Fire and Shadow
“How long is this ride?” I asked, incredibly annoyed, shortly into our journey from Fallorian to base.
After leaving the city, the landscape changed to rolling hills of tall, bright-green grass and wildflowers of orange and yellow.
The horses moved swiftly across the dirt road that stretched as far ahead as I could see beneath a baby-blue sky.
Drayce had hoisted me—gently this time, in light of our late-night, wine-induced conversation—into the saddle of a sleek black horse and then positioned himself right behind me.
Right up against me.
So I sat forward slightly, holding the horn of the leather saddle, back stiff as a board, and quickly grew uncomfortable. Not to mention the sway and jostle of the horse’s quick steps. I decided I did not like riding horses.
I was positioned between Drayce’s lean, muscular thighs, and he held the reins lazily in one hand in front of me, making it difficult to lean too far away from his chest.
“You seem uncomfortable. If you relax, you’ll be far less sore,” he said from way too close.
“Relaxing would create a lot of unwanted contact.”
“Suit yourself. Don’t let me hear you whining tomorrow.”
It didn’t take long for my lower back to scream in pain, so I took a deep breath and relaxed, the entire lower half of my back leaning into his front.
I could feel all his tight stomach muscles and his body heat, and it made warmth flood into my core when I realized I could feel him against my ass.
Gods, I could not think about that. My cheeks heating was bad enough.
I heard him take a small breath, as if about to speak.
“Not a word,” I added quickly before he could say anything.
He huffed out a laugh but said nothing, tightening his hold on the reins and boxing me in even more.
He was enjoying this.
Okay, two could play this game…
I adjusted myself in the seat a bit, backing more fully into his crotch instead of his stomach, making him stiffen and his stomach muscles tense.
“Do you have enough room, Drayce? Just want to make sure you’re as comfortable as I am.” I arched my back and stretched my arms high above me for added effect.
He just grunted—point for Naci.
But then he reached around me with his free hand and split the reins between both, resting each hand on one of my thighs, making me take in a sharp breath. The contact made my skin tingle and my pulse quicken.
Damn him. We were now even in this game.
But I would not allow that.
“I’m going to take a little nap. Wake me when we get there,” I said.
Before he could respond, I leaned all the way back, my shoulders resting against his chest, and positioned my head to rest against the side of his neck. There wasn’t a hair’s breadth of space between us now, and I felt him grow hard against my backside.
Point back to Naci. I smiled before I could stop myself, letting my eyes fall closed to sell the fib.
He lowered his head so that we were cheek to cheek, making my eyes fly open. “That’s fine. I know you’ll dream of the things I could do if you were facing me.” He leaned further down until I could feel his hot breath on my neck. “I won’t tell anyone if you moan my name in your sleep.”
Oh, fuck. There was no winning this game. To win, I would need to make a very stupid decision. But gods, I wanted to so badly in this moment.
I used my better judgment, despite the heady fog surrounding my brain, and sat back up so that only my lower back was against his stomach.
He laughed once more but said nothing.
He knew he had won. The sour taste of defeat was enough to calm my heated thoughts. I’d thought briefly, maybe this was the best way to get over Varyn. But now that I was thinking clearly, I knew how poor a choice that would be.
* * *
We rode on, slowing to a walk for a while to give the horses a break and eat some of the food we’d packed from the ship. The sun had risen to its peak in the sky and was on its afternoon descent before I spoke again.
“Will we arrive tonight?” I asked.
“We will, but it will be late,” Drayce responded, no hint in his tone of our earlier exchange.
So we still had several hours to go, and my entire body was already growing sore.
Bramick came up beside us on his chestnut mare as Aerie swooped down from her scouting above and landed on our other side to walk beside the horse Drayce and I rode.
“All clear, Dray. No sign of anyone following. And Noxie is hunting, he’ll catch up soon.” I nodded my thanks to her.
“I can’t detect anyone either. No vibrations or tremors,” said Bramick.
I wondered what any of that meant. I wanted to ask everyone what their abilities were and what they could do, but it felt rude to do so.
Drayce just nodded and kept the horses walking.
By the time the sun was setting, glowing bugs lazily buzzed over the tall grass, casting a golden-yellow shimmer across the endless sea of green. Stars were winking into existence in the purple sky, and a faint breeze picked up, smelling of sweet flowers, while Noxie and Aerie circled overhead.
