Page 189 of Commanding Blood And Bonds

“And if you must?”

“Please, God, no,” she begs, rocking, sobbing. “Please, Ansel. Tell me what to do.”

“Make it worth it.”

“What? How?” she gasps, but then her mouth opens in another scream as she lunges for him, too slow to stop the dark line stretching over The Old General’s throat. Rich crimson seeps from the gaping wound as his eyes roll back in his head and his knees buckle. Screams fill the hall as Lana and Freya throw themselves over his body.

I yanked my hand back like I’d touched a stove, lungs seizing as I snapped back to the present. The give of the bed. The steady rhythm of her breathing. A nightmare. Just a nightmare.

“My Lord?” Cairis’s voice was careful, concerned. “Are you alright?”

I didn’t answer. No—I wasn’t fucking alright. Were those the dreams that woke her night after night? The ones she refused to talk about? Did she ever know rest, or was it always haunted by the deaths of our family—by blood she believed was on her hands?

Smoothing the crease between her brows, heart stuttering at the heat radiating from her fevered skin, I whispered, “How long has she been like that?”

Cairis’s pale eyes softened. “Since the king found you, my Lord.”

Two days. Ally had been trapped in that nightmare for two whole days.

With a quiet exhale, I nodded and gently settled the cloth over her eyes, hoping to clean the film before she woke.

“Ally, baby,” I murmured. “Wake up, my love. It’s just a dream. We’re safe. You’re safe.”

She stirred, a whimper escaping before she jackknifed upright, hands flying to her eyes. Embers fizzled along her fingers but died out just as fast.

“Ally, I’m right here. You’re okay.” Her shoulders dropped an inch, breath deepening.

“You burned out, m’lady,” Cairis added gently. “That’s all. You’re safe.”

Ally’s body locked up again, chest heaving as she oriented. “I have a washcloth for your eyes,” I offered, placing it in her hand. She needed some control—something that felt like a choice, this far from her comfort zone.

Her emerald eyes had just landed on me when a knock interrupted.

“Come in,” Cairis sang, before either of us could respond.

The thick oak door swung open, and Kade stepped inside.

“Oh, thank the fucking saints. You’re both alive.”

Ally stiffened beside me. Her face twisted—half terror, half fury.

“I can face most opposition,” Kade continued, “but Aren has never been on that list. I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Smart man,” I said, forcing a smile. I slid from the sheets, noting we were still dressed in our filthy ‘date night’ clothes—which was probably for the best. I suspected Ally might actually ignite if strangers had changed us.

“I take pride in very little, but that sentiment from King Calloway might top the list,” Kade quipped. He pulled an embossed card from his pocket and tossed it onto the comforter. “To replace the last one.”

Tap, tap, tap.

His aqua eyes flicked to the window, frowning. “Eris?”

Tap, tap, tap.

“Thanks for the hospitality,” I muttered, watching him smile down at Cairis, who bowed her head.

“I did say to call in a pinch,” he muttered as he crossed the room and unlatched the window. The raven hop-hop-hopped inside, fluffing as Kade ran a finger along its feathers. It rumbled contentedly, eyeing Ally—then me. “Glad you listened—though a wise man may have reached for the card sooner,” he added the last bit as the bird flapped its enormous wings, landing on his outstretched arm.

A wise man may not have reached for the card regardless, Ally snapped into my mind, her voice tight.