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Finnick

I had awoken a little more than twenty-four hours ago not expecting to even meet the mysterious Fae woman that would bond our family to the rebels.

And yet, Oleander Stonesthrow chose me. Chose me to be her husband. She could have had the pick of my older brothers. But she picked me. She saw me. Saw something in me, that she’d spend the rest of our long lives together.

She’d railed me within an inch of my life and after curled up against me and opened her soul to me before sleeping all night in my arms. She’s a gorgeous Fae, with that white hair threaded with a pale green, and those unusual pink-orange eyes, but her heart is beautiful as well.

She’d stood up to those warriors, who turned out to be her mates , which... well, that’s... curious alright.

She defied them, befriended the griffons, suggested she sneak behind enemy lines all while blinking those big eyes that remind me of a fruit our Cook grows that he calls watermelon.

If I hadn’t already felt bewitched by her, I would been at her suggestion to poison the enemies. To put herself at risk so less of her men, our men, will die.

Furthermore, she seems... concerned about my feelings. And that alone is enough. More than my family has bothered to do. She’ll be a kind partner, I can tell.

Had I wanted to leave my home? Be married? I don’t know, honestly. My years as an outcast faeling had been hard indeed, but now, as an adult, I had found friends and... relevance, I suppose. I guess it doesn’t really matter at this point, what I wanted.

Commander Lonan lashes his legs onto his mount and sweeps a gaze over us all. He nods firmly and takes off.

Korben calls happily, “See ya on the flip side!” And he takes flight too.

I look to General Kai and Ollie. She turns her lips up, trying to reassure me. My griffon nudges my back and I turn to place a hand on her.

“She seems to like you,” Ollie says, grinning.

“Most of them do. I spent a lot of time with our griffon master when I was younger. I raised Arden here from a hatchling.”

She brightens, “Ohh, they do have names!”

I smile down at her bright face, “Just a few that I’ve named.”

“You’ll ride with me, Oleander,” Kai orders.

I see Ollie bite down a smile and nod.

“We can probably use the cloud cover to do a fly over,” I suggest. “Try to spot the wells, see what kind of guard set-up they have.”

Kai glares at me. “How high can they fly?”

I shrug. “Plenty high, into the clouds.”

Ollie smiles tightly, “Let’s do it.”

Kai lets out a worried sigh. “Fine. But Oleander, if I give an order, you will obey it, do you understand? As if you are a solider and I am your General, got it?”

She nods but her eyes hold mischief.

He looks to me, “You too, pretty boy.”

“You can call me Finnick, or Finn, but I won’t be called names, General.”

I learned long ago that you need to start as you mean to continue, and I won’t have him walking all over me. An image of him spanking me hits me and I turn away quickly.

He grunts. “We fly up, into the clouds, do a few dips, see what we can, as we head south west.”

We hop onto two griffons, Kai using the straps to tie Ollie’s legs in too. I give the command and they take off. We head high into the clouds and Oleander’s delighted giggle reaches me. I grin like a fool, pleased at her happiness. Do I already care for her so?

I wave to get Kai’s attention and point down. He nods and I command the griffons with a whistle. They dip down, breaking free of the clouds and I see the first war encampment of my life.

Cookfires trail smoke up into the sky like streams, tents dot the lands nearly until the edge of my vision. I think I hear Kai curse. A big pit is being dug and next to it are the bodies of the dead, assumably from the attack that Commander Lonan spoke of this morning. I jerk my gaze away, trying to stay on the task of finding a well. A large tent near the center catches my eye. On the northern edge I spot Fae lined up. I command Arden lower and sure enough, there is the circular stone shape of a well.

For this many Fae, there must be more than one, surely? I wish I could ask Kai, but it’s hard to hear when flying. I look to them and Ollie is pointing. I follow her hand and she’s pinpointed another well, further east but still near the northern edge of the camp.

