Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ama
The darklands were exactly as creepy as I remembered them—the only difference this time was that we had an entire army with us.
I wasn't positive if that made it worse or better.
I mean, at least we had numbers. But it also freaked me out how often I heard noises around us in the forest, only to realize that it was someone behind us or in front of us.
I think my men could tell I was jumpy because they had spread out around me.
Either that, or they were being their normal overprotective selves.
I eyed Drayven, who was right in front of me, and I may have not so subtly checked out his butt.
What?! It looked good in his pants.
To his right was Damien and to his left was Adrien.
Spread out behind us were Finias, Colt, and Nico, who were all on horseback.
I smoothed a hand over my mount, and the warmth of her beneath my hand calmed me.
Jace, who rode next to me, was mostly silent, but I could feel tension brewing between us.
I would be the first to admit that things were confusing between the two of us.
I mean, only a day ago, he had literally fought my other mates for the right to keep me in the Kingdom of Impurus, which I could have viewed as romantic if it hadn't also pissed me off because he was putting the people in Pura I cared about at risk.
So I wouldn't lie, I was a bit miffed with the bastard right now.
"Ama," his voice was casual, "I can practically hear you thinking from here."
I let out a small snort, "Yeah? Too bad, you can't hear what I'm thinking about."
A rumble escaped his chest that I knew was from his Hellhound, "What are you thinking about?"
"You," I admitted.
"Yeah?" His voice was heated, and I felt bad because I didn't think it was in the way he assumed.
"I need to know where we stand before this Jace," I kept my voice low and eyes ahead.
"Where do we stand?"
I looked at him, "We are about to involve ourselves in a massive battle for the future of the Kingdom of Pura.
I know we are mates, but even with that...
I really don't know where you stand. I need to know you're with us.
Not your parents. Not your territory. Us...
me. I need to know you're with me at the end of the day because I have no doubt that this is going to get messy.
If everything goes to shit, where will you be Jace? "
He held my gaze, his eyes flashing with a fringe of orange, and I felt his Hellhound try to surface before he let out an exhale and looked forward, making my heart sink slightly. I honestly had no idea how he felt about this entire situation, which made me ten times more nervous.
"You are asking if I will willingly share my mate?
" He cut right to the chase. Jace wasn't wrong because, at the end of the day, that was what it came down to for me.
I understood if he wasn't completely okay with the idea, but this was my new family—my new reality—and I could understand needing to get used to the notion...
but this wouldn't work if he was completely in denial of its existence.
So, would he accept it or not? Would he accept me or reject me?
"Yes." My voice was far quieter than normal, the sun breaking through occasionally to showcase the gloomy afternoon sky.
It had only been two hours of riding so far, but already I had to admit to missing the Kingdom of Impurus.
And that was part of the problem because I knew Jace understood the hold the place had over me.
"And if I say no?"
"You lose me," I admitted quietly, hating the ultimatum but knowing it was necessary.
I wasn't normally one to do something like this, but the time for indecision in my life was over, there was a massive event on the horizon, and an instinctual feeling told me that now was the time to settle this type of thing.
Jace's lips pressed into a cocky smirk I didn't believe in the least, "You think you could just let me go? I know you feel what's between us, Ama. I think you're lying to yourself if you think for a minute you could forget what's between us." He wasn't wrong, but he also wasn't right.
I wasn't going to go back and forth with him, though.
"You're right," I stated softly before adding, "Letting you go and forgetting about the connection between us would be difficult.
Painful even. But I am willing to walk away from it—from us—if you can't accept the others.
So, this is your choice to make, Jace, but don't wait too long because I have a feeling our time is running short. "
Jace fell silent after a sound of dissatisfaction at my words.
I rode next to him for a few seconds before urging my horse ahead, moving up between Drayven and Adrien.
I didn't look back at Jace, but I could feel his eyes on me.
When I looked at Drayven, his gaze was running over my face, a look in his eyes that let me know he'd heard the conversation between us.
"You good?" he asked softly, his jaw tight with frustration. No. I was learning that Drayven was pretty protective over me, and I had a feeling his anger was falling on Jace completely.
"Hopefully, I will be soon." I alluded to Jace's decision as a comfortable silence fell between the two of us.
I honestly couldn't tell you how long we rode like that through the darklands, but I had to assume it was a few hours because, despite the sky being cloudy, it was getting darker and actually started to clear as we reached a hill that allowed me to see how close we were to the base of the mountains. My legs hurt from riding on a horse for so long. The few lessons I’d taken were nothing compared to this type of riding, and my eyes were heavy, exhausted from how early we had woken.
I was all too thankful when the army came to a stop at the base of the mountain, and I could hear the voices of the Lieutenants ordering everyone to set up camp.
I brought my horse to a stop and winced as I went to slide off.
A hand steadied my waist, and I looked down to find Nico there, his eyes darker than normal and filled with concern.
Normally, I would have been perfectly capable of getting off by myself, but this time I put my hands on his shoulders and allowed him to help me down, sighing in relief, as I leaned into him.
