Chapter Thirty-Seven #2
“I thought you didn’t like runes.” He still didn’t know how she felt about his Weaver blood. It wasn’t as though Fiadh hid their disgust of humans and half-breeds. Maybe a half-breed was all he was to her now.
“Indulge me.”
Talon paused, then slowly set his glass to the side before removing the cloth. Glass shards were still embedded in his palm. He sighed, stepped around her, then plopped onto the sofa. Damn his carelessness.
Raevina headed for the bathroom. The doors banged open, and she returned moments later with a little metal object in her hands.
Talon nearly forgot how to breathe when she knelt before him.
Raevina didn’t bother asking before she took his palm.
She leaned her body against his leg, then began pulling out each piece of glass with surgical precision.
His heart rate spiked. His lungs forgot how to function.
She was far more intoxicating than the strongest of alcohols.
The warmth sinking through his clothes was electrifying.
She couldn’t have chosen a worse night to care for him.
Raevina was … caring for him. She kept pulling out the shards and setting them on the table behind her.
Each movement sent another surge of adrenaline through his body.
“You should really clean this up before you get them in your foot, too.”
Talon glanced down to the glass pieces spread across the rug, each glittering in the candlelight. The world stilled while she worked.
Raevina sat back once finished, still on her knees. “Now close it.”
Talon’s throat bobbed. He leaned forward, and using his own blood, drew a rune across the deep cuts.
His skin itched terribly, just like it did whenever Arianna healed him.
Talon watched as the largest gash closed, but the skin had barely knit itself together.
A single movement would have it tearing all over again.
“Again,” Raevina said.
Talon obeyed, his attention solely on her now.
“Again,” she commanded.
Talon drew another, studying the emotion swimming in her eyes. Where was her mind? What was she imagining in this moment?
Silence followed. Both sat there, unmoving. Pink lines covered Talon’s palm. He’d be able to hold a weapon tomorrow.
“I thought you liked to be alone before a battle,” he whispered.
“There’s still plenty of time.” More silence. Her fingertips grazed his palm, running over the pink lines. “I prepare by imagining the upcoming fight. I focus on how my enemies move, what decisions they’ll make, and how I can counter them and emerge victorious.”
“So what’s different tonight?”
A mirthless laugh escaped that had Talon’s heart aching. “I can’t find our victory.”
“Neither can I.”
The fire cracked, clear proof her magic was at work. Raevina reached for his ankles next, fingertips brushing his scarred skin as she pulled his pant leg up to examine the old wounds. She did the same to the other. “I don’t imagine you’re going to ask Arianna to heal these before tomorrow?”
“She’s got enough to worry about.”
Raevina clenched her jaw. “It’s not right that she can’t remember him.
Especially now. If they were united …” She trailed off and Talon knew it was because she didn’t believe the words she’d almost spoken.
The fact that if they were united, then maybe they’d stand a chance. But the truth was harsher.
Raevina retrieved the jar, set it on the arm of the couch, then stood. “It won’t heal them overnight, but it’ll take away the pain. I can’t imagine your comrades would want you impaired.”
His jaw flexed. Comrades. Right. They weren’t stationed on the same front. Once she left this room, he might never see her again. Once she walked out that door, everything he’d ever hoped for would be walking out with her.
“Tell me about him.”
She didn’t meet his gaze. “About who?”
“The one who died protecting you.”
“How do you know there was anyone at all?”
“Because I’m not a fool,” he said, echoing her earlier words back to her. “You loved him.” Her jaw worked. “You’re allowed to love.”
“I’m not.” Her voice hardened. “My father claims love is a weakness. Even the love of one’s comrades is perceived as a leader being too soft. In Fiadh, everything is about strength and strength alone. There is loyalty to your commander and the crown, but never love.”
“Was your father the one to do it?”
“No.” Sadness crept into her voice. “We kept our—we kept everything hidden. We were young and foolish.”
“Tell me about him.”
Raevina scoffed. “You really want to hear about my old flame?”
“I’d like to hear about you. Considering I might never get another chance.”
“How optimistic of you.” Talon waited, and she sighed before moving back to stand beside the fire, as if even those tiny embers brought her some semblance of comfort.
