For the Druid to choose her, it meant he had seen it in his visions.
The plan had to succeed. Not only to release Dyna from his geas, but the key also opened a door on Mount Ida. They were going to need it.
Zev nodded. “Von and I will steal into the dungeons and break Rawn free.”
“And the rest of us will make sure his son isn’t traded,” Keena chimed in as Zev shifted back on all four paws. “What could possibly go wrong?”
Klyde chuckled. “Let’s not curse ourselves with bad luck quite yet, shimmer bug.”
“I am not a bug!” She tossed a tiny ball of gold dust at his cheek and flew away with a huff, following the black wolf down the mountain.
Grinning, he wiped the dust off. “I think that means I’m one of her favorites.”
He would assume that.
“Off we go then,” Von said, tugging on his reins.
“Hold a moment,” Klyde called to him. From his saddlebag, he drew out a knife studded with an amber bead in the pommel. “It’s yours, right? You forgot it in the Blue Capital.”
Von’s brows shot up as he returned it to him. “Aye, it is.”
They looked at each other for a moment. Perhaps it was Klyde’s way of unofficially thanking him for helping Tavin … and forgiving old grudges. The Commander nodded and rode onward, leaving them alone.
Lucenna fleetingly glanced at Klyde, and his gaze met hers. She didn’t mean to. It was instinct, really. She had nothing to say to him, though.
“Wait.” His horse cut hers off before she could go. He motioned at the loose belts of her greaves. “May I?”
She wasn’t used to wearing armor, much less practiced in putting it on properly.
At her stiff nod, Klyde dismounted, and her pulse quickened as he marched toward her. She stayed silent as his deft fingers tightened the belts, adjusting the greaves on her forearms properly. He secured her leather chest plate and checked the armored plates on her hips, making her face warm.
“Now is not the time to speak of it,” Klyde murmured as he worked. “But I want you to know my intentions with you were never impure. When we return, I plan to explain myself for last night. If you will permit me…”
The moonlight caught his blue eyes as they rose to hers.
Gods, why did he have to look at her like that? As if only she existed for him in this pocket of time.
It was wrong.
Lucenna studied the angles of his face, annoyed that even the night favored him. Honestly, she shouldn’t want him as much as she did. Let alone fantasize about him taking her in his arms and continuing what they started in Avandia. She wanted his lips on hers again. Wanted his lips all over her. How could she let him affect her like this?
Lucenna hated that she wanted him.
Hated even more that he knew.
He frowned as he looked her over. “You’re not armed.”
“My magic will do fine.”
Reaching for the scabbard at his hip, Klyde drew out a long Elvish dagger with a polished black hilt engraved with swirling gold leaves. “Here. Take this.”
Lucenna arched an eyebrow at the glinting blade. “You’re not very bright, are you? Give me a weapon, and I am likely to stab you with it.”
A faint smile edged his mouth. “If you manage to cut me, I’m not worth my own merit, lass.” The knife flipped to his other hand with graceful speed. “We have been in situations where magic has failed you before. It is better to have the dagger and not need it, than need it and be left wanting.”
Lucenna snatched the dagger from him.
“Oi, hold it like that and you’d sooner hurt yourself.” Klyde corrected her fingers for a firmer grip on the hilt. “If you’re ever cornered and have no other choice, slash here, here, or here.” His finger stroked her neck, the side of her waist, and across her torso. Each touch sent scatters across her skin. His gaze locked on hers as his expression grew serious. “Go for the heart through the ribs. Stab straight up with enough force until you see the light leave his eyes.”
