Page 141 of Season Warriors & Wolves

“Snowlin!”

“Memphis loves heights. No shitty flowers sprout so far up either. No white headstone. Something colourful, but not yellow. I would come down as lightning, so every time that height would be hit by thunder, you would know it is me coming down.”

He was so angry at me.

“Promise me?” I asked.

“No.”

“Promise me, please? No one else holds my promises because I have never held theirs like I’ve held yours. Promise me this. I want to return to this wretched realm and visit.”

“I can’t.”

“Kil, please.”

“I can’t, because I will be up there with you.”

I stood and hit him.

He grabbed me as I turned to leave, wrapping an arm around my waist and lifting me up so he could speak in my ear. “So, every time I’ve told you my heart burns and bleeds and rips without you in my arms, without your scent all over me, without feeling your warmth on me, all those times I’ve told you I’ve loved you, you’ve never believed me once? Huh?”

What was I going to do? I had not thought of this. In the midst of my plans, preparing for the inevitable end, I had not counted this. Why was he thinking with his heart?

“Answer me, Snowlin! Did you think I fucking lied when I told you that I would not stay in a world where you are not?”

“You have to.”

“Have to do nothing.”

“For me. You would stay for me. If something happened to me, you would stay and look after what I leave behind.”

“Now you’re just looking to make me angry.” He pressed his head to mine and I felt his quick breaths on the back of my neck. “Tell me that’s it. Tell me you’re just wanting to make me mad.”

“Yes.” I lied.

And he accepted that lie.

Chapter twenty-nine

White rook to D1

Kilian

Eren put a hand on my shoulder. “It is enough for tonight, let’s head back.”

Cai shook his head. “There are troops ready to sail to Whitebridge as early as tomorrow morning, if we head down to help Magnus, we might be able to delay Silas making a move out of Dardanes.” The general breathed hard, resting both hands on the table to study the map spread on top. “This is telling us something.”

“Or this could easily be another trap. All these early moves could easily be traps,” Mal said, observing the map. “We know the sceptre is not ready yet. This is something else. Either distraction or traps. Either for Snow and Kil or even Magnus and Moriko.”

“My guess is for Kilian,” Tristin said. “He doesn’t know how to get Snow’s reaction, especially now that Fernfoss is gone. Otis Vayr has reported of your constant relationship with Magnus, so Silas must think you two have an agreement of sorts. The trap is for you. Snow would probably say that. Who by the way, will reprimand each and every one of us for even gathering tonight.”

“No, no,” Cai said, narrowing his eyes on the distance between Whitebridge and Isjord. “We are missing something.”

“He could be right,” Elias said. “Why send ships from Grasmere when he could have easily sent them from Brogmere. Closer. A couple of Verglasers aboard to break the icy waters and they would have docked on the island within the day.”

“Did Moregan say who or what were they loading in them?”

“No, only that they had received direct order from Silas to prepare the southern fleet for sail.”