Kai gestures ‘down’ and I command the griffons up into the cover to head back for where we had landed initially.

As I pull off my straps, Ollie says, “They can’t be that stupid?”

Kai chuckles, “He’s your brother, what do you think?”

She huffs, “He’s a moron but he has advisors.”

A shrug, “Well, Lo did assassinate several of them.”

My mouth drops open. I take a moment but muster, “What is stupid, Oleander?”

“The wells are all in a line. Not just in a line but near the edge of the encampment, easy to reach. This is gonna be cake,” she answers happily.

“Don’t get cocky, baby,” Kai mumbles.

I clear my throat, “How long does your poison take to... uh... work, Ollie?”

She flips a hand back and forth. “Pretty quick, an hour or two, taken internally.”

“And how long do you think it would take for most of the camp to get fresh water?”

Kai grunts. “Longer. If we want them weakened enough to surrender by daylight, we don’t have time to waste.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “I don’t want my betrothed risking herself in broad daylight. It’s foolish.”

Kai chuckles and looks at her fondly. “Foolish is her middle name, Finn.”

I laugh despite myself.

“It’ll be fine,” she tries to reassure me.

“And how will we get in?” I ask, annoyance filling me.

Kai laughs again, “I got that one.”

AN HOUR LATER, AND Kai has ‘acquired’ some cloaks in the Stonesthrow colors for us while we waited in a small copse of trees near the edge of the encampment. Ollie is wearing a pretty ochre colored dress, but has rubbed dirt onto it in numerous places and mussed up her braid. I cross my arms, frustrated at the risk to her. I take a deep breath. She’s to be Queen. A warrior Queen, who has the safety of her people in mind. I must trust her.

Kai tosses the hood of the cloak over his head and I do the same. Ollie covers her white hair. I command the griffons to stay and turn to Ollie and Kai.

“Ready?” I ask.

“As I’ll ever be,” Ollie responds quietly.

We walk out of the trees and as soon as we do, Kai takes Ollie’s wrist and tugs her along. I take the lead, one hand on my sword hilt, and doing my best to glower.

As we reach the edge, two guards look up. “Just wanted a bit more privacy,” I grunt, nodding at Ollie. She giggles and lets her feet stumble as if tipsy.

One of the nods, but the other raises his eyebrows. “That’s a hot little piece of ass. I haven’t seen her about the other camp followers.” He steps forward, his hand extended to take her chin, “What do you say, sweetcheeks, you wanna—”

It cuts off, because I push him roughly. “No. She’s ours.”

Kai pulls his sword half out and the guard takes in the size of him.

“Fine, fine, pussy is easy to come by,” he grumbles and we hurry past.

We keep up the ruse, Kai occasionally grabbing her ass to her giggle, while I glare at folks. We approach the first well and I start to make retching sounds. Fae waiting for water turn. I gag loudly. “Ugh, this well is bad. I drank from it this morning,” and I retch again.

They eye us for a moment before turning and leaveing quickly.

Kai chuckles softly, “You’re a born actor, Finn.”

His eyes flick around. Everything seems calm. “Listen, I saw the leaders’ tent. I’m guessing General Khingal and Captain Hawkes are there, at the least. Things tomorrow would go a lot smoother if I could off them. Do you think you two are alright?”

Ollie and I both nod.

“We’re fine, go Kai,” Ollie urges, “This should take only a few minutes at each well. Meet us quickly, love.”

He nods and trots off.

“Alright,” I say, my eyes now scanning. “What do you need to do?”

She walks to the edge and pulls up the rope hand over hand until the bucket is visible. I grab it and put it on the edge.

Ollie puts her fingers in the water and her eyes close.

She whispers, “I just let my magic out. It’s easy. It’s pulling it back that’s hard.”

I feel her tug the energy around her. I turn, watching for anyone approaching but everyone is just going about their business.

“Done,” Ollie says quietly and I hear the bucket drop. “One down, two to go,” she quietly crows.

