As he reached up to fix it, another set of fingers brushed his own aside. Materializing next to him, Lyrik netted the hair back into place, his movements impassive. “There, little songbird.”
At the touch, Nicu’s eyes bloated to the size of cymbals, and a blush mottled his throat. He opened his mouth, clamped it shut again, and hastened to the pit.
I swung my gaze to the rogue, daunted by the intrigue scrolling across his profile.
Watching Nicu flee the scene, Lyrik huffed in amusement. “Lively elf.”
“Hey.” I grabbed the lapel of his coat. “Hands off.”
The man’s head snapped to mine, derision twisting his countenance as if he found my assumption preposterous. With a dry scoff, he replied, “I don’t fuck virgins.”
“Keep it that way,” I warned.
“Noticing the wrong things again, are you?” He strutted ahead while mumbling, “Besides. Not interested.”
Bullshit. I kept an eye on our host as we huddled around the fire pit with blankets draped over our laps and salted pheasant laid out on plates. As Nicu lapped at his dripping fingers, Lyrik fixated on him and then tore his gaze away, his eyes clinging to the flames.
Aire selected a persimmon from a basket, cut a wedge with a paring knife, and handed one to me. I held the morsel between my fingers, my skin warming. I’d never said aloud that I liked my fruit in slices, yet he noticed at some point.
While tossing and turning that night, I clenched my thighs hard. Under the thick blankets, my thoughts strayed to Aire kneeling before me, his hot tongue sweeping up and down the raw trench of my pussy. To prevent my hand from diving between my legs, I focused on more dire matters, such as everything we learned at the encampment. And the mysteries that had piled up.
Trade tools, sharp enough to be wielded like makeshift weapons. However inferior to army blades, those instruments would enhance disguises, as Aire and I had guessed.
Resting on my back, I replayed the camp scene. That run-of-the-mill sickle in Dame Muriel’s lap, when someone of her rank owned a priceless sword instead. And the words she’d spoken…
“The next best ambush will be possible when the fires are lit.”
Disguises. Makeshift defenses. Burning fires.
References to calendars and revels being only occasional in Autumn. As if this dictated their next move.
A special event. A ritualistic one.
Conceivably, they planned to ambush clusters of Autumn’s deployed army during a time when they’d be celebrating along with everyone else. Which meant…
I shot upright. “Reaper’s Fest.”
Bonfires. Costumes.
With that annual holiday approaching, it would be the optimal time to stage an attack. Out here, any troops stationed in this region would be caught off guard.
Less than ten days remained between now and Reaper’s Fest. That wouldn’t give us time to alert the clan, much less to receive backup from the castle. Aire and I hadn’t gathered enough intel yet, but delaying would guarantee a bloodbath.
This couldn’t wait. I recalled Lyrik’s chemical stunt when he tracked me and Aire, which brought to mind what else that man could create with his brews. Originally, Aire accused Lyrik of being an explosives expert. Thinking about the supplies in the knights’ tents, I brainstormed the risks versus the losses.
Lyrik said he wanted no part in our conflict, but that was before we revealed Summer’s role in things. After that, he hadn’t objected.
“I’m no fan of wankers who inherit their titles without earning them.”
“Do what you gotta do.”
My next move would take finagling. The rebel might keep to himself, but he also had a problem with authority. If I played that angle, so much the better.
The next morning, I strolled into Lyrik’s alchemy chamber and leaned against the jamb. “What’s the price for your skills and my silence?”
Matching Aire’s height, Lyrik towered beside the cauldron. His back faced me, a fitted shirt clutching the muscles knitting across his back. At my proposition, his head lifted slowly. And while I couldn’t see his reaction, I imagined an impulsive gleam flitting across his pupils.
Still turned away, he murmured, “Depends on the target.”
