Chapter 80
Chapter Eighty
Tovi
No amount of wine or sparring buried Tovi’s failure.
But at least in the stolen moments while the world slumbered and the sun attempted to rise past the blanketing gray, in Eldrick’s arms, Tovi found some reprieve.
She kept an unhurried pace above him, rocking sensually so she felt every inch of him. With each sway of her hips, she chased distraction.
Tovi fell dangerously close to that spoiled vampyr princess she’d once been.
Running from responsibility. But this was different, right?
This was Eldrick. She just needed a moment before she faced the curse now infesting all of Sorin, a few more minutes relishing in his touch, scent, muscles, and lips.
And he let her. Welcomed it. Eldrick worshipped her as she took her time, kissing and nipping her flesh while his thumb brushed the sensitive spot between her legs.
They didn’t speak, cry out, or say the other’s name. Racing hearts. Breathy pants. That was enough in the early hours of morning—if Tovi were to guess given the scent of porridge in the war camp, drafting through their tent.
Eldrick stiffened beneath her and tightened his arms around her torso, his release moments away. Her own crested the wave of oblivion, threatening to crash through her. She rested her head on his shoulder, and the beautiful tempo of his heart—thump, thump, thump—reached her baser instinct.
Feed, the curse hissed. It sat so close on the precipice between pleasure and vice.
Goddess, she hated it. Loathed the darkness swimming through her veins. Despised herself for letting it near the one thing in this world she cared most about.
Her stomach twisted into a bundle of knots. The bond she shared with Eldrick, including the threads she refused to accept or weave, made her feelings for him that much worse.
Red and memories flashed before her sights. The color of the curse. The Blood Goddess riding off into the clouds.
Tovi picked up her pace, chasing something that would rid her of the ironlike guilt resting on her shoulders. It was no use.
FEED, the curse roared in her veins.
Tovi fought her fangs that ached to be released and sink into Eldrick’s neck. She imagined it for a moment. Without the curse, darkness, and the wretched duty queenhood held over her. Something between them, and nothing more. A beautiful something that would tie their souls together for eternity.
Tovi’s orgasm burst through her, and she bit her bottom lip, stifling a cry. Eldrick found his own release and gripped her waist, stilling her rocking hips as he trembled beneath her.
They remained intertwined for a few heavy breaths until Tovi peeled herself from Eldrick’s hold, not meeting the stare she felt skating across her bare skin. She sauntered over to the water basin to clean herself off and readied her clothes for the day.
“You’re distant,” Eldrick said, pulling a bedroll up and over his naked bottom half.
“I’d hardly describe what we just did as distant,” Tovi said over her shoulder.
He grunted. “I know your mind, dove. You’re as taut as a bowstring.”
“It doesn’t matter, and there’s no time.” It wasn’t the place, either, to talk feelings and worries. Not with the Void on the northern horizon, a visual reminder her homeland sat a hundred yards away. “I also have a strategy meeting this morning that I can’t be late for, and—“
“Tovi—“
”—you should be on your way back to the Drengr Village, preparing for you ascension, not here . . .”
With me.
Tovi didn’t dare speak the last two words out loud, but her heart held onto them.
Things between her and Eldrick were more confusing than ever.
No, that was an understatement. Bewilderment didn’t grip Tovi.
In fact, the sensation that whatever they had, for a very brief moment, slipped through her fingers.
Perhaps Eldrick felt it too, and that’s why he’d traveled here before his ascension.
She didn’t have the stomach to ask.
Tovi could practically hear Eldrick’s pinched brow as he said, “What happened at Lake Glenn isn’t your fault—“
Tovi spun to face him, throwing on a knee-length tunic. “I’m seven centuries old, Eldrick. Lying to make me feel better is a lost cause.”
His jaw ticked and a thousand words burned in his eyes.
He rose, stalking through the tent in all his naked glory and found his clothes.
After a long exhale, he met her stare head-on, calm and steady.
“You didn’t fight that fight alone. We had a unit—myself, Linx, Bétar, and Yennifer.
We all let Ingrid succeed. Moons, we let Riven get away, too. ”
Tovi shook her head, a bitterness coating her tongue. “But my family is to blame for this curse, and now my actions set the Blood Goddess free—the very deity who is hel-bent on destroying Sorin. Of all people, I should’ve known better, considered the consequences of killing one’s mate.”