We stand and I scan. There are solider everywhere, but none of them seem to be paying us any attention. I take Ollie’s wrist as Kai had and tug her gently along. A solider is watching us so I turn and grab Ollie’s breast. Her eyes open wide; she giggles and grabs my hand. I flick her a grin and her eyes sparkle.

“C’mon now, lassie,” I say, “Let’s go have some fun!”

“What kind of fun, milord?” She says, laughing, attempting to copy my fake accent.

“Oh, you know, pretty girl, the kind that involves a strap-on,” I lilt.

She snorts in surprise. “Wood ye like that, milord?”

“More than I was expecting,” I say quietly.

“Ay, well, then, I’ll be sure to do it again.” She winks at me and I snort.

“Made it,” I whisper, as we step up to the next well. No one is at this one so I quickly tug the bucket to the top and hand it to Ollie. She dips her hand into the water that’s in the bucket, allowing her to infect the entire well. Her eyes close and I turn my back to her. I look around, keeping an eye out for Kai, and for any of the Stonesthrow’s army.

“Done,” Ollie whispers and I hear the splash of the bucket.

A soldier with long brown hair and pale skin walks to the well up holding a pitcher. Ollie steps back with a tiny grasp and I take her wrist again. We watch the soldier pull up the bucket and dump the water into his pitcher. He looks up and catches us staring. He nods awkwardly and turns, headed back to his tent.

Ollie whispers, “He’s barely grown.”

I swallow, feeling as sick as my betrothed sounds. “C’mon, Ollie. Eyes on the prize,” I encourage. I put a hand on her back and push her to moving. We hurry towards the last well, weaving through the Fae as quickly as we can.

“Thank the Goddess,” I breathe, as we arrive at well with no one around it. I grab the rope to pull the bucket when Ollie lets out a muffled scream. I spin, my heart in my throat.

A soldier has her, one arm around her waist, the other around her shoulders, his bare hand over her mouth. His big brown eyes are on me.

“You’re not in uniform,” he says, eyes on my sweater under my stolen cloak. His grip on Ollie tightens, her pink eyes wild. Not wild-terrified. Wild-furious. She looks to me.

I nod to her and I feel the tug of energy.

The Fae holding her suddenly tenses. His eyes roll back into his head and he gurgles disturbingly. Just as his hands on my betrothed loosen, a much larger solider grabs Ollie by the cloak. The first man hits the ground with a muffled thud.

“What’s this now?” The new solider’s voice is gruff.

But my sword is already drawn. I swing it down, rage filling me.

“Don’t touch my wife!” I scream as I separate that Fae from his hand.

“Ollie, the well,” I gasp, and I quickly run around the huge Fae. I grit my teeth and slit this throat, ending his screaming where he rolls on the ground.

“Fuck, pretty boy,” Kai’s voice is rough, “I leave for ten minutes and it all goes to shit, eh?”

But when he takes in my face, his face softens. His big hand lands on my shoulder. “You did good. You kept our girl safe.” He nods.

I turn just as Ollie drops the bucket in. “It’s done. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Kai and I flank her and we head back the way we came. I swear in the distance I hear some vomiting. Could it be working that fast?

I’m counting our steps, my hands sweaty as my eyes dart around, looking for danger. I feel better now that Kai is with us. We pass the first well and head back towards the copse of trees. Neither of the guards are sitting where we entered the camp and I can only hope they are off getting a drink of water.

With each pace away from camp, my shoulders hitch up and my back itches, afraid of an arrow or sword strike. It’s not until we’re well into the woods that I feel as if I can breathe again. Ollie and Kai are speaking happily. I look down, my vision fuzzy. My hands and arms are spattered in blood. That guard’s blood.

I bend over, my stomach emptying violently.

“There it is,” I hear Kai say distantly.

A hand lands on my back and another tugs my hair out of my face. I retch again, arms on my knees as I pant. I close my eyes as I spit and wipe my face.

