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In the morning, I wake to find Tessa already up, stoking the fire.

I’d gotten up after our lovemaking and put more wood on the dying embers to keep us warm through the darkest part of the night, and now she’s doing the same for us.

I lie back, watching her putter around the dusty space, tiptoeing as if she doesn’t want to wake me.

It’s adorable—her footsteps are still louder than any orc’s.

But she’s trying her best, all to let me rest a while longer.

She bends over the saddlebags to draw out some pears and cheese for our breakfast, and I can’t stay silent anymore.

“That’s a nice view to wake up to.”

Tessa startles and drops the cheese, then whirls on me, glowering. “You’re awake? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just did,” I point out. I push myself up and stretch my arms over my head. “I see you’re dressed.”

Her gaze dips from my face to my abdomen, and her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. But instead of joining me in bed, she picks up my pants and underwear from where I’d discarded them last night and chucks them at me. “You’d better get ready. We can’t linger.”

Ah . She’s put her armor back on after the night we had.

I stifle a grin, dress quickly, and step outside to wash.

At the well, I rinse out my shirt from last night, doing my best not to get hard at the scent of our mess clinging to the fabric.

I splash cold water on my face and grit my teeth against the flood of memory—Tessa’s body, moving on top of me.

When I return to the cottage, fully prepared for more cold behavior from her, Tessa sidles up to me, a shy smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you,” she murmurs, placing her hands on my chest. “You surprised me, is all.”

She goes on her tiptoes, and I meet her halfway for a sweet kiss, our lips brushing tentatively.

Then the little vixen licks my bottom lip, tasting me, and I can’t help but do the same.

The taste of her is mixed with the sweetness of the pear she must have already snacked on, and I could stay here for hours, just exploring her.

It takes a fair amount of effort to wrench myself away from her. “I’d gladly stay here, love, but you’re right. We shouldn’t linger.”

Tessa releases me with a sigh, her hands on her hips. “Do you think the Ravens will be searching for us this far from the road?”

“I don’t know what their tactics are,” I admit, “but if I was hunting someone, I’d backtrack if I was sure they weren’t ahead of me.”

She frowns. “What do you mean?”

“If no one lives in these parts and the Stonefrost clan isn’t trading with the human lands anymore, our footprints might have been the only ones on the road. It won’t take an expert tracker to determine whether we’re ahead or not.”

Tessa opens her mouth as if to ask something, then pauses and cocks her head to the side, studying me. “You’re worried about the clan, aren’t you?”

I nudge her toward the kitchen table and take my hunting knife out to cut up the cheese she put out for us. “It’s strange, don’t you think? That no one has crossed the border in so long?”

“Do you think something happened to the people?” She leans her hip against the table, chewing on a piece of day-old bread. “Maybe they’ve just decided not to trade with the villagers on this side of their kingdom.”

“I was too young when we left the clan to remember much, but I’m almost certain they’ve never been self-sufficient.

Some things just aren’t available in the mountains, like salt, most fruits, or wheat.

They’d have to trade with someone , and these villages are the closest to the borderlands.

” I grimace. “I’m afraid the old king died, and the rest of them killed each other off in the race to take the throne. ”

Tessa’s hazel eyes widen. “Wasn’t there a prince? Wouldn’t the crown go to him?”

“Aye, but only if he was strong enough to keep it.”

I think of Prince Charan and the way he couldn’t control the men who had come to Bellhaven with him several years ago.

They’d kidnapped our queen and ended up losing their heads.

King Gorvor had let his brother live, but only because he was clueless about the plan.

I can’t imagine the man could have returned to his kingdom and taken over from his ruthless, cruel father.

The old king’s generals would have eaten him alive.

“So you want to see what’s going on?” Tessa breaks through my thoughts.

The tension that’s had me in its grip ever since I realized where the Ravens’ caravan must be heading returns.

“Aye. No one from Bellhaven has been this close to the old clan lands for fifteen years or more. We’ve been staying away for a reason, but we need to know what’s going on.

If they’re preparing an attack, we need to be ready. And if they’ve killed each other off…”

I shrug, unsure of what I’d do in that situation. If we arrive at the Stonefrost Fortress and find it deserted… All those people gone. It’s an option I don’t want to think about.

She folds her arms over her chest, her eyebrows pinched in a frown. “So when you told me it was too dangerous to follow Lindie out here, you were actually planning on going here all along?”

I straighten, glowering down at her. “It is too dangerous, Tessa. Weren’t you listening to me? The clan might be at war. They might be fighting amongst themselves, now that they’ve conquered everyone else for miles around. Do you understand that?”

“But it’s all right for you to go there?” She strides forward to poke me in the chest. “Why do you get to tell me something is too dangerous, but I can’t say the same to you?”

I blink at her, confused. Then her scent registers, her usual cherry blossom sweetness pierced through with the sour note of fear.

She’s worried about me.

The tension in my shoulders melts away, and I capture her hand, kiss her knuckles, then draw her into my arms. She lets out a frustrated little huff but doesn’t protest.

Instead, she puts her arms around my waist and leans her cheek on my chest. “You can’t solve every problem by hugging me, you know.”

“Ah, but I can try.” I lean my chin on top of her head. “We’ll be all right if we stick together. And if we’re careful. Can you promise me you’ll be careful?”

She nods. “I promise.”