Maybe he kept it lit because of her. “We were practically younglings. Barely a few years beyond developing our animal shifts. We were both warriors. We admired one another and thanks to our success, were often paired together for missions.” She waved a hand.
“It’s the same story everyone has.” Again, Talon waited.
Raevina’s jaw worked. “I tried to tell him love was a foolish thing, but eventually I gave in and let him sweep me away with thoughts and ideals and dreams.
“We were ambushed. I was fine. I could have handled myself without his intervention. But he—”
Talon stood. “He saved you.”
“He was an idiot. He could have lived for decades. Centuries. Instead, he threw it all away.” She turned to him, eyes misted over. “Do you know how fast someone dies when an arrow pierces their heart?”
“I do.” The truth of his words had her eyes widening, but Raevina looked away again. She moved back to the table and refilled her glass. She didn’t turn back around.
Talon approached cautiously. “Do you hate him for it?”
“Yes.”
“Can you forgive him?”
Her voice cracked. “Never.”
Talon smirked. “You know, if he were given a choice, I’m willing to bet he’d do it again.”
“Don’t speak about things you don’t know.”
“I do know.” He stopped beside her. “Because I’d do the same.”
“That’s just the bond talking.”
“Maybe.” He set his glass beside hers. Raevina finally looked at him. “Or maybe it’s more than that.”
Her dark eyes, so full of emotion, searched his, wavering between what she wanted and what she’d been trained to display. She was afraid. Despite all her bravado, Raevina was afraid to meet death. He was, too.
“Let me fight beside you,” Talon said. “Let me die beside you.”
Her hand flexed around her glass. “You’re on the front line. We can’t move you.”
“Then join me. Make a stand beside your king and restore Fiadh’s lost honor.”
Her jaw worked. “I’m not sure it would be enough.”
“It will be. You’re the High Lady.”
“Not yet.”
“A ceremony doesn’t change your title. Ask Arianna.”
She scoffed and turned away. “So we meet our end together, is that what you want?”
“You know what I want.”
Raevina turned back, the ache in her eyes nearly enough to send him to his knees. “I can’t give you my heart, Talon.”
He took a breath and dared a step closer.
She didn’t pull away when he tentatively reached up and slid a braid behind her shoulder.
“Tonight, I’m not asking for it.” Talon could have sworn he felt her slide against the bond, just enough to test the very idea of it.
He lowered his voice. “If we die tomorrow, what does it matter anyway?
“And if we live?” Talon gently took the glass from her hand, draining the rest of the contents before setting it aside. “If we live, then I’ll just have to work on earning the rest.”
His hand traveled to her neck, resting against it gently. Raevina wasn’t normally the gentle type. He knew that from their first kiss. But tonight was different. Perhaps it was because of the bond, or maybe it was just their manifesting fear.
“May I kiss you, High Lady of Fiadh?”
She smirked. “A lowly knight seeking a kiss from a High Lady. You ought to be on your knees.”
“Command it, and I will be.”
Flames erupted behind those dark eyes and her hands rose to rest against his chest. Their eyes met again, then her lips melted against his.
Talon’s world centered on that single point of contact.
He pulled her body closer, cradling her head with his other hand, then he tilted her neck at the exact angle he craved.
Raevina pulled back and kissed down his jaw, her movements growing bolder by the second, then she bit the side of his throat, nearly hard enough to break skin. Her sensual voice whispered, “Did you come back to me with more experience?”
Talon couldn’t tell if it was a question or a threat. “I read a book.”
Raevina laughed against his skin and pleasant shivers exploded through his body.
“Good.” She dipped her hands beneath his shirt and Talon ripped the material over his head.
Her shirt hit the floor next and Talon practically lunged for her, running his hands up and down the smooth skin of the back he’d been desperate to touch again since the night they’d danced.
He pulled the knives from her belt and let them clatter to the floor, then walked her toward the bed.
Talon gasped when Raevina gave in to the bond.
Those threads wove together, connecting him to her soul.
He felt everything she did. The desire. The fear.
The absolute certainty that this was what she wanted. He was what she wanted.
Raevina spun before they could fall into the bed. He gaped up at her, this powerful, beautiful warrior, pinning him to the soft mattress.
And Talon decided this was exactly where he wanted to be for eternity.