Chapter 40
Idon’t know how long we kissed for, or at what point he ended up lying next to me on the cot, his large frame halfway beneath my body as our lips remained intertwined. What I did know was that I wanted more, but as my hand brushed down his chest, he covered it with his own.
“As much as I am loving this, you need to heal before . . .” He breathed onto my swollen lips between kisses.
He was right. I wondered briefly if I should move, so that our entire bodies weren’t in line with one another, but on the small cot there was nowhere to go.
Although I knew he was right, and that he was being the logical one here, something stirred deep within my gut, something that didn’t want rest, or sleep. Just him.
And answers.
The questions bubbled out of me. “That first rescue . . . from Bru—”
Color climbed up his cheeks. The legendary General of Ralheim was blushing.
“I was still fighting it then.” His voice was slightly hoarse.
“But I was on edge the whole time you were gone. I couldn’t focus, and when I nearly stabbed Askel through .
. .” He released a chuckle. “I knew I had to be nearby. I snuck back toward Bru and the moment I saw you there . . . tied to a pole . . .” He brushed his finger over my cheek.
“I never planned to rescue you, but something else demanded I step in.”
I couldn’t stop the warmth that spread through my chest.
His hand ran down my arm. “I’ve been a rather poor general since the day I met you,” he confessed.
I didn’t know what to say; I had no idea how to handle a confession like that. So, I did the only thing I could think of. My lips found his neck, and I trailed kisses downward.
“Runa,” he breathed. “You’re going to be the death of me.” The second part was a groan, but he didn’t stop me, and my hand found his hardening member through his pants.
I didn’t know where this sudden braveness had come from, especially considering that I’d just recently had my first experience, but something about this felt so right in a way I was unable to put into words.
One of Otho’s arms remained under me, while the other came up to cup my breast through the thin shift I was wearing. Then his lips were on mine again.
Though our kisses remained heated, and his thumb rubbed delicate circles on my breast, it did not venture to where I really needed him, until finally, I took matters into my own hand, pulling the fingers that rested on my breast between my legs.
Maybe it was almost dying, or maybe it was the fact I had finally found my true weighted, but though I knew we should stop, that I probably needed rest more than I needed him, my body felt like it was on fire and he was the water I needed to put it out.
His hands moved deftly between my legs, applying light pressure.
“Runa,” he breathed again between kisses. “We really shouldn’t.”
“Why not?” I whispered in a voice I barely recognized as my own while continuing my ministrations through his pants.
“Because you’re still recovering.” His darkened eyes found mine, and what I saw in their depths made me shudder.
“I feel fine,” I lied.
And just like that, one of his fingers slipped into me and I found myself rocking onto the palm of his hand.
I didn’t know why, but even though we were both still fully clothed, this was one of the most erotic things I’d ever experienced.
Just me and the man who’d had my heart twisted in knots for the last season, lying together on a cot with our hands roaming each other for the first time. I felt validated at last.
He leaned his head down to take one of my nipples into his mouth through my shift. I found my hips thrusting against his hand harder. I don’t know what had come over my lower half, but I was already close to an orgasm.
“Otho.” It was a breathy chant, and I wasn’t sure he had even heard me until his gaze rose to meet mine.
“Say my name again.”
“Hm?” I hadn’t been paying attention in my lusty haze.
“I want to hear my name on your lips again.” He added a second finger as he said the last word, making it almost impossible for me to have any coherent thoughts.
But somehow, I knew what he needed. “Otho,” I cried as my body danced at the edge of pleasure.
“That’s my girl.” He groaned, pumping his fingers faster.
And just like that, I reached my peak, my eyes closing of their own accord as my internal muscles clenched around his fingers.
I don’t remember falling asleep, but next thing I knew, Otho was placing a small kiss on the side of my lips as he maneuvered me to stand from the cot.
“Wait.” My voice was hoarse again, my fingers twisting in the fabric of his shirt. “What about you?”
He let out a light chuckle. “Oh my sweet Runa, I’ve waited my whole life to meet you, an entire season to touch you; I can wait another few days to have all of you.”
