Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Chapter 44

The hallway outside the healer’s wing was not exactly quiet healers and assistants hurried back and forth, carrying bandages and potions and bowls of steaming water. The aftermath of the mission was still unfolding, and the academy’s medical staff was working overtime to keep up.

Corvin walked past them without stopping. He knew where Lucian’s room was. He’d made sure his friend was settled before he’d passed out.

He pushed open the door and found Lucian propped up on pillows, his side wrapped in thick bandages, his face still pale but his eyes open and alert. Master Aldric was there too, drinking a potion with one hand while gesturing at an assistant with the other.

"—and I want the moonflower extract doubled for anyone with wolfsbane poisoning. Don’t argue with me, just do it."

"Yes, Master Aldric."

The assistant scurried out, nearly colliding with Corvin in the doorway.

"Eldritch." Aldric looked up, his sharp old eyes assessing. "You should be resting."

"I’ve been resting for hours. I’m fine." Corvin stepped into the room. "Lucian?"

"Alive," Lucian said, his voice weak but steady. "Thanks to you. Apparently you carried me through half the forest."

"You’re heavy. Don’t make me do it again."

"I’ll try to avoid getting clawed by rogues in the future. No promises."

Corvin almost smiled. Then his expression sobered. "Has there been any news? About the other teams? About Thorne?"

Master Aldric set down his potion. "Most of the teams have returned. Team Alpha are still unaccounted for. They was an earthquake. No one has seen them since."

The words hit Corvin like a physical blow. "They’re still out there?"

"The Proctor believes they’ll return by dawn. He’s organizing a search party if they don’t."

Corvin’s hands curled into fists. "She’s still out there. In that forest. With rogues and gods know what else."

"She?" Aldric raised an eyebrow.

"Thorne. He’s still out there." Corvin forced his voice back to neutrality. "And Soren. Soren is with him."

"Thornridge is the best fighter in this academy. If anyone can keep the prince safe, it’s him."

"I know." Corvin turned toward the door. "But if he doesn’t—if something happens to Thorne because Soren failed to protect her—"

"Her?" Aldric’s eyebrow rose higher.

"His protect him. I said him." Corvin’s jaw tightened. "I need some air."

He walked out of the room before either of them could respond. The corridor stretched before him, cold and dim and full of shadows. He walked toward the main entrance, his footsteps echoing in the quiet.

At the door, he stopped. Stared out at the night sky. The same sky Nyra was sleeping under or fighting under. Alive or dead. Safe or in danger. He didn’t know. The uncertainty was a knife twisting in his chest.

"You’d better be fine, Nyra," he murmured, his voice barely a whisper. "Because I cannot afford to lose you. And if that idiot Soren let anything happen to you, I will kill him with my own two hands."

He leaned against the doorframe, watching the stars, and waited.

"Be fine," he whispered. "Please. Just be fine."

The stream was behind them now, its soft music fading into the distance as Soren and Nyra made their way back through the dark forest. The lantern swung gently in Soren’s free hand, casting dancing shadows across the moss and the trees. His other hand was wrapped firmly around Nyra’s, their fingers intertwined like they had been doing this for years instead of hours.

Nyra couldn’t stop smiling.

It was ridiculous, really. She was still damp from the stream, her hair plastered to her neck, her clothes clinging to her body. The forest was cold and dark and full of things that had tried to kill them. They were still miles from the academy, still separated from the rest of the team, still in very real danger.

But Soren had kissed her.

Soren Thornridge—the Ice Wolf, the Sword Sovereign, the man who had ignored her and challenged her and pushed her past every limit she thought she had—had cupped her face in his hands and kissed her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

And she had kissed him back.

Mate, Luna said dreamily in her head. Our mate. We kissed our mate. We finally kissed our mate.

I know, Nyra thought back, her heart doing a ridiculous little flutter. I was there.

It was perfect. He was perfect. The way he held your face. The way he looked at you. The way he said you were everything he never knew he wanted. I think I might actually swoon.

Wolves don’t swoon.

This wolf does. This wolf is swooning right now. Swooning and floating and possibly crying a little bit.

Please don’t cry.

Too late. These are happy tears.

Nyra bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Her cheeks ached from smiling. Her heart was so full it felt like it might burst. Soren Thornridge was her mate. Her boyfriend. Her—

Mate, Luna corrected firmly. The word you’re looking for is mate. Boyfriend is what humans call each other when they’ve been on three dates and haven’t decided if they like each other yet. We are bound by fate. We are chosen by the Moon Goddess. We are—

Okay, okay, I get it. Mate.

Good. Just making sure we’re clear.

Nyra was so lost in her internal conversation that she didn’t notice Soren had stopped walking. Didn’t notice he was saying her name. Didn’t notice he was standing directly in front of her, his dark eyes searching her face with an expression somewhere between amusement and concern.

"—Nyra. Nyra."

A hand snapped in front of her face.

She jerked back to reality. "What? What happened? Are there rogues?"

"No rogues." Soren’s lips twitched. "Just you, staring into space with a very strange smile on your face. You’ve been like this for the past ten minutes. I’ve called your name six times."

"You have not."

"I have. I counted. Six times."

"You’re exaggerating."

"I’m the Sword Sovereign. I don’t exaggerate." He tilted his head, studying her. "What were you thinking about, Miss Nyra? Was it the kiss?"

The blush that flooded her cheeks was immediate and unstoppable. She could feel it spreading from her face down to her neck, hot and bright and utterly beyond her control.