“Thanks Ollie,” I say, turning.

I freeze. It’s Kai rubbing my back and holding my hair.

“First kill is always the hardest, Finn,” he says in his low voice. “You did good. We’re out of there. We saved many, many lives today.”

I stand upright, that statement swirling in my head.

“C’mon, back to our clearing,” Kai orders in a much gentler manner than I’ve heard him speak before.

THE FIRE IS BLAZING . Ollie holds her hands out to it. Kai didn’t think the encampment would be in much shape to be inspecting any smoke in the woods tonight. I think he’s right, if the occasional sounds carried on the wind that reach us are any indication.

Ollie is drawn, tired looking. When we had got back, she had collapsed into a little heap. Kai looked torn, wanting to warm her up and wanting to set up camp. I had waved him to her and I started rustling through my pack. During my packing time, I had had my personal servant grab a tent and some supplies. It had taken up most of the room in my pack, but I imagine for awhile at least, I won’t need any fancy outfits. The thought makes me smile.

I explained, as I set up the tent, that our griffon master loved wilderness trips and started taking me with him as soon as Mother would allow it. I don’t think he imagined me married to a rebel princess, sneaking into enemy territory but here we are.

When Ollie awoke, she practically squealed with excitement, shocked that I knew how to do something like camp. It had stung a bit, but it wasn’t misplaced.

I stir the pan of oats with a fork. “Looks done,” I say to Ollie.

“It smells good, Finn.” She licks her lips. Her magic drained her and I don’t like to see her this weakened.

I chuckle, “Well, it has no cinnamon or honey, but it’s warm. And light to pack.” I hand her pan with a cloak under it. She digs in. Kai and I watch her. His face is indulgent.

Ollie gets several forkfuls in when she looks up and sees us. “Where’s yours?” She mutters around a bite.

“We’re fine, baby,” Kai answers.

She sputters a denial, but I say, “We’ll be in the city tomorrow morning. We can handle a hungry night. But you, you need that energy restored. Eat, don’t argue, please.”

She had slammed her mouth shut, eyeing me suspiciously. She eats another bite slowly, looking between us.

“You’re nicer about it, but they are rubbing off on you already,” she murmurs.

Kai snorts but says nothing.

Ollie is falling asleep with the fork halfway to her mouth. I smile and scoot in to where she sits between Kai’s legs.

“Here, beloved,” I hum, taking the fork from her. I slowly feed her a few forkfuls. As I scoop up the last bite, she dozes off against Kai. I smile at her sleeping face fondly. I put the fork in the pan and set it aside.

“You care for her,” Kai mutters.

I nod. “I do. I barely know her, but her kindness is obvious. In another situation, I would want her and I to be friends. So I hope that means that this can grow into affection, love even, between us.”

My eyes snap up, suddenly realizing that I just told a cold-blooded killer that I wanted to fall in love with his mate.

Kai sees the look on my face and snorts.

“Kai, I would never try to take your and Lonan’s place in Oleander’s life, I didn’t—”

He cuts me off. “Love is a strange thing, Finn. It appears out of nowhere when you least expect it sometimes. Other times, it grows slowly, one small act at a time. Sometimes it makes you want to care and protect someone. Other times, it makes you want to rut them into the ground.” He shrugs, his shimmering green eyes locking upon mine. “You could no more take my place in Ollie’s heart than you could grow wings. But you see...” He looks away, into the fire. “The heart expands. The love you have isn’t finite.”

We stare into the fire for a long time. Ollie lets out the occasional little snort that makes tenderness rise up in me.

“You two can take the tent,” I say quietly, as I stand and stretch.

Kai snorts, “Bullshit. You think she’d let me hear the end of it if I made you sleep outside? We’ll all fit.” He shifts. “Go piss, then get in the tent. I’ll give her to you so I can stretch, set a few trip lines, before I come in.”

