Page 57 of The Princesses of Ruin (The Princesses of Ruin #5)

Chapter fifty-three

Kazimir

G rimaw and Raenkor patrol the skies with me. It’s frigid, but bright sunlight beats down on us. We glide from one end of Fynren to the other, watching for ships, troops on foot, or anything else that might indicate a neighbor trying to take advantage of our current position.

It’s been two months since we ripped a hole in the realm and pulled Ashai into our world. Two months since Scarlett took all that power back to the nine hells with her. Not even Alyse knows if she’s still alive in there somewhere.

Blessedly, since Ashai’s influence in the world has faded, so has Alyse’s extra-realm-sensing powers. She can still hear everyone on Gaien, and while that’s a significant burden, it’s much better than being tapped into every creature that ever was or will be on all planes of existence.

Still, much of her energy is spent on blocking out the world when I’m not near. I don’t blame her for wanting the solitude of the forge—her newest hobby. She’s quite good at it, too. I owe many of my prosthetic designs to her ingenuity with metal.

Above me, Raenkor snorts. He points a claw, and my gaze follows that line to the south end of Fynren. The highway between the Black Forest and the Underbelly has movement, but it doesn’t look organized. It’s a long, meandering caravan with several large wagons and some smaller ones.

I signal for the dragons to stay aloft as I drop from the patrol.

The wind gradually gets warmer until I’m coasting over the muddy snowmelt beyond the gate.

By the tracks, it seems a few people have traveled into the city today.

I twist my way through the banks and turns of the road until I see the head of the column.

Fynren palace guards ready their weapons against me. I land close enough to be heard but far enough to be safe. I remove my new mask, one Alyse had forged with my artificer’s goggles so I could keep my vision sharp and my face safe from the biting wind.

A familiar voice calls my name as a guard steps forward. He removes his helmet to reveal a broad, sun-kissed grin.

“Hemsworth?”

“It is, indeed, sir—or should I say, my lord? My prince? What is the situation here?”

He picks up his pace, breaking away from the other guards. I turn and walk with him.

“It’s none of those. Just Kazimir,” I say.

He hums. “And why in the blazes are there dragons about, and why was it you were flying with them?”

I glance up at the beasts, who keep tight circles in the air near me. I’m not sure what to tell him, to tell anyone.

We made a deal with the dragon and now he’s going to court my daughter…

Well, he’s not going to win my daughter’s hand, so there’s no point in divulging too much .

“They helped with the war effort, and we promised them safety from being hunted for all time,” I say, raising my arm and showing him the lightning mark on my wrist.

“You lot aligned with dragons! Not one, but two!”

“Yes, well, it was mostly Alyse doing the negotiating. I tried to kill the blue one,” I say.

“Is that was all this is?” he asks, gesturing to my face.

The sting of my deformity tries to worm inside me deeper. It tries to make me reach for my mask, cover my face, hide and not let myself be hurt any further.

Instead, I gasp overly loud. “What? Is there something on my face?”

His eyes go wide. “I…you’re scarred, my lord.”

“Scarred? Dear me! Am I hideous?”

“What? No, I…I don’t know.”

He’s so flustered. The reaction is exactly what I wanted, and it fuels my impish need to keep going. I put my hand to my forehead and make a pained face.

“How will sweet, beautiful Alyse ever look upon me again?”

His mouth hangs agape and he stutters, his eyes so full of shock and discomfort I can’t take it anymore.

Maybe just a little more.

“Do you think she’ll leave me for someone more handsome, like you?”

His eyes get even wider somehow, and a flurry of words tumble out of his mouth, promises that he’d never, that she’d never, that she wasn’t like that.

I sense Alyse’s amusement moving through me, and I can almost hear her laugh. And that makes it worth it. Fighting through the pain, the humiliation, and the fear of rejection is easy because I know she loves me, all my scars included. Her love is all I need.

“It was a tease,” I say and pat his shoulder affectionately. “Yes, it’s from the fight with the dragon.”

He sighs deeply. “Gods, you know you’re a right cunt when you’re not a brooding shadow.”

“You think I brood, just wait until you meet the dragons.”

His face lights up with joy. “Do I get to meet the dragons?”

“Do you still want to be Alyse’s personal guard?” I ask.

He straightens and his face hardens. “I know I left. I didn’t want to; you have to believe that I wanted to be here when everything was happening.”

“I do.”

“She ordered me away. The night after the fire, she had me lead the citizens who wanted to flee Fynren.”

“I wasn’t aware, but it makes sense,” I say. “Have you vetted the people in this procession? Are they all ours?”

He shakes his head.

“We’ve taken on people at Midway and Galhad.

Even some were stuffed away in Brackenreach.

