This was pure torture. I was torn between wanting this to be over and wanting to rip off Eira’s clothes and take her against this wall, witnesses be damned.
More soldiers darted past us. Eira’s grip on me tightened. My eyes shut against the onslaught of heat cutting through me.
“How does that feel?” she breathed in my ear.
A strangled sound escaped me, and I didn’t have to exaggerate it. This devious princess would be the death of me. My hand rested on her waist, and I inched it upward, tracing fingers along her ribs until I reached the bottom of her breasts.
She stilled as I pressed a thumb against her nipple. Even through the fabric of her tunic, she quivered under my touch. I pressed harder, kneading her breast between my fingers. Her head rolled back, and she cried out.
“This way!” shouted a guard.
Two more men shot past us, and I distinctly heard one ofthem sayhealer.
I froze, my heart lurching with recognition. My senses homed in on the men pounding through the alley, trying to catch snippets of their conversation. Eira’s moans faded, her eyes sparking with clarity as she, too, listened.
“The old healer tipped us off,” one of the men was saying. “The assassin is here, as is the Snow Princess.”
Shit.Lavinia had called the guards, the conniving bitch.
If the queen knew for certain Eira was in the village, she would tear apart every building until she found us.
Eira’s eyes widened as she processed the words. Our faces were only a breath apart; to a bystander, it would look like we were still kissing.
“What do we do?” she whispered.
There were still too many guards in the alley for us to slip away unnoticed. But if we waited too long, the area would be swarming with them.
“We need a diversion,” I breathed.
Her eyes suddenly lit up. She brought two fingers to her mouth and let out a faint, high-pitched whistle.
I stiffened before clapping a hand over her mouth. The sound hadn’t been too loud, but a few people nearby were looking around in confusion.
“What the hell are you doing?” I growled.
Her gaze was full of amusement. Slowly, I lowered my hand enough for her to respond.
“Summoning reinforcements,” she said with a grin.
I frowned, not understanding.
A small white shape landed on her shoulder, and my head reared back in shock. Kendra’s brilliant blue eyes darted from Eira to me and back again.
“Why are your lips so red?” she asked.
Eira’s cheeks flushed. She hastily removed her hand from my trousers, then dropped her legs so they were no longer wrapped around me.
I hated how much my body yearned for her warmth.
Eira cleared her throat. “Are Mauro and Frisk safe?”
“Yes. They are a few streets over. We’re following the commotion. I assume that’s why you two are cuddled up in this alley?”
“It is. Can you distract the guards so we can slip away?”
Kendra ducked her head under a wing. “I don’t know, Snow.”
“Please? We could really use your help.”
