This was torture. Exquisite, maddening torture. And all I wanted to do was break, but she deserved better than that after everything she’d endured.
I was a king, damn it! A war king. A leader whose people looked up to him. And she was undoing me just by lying here.
I forced myself to remember the bruises I'd seen, the raw skin, all the damage done to her in such a short time. Rage flared, hot and welcome, burning away some of the lust.
Those soldiers who had struck her—I would find them. I would make them suffer in ways that would make the Night Court's darkest dungeons seem merciful. Assuming they had survived the avalanche, of course. Yes, good. I could focus on that.
But even that fury couldn't suppress the bond's demands. It sang through my blood, a constant thrum that grew louder with every breath she took against my skin.My mate. She was my mate, and she was naked in my arms, and I was supposed to be protecting her, not fighting the urge to?—
No. Absolutely not.
I wasnotsome rutting beast. I was theking. I had control. Discipline! I would not dishonor her or myself.
Once I was certain she was deeply asleep, I eased myself from the bed, dressed, and walked back to the supplies. I removed one of the enchanted flares, notched three lines into its side toindicate our location, and stepped outside in my bare feet to help cool my blood and stop thinking with my dick.
The enchantment kept the worst of the storm at bay, but the ground was still cold as frozen iron. The storm still raged, snow driving sideways in sheets that obscured everything beyond a few feet. The flare would work regardless of the storm, and I didn’t want Ashren risking himself and our forces searching for us in this weather. Gavriel should have gotten back in time and warned the other force not to follow me directly to the avalanche, but Ashren would send out rescue parties to search for us soon after, taking into account the risk. At least the threat of a full-on battle was no longer present.
I activated the flare and hurled it skyward, watching as it burst into brilliant silver light that shot toward the castle. Only certain individuals would be able to see it, and the mark of our location would be revealed only to them.
From the looks of this storm, we had at least another several hours before travel would be safe.
I stayed in the cold until my problem receded. It felt like eternity, but finally, I was able to return, stomping my snowy feet on the packed earthen floor. The caribou huffed as if it somehow understood what I was doing and found me pathetic. I couldn’t disagree. Iwaspathetic.
I couldn't stand there, staring at Hannah like some lovesick fool, so I turned my focus to the back of the house where a hearth held iron hooks and a blackened pot. Above it, shelves were stacked with salt and wrapped bundles. The supplies called to me, and I answered, pulling down wrapped bundles of dried meat, hard biscuits, a small pot of preserved berries, and a sealed container of seed cakes soaked in honey. I worked without conscious thought, unwrapping, arranging, preparing portions despite my own belly screaming in protest. When Hannah woke, she would need food. This was the best I couldoffer, and that grated on me. Mead and liquor would offer more bite and flavor, but it was probably best if she didn't have alcohol until she was fully recovered.
The fire crackled and popped, sending shadows dancing across the walls. I added another log, then a second, building the heat high. The caribou watched me with dark, knowing eyes as I moved past it to check the trough was full.
I came back to the food and set a plate aside for Hannah, covering it with a cloth. My stomach knotted tight with tension and something I refused to name.
The caribou's tack needed attention, so I worked on the leather straps, checking for damage, oiling the worn spots, adjusting buckles that didn't need adjusting. My fingers moved with mechanical precision while my mind circled back to Hannah with maddening regularity.
She shifted beneath the furs, and I froze. But she only sighed and settled again, her features slack with exhaustion.
Snow hissed against the wards outside. My city had been damaged, my people wounded, time was running out, the Night King would return…and still my thoughts circled back to Hannah like a moth to flame, burning each time they drew too close.
I paced the length of the cabin with my hands clasped behind my back to keep them from reaching for her. The furs rose and fell with her breathing in a rhythm I found myself matching without meaning to. Every few minutes, I stopped to check that her color remained improved and that the medicine was doing its work.
Each time I drew close, her scent wrapped around me like a snare.
This was pure, undiluted madness.
I had faced down armies and held my kingdom together through betrayal and war and the slow erosion of everything I'donce believed in. I had killed my own uncle with my bare hands and lived with the weight of that necessity every day since.
And yet, this strange, stubborn, infuriating woman from a world I didn't understand had reduced me to pacing like a caged animal in a way point.
I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes until stars burst behind them. The warm bond pulsed as a constant reminder that she was there, that she was mine, that I had nearly lost her, and that we had yet to solidify all that the bond demanded.
The caribou snorted, and I dropped my hands and glared at it. I didn’t need a beast’s commentary on this matter.
"Ugh..." Hannah’s voice came out raspy from sleep and cold damage.
I spun to face the bed. The furs shifted, and she lifted her head with her tangled hair wild against the dark pelts. Her eyes blinked open, unfocused at first, and then she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. “I was…” She pushed herself up on one elbow, wincing.
I was at her side before I'd decided to move. My hand hovered near her shoulder without quite touching. "You're safe. We're in the way point. Do you remember what happened?”
Her gaze found mine, and something in her expression softened. “Thank you.” The firelight caught the amber flecks in her eyes, turning them to molten gold. She was still pale, marked with cuts and windburn on her cheeks, but the waxy quality had left her skin, and her lips had regained their kissable pink color. At least, the splits had fully healed. The bruises on her torso were the ones that worried me most because of their depth.
I startled, and my throat tightened. "You—" I shook my head, struggling to process her kind response. “You did not deserve to die in the cold. And you helped me protect my people. Even if you did refuse to return to the castle as you were ordered.”