I could not imagine how sore I would be tomorrow.
"Okay, serious question," I stepped back from him and stretched my legs slightly.
"Do we have a tent or—" I came to a stop as Nico motioned to a place behind him where Jace was instructing soldiers to help assemble a rather massive tent.
I honestly felt like tent was the wrong word, since it was clearly going to be the size of a large room on the inside, but I would take it.
What was a bit uncomfortable? All the dirty looks being cast our way despite my guys aiding in the attempt to set up the tent.
The men around them were in purple uniforms, telling me they were Infantry, and I felt a bit bad because they had clearly been walking all day on foot and now were also helping set up a tent for a group of people that I knew they didn't like.
But you know who they did seem scared of?
Jace. The way he was watching them had all of them behaving very carefully.
Not carefully enough, though, clearly because it was only minutes later that an argument broke out.
Nico stood next to me, a hand resting on my lower back, as I watched the altercation begin without Jace taking note at first. He was distracted, talking to one of the men nearby about something regarding the mountains, if I had to guess from their direct pointing.
"Why don't you step aside and stand with the prince?" one of them hissed at Drayven.
Almost immediately, Drayven froze, his entire body tensing as his jaw clenched, but he continued to adjust what he'd been working on, ignoring the man and his brothers-in-arms nearby.
"I said, fucking move," the large man growled out, seeming to have lost his patience. "We don't need our work fucking checked, and certainly not by someone like you."
I tried to move forward, but Nico caught me around the waist and put his chin on my shoulder, his relaxed posture not matching the rolling energy under his skin. Drayven stood fully from where he'd been crouched and turned towards the three men, looking completely fed up with their bullshit.
"I can check whatever the fuck I like, especially when it pertains to where my mate is staying," Drayven snapped, his eyes flaring with a ring of green that had my toes curling.
I also would freely admit how happy it made me to hear him refer to me as his mate. I felt my chest squeeze as I tried to refrain from tackling him, or something equally ridiculous.
"Your mate is the only one who deserves to stay in this tent," a second man added, looking angry. "The rest of you should be sleeping out in the cold, where you belong."
"You have one chance to walk away," Drayven stated coolly. "I am not doing this tonight."
"What the hell are you going to do? Are you going to kill me?
You pure-bloods are great at killing hybrids—" the center man stepped up into his space and pushed his chest. His hand barely made contact before Drayven had him laid out on the floor, his scythe at the man’s neck, and his temper completely snapped.
I surged out of Nico's arms and wrapped my arms around Drayven's muscular waist, right as the other two men moved to attack him.
I wouldn't lie—I really hadn't expected to get tackled to the ground. But the minute the second man, who’d been aiming for Drayven, hit me, everything went to absolute shit.
All I heard was my head ringing because, when my body had hit the ground, my head had snapped back and hit against the very, hard cold ground.
Motherfucker, that would leave a bruise.
Arms wrapped tightly around me, picking me up, and instantly, I could hear someone was furious. It took me several attempts at blinking open my eyes to realize that the person shouting orders was the one holding me. I frowned as I realized it was Jace.
Jace was holding me? Better question, why was Jace yelling?
"If any of you ever put my mate in danger again, I will execute you myself," Jace's voice was absolutely lethal and caused a hot chill to roll over me.
"You do not fuck with her. You do not fuck with any of them.
They are under my protection, and anyone who goes against that will be punished by the rule of the crown. Do you understand?"
I couldn't hear the responses of the stunned crowd, but my skin went from being cold to much warmer.
I finally fully came around and found myself in the warmly lit tent.
I was curled into Jace's lap as I looked around, noticing the multiple beds, the furs, and the fire in the center of the room.
There were also chests filled with maps and some other supplies, making the space look far more lived-in than I would have assumed.
"Love," Jace whispered, drawing my attention so I was looking up at him. "Are you okay?"
I nodded, realizing I was being honest, "It was just sort of a shock, but I actually feel fine."
Jace pressed his forehead to mine as he exhaled, "If you want me to kill him, I will."
"No," I couldn't help but smile. "We need all the help we can get with this. Plus, we expected a bit of animosity...but thank you. Thank you for standing up for the guys. It means a lot, especially considering...everything."
Jace smoothed a hand over my jaw and examined my face, "No one hurts my mate...not even me."
"You?" I clarified.
He swallowed, "Earlier. You're right. I can't ask you to pick me over your other mates. It's not fair." Relief cascaded over me, and I hadn’t even realized until that moment how damned important his decision had been to me.
"I want you here, with me," I promised him as he looked down at my lips and surged forward, the kiss oddly soft and gentle, despite the energy I could feel coursing through him. I let out a soft sound as he finally pulled back, my head dizzy from the kiss.
"If you want me here, I'm here, love. No matter what."
I couldn't deny the joy that flooded my system as I met his lips again because his words were exactly what I'd been hoping for.
I felt the walls between us starting to weaken more, and despite feeling exhausted, I began to feel like all the pieces were falling into place for the war we were about to enter.