“Coast is clear. No signs of the creature or the opening it came through.”
“There are only five bedrolls,” Ella snapped. “Did you forget how to count?”
Jakobav raised a brow.
“Do I look like I was in charge of packing?” The question landed more like a warning than an excuse. Then his gaze slid past her to Thane.
Thane groaned, throwing up his hands. “Godsdammit. I didn’t think Savina would make it! She took a blade to the gut, I figured she’d be healing, not riding out beside our small but mighty war sprite.”
He nodded toward Ella.
“War sprite?” she hissed.
“In the best way,” he added with a wink. “Those tiny things tend to be terrifying.”
Before she could retort, Savina strode into camp like she owned the ground.
“I ran a full perimeter. No ripples. No tracks. Nothing breathing that shouldn’t be. But it’s not over. That sound wasn’t natural. If it vanished, it could return.”
Everyone went still.
Jakobav nodded once. “We sleep in a defensive pattern. Weapons close.”
Then he turned to Ella.
“You’re with me tonight.”
Ella blinked. “What? Excuse me? The hell I am.”
“We’re short a bedroll,” he said, the faintest curve at his mouth. “You’ll share mine.”
He delivered it like a tactical order, already moving to check the others.
Ella’s lungs stuttered and her vision narrowed, too many emotions rising at once.
It was one thing to sleep in his bed, in the secrecy of his chambers. But here, in front of his fiercest warriors? Absolutely not. It wasn’t just the situation, it was his tone, and the way he said it. Not a question or an invitation, but as a command. Her heart lurched before pride caught it mid-fall.
19
BURNING POINT
Ella surged forward. “I’m not sharing a bedroll with anyone.” She was breathless now. “I’d rather?—”
A hand closed gently around her wrist. Thane’s.
“Hey. Please.” His voice, for the first time since she met him, carried no trace of humor. “Take it out on me. I packed too fast. I’m sorry. Just…go easy on him.”
She stared at him, thrown by the gravity in his tone.
“We’ve been dealing with these Veil breaches for a while,” he went on, steady now. “But this one’s different. The realm is more unstable now. The solstice is almost here, which means his Claiming is days away. He’s trying to carry an entire kingdom on his shoulders…and still protect all of us. And you.”
Something in his eyes, earnest and almost pleading, hit her harder than she expected. Thane did not seem like the type to ever be serious. Ella let out a slow breath and nodded, her jaw set, bristling at the heaviness. She found herself grasping for levity, eager to fracture the silence.
“So I shouldn’t skewer anyone from gut to gullet over a missing bedroll?” she asked lightly.
Thane’s brows arched, amusement flashing. “That was oddly specific.”
“Maybe I was channeling my innerwar sprite?”
