsteps sounded, and we turned to see Lee returning with a tray of food and a stout woman.

We ate a quick meal around a fire pit while Lee introduced his friend. When she demonstrated her magic, blue energy balled in her palm, similar to Alden’s, and a wisp of pain flowed from Ara.

“My magic is energy, but my specialty is reading the energy of others,” she explained. “I can’t harness it like you, but I can move faster than my opponents solely by reacting before they have a chance to act.”

“How?” Ara asked.

“It’s in their body: the shift in their energy, the disturbance in their heartbeat, the tension in their muscles before they swing a sword, or the gathering of magic the split second before it releases.

They’re all tell-tale signs, and you should be able to detect them even better than I, given our differences. ”

That was enough to convince Ara.

They spent the next few hours practicing, and Ara got zapped many more times than I cared for. Once was too much. Ten times was irritating. By the thirtieth, it was enraging, and Lee hovered at my side, as if he’d be able to do a damned thing to stop me.

But that was the last time she landed a hit.

Sweat rolled down Ara’s face and neck, her cheeks red and chest heaving, but she deflected the next bolt before it reached her.

A grin stretched across the woman’s face, and she picked up speed, flinging magic at Ara, at Lee, at me .

One stray bolt shocked my arm. Just once.

Ara didn’t let it happen again.

She matched her move for move for half an hour before Ara finally shot a bolt of her own straight into the woman’s stomach—not enough to hurt her, but enough to stun. She released a grunt, and they both doubled over, hands braced on their knees as they caught their breath.

“Good work, girl,” the woman called with a smile. “Good work.”

Ara waved a hand at her but didn’t reply with words.

“All right. I don’t think either of us can handle much more.” The woman stood, still breathless, and started back the way she’d come. “I’ll be back tomorrow, yes?”

Ara nodded and waved her arm again.

I bit my fist, stifling a laugh, and rubbed her back. “Feel better?”

She shot me a glare. “Yes, actually. Certainly faster.”

I chuckled, thankful she had neither a dagger nor any magic left that could hurt me. Otherwise, I’d find myself stabbed or bearing a new blackened lightning mark.

She still glared at me as I knelt in front of her and pinched her chin between my thumb and forefinger. “You did well.”

Her expression softened, and she whispered a quiet, “Thank you.” Her eyes flitted between mine. “You look tired.”

I laughed with a scoff. “ You look tired.”

“No, I’m serious.” She sank to her knees and slid a thumb over the shadow beneath my eye. “You look exhausted.”

She wasn’t wrong.

As of late, I’d found myself watching her sleep more often than not, even when my eyelids grew heavy and my body begged for mercy.

In her sleep, Ara was at peace, though nightmares still crept in now and then.

They’d become rare since she regained her memories, but I didn’t believe Adonis planted those murderous thoughts and dreams in her mind.

He needed us both alive; he wouldn’t have sent her to kill me in her sleep.

She was just scared and lost, her nerves frayed, heart broken, and her subconscious tried to protect her in any way it could.

Her memories of me seemed to have settled something in her, gave her enough comfort and sense of safety that she truly slept, and that alone filled me with more pride than anything I’d ever experienced.

I couldn’t waste these last few nights. I had to savor what little time we were guaranteed—her fleeting moments of peace.

I cocked a brow. “I’m not the one who hasn’t taken a break in three hours.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “Well, I actually get a full night’s rest now and again.”

My eyes fell to her mouth, and I was helpless to resist. I pulled her forward by her jaw until she had to catch herself on her hands. “Who needs sleep?”

Her lips brushed mine as they curled into a smile. “ You .”

“I’ve practically been sitting all day.” My fingers wound into her hair, and I kissed her slowly. “Tire me out, little storm. Maybe then, I’ll rest.”

She pulled back, but I followed her, refusing to break from her lips. She laughed into my mouth and swatted my arm.

“Let me love you,” I murmured.

She stilled in my hold before crawling into my lap. Her hands found their way to my cheeks, her lips peppering mine with soft kisses as I scooped her up and stood.

I carried her to our tent, warmth blooming as the fire lit in the center. As I laid her down on the makeshift bed of pelts, she smiled, her hand still on my cheek.

“Just you and me,” she whispered. “Forever.”

No matter how many days I had with her, it would never be enough.

I brushed the hair from her face. “I was truly lost in the dark before you found me, and I’ll be chasing your light for the rest of my days.”

With a subtle shake of her head, she said, “You won’t be chasing, love, because I won’t be running.”

A knot formed in my throat, and she tugged me down to reclaim my lips.

“Together,” she mumbled into my mouth.

My heart soared. She did that to me, caused my heart to soar even when I couldn’t. It almost felt the same, the weightlessness and freedom in my chest. She loved me hard enough that it nearly felt like flying—better, even.

Her love was my wings.

With her, I flew close to the sun every time she kissed me, every time she smiled in my direction, or laughed in my presence.

My eyes stung, my throat tight. “Forever.”

I peeled her hands from my face and raised them above her head, her arms outstretched, my fingers laced in hers. She released a quiet whimper as I kissed across her jawline and down her throat to the mate mark.

Her body bowed with a sharp inhale when I sank my teeth into it, not hard enough to break skin but enough to leave red imprints. She squirmed as I ran my tongue over it, and I suddenly wished I had broken her skin.

I kissed down to her collarbone but stopped at the edge of her blouse. Too distracted to save the tent from my fire, I begrudgingly released her hands to pull her shirt overhead, and she quickly kicked off her trousers.

I cupped her breast with a groan, flicking my thumb over her hardened nipple, and her head fell back.

“Fuck, I missed this sight.” We hadn’t had much time within the confines of a bed. That would change. It had to change.

She cuddled up to my side, and I tightened my arm around her shoulders.

She giggled and pressed her warm lips to the bare skin of my chest.

I peeked one eye open. Sunlight bled through the tent panels, so we couldn’t have slept that long. Closing my eyes, I rested my chin atop her head, feeling her shake with laughter.

“Sleep,” I ordered, my throat dry.