16
The cave was small but secluded, carved naturally into the ridge above the mining camp. The horses dozed quietly at the back, sheltered from the cold. Kurt had taken them outside briefly, but they were content now with grain they had carried and water from melted snow available to them.
The small fire Kurt had built in a shallow stone depression crackled low, casting warm light over the bedrolls they’d spread together near the wall.
Malea sat cross-legged, unfastening her outer layers, fingers moving slowly.
She could feel Kurt watching her. She’d felt his gaze on and off all morning, full of hunger he hadn’t spoken aloud. A hunger that seemed to match her own.
She met his eyes as she peeled off her gloves. “I know we’re both tired, but if we only have this one moment before everything changes, I don’t want to waste it.”
Kurt crossed the small space to her in two strides, his voice rough. “I’ve been trying not to touch you since we got back here. But I can’t hold back any longer.”
“I don’t want you to hold back,” she whispered.
The kiss that followed was anything but tentative.
His hands slid into her hair, mouth claiming hers with purpose, with heat.
She opened to him, gasping as his tongue met hers, as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her into his lap.
Her legs straddled his thighs, skirts bunching up around them.
She could feel him—hard and ready—through the layers of his clothing, and the pressure of it made her moan.
“You feel so good,” she breathed, hands moving to tug loose the fastenings of his tunic. Her fingers were nimble despite the chill air, driven by desire and determination.
He helped her shed her outer clothes, then his, until their bare skin touched. Her thighs pressed against his hips, and her breasts rubbed over his chest as she kissed a path up his neck. His low groan vibrated against her lips.
“Are you ready? I can’t take much more,” he rasped, voice tight.
“Yes. Goddess, yes,” she said, rocking against him. “I want you. All of you.”
They lay down together on the thick blankets, Malea pulling him down over her.
His mouth found the curve of her breast, sucking her nipple gently until she gasped, arching beneath him.
He cupped her breast with one callused hand and slid his other hand between her thighs, exploring with aching slowness.
She was already slick for him. Kurt growled low in his throat, kissing her again as he positioned himself at her entrance. Their eyes locked, and she nodded, unable to speak of her need any further. She could barely form coherent thoughts, she was so inflamed.
With a smooth, steady push, he entered her. They both groaned when he filled her completely.
“Malea...” he breathed, burying his face against her neck.
She clung to him as he began to move, slow and deep at first, each thrust stoking the fire between them. She matched him stroke for stroke, urging him faster, harder, with gasped words and needy hands.
The cave filled with the sounds of their passion. Ragged breaths, skin against skin, the soft rustle of fabric shifting beneath them. When she shattered, it was with a cry muffled by his mouth. He followed moments later, pulsing deep inside her with a groan that echoed against stone.
They lay tangled together, bodies slick with sweat, breath still coming in gasps.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t wait. I didn’t want to go too fast for you,” Kurt murmured against her temple.
She smiled lazily, fingers tracing circles on his back. “It was perfect, Kurt. Perfect.”
He kissed her again, slow and lingering, before pulling the blanket over their bodies. Outside, the virkin kept watch, silent and unseen. Inside, the world narrowed to warmth, satisfaction, and the comfort of skin against skin—just for a little while longer.
Hours later, the virkin woke them gently with insistent speech in their minds.
“I’m awake,” Kurt mumbled, pulling Malea closer into his embrace. She was spooned against him in the most satisfying way, and if they had enough time, he’d prove to her all over again just how much he enjoyed having her in his arms.
The thought gave him pause. He didn’t just like making love to her. He actually loved her. Kurt didn’t know why he hadn’t realized it before. He was in love with the little gem cutter, and he vowed to do something about it all once their mission was over and they were on their way back home.
He wanted their partnership to last for more than just this journey. In fact, he’d just realized, he wanted their partnership to last forever. Now, all he had to do was convince her that she wanted the same thing.
“What is it?” Malea murmured as she pushed her hair back from her face and blinked awake.
“The General has a plan, and his troops are almost in place. He wants you to meet a special squad over by the stockpile tonight so you can help them disable the crossbows. Then, the ice dragons will strafe the ground with fire and melt everything, so you have to be out of the way before that,” Arch told them both.