I do, shaking my head. I had been very wrong about Kai. Or, at least, partially wrong.

I climb into the small tent and Kai hands Ollie to me. As I clutch her to my chest, I kiss her head and ease us back onto the floor of the tent, pulling a blanket over us.

Kai joins us soon, laying down on the other side of Oleander. He lays a hand on her chest protectively. A soft warmth flows over me. I turn and nod to Kai just as my eyes drift close.

WHEN WE AWAKE THE NEXT morning, snug as three little mice in the warm tent, Ollie is smiling, obviously pleased, but we can hear a distant ruckus. Fae, panicking. Without a word, Kai climbs out of the tent, holding the flap for us, and we head out of the woods. We come out of the little copse just as the flight of griffons land, archers upon their backs and many birds flocking to the ground, shifting to their Fae form. The enemy encampment is in disarray, many Fae bodies lying upon the ground, while others run around, trying to figure out what to do.

“Look!” Ollie calls, “Tawny and Lonan!”

The griffon Ollie named Tawny lands at the front of the rest of the flight and Lonan hops off, looking sure of himself.

“C’mon,” Kai says and we stride towards him. When we get close, Lonan opens his arms and Ollie runs to him. He quickly says something and releases her, turning to the camp.

“Who is in charge here?” He yells.

A slender but tall Fae woman steps forward. Her skin is a rich brown, of good soil, and her hair is a stark green. “I’m Captain Wrayax,” she says, “Ranking officer.”

Kai grins and I look at him. I wonder how many Fae he stabbed yesterday.

“Do you have the authority of King Alder to negotiate with us?” Lonan calls.

“Yes.” She steps forward, “But it’s not needed. We are decimated. We surrender. Whatever your terms; we agree, if you’ll not further harm my soldiers.”

Lonan nods, pleased. He gestures and Korben and a tall, black-haired Fae step forward. “Captain Korben and Captain Caspian will speak to details with you.”

Wrayax nods, her face somber.

Lonan turns to us and a small, blue-haired Fae trails him.

He grins at Kai. “Got a fire ring somewhere?”

Kai nods and the five of us head back into the woods to where we had spent the night. We walk through the dry underbrush slowly. Ollie is leaning against Lo. They’re whispering and when he kisses the top of her head, I smile. Kai drops back to walk next to them. I feel a pang in my chest as I watch them. I want a heart bond with Oleander , I realize. She’s already shown me how incredible and brave and silly she is.

When we get to the clearing, a fire starts on its own, surely Kai’s doing, and we all settle around it.

“Nice tent!” The blue haired Fae says once she finishes hugging Ollie tightly. She turns to me. “So you’re the prize cow, huh? I’m Tazi.”

I blink. “I’m the... what?”

Kai laughs and slaps me on the back. “The prize cow has skills. He kept Ollie safe in the encampment.”

Lonan’s eyebrows rise. “Good. Thanks Finnick. I do want to hear that story, but I fear I must speak on other matters first.”

“What is it, Lo?” Ollie asks as she sits on his lap and winds her arms around him. His eyes close in pleasure for a moment and the sight of my betrothed finding comfort in his arms awakens no jealousy or fear in me.

Tazi jumps in, “Bad news. Monkswick has openly joined with Alder.”

“Fuck.”

“Gets worse,” she chirps. “There’s a huge encampment of Alder’s soldiers near the Balfait Highlands. They are trying to hide them.”

“Fuck.” Kai rubs his forehead. “We need to talk to our folk at the Stockmont Canal.”

Lonan shakes his head, his umber curls loose. “We need Guivre.”

The group of them are silent in a manner that tells me this is a point of contention. I wait, silent, holding my tongue.

Ollie sits up, “I’ll do it.”

Both Lonan and Kai make grumbly noises.

I blink at my future wife, her face sad. I reach out and take her hand gently.

“Do what, beloved?”

“Get Guivre on our side. Even if I have to fuck a dragon.”