Page 100 of Autumn Queens & Shadows

“Iskyla is scared shitless of the White Veil. I’d like to keep this ploy for as long as I need to.”

“You have me, too. I can be scary sometimes.”

She took a few steps back. “You scare these people shitless for other reasons.”

Slowly, I caught up to her even as she kept backing away from me. “Such as?”

Her back hit a wall. “You don’t bring men to submission, you bring them to their deaths.”

“I will bring them to wherever you want me to bring them. It’s not me they need to be scared shitless of, it’s you.” Tugging on the hood, I pulled it back over her head. “Go back to our room. I will be there once this mess is cleaned up.”

I watched as she retreated into the darkness of the nearby forest, protected by it as she summoned one of her ice dragons and lurched up in the air, still protected by the shade of night, the dark grey clouds disguising her creature, too.

Her wolves surrounded me, demanding they be petted now that their master had left without doing so. Once they sniffed the air that took the scent of the incoming soldiers, they howled at the round moon and then took off into the forest as well, leaving me alone to deal with it.

“Was this you?” one of her captains asked, pointing to the pile of Isline soldiers as she quickly got down her horse to run at the horrid scene their queen had left behind.

“I don’t leave bodies behind, Captain. Nor do I make them bleed this much.”

“What do you want us to do with them?”

“Nothing, we’ll send them back to Iskyla.” As I’d been doing after every attack. How they had not noticed that there were no bodies to bury after these attacks, I had no idea. Maybe they thought the White Veil ate them or something.

Her eyes went wide. “We don’t trespass her territory.”

“Looks like she doesn’t extend that grace to you. But I didn’t mean I’ll send you up there. Your queen would have my head. I’ll take them.”

“Y-you?”

“Me,” I said, and the dead bodies jerked. Their limbs flailed and cracked into place as they got to their feet. Some bleeding, some limbless, some with bones sticking out of skin, the corpses all stood, marched up in a line and walked outside the village gates. Once they’d taken to my order, the dead wouldn’t stop until they had obeyed it to the very last syllable. Guess Iskyla had received them all considering the measures she’d taken to avoid being met with me.

The Isjordian soldiers had all frozen in place for some reason, flinching when I said, “You can all go home.”

The young captain met everyone’s uneasy gaze and then returned mine. “As you say, Your Majesty,” she said, bowing her head, and her soldiers followed suit, sending disturbed glances in my direction.

Thora had curled up in the middle of her big bed, her chin resting on her knees as her eyes drifted off into the distance of her mind.

“Doesn’t look like you’re thinking of me,” I called, throwing my jacket to a chair.

Not even a flash of acknowledgement crossed her focused eyes.

The closer to her I got, the more I realised she was grinding her jaw, her eyes were out of focus entirely and her breathing was growing harder.

Careful not to startle her out of the stupor too abruptly, I sat in front of her and cupped her face, massaging my fingers down her jaw and neck to relieve some of the muscle tension. “Rora, sweetheart. Come on now. You’ve promised to never lock the door, to never leave me out. Why have you locked the damn door?”

Seeing her like this, I was so tempted to suck all of the emotion out of her, to take it away and make it so it never has a place inside her again. But if I did, if I brought magic in the midst of us, the lines would all blur. I’d become not something she will want or need, I’d become something she can’t cope without. An addiction.

Lifting her onto my lap, I cradled her in my arms and rubbed my hands over her stiff limbs, controlling the rush of her blood until she warmed up under my touch. “You’re so unfair,” I murmured, studying every little dent on her face, the swollen pouty lips, the thick lashes and scattered faded freckles dusted over her nose. “This is so unfair.” So close to me. Mine. All of her. Yet. None of it was for me to touch.

Her lashes fluttered and then her eyes were on me a second later. “Malik?”

“Who else would it be, little bird?”

“Forgive me for doubting my eyes. The many times I’ve seen you these past ten years have been purely their pity. Every time I’ve smelled, felt, heard you, all has been pity. Even my mind pities me.”

My eyes drew shut and I dropped my brow to hers. “I don’t like this nonsense, Rora.” I didn't deserve it just yet. One day I would.

“I’m pitiful, aren’t I?”