"You just put the Fire Second on his back and looked at me in my true form as though I were a child," he said. "Males have been given high rankings like the one I'm offering for less. Tell me why you shouldn't deserve this? Is it because ignorant beings like your father have told you a woman would never work her way to such a position?" Dorian paused, scoffing at the backward way of his people.
"My kingdom is the only one of this world who deem women as less than males. Every other race in this damned world sees no difference. I intend to change that. My sisters have not fought their entire lives to see that progress squashed down because there is suddenly no Queen on the throne."
A singular brow had lifted on Reverie’s face. She eyed him in a scrutinizing manner, lips twisted and puckered, mimicking the deep thought she seemed to be in.
“Let me get this straight…” her arms crossed, and she started to walk towards him. “You trust me to protect you— a woman who just threatened your life— all the way through the mountain trials just so that I can bring you back to my home to face more trials and certain death?"
“Isn’t that what you were going to do anyway?” he asked. “This is just a bit of a detour. A favor for me.”
“Why I shouldn’t just kill your Belwark and knock you out? Put you in a bag over my steed and haul you to Scindo now?”
A crooked smile rose on Dorian's lips, and he straightened over her. “Because you want only what I can give you. High Commander. The first Dreamer woman to ever lead an army—fuck, the first Dreamer woman ever allowedinthe army, and you're going to lead the charge. A great ‘fuck you’ to all those who treated you as though you would never be any better than second place.”
She considered him again for a long moment, her fingers tapping on her crossed arms. “Are you truly so terrified of the Blackhands that you think you need two guards?” she asked.
“Yes,” he admitted. “I’ve spent time in the mountains, vanquished Infi at the Bryn… dined in Dahrkenhill. The High Elder’s best friend was just forced out of our window to the Edge because he fell in love with my sister. Do you really think they’ll be happy to see me?”
“If you’re so terrified, why are you going? Why not stay in the woods, hide out until things calm down?”
“Because there are ships on our shores that we cannot defeat on our own,” he said fast. “Not without aid and supplies. The Umber does not have enough weapons, and if the reef realm falls, the Venari will not have enough food or supplies to keep them alive. We will have to depend on the Blackhands for aid, especially when the Dreamer towns are more likely not going to help now. And I’m also following my Kings' orders, so there’s that.”
“Your King? Rhafian? I thought he was—”
“Kings, plural, and Rhaif isnotmy king,” Dorian hissed, feeling his features darken. “That coward is nothing more than a stain on our race. The only kings I recognize are the last two of the Venari. The true Kings.”
Reverie didn’t speak. He could see her mind working behind her eyes, the purple in her irises dancing with thought.
“Very well, Prince,” she finally determined. “I’ll help you keep your head. And after we leave the mountains, if you haven’t frustrated and irked me to my core, we’ll talk about the High Commander barter.”
He’d just thought it was safe enough to relax and move when her next word ripped the air.
“However—“
Always a ‘however,’he thought to himself.
“—if you try anything or piss me off for any reason, I will bind your wrists and ankles, kill your Belwark, and then drag you behind my horse all the way back to Scindo.”
Dorian was starting to really like this woman. “Keep talking dirty like that, and we won’t need the barter,” he winked.
Her eyes squinted as though she were trying to figure out if he had actually said such words to her. “Do you’ve any idea how annoying you are?” she finally asked.
“I do, actually,” he admitted. “It’s one of the two favored family traits.”
“What’s the other?”
Dorian grinned. “That’s for you to find out, Lady Fyre.”
“Fyre?” she balked.
“The surname I was given is Eaglefyre. I assume you’ll take it after we’re wed.”
Her gaze flickered to Corbin. “How have you not murdered him yet?”
The sneer Corbin gave her told Dorian he did not like the new member of their company, and Dorian knew it was because she'd completely embarrassed him. Dorian smirked at his Second and then replied to Reverie's question before Corbin could try and redeem himself.
“Don't worry, he'll warm up to you," Dorian said with a wink at the Fire Second. "And as far as the murder question, my sisters should certainly get credit for trying. As should their Second.”
"We should get moving to make it to the inside of the caves by sundown," Corbin said.