Love is a poison.
“I didn’t think, I just did. I failed because—“
“You saved my life.” Eldrick’s tone turned hard, and he didn’t meet her gaze, gem eyes dimming as he slid his axe into his waist strap.
“I don’t regret protecting you,” she whispered. “I swear it.”
He sighed, attention snapping back to her. “I know.”
“I love you,” she breathed.
Pain flashed across Eldrick’s face, and he remained an arm’s length away. “Maybe love isn’t enough for those like us. The truth is, you’re right. I can’t stay. I should be back in the Vadon Mountains, ascending and then readying werewolf forces, which is why I’m leaving first thing.”
Tovi blinked. Was it a morning breeze or fear chilling her in place? His tenderness earlier. The kisses he’d dotted across her skin, like he committed her to memory.
Eldrick had been saying goodbye.
“We both have our duties in this, and now more than ever, it’s important we lead our people to defeat Riven.” Eldrick strapped his leather breastplate into place and draped his fur-lined cloak across his shoulders. “But please, I swear to the moon and all the stars, I love you.”
“I know.”
Tears didn’t prick at the edge of Tovi’s eyes. She was too tired, too hollow to feel anything at all. Even surprise. For she’d anticipated this, knew who and what they were always triumphed over their love.
In two long strides, Eldrick kissed her. His lips molded to hers, urgent and hurried.
Like it might be there last.
Then he was gone, leaving Tovi alone inside her tent. Sweat, sex, and sadness seeped into the air, and Tovi exhaled it all away, continuing to ready for the morning.
With fighting leathers, hair braided to the side, and a fur cloak snuggly fastened, Tovi braced for the misty morning and marched towards the largest tent at the center of camp.
Werewolves and witches rose for the morning while those on night watch retired to their tents. To the north, no wall of fog hid the desolate wasteland separating Sorin and Drystan. Rot and decay jutted from the earth, blurring for miles.
Archers and scouts manned the front lines. A demon’s screech cut through the air, but as it emerged from the plumes of gray, an arrow lodged in its eye before it reached the Void’s edge.
Ahead, Evelyn emerged from the large tent. She’d twisted her hair into a neat bun, and her pressed navy uniform molded to her frame. Tovi’s friend looked . . . well, formidable, and more herself than ever.
Evelyn’s eyes widened at the sight of Tovi, and she hurried to meet her halfway. “A vampyr arrived early this morning, requesting an audience with you.”
“Who?” Tovi asked, peering at the tent as if she might spy the newcomer past the fabric.
“He claims his name is Cass.”
“What?“ Tovi rushed towards the tent.
Outside the flaps, Evelyn grabbed her wrist. “I don’t think he arrived with good news.”
Tovi sighed. “If Cass traveled through the Void, I figured as much.”
Evelyn frowned. “If you need me, I’m here.”
“Thank you,” Tovi said with a nod.
Inside, a fire crackled at the center, and smoke and embers escaped through a hole cut into the tent’s canopy. Cass—lips set in a thin line—stared at Kade who stood with arms crossed, beastly powers wafting off him in waves.
“It’s alright, Kade,” Tovi said, unclasping her cloak in the warmer space. “Cass is a friend of the family and a spy of mine.”
Cass tipped his head in her direction. “My queen.”
Tovi scowled, shooting him a glare.
A growl rumbled through Kade’s chest. “Fine.” He grasped Tovi’s shoulder, his expression endearing but serious. “Evelyn and I won’t be far.”
“Understood,” she said, fighting the nerves tightening in her belly. “Why are you here? Is it Sven and the littles? Are they alright?”
But even as she asked it, graveness clung to corners of the tent, like the clothed walls closed in around her.
Her spy stood and handed her a missive. Tovi brushed her fingers over the already broken seal, her resolve threatening to snap. It belonged to Lady Anastasia Nathanael.
Tovi didn’t have the stomach to read it, so she peered up at Cass. “What’s happened?”
“Turns out Bash was less than trustworthy. He had no intention of giving you the army. Lady Anastasia declared in the letter she planned to take matters into her own hands, but . . .”