His words caused my heart to flutter, and I could feel my body preparing for round two. “Come back—”
He continued extracting himself, tucking the blanket around me. “I have to check on a few things, and you need more salve for your shoulder. We will pick this back up later, I promise.” Something akin to a smile floated over his lips.
And I knew he would. I couldn’t explain it, but I trusted him implicitly at this point.
“Okay.”
He turned away, his shoulders tense, before turning back to place one last passionate kiss on my lips.
I was having the dream again, the ones of the Purge, when my parents were taken from me. But unlike before, there were bells tolling in the background, and they wouldn’t stop.
“Runa!”
Something was tapping my shoulder.
“Runa!”
I jolted from where I had been lurking, the place between waking and sleeping, to find Friar leaning over me, a finger pressed to her lips. “Malheim is attacking, we have to get you somewhere safe.”
Her hushed words made me realize the bells hadn’t been in my dream at all, but here, in real life. It was the alarm.
I rolled my shoulder. Though Otho had commented on waiting for it to heal, it felt almost normal now. Just a small twinge of pain at the edge of my range of motion caused me to wince.
“Come on, we have to get to the cellar.”
I shook my head and brushed Friar’s hand away, fighting the last tendrils of sleep that lingered. “I have magic; I should fight.”
She blinked at me, her jaw slackened. “You really think you can battle swords and arrows with air magic?”
I was taken aback that she already knew one of my powers, but there was no time to discuss how she had learned that now, even if she did have a point. I scoured the room, my gaze settling on the pot over the fire. “Do you have some peppers? The spicy kind?”
Friar’s brows gathered in the center of her face, even as her hand pointed. “Right there, but I don’t think now is the time to cook—”
I cut her off, pushing myself into a standing position. “We aren’t cooking; I have an idea.”
Friar was at a loss of what to say, stepping aside as I pushed past her to pull the string of peppers from the ceiling. “The knife, in my bodice, what happened to it?” The words came out in a rush.
“I think Otho has it, but here—” She pulled a carving knife from her belt, pressing the handle into my hand.
Despite the pressure of the current situation, I felt my muscles relax at the familiar position as I chopped the peppers into small pieces, pushing them into a pile on the table.
The bells became part of the symphony of preparing a potion as I chopped in rhythmic motions between the peals and the shouts coming from the hall.
When the peppers were all chopped, I turned to the pot on the fire, using a towel to pull it off. There was a brown liquid inside.
Friar was already there, holding out some jars. “Here.”
I poured the liquid into the jars. “A lid?”
She thrust one toward me as I scooped the peppers into the pot, placing the lid securely on the top before placing it back over the fire. “When this is ready, we have to move fast.”
She nodded just as we heard the sound of boots approaching in the hall. My gaze caught on the wooden arm that was keeping the door locked. Neither of us said anything, both of us knowing we needed to hurry.
I had never believed in any of the ancient gods some in Ralheim had worshiped, but now I whispered a quick prayer, begging the fire to cook the peppers faster.
I grimaced as the wooden plank over the door rattled. Friar ran to the door, leaving me to beg the peppers to break down into the gas I knew they would.
She pressed her body to the door, her widened eyes fixed on the pot. I had never considered Friar to be strong, but now, as the door started to vibrate and bow beneath her hold, I realized her tunic hid more muscle than I had assumed.
“How much?” She forced the words through her gritted teeth.
I didn’t want to risk lifting the lid, so I just shook my head, mentally begging the peppers to cook faster.
Her face reddened, and with a final crack, the door broke, and several men in green uniforms stampeded over Friar.
There was no time to think, and I reacted automatically, pulling the pot from over the flame, removing the lid, and tossing it at the men who’d invaded the room.
I only knew my plan was successful when they screamed, and most collapsed to the floor, clawing at their cheeks.
I didn’t pause, diving for the last place I had seen Friar, my hand by my cheek using my wind power to keep my own face clear of pepper gas. I might not have the most wind power in the world, but at least I was learning how to use it.
There was a pale arm wriggling from beneath the two pieces of wood that had once comprised the door. I pushed on the first one I stumbled across, Friar moving the second one to stand next to me, dusting herself off.
I grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the door, the sound of yells following us down the hallway. “Did you get any in your face?”
“I don’t think so.” She breathed. “The door blocked almost everything.”
