Chapter 39
Fern
“What the hell is going on?” Lance snapped.
I tugged at my clothing, having wrestled it on as quickly as I could as I waded out of the water. The fabric had resisted at every turn, making the process far harder than it needed to be. Of course, the fact my cheeks were burning the entire time as I remembered what had happened was no help.
That moment of wonder as the swarm of prayer bugs swept down, seemingly to land in my hand.
When I blinked, I could still see the gleaming shadow of them on the insides of my eyelids.
That and Dain’s unending stare, but if I was walking down the path back to the camp site, Lance was taking it at a rapid clip.
The minute he got close to the other riders, his sword was out.
Viridians’s head rose as he watched the proceedings and so did Auren’s.
“Is this why you offered to take Lady Fern to this tomb?” Lance snapped.
“Not sure I know what you’re talking about, Lieutenant.”
Kael dropped a brace of dead rabbits to the ground with an audible thud before squaring up to Lance.
Gods, what were these idiots doing? I thought as my steps quickened.
Masculine threat displays are used to impress females, Auren informed me, and warn off competitors.
Competitors? I said, watching Lance step right up into Kael’s space.
The way their eyes gleamed, the way Lorien dropped the sticks he was arranging to build up the fire and join them, didn’t make sense.
All of this just so their dragons would get access to Auren?
I glanced over at their beasts, who were placidly resting a small distance away from my dragon.
Slate’s wings shifted, then his eyes fell shut.
“Did you think you could bring a lady all the way out into the wilds to dishonour her?” When Lance’s hand went to his sword hilt, Kael’s eyes narrowed. “That away from the keep, no one would protect her?”
“What exactly are you protecting Fern from?” Kael drawled. “The fire that we built? The rabbits we intend to cook for her dinner?”
“Lance—” I said, coming to stand beside them.
“I’m sure this has all been a mistake. If Dain wanted to spy on me, he would’ve been better served lurking in the forest.” With a blink, I saw his stricken expression.
Not quite the look one hoped to see on a man’s face when he saw you naked for the first time, but I think I understood why.
“From what I can tell, he was lured forth by the sight of the prayer bugs, not me.”
“Is that what he did?” Kael’s weight settled on one foot as he looked me up and down far too slowly. “Well, he’s a better man than me. He just watched. I’d have joined you.”
“You…” Lance snapped, but my hand went to his arm, stopping him from pulling his weapon free.
His eyes stared fixedly at my hand, then flicked up to stare into mine.
“Fern, a man doesn’t go slinking through a forest to spy on a woman bathing, not if he’s got any decency at all.
” He turned and took my hands in his. “We can fly to the tomb together. I might not know the way, but there are plenty of villages nearby. We’ll stop for directions and—”
“Not going to be much help when you reach the tomb,” Kael said with a slight smile. “If you reach the tomb. You’re just as likely to fly around in circles until we find you and steer you straight.”
“Why do we need you when we get to Blackreach?” I asked. Lance sucked in a breath, ready to answer, but I was focussed on what really mattered.
“The tomb collapsed during the war between the king and the Duke of Harlston,” Lorien replied. “Drathnor and her bones, they’re all still there, just under a whole lot of earth and rock.”
“Something you neglected to tell us,” Lance growled.
“Didn’t see the point.” Kael’s cocky smile had Lance’s jaw working. “It’s not as if it’s an impediment to us. Not sure about your beast, but our dragons will make short work of the rock and reveal the bones for Auren.”
“Viridian—” Lance started to splutter.
The answer is in the earth. We all turned to see the green dragon lift his head and stare at us steadily. Whatever my queen needs, I will find.
“Seems like we are well equipped to deal with the situation, then.” Kael clapped Lance on the arm, the lieutenant obviously stiffening. “I’ll go and find Dain and work out what happened. Lorien, skin those rabbits and get milady’s dinner started.”
“Rabbit?” Lorien rustled around in a bag he was carrying. “Or cheese on toast?” He procured a loaf of crusty bread and a cheese wheel. “I know which one I’d prefer.”
“Where the hell did you get bread and cheese from?” Kael asked.
Lorien winked at me with a shrug.
“While you idiots were sleeping off a hangover, I went to the kitchens. When I told them I needed to provide for my girl on this trip.”
My. Girl? Lorien had said something similar before, but it was the general’s words I remembered, not the silver rider’s.
“They gave me all manner of things, so, milady.” He pawed through the bag he was carrying. “I have some very nice bacon, some flat bread, a wide array of crackers and—”
“Cheese on toast would be lovely,” I replied, if only to bring this conversation to a close.
“Talk to your brother,” Lance said, his brows drawing down. “And when you do, make him understand that spying on Fern once could be construed as a mistake, but twice?”
