CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN TREW
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
TREW
Aday of flying over the wasteland had taught me exactly how much I hated being injured.
Not because of the pain, though my shoulder throbbed with each of Lakast’s wing beats and my abdomen felt like someone was slowly ripping me apart from the inside out. No, I hated it because Isi wouldn’t stop fussing over me
And because I’d discovered something deeply unsettling about myself.
I loved every bit of it.
“You’re favoring your left side again,” she said from behind me, her arms wrapped around my waist as we flew. She’d refused to fly in front of me, stating she couldn’t bear the thought of leaning back against my wounds.
Pherin dozed on her shoulder while Gavelle flew beside us, periodically landing on Isi’s back to rest. He’d refused to land on me, stating in no uncertain terms that I was to rest, not support him.
Thankfully, his only injuries were a few bruises from the battle.
Isi’s fingers pressed gently against my ribs, below the bandages she’d rewrapped that morning after applying fresh herbs. “How’s the pain?”
“It’s fine.” The lie came automatically, a habit from years of being the one everyone else depended on, the one who had to put on a strong front at all times.
Her hand moved higher, her fingers spreading across my chest in a gesture that was part assessment, part possession. “Don’t lie to me. I need to know if you’re getting worse.”
The intimacy of that demand made my heart throb. I’d been king since I was barely more than a boy. Responsible for an entire court, for making decisions that meant life or death. No one had been allowed to fuss over me in sixteen years.
Except her.
She’d brought me back. I’d felt her calling, telling me over and over again that she loved me. The thought of her following me if I died kept me pushing to live.
“It’s better than this morning,” I said, and this time it was true. “The herbs are working.”
She didn’t release her hold, her palm staying flat against my sternum where she could feel my heartbeat. Checking. Always checking.
I covered her hand with mine. Below us, the wasteland stretched endless and corrupted, but up here with Isi pressed against my back, her warmth seeping through leather and linen, I felt whole.
“We should stop soon,” Derren called from where he flew beside us on Kyreth with Lexie seated at his front. “Scout that ridge before we lose the light.”
I nodded, already guiding Lakast toward the rocky outcropping he’d indicated.
We’d been making broad sweeps of the area all day, slowly moving south while covering ground in overlapping patterns to ensure we didn’t miss anything.
The property deed’s description had been vague—where springs run warm and green persists against the gray—and the wasteland made navigation nearly impossible, because every landmark we might’ve used had been corrupted or destroyed.
Lakast descended in a smooth glide, his wings catching the thermal currents. Isi’s grip tightened on my sides, her body tensing against mine.
“It’ll take worse than this to keep me from you,” I said quietly, knowing she’d hear me even over the wind. “I would crawl through death for another day with you.”
With a soft sigh, she pressed between my shoulder blades. “If the world breaks, I’ll still find you in the ashes.”
I lifted her hand and kissed each knuckle.
We landed on relatively dry ground, as dry as anything got in the wasteland, and I slid from Lakast’s back, biting back a groan when my belly and shoulder protested.
I turned to reach up as Isi climbed down, but she climbed down the other side and stomped around to stand in front of me.
Her pale blue eyes catalogued every detail of my face and posture, looking for signs of weakness, for pain I might be hiding.
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Sit.” She pointed to a tree lying across the ground. “I’m checking your bandages.”
“You already—”
“Sit.”
The command in her voice made something inside me tighten. She was glaring at me like I’d personally offended her by existing with injuries, and I’d never wanted to kiss someone more.
I sat.
Pherin peeped from Isi’s shoulder, and Gavelle released a sound from where he perched on a tall boulder keeping watch. I swore our companions were laughing.
Isi moved between my knees, her fingers already working at the ties of my tunic. Her hands remained steady as she lifted it up, exposing the bandages wrapped around my torso.
“This needs changing,” she muttered, examining the cloth. A small spot of blood had seeped through, barely visible. “You’re moving too much.”
“Hard to avoid on dragonback.”
Her eyes flicked up to meet mine, sharp with concern and something fiercer. “Then maybe you should be resting instead of flying all day.”
“Can’t rest. We have to find—”
“I know what we have to find.” Her fingers traced the edge of the bandage, and she took care not to press on the wound beneath. “But you’re no good to anyone dead.”
The echo of her words from the cave made me smile. “Seems I’ve heard that before.”
