“Princess—”
“Don’t you fucking move,” Solas barked over the top of him, stepping between us like a wall of iron.
“I was saving her,” Riven drawled, wiping his thumb across his bottom lip. “Not my fault if she liked it.”
Solas grabbed the knife jutting from Riven’s thigh and twisted with brutal, slow force.
Riven grunted, gritting his teeth, but his smirk didn’t falter. “Still worth it.”
“Your orders werenotto kill him, yes?” Caelum asked calmly. “Keep twisting and you will sever his artery.”
Solas grunted, turning and scooping me into his arms like I weighed nothing. My head lolled weakly against his shoulder. The movement jolted my raw nerves; a thin whimper escaped me.
“Easy, sweetheart,” he murmured, voice gentler now. “I’ve got you.” Riven limped after us, leaving a trail of black blood.
“Escort this fool to the infirmary before he bleeds all over the damned floor,” Solas yelled to a warrior as he strode through the stone archway that led back into the castle. Solas carried me through corridors, but I couldn’t appreciate the beauty over my racing thoughts.
I kissed Riven.It had felt so familiar, that it was almost right. Shame curled through me. Guilt. Fear that the Commander wouldfeelthis through the bond and it would hurt him.
I pressed my forehead weakly into Solas’s chest, eyes burning.
“Where is he?” I whispered. The bond pulsed in my chest, tight and wounded, and I couldn’t tell if the pain swirling there was mine or his.
“He had to travel to Someria, a town levelled by a swarm of Nightbourne last night. Just hold on.”
While I was tangled up in bed, people were dying. Because of me.
Solas opened the large doors to the Commander’s rooms by kicking them with his feet.
Riven pushed in behind him, a trail of black blood oozed across the floor in his wake. Cool silk blankets soothed my feverish skin as Solas lowered me onto the bed.
Shadows erupted in front of us, violent and choking the air with power. The Commander of Death stepped out of them, onyx eyes wild. He looked carved from darkness itself.
His gaze landed on me first, taking in my trembling hands, the feverish flush crawling up my throat before landing on my swollen lips. Something shattered across his face as his nostrils flared, breathing in deeply. The bond flooding me with his whirlwind of feelings.Terror. Guilt. Realisation. Rage.
His eyes cut to Riven and every candle guttered. Shadows surged like a tide, slamming against the walls hard enough to rattle them.
“She is not yours to touch,” he said, voice low and lethal, “now, I will make you pay the price with your fucking pain.”
“All I did was save her, and I wouldgladlydo it again,” Riven said, amusement dripping from his voice.
The Commander’s snarl ripped through the chamber, raw and feral. “She ismine.” He closed the distance between them in three long strides and wrapped his handaround Riven’s throat, lifting him off the floor and shoving him against the wall.
“She… Kissed… Me back,” he gasped, an unhinged grin splitting his face as his head slammed against the stone. I flinched, worry rising through my exhaustion. Riven’s sarcasm was going to get him killed.
The Commander leant in, voice a low growl. “She may have let you kiss her. But shebegs meto fuck her.”
Riven’s grin faltered as shadows crawled up his body. The image of Bohdi being melted from the inside out flashed through my head.
“No,” I said weakly. If the Commander heard me, he didn’t show it. “Please, stop”
“I’m… more useful… to you alive,” Riven choked out. Shadows crawled across his face, creeping into his ears. He squirmed. “The Mortals are setting you up!”
The Commander paused, loosening his grip enough for Riven to gasp.
“Speak,” he demanded.
“They just want the princess back. The Iron Guard accompanying them have been tasked to take her. They want to sacrifice her. To gain back favour of the Gods.”
