Chapter 1 #2
The twitching at the corner of his mouth revealed his teasing, so I pretended to consider it.
‘How about the third choice? Get that limp-dick excuse of a dwarf off his throne, and when he’s begging for mercy, tell him Sana sends her regards.
’ My words were met with a burst of laughter, Rey’s gaze widening with amusement.
‘Limp-dick?’ He kissed the tip of my nose, his embrace loosening slightly before he let my feet touch the ground.
‘My beautiful, vicious woman, how I’ll miss your colourful turn of phrase during the campaign,’ he said before his smile faltered, growing more serious.
‘I’ll throw his head at your feet for what he did to you and Tova, but no shenanigans while I’m away.
Whatever happens, it can wait until I return. Promise me, Vida.’
‘Rey, I…’ I was pondering telling him about the traps when something caught my attention.
My viper hairpin, the one that had blinded him, was soldered to the gauntlet of his armour.
Baffled, I grabbed his arm and raised it to the light.
‘Why? Out of everything you could adorn yourself with, why this?’
‘I wanted something of yours… and didn’t have anything else,’ he answered with a boyish smile.
‘It’s customary to take a token from your lady to battle.
’ Maybe it was the way he said it, or more accurately, the curve of those luscious, bow-shaped lips tilted in a wry smile, but my heart fluttered in its cage.
‘This won’t do. Kneel,’ I said with a huff, mildly annoyed he’d chosen the weapon I’d almost killed him with instead of asking me for something more appropriate.
‘I don’t kneel on command,’ he said, but I swear the brazen man’s eye twinkled. ‘But for you, little Viper, I’ll make an exception.’ Rey looked me in the eye, the creaking of his armour the only sound as he dropped to one knee. I reached up to my neck, unclasping my new necklace.
Tova had made it for me. I’d told him about the geas and the visions of my mother, of not being entirely human.
He’d stood there, silent, but when I’d finished, Tova wrapped his arms around me in an unusual display of affection.
The next day, red-eyed and haggard, he’d presented me with this necklace.
The gold veins in its stone shimmered as I held it in my palm.
The labradorite centrepiece, a vivid blue stone patterned with emerald green and gold streaks formed the heart of the necklace.
In a moment of inspiration, I remembered it could store magical energy and raised the gem to my lips.
When I kissed the gem, my aether flowed into its depths, binding itself to the stone’s core.
‘Protect him, guide him… and help him return to my side,’ I whispered, imbuing it with a tiny fraction of my power. It was a simple novice trick Ciesko taught me one evening after I’d strained my eyes studying to fill the gaps in my education.
The green streaks sparkled like lightning, and the rock warmed in my hands, making me smile.
If nothing else, it looks pretty and will keep him warm, I thought, chuckling at the unexpected result.
My hands slipped around Reynard’s neck, and as the clasp clicked closed, I leaned in and kissed his lips.
‘I don’t want the weapon that hurt you to be the only thing you have of me, Rey.
Take this. It will protect you.’ I swallowed hard.
‘Tova made it to keep me safe; he said labradorite is the stone of Morana.[1] Legend says she bound the northern lights within its heart to protect her worthy champion.’
‘I’m your champion?’ His smile grew wider, and I felt silly offering it to him.
‘Maybe? Besides, I’m a big girl and can look after myself. If you got hurt, I’d…’ I bit my lip, noticing how dainty the necklace looked on his wide chest. His brow wrinkled as he studied the stone.
‘You’re sending me off to a war in winter with Morana’s stone and a vivamancer’s blessing?
How fitting. A precious gift for your warrior, even if Tova intended it for you.
’ Rey straightened, pressing my hands to his lips before hiding the necklace under his shirt ‘I have to go, Viper. Damn, it’s so hard to walk away from you. ’
‘Then make sure to return quickly. When you do, I’ll allow you to return my gift to its rightful place,’ I said, trying to make our goodbye a little easier.
‘What a wicked promise.’ His gaze drifted to my bosom before stepping back and mounting his horse.
I waited for him to leave. Instead, the golden ring of his berserker magic eclipsed his irises.
He bent from the saddle to cup my cheek.
‘I have no token for you, my lady, so I’ll leave my heart in your keeping. Guard it well, my light.’
Only then did he nudge his horse forward and leave while I stood there, speechless and fighting back the tears filling my eyes. For a ruthless War King, Reynard was too charming by half, and I didn’t know how to defend myself against him.
The sound of horse’s hooves faded into the distance, and my smile with it.
The snow fell heavily, filling the night with silence, and the warmth of Reynard’s touch couldn’t hold off our dreadful reality.
If Jagon wasn’t lying, then Tivala was using the Wey Gates, and the southern rebel had become a threat that could not be ignored.
I recalled the look in Jagon’s eyes. The desperation in his voice as he asked me to go with him.
It reminded me of the time he’d saved me from brigands in the borderlands.
I believed he cared for me in his own twisted way.
He was telling the truth; I felt it in my core.
The fear in my enemy’s eyes wasn’t fake. Gods, I wish he’d lied.
I had to uncover the truth behind his hints before whatever he was afraid of could destroy my home. I’d named myself the king’s shadow, and now I had to live up to the title.
Yet all I could do was sit on the snowy step and cry.