She shook her head. “Just to let me in while I damage the gate chains, as Nikella intended. They rarely lower that gate. No one should be the wiser until you arrive.”
“How are you going to get to the gate if you’re stuck in the palace with Renwell?”
Kiera pursed her lips, uncertainty growing in her eyes. “I haven’t quite figured that out yet. I’m hoping Melaena can help me with that part. Maybe Renwell will let me visit her.”
My jaw clenched. Not likely. Unless he got something from her in return. Or he shadowed her every step of the way.
Kiera smoothed my wrinkled brow. “I’ll find a way, Aiden. I always do.”
I captured her hand and kissed her palm. “But you’ll be alone. One warrior in a palace of wolves.”
“I’ll have Everett and Delysia. And you won’t be far behind me. Right?” she asked in a worried voice.
“No warship, no Wolf, no army, no gate will keep me from you, Kiera.” I kissed her lips. I needed to while I still could. “Even if I have to storm the palace alone, I will come for you.”
She smiled, something shining in her eyes that I never thought I’d see—trust. “Perhaps I’ll fight my way toyou.If Everett and Delysia are out of harm’s way, I might just kill the usurper king myself.”
“I fully support that goal, especially if he threatens you in any way. Then I hope you tear him to shreds,” I growled.
Kiera kissed me again, immediately softening me. “I must admit,” she murmured between warm kisses, “I thought you would put up more of a fight.”
“It’s hard to fight you when you’re so good at distracting me, little thief.” I grabbed her shoulders, pinned her to the bed, and kissed her long and hard. “But I certainly won’t say no if this is how you’d like to conduct all our fights in the future.”
She grinned. “If only I’d known that this was how we could both win the fight, I might’ve tried sooner.”
She hooked her bare leg around my waist and twisted us so she sat on top of me. Her glorious, ribboned hair fell over her bare breasts, and I lost all threads of what we were talking about.
A very pleasant hour later, she reminded me by slipping out of my grasp. “I need to prepare,” she said gently.
But she let me pull her in for one more lingering kiss. “I’ll help you.”
We both dressed, stealing glances at each other. It felt playful and sweet, but a hole was already growing in my heart. Right next to the wounds from Nikella and all my other losses.
Love always left a scar.
I reluctantly followed her out of our lodge to where half the camp was having breakfast by the main fire. Maz and his sisters were already there, looking as tired as we felt.
But Maz brightened the moment he saw us. “Good morning, you two! I see you’ve already misplaced your scarf, lovely. Or was that Aiden’s doing?”
Kiera’s cheeks turned pink as Yarina guffawed with her brother.
I fought a smile. “This is why you keep getting gravely injured, Mazkull.”
Maz puffed out his chest like a ridiculous rooster. “Because of my dazzling wit and distracting good looks?”
“Your big mouth.”
He shrugged. “Still alive, aren’t I?”
“Thank the gods,” I said quietly.
He heard me anyway and grinned. “No, thank your little lovely. Yarina said that if Kiera hadn’t yanked me backward, I would’ve fallen into the water.”
“We would’ve fished you out,” Sigrid grumbled under her breath.
I glanced down at Kiera, whose cheeks were still pink. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“I forgot,” she said, the truth clear in her amber eyes.