“What about the forge where they make the crossbows?” Malea asked.
“They’re going to hit that at the same time. The ice dragons are coming out in force for this, so your job in disabling the crossbows is very important,” Keera advised.
“What about the mage?” Kurt asked, sitting up and finally making himself let go of Malea.
“We’ll manage that. Don’t worry. We’ll immobilize him, and the dragons will do the rest,” Arch promised with an edge to his voice that Kurt had never quite heard before from his small friend.
They got up, took care of personal needs, dressed and did general housekeeping chores for themselves and the livestock, cleaning the cave and eating again. They had to be ready to go out that night once the sun set, but Kurt took a moment as they were about to leave the cave to take Malea’s hand.
“I’m glad we’re doing this together. There’s no one I’d rather be with than you, Malea,” Kurt told her, looking deep into her eyes in the light of the setting sun that filtered into the cave’s mouth.
Her heart squeezed. “Even if it’s dangerous?”
“Especially then.” His voice dropped. “You’ve grown into someone fierce and brilliant. Someone I trust with my life. I admired the girl you were, but the woman beside me now…” His hand tightened gently around hers. “She’s unforgettable.”
Her breath caught in her throat. She leaned in, brushing her shoulder against his. “You’re not exactly forgettable yourself, Kurt.”
He chuckled low, then sobered. “I wish we had more time, and were somewhere warm and safe.”
“We’ll get there,” she whispered, her head tilting toward his.
He met her halfway.
Their kiss was unhurried, sweet and full of meaning, with none of the urgency of the night before.
It was a promise of more moments like this, if they survived what was coming.
When they pulled apart, neither said a word.
They didn’t need to. It was time to go. Time to meet up with the General’s troops and do their part to make the skies safe for the dragons to do their part.
The moon was just a sliver of a crescent above the ridge as Kurt and Malea crept through the snowy underbrush, flanked by the virkin gliding above in silence.
Their breath steamed in the night air, boots muffled against frozen ground.
They had circled around the mining camp so that the stockpile lay just ahead, dark shapes of stacked crates and parked wagons looming in the darkness.
Arch gave the signal, a low, inhuman chirp, and moments later, a shadow detached itself from the rocks near the base of a twisted pine.
“Who goes there?” the shadow demanded softly.
“Stained glass,” Kurt replied, using the agreed-upon code.
Another shadow moved, and then a third. Soon, five figures emerged, cloaked in mottled grays and winter whites, blending so well with the surroundings that even Kurt hadn’t seen them until they moved.
One of them stepped forward, pulling down her hood. “Captain Nariel,” she said in a low, firm voice. “The General sends his regards.”
Kurt gave a tight nod. “I’m Kurt. This is Malea. And our virkin allies, Sir Arch and Lady Keera.”
At the mention of the virkin, the squad exchanged glances. One muttered, “So the stories are true.”
“They’re more than true,” Malea said. “Keera and Arch are our friends, and they’ve kept us alive on this journey, saving us from magical traps.”
Keera fluttered down to land lightly on a snow-covered boulder, her wings half-folded. “Tell them. We will deal with the mage. They must be out of the camp when dragons arrive and the flames come.”
Arch landed beside her, eyes glowing faintly in the darkness. “You will all have only one chance. Make it count. And make sure they understand.”
Kurt nodded and relayed what the virkin had said, impressing the importance of timing upon the soldiers. Captain Nariel gave a sharp nod.
“The General told us most of this. And we’ve trained for precision. We have also trained on how to disable the firing mechanisms of the crossbows, but what’s the plan for the bolts? Do you have one?”
Kurt stepped forward, gesturing toward the stacked crates.
“Each crate holds up to a dozen completed bolts. We count at least twenty crates here. There may be more, deeper in the shadows. We could open them, and Malea can probably crack the diamond blades, but that could be too noisy and take way longer than the time we have. If we can, we should probably carry the crates of bolts into the woods and hide them, but that also carries possible peril. The most important things are the crossbows themselves. If we can make them unusable before the dragons arrive, their fire can melt the rest.”
“I brought explosives,” one of Nariel’s men said. “We can place them in the crates, and when the dragons flame the area, they will explode, hopefully shattering the diamond blades so they can never be used as weapons again.”