“I never lied!” Reece took an unsteady step closer, indigo scales ruffling along his arms as he jabbed his finger at her, the wineskin still gripped in his other hand.
Before she could grab that hand and break the finger pointing in her face, Tor was there. Not between them, not threatening Reece in any way, just standing at her shoulder quietly, watching. Keely turned, ignoring Reece to look at Tor suspiciously. “What are you doing?”
He raised his eyebrows innocently. “Nothing.”
She glared back at him. “I don’t need any help.”
His ridiculously full lips twitched. “I don’t doubt it,” he agreed gravely. “I’ve seen you shoot. But when you take him down, which I know you will, I plan to have the best view.”
Keely rolled her eyes, trying not to show how much his quiet support meant. He was standing beside her, not taking over, not fighting her battle, but lending his strength should she want it.
Reece looked between her and Tor, his eyes bloodshot in his pale face as he staggered back a step and let out a rough, unamused chuckle. “Gods. I don’t know why I bother.” He waved his hands between them. “When this ends badly, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” And then he turned and stumbled away into the darkness.
There was a long, weighted silence around the campfire until Keely sighed and shrugged. “That went well.”
Everyone chuckled, and she smiled back. This was what it felt like to be part of something. To know that the people around you had your back. She glanced at Tor. This was what it felt like to trust someone.
His face was as stoic as always, but when they sat back down, he sat right next to her. Close enough that his thigh was touching hers. Close enough that she could feel his warmth.
“I’m sorry about Reece, Keely,” Tristan said from across the fire. “If you have any problems, any problems at all, just tell me.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
Tor was silent, but he shifted even closer. Her eyes dropped down to his arms, to where the red-and-black tattoos rippled over the bunching muscles. He had stood beside her so many times. Would he ever take that next step and wrap those heavy arms around her? Could this be the future she hadn’t known to look for?
The squad had planned for Alanna and the Hawks to spend a couple of days in the Temple of the Nephilim at Eshcol and then head west, toward the rough, sparsely populated mountains of Tegeingl. Take themselves as far away as they could get from the reach of the new king and the devastation of the war in the north… and Keely had a place with them, if she chose. Or she could leave Alanna and the Hawks and make her way back to Verturia.
This was the moment that she had been coming to since she had stood in Ballanor’s great hall wishing to live. She had to make a choice based on what she wanted for her life. And, Bard help her, she was starting to want Tor to be part of that life.
Another bloody soldier. And not only that—Nim had told her all about what his family had done. He was a soldier who had worked his entire life for his parents’ approval… and then they’d disowned him.
But even knowing there were wounds in his past, even though his life was dangerous, she was starting to think he might be the man she could lower her defenses for. And she wanted to know if he could lower his in return.
She turned to watch him in the firelight. “I’m thinking about what to do after Eshcol,” she admitted.
He watched her carefully, entirely focused on her words.
“I’m considering whether to turn west with the Hawks, toward Tegeingl, or carry on north, back to Verturia. It’s been a long time since I’ve been home,” Keely said softly.
“I’ve heard rumors that things are getting worse in the north,” Tor admitted. “And if Ballanor restarts the war, it will get even more dangerous.”
“Are you saying that I shouldn’t go north? Or that I should try to get there as quickly as possible?”
“What do you want to do?” he asked quietly, his face serious but not giving her any clues as to what he was thinking.
She bit her lip, trying to decide how much to reveal, how vulnerable she was prepared to be. Why was it so much easier to risk her life than to risk her heart?
“I haven’t seen my mama for a long time,” she hedged. “My da died years ago, and she’s been living in the castle at Duneidyn. It might be nice to see her. Maybe spend some time in the mountains. I do miss the mountains.”
“There are mountains in Tegeingl,” he observed.
“Yes. There are.” She huffed out an amused snort. Just as Mathos predicted, a completely accurate statement that didn’t help her at all. “The Hawks will be there, and Alanna too, of course,” she added.
He nodded slowly. “The Hawks would love for you to stay with them.”
Was he saying that he would love for her to stay with them? It sounded like it. Especially after mentioning that there would be mountains in Tegeingl.
“What do you think I should do?” she asked, just loud enough for only Tor to hear.