I was blissfully content out here, thinking about what base would be like. Would there be magical and physical training? Would it be like school but for fae? How many rebels were there? Was it a small house or a whole compound? Was this the only base…
Would these cuffs come off tonight? This was my most burning question of them all. I wanted to talk to Noxie again and acquaint myself with magic and being fae. And if I were being honest, I also wanted to know what I could do. It was terrifying, yes, but also a little exciting.
Maybe one day I’d get to exact my revenge on Aemilia, fae to fae. But Cassius, what in the world would I do with mortal Cassius if I ever saw him again?
I almost preferred that I didn’t.
As night descended, I grew tired and contemplated actually taking a nap, but I didn’t want to miss the first view of base. So I kept my eye peeled, awaiting any sign we were close, that there was anything but endless green hills around.
“You’re not going to see it until we pass the wards,” Drayce said from behind me.
My head had been on a swivel. He must’ve known what I was looking for.
“Can you tell me about the wards?”
“Not until we’re behind them.”
Figures. “Is there anything you can tell me while I wait? About anything?” I was beyond frustrated at the lack of information. That had been the story of my life since the moment I left Briarstead.
He thought for a moment before saying, “No.”
“Oh, come on, we’ve been traveling together for weeks now, and you haven’t told me anything.”
“Rhyven.”
“Huh?” I had no idea what that meant.
“Rhyven. It’s my last name.”
I thought maybe he would tell me something about magic or fae or the continent’s politics here, but he had told me about himself. It was…nice. “Okay, Drayce Rhyven. What else?”
I heard the trace of a smile in his voice when he spoke again. “What do you want to know? Other than where we’re going and what we’re doing there.”
“Do you have a…a mate or whatever?” I couldn’t believe that was the first question about him that came to mind. Tension aside, I was curious about the whole mate thing.
He went rigid behind me.
Shit, I shouldn’t have asked that. It was personal, and we barely knew each other. The question now felt so stupid to ask.
“I do not.” He’d been very short, all traces of the smile gone.
I wasn’t sure if his answer was good or bad. Maybe if he did, we could stop doing whatever we were doing. And not doing.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. It was stupid and personal and…”
He chuckled, calming my embarrassment. “Don’t worry, Naci. You won’t have to fight any females over me.”
I rolled my eyes.
He could change up so fast it was making me dizzy. I wondered why his initial reaction had been so brash.
“Not sure why anyone would fight over your arrogant, moody ass,” I said.
I heard a laugh that was quickly disguised as a cough from behind us.
“You’ll see one day,” he said. “So what about the mysterious Naci Corren?”
“All you gave me was your last name, and you already know mine. Give me something real, and I’ll give you something real. But you first.”
He remained silent for a while, but I waited. He wouldn’t get anything from me without giving first. That was how trust worked from now on for me.
Finally, he said, “I’m the last of the Rhyven line. My parents and brother died when I was young.” He swallowed, and I stopped breathing. “Many years after that, it was your mother who took me in and brought me to base. I was a young male with no purpose, but she gave me one.”
My heart squeezed, for his loss and for mine. It was cruel that this male, sitting so close to me, had spent more time with my mother than I had. And for him to lose his whole family at a young age, grow up an orphan? I knew loss, but not like his.
“Drayce, that’s awful, and I’m sorry. And for what it’s worth, I’m glad she found you.”
“She was an incredible female.”
He’d said female, not woman.
“So she was fae?” My voice shook. I’d assumed, since my magic broke free. But now I knew for sure.
“She was. And a powerful one, too, even among us.” His voice had become gentle.
I swallowed. It felt like everything I’d ever known was a lie. But underneath the building resentment, there were underlying feelings of excitement. If she had been a powerful fae, maybe once I started training with my powers, I would become a powerful one too.
He let me sit in silence with my thoughts for a while after that.
It was equal parts infuriating and sad that I was surrounded by people who knew so much about her when I knew so little. And she’d left me behind to be with this group. She had stayed with them instead of coming back to me. It had been a choice.
I didn’t want to be angry at her now that I knew she was dead, but it was becoming hard not to be. I just couldn’t understand.
And right on cue, as if he could hear my whirling thoughts, Drayce said, “She loved you. Everything she did was for you.”
“How was it for me?” Hot, angry tears stung my eyes. “What I needed was her, but she chose all of you instead.”