Maz scowled.
“I could go,” Kiera said quietly. “He wants me to come to him. I could?—”
Red seared across my vision. “Give him exactly what he wants? Let him manipulate you into being his little soldier again? Over my gods-damned body.”
Kiera jerked back, a look of shock and hurt crossing her face before her jaw clenched. She whipped around and hurried down the stone steps, weaving around mourners.
My rage departed as swiftly as it’d appeared. But it wasn’t a lie. I knew the devastation that snake could wreak. As did she. So why was she volunteering to run back into his arms?
“Gods, you’re an ass.” Yarina folded her arms and turned back to the funeral pyres.
I gritted my teeth. Not too long ago, Yarina wanted to kill Kiera for her betrayal. Now she defended her.
I met Maz’s gaze over her head. He said nothing. Just jerked his head to where Kiera was disappearing down the mountain.
I frowned. I strongly doubted that Kiera wanted me to follow her. But I needed to get off this scorched mountain. The other mourners were staring at me with narrowed eyes and tight lips.
I needed somewhere I could fucking think.
As I stalked past Sigrid, she grabbed my arm. Her one eye burned with hatred, but not for me. “Wherever the battle is, we will be there, too. All of us.”
I dipped my head, and she released me. I descended the mountain and came to a stop where the boats were waiting. A lone figure that haunted me awake and asleep stood in front of them, her back to me.
Bitterness still coated my insides like ash.
“Don’t want to row, princess?” I couldn’t resist jabbing at her. Perhaps because I’d rather see her angry than hurt.
I got my wish.
Her body stiffened, and she shot a glare at me over her shoulder like an arrow. “I didn’t want to strand the others without a boat.”
I hummed. “There’s more than one way across a river.”
She scowled at me as I backed away from her. When the shadows folded around me, I turned and strode upriver and out of sight.
I needed a bath, after all.
I stripped off my dirty clothes and gathered them up with my boots. The rocky beach didn’t pierce my bare feet, but the cold water would likely be excruciating. Perfect.
Chills rippled over my skin as I let the river lap at my feet. Arduen’s River was wide but shallow here. The current wasn’t as strong either, from what I remembered.
The wind blew softly, carrying not the scent of smoke, but of snowy pine. I filled my lungs with it. Yes, this was exactly what I needed.
Footsteps crunched behind me.
“Oh gods, are younaked?”
Chapter 19
Kiera
I never thoughtI’d see Aiden naked again.
And—Holy Four, help me—I wasn’t entirely upset that I was wrong.
His broad shoulders, swirled with scars and ink, beckoned me. The muscles that rippled down his back and thighs taunted me. And gods, hisass. I remembered how it felt in my hands as he?—
I tore my gaze away, swallowing hard, just as Aiden turned. Thankfully, he held his discarded clothes and boots over his manhood. But every other bit of sculpted perfection was on display. No amount of dirt or blood or bandages could disguise his beauty.
