“Good. Mount up,” Rohak commanded, already moving on to the next group of Mages.
Each time we stopped, I attempted to gain his attention, but was dutifully ignored.
Frustration bubbled in my gut, and sweat cascaded down my back and chest.
After what felt like the hundredth time Rohak ignored me, I stopped suddenly and screamed down the Bond in tandem with my voice.
“ROHAK. YOU LISTEN TO ME THIS MINUTE OR SO HELP ME YOU’LL NEVER SEE ME NAKED AGAIN.” My shout was met with wide-eyed stares and more than one chortle from surrounding Mages and Vessels. The declaration had my cheeks hot with embarrassment, but it had the desired effect.
I clenched my fists as Rohak slowly turned, his expression completely unreadable. He turned his sharp gaze upon some of the soldiers who had stopped at my shout, instantly sending them back into action.
He prowled toward me, soldiers scurrying to complete their tasks, parting around his determined stride.
Gods, he was stunning, even with his emerald eyes flashing.
Rohak said nothing until we were chest-to-chest, our breaths mingling together as he bent his face slowly toward mine. His lips brushed mine briefly, causing my breath to hitch in response, before he moved to whisper softly in my ear.
“At least we’d both be alive for you to withhold that from me.” Rohak’s voice was all silky danger as his words caressed my skin with all the softness of a lover.
My heart pattered, the fight bleeding from my body as I sank into his chest. My arms snuck around his back as he ruffled my curls with a strong exhale. In his arms, despite the chaos that surrounded us, I felt at home. It was like everything else faded away—the noise, the bustle, even the impending doom—and all that was left was us.
We were one; the way it was always meant to be.
“I cannot lose you, Faylinn. And not because it means I die, too. I need to know you are here and safe. If you come with me, I will constantly be looking over my shoulder, eyes trained only on you. My attention will be divided, and someonewillbe unnecessarily hurt.” His calloused fingers pressed against the underside of my chin, tilting my head until our eyes met.
I saw the anguish there, and his utter devotion. His emotions were only magnified by the Bond, letting me feel each nuance as deeply as if they were my own.
“Do you understand now, my love?”
I nodded mutely, pushing my nose back into his chest to inhale the tang of tobacco that clung to his skin. Ever since he’d lost his Destruction Magic, his scent had changed. It no longer carried the aftertaste of ash, but it was all still wonderfully and wholly him.
“I love you. More than anything else, and I refuse to lose you.”
“I love you, too,” I mumbled.
“Hey, Fay? Can we, uh, talk to you for a minute?” Ben’s voice broke through Rohak’s and my bubble, and I found a smile edging across my face at the discomfort in Ben’s question.
“Yes, Ben?” I asked, turning my head so my cheek still rested against Rohak. I needed this contact for as long as I could have it.
Ben stood with Asha, their five-month-old baby, Fia, clutched in Asha’s arms. Their gazes kept shifting to each other before darting to me.
“We were hoping that you would maybe . . . look after Fia while we’re away?” Ben asked, one large hand gripping the back of his neck, a telltale flush of embarrassment working its way up his throat and into his ears.
I smiled then, a true thing, as I relinquished my hold on Rohak and reached for their little one.
Relief crested both of their faces as Asha passed baby Fia to me. Her face was absolutely lovely—a perfect blend of her parents, though her shock of red hair already favored her mother. Rohak squeezed my shoulder once, and I covered his hand with my own.
Ben and Asha stooped to press lingering kisses to Fia’s cheeks as Rohak speared me with one last beseeching glance.
I respected him as a General and loved him as my other half, but if Rohak thought I was staying here while he risked his life, he was sorely mistaken. Because this overwhelming feeling of love, of the deeply inherent need toprotect, went both ways. Quietly, so as not to alert my General, I shut down part of the Bond. Rohak needed to think I would stay here in order to concentrate, and I needed to follow him to ease my own mind.
“Mount up!” Rohak called, never breaking eye contact.
Soldiers scurried to heed his command; the sounds of goodbyes and the creaking of leather echoed throughout the courtyard as hundreds upon hundreds of men and women simultaneously climbed atop their horses.
In two strides, Rohak closed the distance between us and cupped my face in his hands. In front of everyone—to many hoots and hollers—he kissed me soundly, deeply, urgently, as if he needed to savor my taste one last time.
Rohak broke our kiss suddenly, leaving me reaching forward for more, and pressed our foreheads together.
