James came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her torso and pulling her back against him. She turned her head slightly, feeling the scrape of stubble against her temple. “We need to get ready. The watch commanders are here to demand Aren’s surrender, and I don’t want him to have to face them alone.”
He gave the slightest of nods but didn’t let go of her. As though he too wished to cling to the last shadows of night before daylight tore them away from each other once again. Seeming to hear her thoughts, James said, “I won’t leave if you don’t want me to.”
Ahnna turned in his embrace, then wrapped her arms around his neck. “I don’t want you to go, but there is no other way to stop this, is there? I wish we could trust that William would hear the truth and do the right thing, but what if he doesn’t? What if he excuses away all that Alexandra has done because the allure of the bridge is too great or because his mother’s claws are in too deep? We’ll have lost our only chance to stop this before the storm season ends, and there will never be another chance. Taking control from Alexandra means taking the crown from William, and you are the only person who can do that. You’ll stop this war. Save lives, and not just Ithicanian lives, but Harendellian, Cardiffian, and Amaridian, because war brings casualties on all sides.”
“I know the stakes, love.” He bent his neck, teeth scraping the side of her throat and sending a jolt of pleasure through her core. “But if you ask me to stay at your side, I’ll stay. Nothing, and no one, comes before you.”
It wasn’t the same as saying that nothing else mattered to him. James feared what was to come as much as she did if they didn’t stop Alexandra, which made the weight of his words so much heavier.“The only thing I ask is that you swear you’ll come back to me. That you swear this isn’t it, that last night wasn’t the beginning and the end.”
Instead of answering, James caught hold of her hips and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, desire and fear at war in her chest. Desire won, and a whimper tore from Ahnna’s lips as he buried himself inside her, all her walls collapsing in the face of what she felt for him.
“I can’t swear that.” James’s breath was hot against her ear, the frame of the window against her back hard and unyielding as he thrust into her. “I can’t make a promise to you that I have no certainty of keeping.”
Tension rose in her core, an aching building need that threatened to drown her as his fingers gripped her ass, angling her so that his cock could go deeper.
“If you swear it, then it is certainty,” she gasped, a half sob tearing from her throat at the feel of him stroking against the most sensitive part of her core. “Because I know you will not fail me. Swear you’ll come back. Swear that we’ll be together again. Swear it to me and then make it happen.”
His breathing was ragged, and beneath her hands, she could feel the thunder of his heart as he claimed her with enough force that it should have hurt. Except she could no longer separate pleasure from pain. “I swear it.”
Her climax crested, and Ahnna cried out his name, grinding her body against him and pulling him over the edge.
They stayed in each other’s arms, connected in every possible way until the dawn’s light reached into the room.
And then they prepared for war.
Washed and dressed in Lia’s clothes, Ahnna held tight to James’s hand as she led him through the house toward the dining room, angry shouts filling the corridor. She rebuilt the walls around her emotions,and as she glanced up at James’s face, cheeks rough with stubble he hadn’t bothered to shave, it was to find his expression hard and unreadable. As ready for a fight as the sword belted at his waist.
A soldier opened the door at their approach, and Ahnna let go of James’s hand. In this moment, she wasn’t his wife but Ithicana’s princess. The former commander of Southwatch. The former regent. But the forever defender of her people.
The argument taking place died at sight of her, and Mara rose to her feet. “You’re here.” The aging commander of Northwatch gave a slow shake of her head. “They said that it was you who brought the warning, but I didn’t really believe it until you walked into the room.”
“Believe it.” Ahnna kept her tone cool but circled the room to grip Mara’s arms in greeting. “It’s a relief to see you alive, Mara. We’ll have a better chance of winning this war with you on the front lines.”
The commander’s lips opened, but then she hesitated. “Ahnna, we—”
“I did not suffer the Blackreaches, the Beast, and thefuckingFurnace to get back to Ithicana and listen to talk about giving up,” Ahnna snapped. “So keep any defeatist words in your mouth.”
Mara’s mouth shut with a click of her teeth.
Ahnna took her seat at Aren’s right and James leaned against the wall next to Jor, all the commanders giving him curious stares as they seated themselves. The space held none of the gravitas of the command room in Eranahl, but the direness of circumstances more than compensated for the setting.
Aren rested his elbows on the table. “You’ve all been made aware of the information that has come to light about the secret alliance between Katarina of Amarid and Alexandra of Harendell, as well as their conspiracy to decimate our people with poisoned grain and take control of the bridge. You are also aware that Alexandra is responsible for Edward’s murder, as well as for framing Ahnna by inflicting injuries upon herself. My sister is wholly innocent of all the charges the Harendellians have leveled against us, and is also the reason all ofus are still among the living. Are there any questions about the facts, or may we proceed?”
The commanders all shook their heads to indicate they needed no clarification, and Aren leaned back in his chair. “Commander Ahnna, you have the floor.”
Her heart skipped, because she’d wondered what her official place was in this room, and her brother had taken away all uncertainty by making her his equal. The equal of everyone present.
Drawing in a deep breath, Ahnna lifted her voice. “I understand why you are all here, and I want you to know that I share in your grief. I reached the bridge not long after the first shipment of grain was delivered, and saw firsthand the devastation Katarina’s poison left in its wake. Aster was alive when I found him, and it was his quick action that prevented the casualties from mounting higher. Aster was a prick who ground on the nerves of everyone, but he was loyal. More than that, he was defiant to the very end, and I know that he’s spinning in his grave to hear talk of surrender now.”
The commanders and their seconds all looked down, unable to meet her gaze, and Ahnna felt their shame. Yet she could also smell their defeat. Not just defeat butfear,and she knew that inspiring words and speeches would do nothing to change their course. Only hope could do that. She needed to give them a strategy that would light that spark in their hearts, so she cleared her throat and continued.
“You are correct that we cannot prevail against a united force of Harendell, Amarid, and Cardiff. Where your error lies is in your belief that the alliances among those nations are strong. Ronan of Cardiff hates Katarina and desires vengeance against her for the murders of Siobhan and Cormac—murders he is yet unaware Alexandra played a role in. Katarina and Alexandra are working together, but neither holds trust for the other. Their relationship enduring so long has been partially due to common goals, but more to do with checks and balances they impose on each other. Despite the threat James and I posed, Katarina kept us alive as, I quote, ‘insurance.’Ronan has reason to hate them both. That is something we can exploit.”
Mara coughed, took a sip from her cup, then asked, “Easy to understand how to turn Ronan on them, but he’s the weakest of the three. How do we break the alliance of the queens?”
“By turning them against each other.”
“How?” Mara asked. “These are not women who are moved by emotion. Nor are they easily deceived.”