There wasn’t time for any more discussion as we rounded the corner to find the fighting in full force. I patted my sides, only to realize I was still in a shift, and had no weapons on me.
“Here.” Friar was kneeling over a downed soldier, holding a knife out my way.
He was in a blue uniform, which made me gulp, but there would be time to find out who had fallen, and if I had known him, later.
One glance told me it was too small to be Askel, and the hair wasn’t Otho’s. Friar pulled his sword then stood.
She didn’t hesitate to dive at two soldiers nearest to us, inserting herself into the fray of combat and helping the blue-clad soldier to win immediately.
I looked down at the knife in my palm, then back at the room, trying to figure out what I could leverage to help turn the tide of the conflict devolving before my eyes.
“Just stab a green back!” Friar shouted as she and the soldier she had helped moved to help another soldier locked in combat.
Maybe it was the adrenaline, or maybe it was because I was following a direct command, but suddenly I was thrusting my knife into the green uniform that faced me, cringing at the sound of it going into muscle.
I’d been preparing for this type of training with Askel, but it was still different to actually do it.
The man I’d stabbed fought to reach for the knife while also maintaining the combat, but that was all the soldier in blue needed to gain the upper hand, and suddenly his head was rolling across the floor.
Luckily my stomach was empty as I turned and heaved against a wall. I couldn’t help it; I had never seen something so gory.
“Don’t worry, that’s normal for a first battle.” The voice was vaguely familiar and I turned to find Askel, his hand stretched toward me. “Come on.”
Again, I didn’t question it as he pulled me to my feet and led me through the room, pressing my bloodied knife back in my hand. When he’d had the chance to pull it out of the dead man’s shoulder was beyond me.
Apparently, Friar joining the fight had been all that was needed to turn the tides, as we stepped over dark-green-clad body after dark-green-clad body.
“Is there any way to stop the . . . death?” I don’t know where the words came from, but I knew that it hurt my chest to see the loss of so much life, especially as I passed a downed soldier who appeared vaguely familiar.
“We need to cut the head from the snake.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Hansen, come on.” He motioned toward the hall.
Though I had once lived within these walls, I barely recognized them covered in blood. I was so focused on watching where I stepped, and stressing over the state of the palace, I didn’t realize where we were headed until it was right in front of me.
The sight of the dais, and the pile of books next to it caused my breathing to stop. It was where I had once been forced to read, then beaten within an inch of my life.
Seeing those floors, the ones which had left indents of the stone pattern in my knees caused something in me to snap, even as I spotted Otho battling Hansen, while Leif was locked in combat with Adis on the other side of the room.
Askel jumped right in to help, and I knew that Hansen would be dead in a matter of moments. Thus, I turned my attention to Leif and Adis, everything Otho had said to me the past season circling in my mind.
This nightmare would never end as long as Adis lived.
He would never be satisfied until he owned all of Heimland.
He would never let the Seid be free.
He would do whatever it took to obtain magic.
My gaze flickered to Otho and Askel as they maneuvered Hansen into a headlock.
I fight for myself. It was a whisper in my mind and suddenly, I knew it was true.
I would fight for myself, too.
I waited, watching as Leif and Adis circled one another. It was clear that Adis was using magic to try and gain the upper hand, but thanks to my cousin, Leif had all the same powers. Or at least, most of them. I palmed the knife in my hand.
I didn’t warn him I was coming, which might have been a dirty trick. But the next time Adis’s back was to me, I struck.
Like the snake inked on my ribs, it was a single, lethal strike, the knife slipping into his back, up to the hilt, thanks to the small burst of wind power I had released to increase the pressure.
I only wish I had been able to see his face when it happened.
Unlike the soldier I had killed in the other room, I’d had time to aim this one, and if the shocked look on Leif’s face was indication enough, I’d hit true.
Adis, the man who had both ruined and changed my life forever was dead before he hit the floor.
I glanced over my shoulder, to see if Askel and Otho had killed Hansen, only to see both of their gazes focused on me, a lump on the floor between them. Otho’s eyes were filled with horror.
I tilted my head to the side, and that’s when it happened.
An arm encircled my neck, pulling me to a warm body, a sharp prick digging into my neck.