“Because it’s true.” She began unwrapping the bandage, her touch gentle but efficient. When she exposed the wound, her jaw tightened. “It’s not healing as fast as it should be.”
“I’m getting better.” I caught her hand, stilling her movements. “Isi, look at me.”
She did, reluctantly.
“I’m going to be alright,” I said. “I’m sore, yes. But the poison’s gone and the wounds are closing. I’m not going to collapse on you.”
“You nearly did this morning when you tried to lift your pack.”
The movement had pulled at my shoulder, sending white-hot pain through my chest that made my vision gray along the edges. She’d been there instantly, her hand on my chest, forcing me to sit until the dizziness passed.
Kerralyn had chided me, telling me I was messing with her hard work.
“I wasn’t thinking,” I said.
“Exactly.” Isi had pulled fresh bandages from her pack, along with the jar of salve Kerralyn had given her. “Let me think for you until you’re healed.”
There was something deeply arousing about watching her take charge of my care. Her fingers gently spread the herbs across my skin, and I felt each touch like a brand. When she leaned close to wrap fresh bandages around my torso, her hair fell forward, brushing my jaw.
I wanted to bury my hands in it. Pull her mouth to mine. Show her exactly how alive I felt with her this close.
Instead, I stayed still and let her work because she needed this. She needed to confirm with her own hands that I was healing, that I wasn’t going to leave her.
I nearly had. I’d almost died and left her. The thought made a primal feeling snarl through my chest.
“There.” She tied off the bandage and stepped back, surveying her work. “Better.”
“Thank you.” I reached for her hand, pulling her back between my knees. “You’re taking good care of me.”
Pink crept up her neck. “Someone has to.”
“I’m glad it’s you.” I kissed her cheeks.
“Other than you, I’ve never let anyone fuss over me before.
” The admission came easier than expected.
Maybe because she’d already seen me at my worst, bleeding, feverish, and delirious.
There was no point in hiding vulnerabilities now.
“Being king means everyone else relies on you. There’s no one left to make sure you’re alright as well. ”
Her expression softened, her hand coming up to cup my jaw. “There is no power in any realm stronger than my love for you. Where you go, I follow.”
I turned my face into her palm, kissing it. “I let you see every broken part of me and trust you to handle them with care.”
Her fingers stroked across my cheekbone, and for a moment we just existed in that space between words and action, the wasteland forgotten.
Derren cleared his throat. “Not to interrupt, but we should get going again.”
Isi stepped back, her hand trailing down my arm before she released me entirely. The loss of contact felt wrong, but I forced myself to stand and climb back onto the dragon.
As we flew into the afternoon, I shared more about the horror of finding my father’s body when I was a teenager. About the terror of being crowned king when I barely understood how to be a man.
“I’m afraid that I’ll fail them the way my father failed to protect himself,” I said into the darkness while her fingers created idle patterns on my chest. “That I’ll leave my people vulnerable.” Her as well.
“You won’t.” Her certainty sounded so absolute, I could nearly believe it.
“You threw yourself on a creature to protect me. You stormed into a hostile court to rescue me from a forced marriage. You’re planning to free condemned prisoners because you can’t stand injustice.
Those aren’t the actions of a man who fails others. ”
The words settled the restlessness in my chest, and I tugged her around, settling her on my lap.
“You’re going to reopen your wounds,” she said, but she didn’t pull away.
“Worth it.” I kissed her with all the need and gratitude and bone-deep love racing through me. When I pulled back, we were both breathing harder.
Pain radiated from my shoulder and belly, a constant reminder of how close I’d come to leaving her. But beneath the pain, something stronger blazed, the fierce satisfaction of knowing she believed in me.
Clouds moved in as the afternoon wore on, the sky shading like old bruises.
I guided Lakast in wide arcs, searching for any sign of the sanctuary Marlane had created. Beside us, Derren and Lexie flew Kyreth, while Kerralyn rode Wairen slightly behind.
Our companions rode with us, perched on shoulders or laps like sentinels.
I was studying the ground when Gavelle’s alarm shot through my mind. Above. Many. Danger.
Winged creatures descended, huge birds with wingspans wider than a man was tall, their feathers the deep blue-black of a moonless night. Their eyes gleamed with more intelligence than I liked.
“Watch out,” I shouted, already pulling my sword free. The movement sent pain lancing through my shoulder, but I ignored it.