“But?“ Tovi asked, heart sinking like a stone in her gut.
“I visited Nathanael’s estate. Discreetly of course. I believe she failed. She’s set to marry General Oziel in two days, and Bash remains his most loyal solider. As for his army, it serves Riven.”
Tovi lost her knees, crumpling into the nearest chair.
“No, Riven has no money, no funds to pay for it. Lord Nathaniel needed gold—“
“Somehow he got his hands on enough. Whispers of the deal are on the Drystan wind, Tovi.”
“Bloody hel,” she hissed “Do we have any word on when Riven will march?”
“No,” Cass said.
“What about the Blood Goddess? Any signs of her in Drystan?”
Cass shook his head. “Still, time isn’t on our side. If the werewolves hear of this—“
“They won’t,” Tovi said. “I’ll find another way before word gets out about this.”
Tovi clutched the table for support. Sorin didn’t stand a chance against Riven’s army, even with the combined forces of werewolves and witches. Innocents would die, all while her brother fought to stop Evelyn and Kade. Tovi couldn’t let that happen. She had to figure out another way.
Cass sighed, heavy and long. “This was also passed along to me in Drystan Village, from one of the pirates.”
Unlike Lady Anastasia’s letter, the turquoise seal pressed with Flynn’s crest remained intact.
“You didn’t bother reading it?” Tovi whispered, throat turning dry.
Cass shook his head, dark eyes studying her. “No. Your Uncle Bran usually opens the letters, but I decided to hide this one from him. I have a feeling if he opened it . . .”
Tovi’d never gotten eyes on Flynn’s words. Most didn’t like the pirate after he’d broken her heart. She bent the envelope, splitting the seal down the middle. She unfurled the letter and gritted her teeth at the single, arrogant one-line:
Don’t forget. You owe me a dinner.
But as his voice played in the back of her mind, it was another statement Flynn had made that Tovi hung on to.
With my fleet, you’d crush your brother in a fortnight.
With securing Lord Nathaniel’s army, she’d forgotten about Flynn’s proposal.
I want you to make me your husband.
Tovi turned to stone. Cold. Hardened. She racked her brain.
Did she have any other choice? Did she have time to find another way to beat Riven?
The idea may as well have been Tovi falling atop her own sword—the pain lanced through her so violently.
She thought of Eldrick, still felt him between her legs.
Heard his declaration of love singing in her soul.
Despite the pain, Flynn was an option. A card to play. She had to give Sorin a fighting chance, even if she broke Eldrick’s heart—and her own—in the process. Perhaps, too, she’d venture down a path where she put her people first, not love.
“What are you going to do?” Cass asked.
Tovi sighed, swallowing the bile working up her throat. “I owe Flynn a dinner, and there are important matters to discuss.”
Cass tilted his head. “Tovi . . . What of the alpha? It’s no secret that you love him—“
“I am a queen,” Tovi said, tone so unbending she didn’t recognize her own voice. “Eldrick and I both know our duties to our people come above all else.”
Her uncle’s lips fell into a thin line, a thousand words playing in his serious stare. “You’re Uncle Bran is going to kill me if Nadia doesn’t beat me to it.”
“She knows better than anyone that duty requires sacrifice,” Tovi said.
“If you asked her what her biggest regret is, I believe she’d contradict that statement.”
Tovi didn’t have time to ask or to care. She left Cass in the tent, marching out into the war camp with the intention of writing an urgent letter and sending it by iolair.
She collided into a mass of werewolves, along with one witch, huddled out outside, eavesdropping. Yennifer, Bétar, Evelyn, and Kade stared at her with a mixture of despair and pity.
Yen opened her mouth, but Tovi beat her to it.
“What did we all set out to do?” she asked, setting her shoulders back.
They all shared a grave look, and Evelyn’s earlier frown deepened. “To defeat the darkness.”
“Precisely,” Tovi whispered. “There’s nothing any of you can say to stop me, so please, for Goddess’s sake, don’t bother.”
With that, she turned on her heal and stormed through the war camp, leaving her friends behind.
The Queen of Drystan had a proposal to accept, a fleet to secure, and a damn war to win.