The threat was obvious. Kael’s grin widened.
“Heard loud and clear, Lieutenant.” He turned to me. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, milady, I’ll ensure that next time Dain sees you naked, it needs to be a consensual thing.” With a wink, he turned to go. “And one where all three of us are in the room.”
I couldn’t help that gasp. Relationships with more than two partners existed in Nevermere since the moment humans landed on our shores, but it was usually seen to be a low class thing after Queen Glorianna and her consorts were deposed.
Social mores didn’t stop me from seeing exactly what Kael described, if only for a second.
His jaunty whistle made me think that was just what he intended.
Because he wants to mate with you, Auren said.
But why me? I asked her, wanting, fearing her answer, lest she look into the man’s mind. And would he be half as brazen if I…
If you what? Auren asked.
“So cheese on toast it is.” Lorien walked over to the fire, adding some more sticks before pulling free a dagger to start sawing a piece of bread off. “Some for you as well, Lance, or are you happy with travel rations?”
“I’m going to get more firewood.”
Lance turned on his heel and marched off into the forest, leaving just Lorien and me.
The man patted the log beside him. I could sit there or stand around aimlessly, so I walked over and took a seat, keeping a very proper distance between us.
Lorien shot me a sidelong look, then speared the first piece of bread on a long green stick, before handing it to me.
“Hold it out to the flames.” His hand covered mine, bringing it closer to the fire. “That’s it. Watch it closely and pull it free and turn it over when it’s toasted to your satisfaction.” The sound of the fire crackling, the resinous smoke, it was somewhat relaxing. “So are you alright?”
“What?”
As I turned to face him, the bread was pushed deeper into the fire, forcing Lorien to grab the stick and haul it backwards. He set it at the right distance again, my fingers tingling in the wake of his touch.
“Well, I’m assuming you didn’t invite Dain to bathe with you and that bastard?
He’d cut out his own tongue before he’d approach a girl.
Whatever happened, it must’ve been a terrible shock.
” It was then I realised my heart was still racing, as if I’d run from the lake screaming, rather than dressed and walked more sedately.
Was it fear or excitement, I couldn’t tell.
“Not sure if you wanted to talk about it.”
My lips pursed, ready to part and spill the beans, but something silenced me. I pulled my stick back, saw that the toast was perfectly golden brown, then turned it over as he suggested, being more careful in the way I held it up to the fire.
“More of a shock to him than me, I think.” My lips curved into a smile, but it wasn’t an especially happy one. “He looked horrified.”
“At his own actions, not at the sight of you.” Lorien’s eyes began to slide downwards, but he jerked them up with effort.
“Trust me when I say that he’d have liked to see everything under that uniform of yours, but Dain will never admit to that.
His affliction.” He tapped at his temple.
“It has him seeing things, doing things he wouldn’t normally.
Lady Fate lays her hands on all of us, but him she has by the throat, controlling his every move. ”
“I don’t understand.”
“That toast is ready.” Lorien grabbed the stick, setting the bread down on a metal plate, then replaced it with more another slice.
“Dain didn’t want to go into the forest or near the lake,” he explained.
“Tried to get Kael to let him go hunting, though the man couldn’t hit a rabbit if you painted a bloody bulls-eye on its side.
He’s always a grumpy bastard, but he was ten times worse, if that’s possible, when he got told to go and look for firewood. ”
Lorien’s knife rose, pointing to the trees behind us.
“He went that way. The exact opposite direction of the lake and yet that’s where he ended up? That’s the way with Dain. What he wants and what his visions dictate are two different things.”
“Visions?”
With a shake of my head I snatched the bread back. It’d gotten a little more burnt than it should’ve, so I turned it around and set it back against the fire.
“Dain sees the future.” I searched Lorien’s face, looking for signs of mockery, but he was uncharacteristically quiet. “Not just what will happen, but what could. It’s why we were over the bay that morning.”
It felt like I was hearing his words spoken down a hollow tube. They reverberated in my head, bringing back the terrible memory of my fall.
“He saw you die, Fern. Woke the two of us and made sure we ignored the class schedule for the day. Had us following him up into the sky on our dragons, making for the bay. Didn’t think it was possible to change fate, but Kael?
That bastard never lets anyone tell him what to do, so he insisted we try.
Our dragons watched Auren the entire time, caught the moment when the corp’s beasts lost control.
We were there, streaking through the air, trying to get to you. ”
My bread was dropped onto the plate because my grip on the stick was slipping. Something Lorien noted with a nod.
“The man did everything he could to save you, Fern. He’s not going to spy on you from between the trees. My brother wouldn’t steal glances of your naked body. Kael…” His head tilted from one side to the other. “Wouldn’t put it past him, but Dain? If I know him at all, he wants to earn that honour.”