That does it. The guys lose it again. Darius actually doubles over, laughing into his sleeve. Fenric nearly collapses against a market post, wheezing. “Eau d’Equine!”
“Let’s just go,” I mutter, stepping past them. “I’ll tell you on the way.”
THANE
The door shuts behind me with a dull click.
I don’t bother lighting the lantern. The sun is setting, but the last of its light bleeds through the windows, casting long streaks of amber across the floor. I sit on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on my knees, hands slack between them.
I’ve stood in war councils. Led charges into fire. Stared down men and women with bloodlust in their eyes and power burning beneath their skin.
But nothing—nothing—prepared me for watching Amara fall into a pile of horse shit in front of half the village. And certainly not for the way she laughed afterward.
For all the fucking things to disarm me, this is the most ridiculous.
I should’ve stepped back. Walked away. Kept the distance I swore I would. The distance I’m supposed to.
But I didn’t. Because something in me couldn’t.
Even now, the memory clings—the sudden weight of her body against mine. Her cheek against my chest. The breath she caught. Her warmth.
And I didn’t step back. I didn’t want to.
I rake a hand through my hair.
I’ve done a good job—by all the Elemental gods, I’ve doneeverything I can—to keep her at arm’s length. I’ve done everything I can to focus on my duty, to train the Spiritborn, prepare her for war, to treat her like any other soldier under my command.
But lately, it’s been harder.
Shemakes it harder. She isn’t like other soldiers. She doesn’t flinch from a challenge. She talks back. She burns with conviction, even when she’s unsure. She’s fire and instinct and wild magics—and she doesn’t even know it.
And she looks at me like I’m something more than what I truly am.If she only knew . . .
I can brace for training sessions with her. I’m prepared to be close to her. To touch her wrist. Correct her stance. Adjust her grip. And yes, sometimes I have to take a godsdamned ice-cold bath afterward—but I know what’s coming.
I can compartmentalize. Control it.
Like I do everything else.
But that collision in the village—that wasn’t controlled. That wasn’t part of the plan. It wasn’t just contact. It was vulnerability. Hers. And—truthfully—mine.
I lie back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
She didn’t pull away. Neither did I. And then she fell—mess and all—and I couldn’t stop it. I reached out to grab her but was too late.
And then she looked at me. Like she thought she’d failed me. Her eyes—that raw, wide-eyed regret—it hit harder than any blade. She thought I was ashamed.Ashamed!She thought I was angry. Or embarrassed.
I wasn’t.
I was . . . amused. Disarmed.
Undone.
That’s what she saw on my face when I watched Fenric help her clean up.
Fuuuck.
Because for all the power she carries—for all the prophecy she was born to carry like a brand—she’s still human. Clumsy. Stubborn. Stillrealin a way I haven’t let myself be in a long, long time.