Not everyone has identification. Lots of land deeds burned with the homes, work orders, too.

This is certainly more people than I left with, but I have a sense they’ve been trickling out for a while.

Hearing about our return brought them out of wherever they’d posted up for the winter. ”

What a bureaucratic nightmare.

“I’ll get up to the headquarters—ah, it’s the old agricultural building now. In any case, I’ll make sure someone is prepared to receive you and…” I sigh as I look over my shoulder at the mass of people hoping to return to their homes, all of which were used to shelter those who’d remained .

“We’ll figure this out.”

“Yes, my prince.”

I cringe. “Don’t do that.”

“Sorry, my lord.”

“I will force so much air up your arsehole, you’ll fly home.”

He guffaws with little staccato hiccups in between breaths. I laugh too.

“We’ll have a meal ready for you and the rest of the guard at the headquarters. As for everyone else, we’ve doled out provisions for the week already, but I’m sure we can open some reserves.”

“Not to worry, we have ample supplies with us. A woman who claims to be Alastair’s mother and a gaggle of folk who look very uneasy on land have brought smoked fish, grain, fruit, and more.

The Illyan government gave us a quarter harvest of wheat and onions, and the Nimpoi shipped us off with two thousand bags of rice. We’re well-stocked.”

Relief hits me. It must be why we weren’t aware of their coming. Cora foresaw that we would need the food, and didn’t bother sending word that she was shipping up with it.

“Seems everyone knows of the kingdom’s plights,” I say.

“Shows of goodwill.” Hemsworth shrugs. “That and they’re struggling with the Verdant Drown. The Burn needs soldiers, and their alchemists need solutions. They’ve heard ours are second to none.”

The blight of the south, the Verdant Drown.

The policy in the Fynren Underbelly has always been that southern issues are for southerners, and it wasn’t anything I’d ever put my mind to, though I’d heard of it in passing before.

Only merchants cared much for the goings-on down there and if it affected their profits, and I never dealt with merchants—unless I was torturing them for information about the Master.

The Master…

I sense Alyse’s presence soothing my quickened heart and hot blood.

Right, this isn’t the time for my personal vendetta.

“We’ll have much to discuss. Meet us for dinner?”

“Of course, my lord.”

I push a gust of air against his backside, and he goes wooden.

“Forever farts, Hemsworth. Don’t test me.”

“Yes…sir, Orlov.”

I smirk and don my mask, then take to the sky once more. I rise to the dragon’s altitude and shout that I’ll be going back to the headquarters to report in. They grunt and click at one another in their language, and fly on when I dive back toward the city.

Alyse meets me outside the Scarlet Stronghold—the nickname that’s been painted in bright red over the massive front door.

I pull off my mask and bury my face in her neck as we embrace.

The comforting scent of ink and parchment is still there, just hidden under a layer of smoke and steel.

But it all smells like her, and it puts me at ease.

“Don’t worry, my love, I’m sure we’ll find his corpse among the rubble of the palace.”

My fingers dig into her back, holding her tighter. She’s not forgotten. My problems, my needs , are not dismissed under the weight of putting her kingdom back together.

“I hope so,” I whisper.

But if not.

“If not, I’ll help you hunt him.”

I pull back with a scowl and look down at her swelling belly .

She tsks and lifts my chin so I’m staring into her eyes. “Once this little beast is out of me, I’m going to be back out on the streets with you, prowling for monsters and keeping our home safe. We will find the demon who hurt you, Adrik, and so many others. I will be listening for him.”

“We can’t very well leave the baby at home,” I say.

“Fine, I’ll strap her to my chest, and you can strap me to yours,” she says with a bright smile.

The image makes my heart swell.

“Come on, dinner’s on and Gareth needs help,” she says, then boops my nose as she turns away.

I capture her around the middle and drag her back to my chest. She giggles as I nuzzle her ear.

“You didn’t give me a kiss,” I murmur.

She turns her head and looks up at me. Her gaze bathes me in devotion. Her breath saturates me in sanctuary.

Her hand slides into the gap of my flight suit and she grabs my neck, pulling me down to her mouth. Her skin is warm and soft, and when I ask with my tongue, her pink lips part. I kiss her languidly, savoring each stroke. Our kiss awakens my blood, making my pants too tight for comfort.

Alyse smiles against my lips and I huff as I pull back. “You bewitch me.”

“See why I didn’t kiss you? Now we have to go to the bedroom, and poor Gareth will have to find another helping hand for the dinner you extended to additional guests.”

I grip her chin, holding her still as I plant another kiss on her decadent lips.

“The bedroom, you say? What’s up there?”

She giggles. “Why don’t you come find out?”