"No," she lied.

"Yes, it was. You’re blushing."

"I’m not blushing. It’s cold. My face is just... cold-flushed."

"Cold-flushed isn’t a thing."

"It is now. I just invented it."

Soren laughed—that real, warm laugh that still surprised her every time she heard it. "You’re a terrible liar."

"I’m an excellent liar. I’ve been lying to an entire academy for months."

"You’ve been lying to everyone except me. I saw through you from the beginning."

"Because your wolf called me mate the first time we met."

"Because you landed on my face in the corridor and I felt you in my bones." His voice softened. "I’ve never felt that before. Not for anyone. And I didn’t know what to do with it."

"And now?"

"Now I know exactly what to do with it." He lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "Now I’m going to walk you back to the hut, and we’re going to get some rest, and tomorrow I’m going to get you back to the academy safely. And then—"

"Then?"

"Then I’m going to kiss you again. In front of everyone. So there’s no confusion about who you belong to."

Nyra’s heart stuttered. "Belong to?"

"Belong with," he corrected. "You don’t belong to anyone, Nyra. You’re not property. But you belong with me. And I belong with you. That’s what the mate bond means. That’s what I want."

She stared at him, this impossible man who had gone from cold stranger to fierce protector to something so much more. "You really mean that."

"I really do."

She hit his hand lightly. "Then stop teasing me about the kiss and walk me back to the hut. I’m freezing."

"You’re cold-flushed."

"Shut up."

He laughed again and pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walked. She leaned into him, feeling the warmth of his body through their damp clothes, and thought that maybe, just maybe the world wasn’t such a terrible place after all.

The campfire crackled in the small stone shelter, its orange glow pushing back the darkness of the Mistwood. The remnants of Team Alpha—minus Soren and Nyra—sat around it in various states of exhaustion and relief.

Valeria and Elias emerged from the trees together, their lanterns swinging, their clothes still slightly damp from the river. No one commented on how long they’d been gone.

"We found the stream," Valeria said, settling onto a log near the fire. "The water’s cold but clean."

"Good," Orion said. "We caught dinner while you were gone."

He gestured to the spit over the fire, where a fat rabbit was roasting, its skin crackling and golden. The smell was incredible savory and rich, the kind of smell that made stomachs growl and mouths water.

"Where did you find a rabbit?" Elias asked, taking a seat across the fire from Valeria. He was careful not to sit too close. Careful not to look at her too long. Careful not to let anything show on his face.

"Silas caught it," Orion said. "Cornered it near the rocks. Quick kill. Clean."

"It was nothing," Silas said, but he looked pleased with himself. "The little thing practically jumped into my hands."

"Sure it did."

They divided the rabbit among themselves, the meat hot and tender and exactly what their exhausted bodies needed. For a few minutes, no one spoke. There was only the crackle of the fire and the sound of people eating, grateful to be alive.

Elias couldn’t concentrate on the food.

His mind kept drifting back to the river. To the moonlight on Valeria’s bare skin. To the way she’d touched him, confident and demanding. To the sounds she’d made when he’d—

Seven out of ten, his wolf reminded him. She said seven out of ten. And next time. There’s going to be a next time.

A smile crept across his face.

"Elias." Silas’s voice cut through his thoughts. "What’s with the grin? You look like you just won a sparring match."

Elias’s head snapped up. "What? Nothing. I’m not grinning."

"You’re absolutely grinning. You’ve been staring at that piece of rabbit for five minutes with a smile on your face."

"The rabbit is just... really good." Elias tore off a piece of meat with his teeth. "Sweet. Tender. Well-cooked."

Silas raised an eyebrow but didn’t push. "If you say so."

Orion nodded, chewing thoughtfully. "It is good. One of the better meals we’ve had in this forest. Which isn’t saying much, considering our other meals have been ration bars and wild berries, but still."

"Appreciate the vote of confidence," Silas said dryly.

"I’m being sincere."

"I know. That’s what makes it sad."

Valeria said nothing. She sat at the edge of the firelight, her portion of rabbit untouched in her hands, her eyes fixed on the flames. She had been quiet since returning from the river quieter than usual, which was saying something. Her mind was elsewhere, turning over plans and possibilities and the seeds of a strategy that was just beginning to take root.

Get closer to Thorne, Lila had said. Pretend to let Soren go. Find out what the prince is hiding.

It was a good plan. A solid plan. But executing it would require patience. Discipline. The ability to smile at the person she hated most in the world and pretend she had no ill intentions.

She could do that. She had been doing it for years.

Draven sat on the opposite side of the fire, as far from the others as he could get without actually leaving the shelter. His axe rested across his knees, and his eyes were dark and troubled. He hadn’t spoken since they’d made camp. He hadn’t eaten much either.

The mission had failed.

Thorne was still alive. Soren was still protecting him. Killian would be furious. Killian would be disappointed. Killian might never look at him again.

The thought made his stomach churn.

He stared into the fire and said nothing.

"Draven." Orion’s voice was surprisingly gentle. "You should eat. We have a long walk tomorrow."

"I’m not hungry."

"Eat anyway. You’ll need your strength."

Draven looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. Orion’s face was tired but open, his earlier hostility faded into something closer to camaraderie. They had fought together. They had survived together. Whatever differences existed between them had been temporarily set aside.

"Fine," Draven muttered, and took a bite of rabbit.