Chapter 9: The Morning After
669 Words
The harsh, gray light of dawn pierced through the cracks of the crumbling stone outpost, cutting through the heavy gloom. As the mountain chill began to conquer the dying embers of the hearth, the sheer heat radiating from the bodies flanking Evadne was the only thing keeping the frost at bay.
Eva woke up with her breath catching in her throat. She hadn’t moved an inch all night, frozen by the terrifyingly intoxicating weight of two incredibly dangerous men holding her captive in her sleep.
To her left, Kaelen’s massive, muscular arm was still clamped like an iron band around her waist, anchoring her spine completely flush against his rock-hard chest. His steady, scorching breath brushed against the nape of her neck with every rise and fall of his chest. To her right, Cassian’s long, elegant fingers remained loosely but possessively wrapped around her wrist beneath the heavy furs, his thumb resting directly over her racing pulse.
She was perfectly sandwiched between raw, golden heat and cold, elegant shadow.
Eva carefully tried to slide her wrist out of Cassian’s grip. Instantly, his icy-blue eyes snapped open. There was no grogginess in his expression—only a sharp, predatory awareness. A slow, wicked smirk curved his pale lips as he looked down at her trapped form.
"Good morning, little star," Cassian murmured, his voice a low, gravelly velvet that vibrated straight through the furs. Instead of letting her go, his fingers tightened, his thumb trailing a slow, burning circle over the sensitive skin of her wrist. "You look remarkably beautiful when you are trapped."
"Let go, Cassian," Eva whispered, her voice steady despite the frantic pounding of her heart. She glared at him, refusing to let him see how much his proximity affected her. "The sun is up. We need to move."
"And if I refuse?" Cassian purred, leaning in closer until his sharp jawline was mere inches from her face, his scent of crushed mint and ancient parchment completely enveloping her. "What will you do to me?"
Before Eva could fire back a retort, the iron grip around her waist tightened to a bruising degree. Kaelen surged awake with a feral snarl ripping from his throat. In a split second, he yanked Eva completely backward, pulling her over his own body to shield her from the dark mage.
"I told you to keep your filthy hands off her, shadow-crawler," Kaelen roared, his amber eyes flashing with a lethal, possessive rage. He pinned Eva against his broad chest with one arm, his other hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of his broadsword resting beside the stone platform.
Cassian sat up smoothly, shedding the furs with an infuriating elegance. "And I told you your barking is tedious, hound. She belongs in the shadows, not rotting away in the dirt with a stray mutt."
"Stop it! Both of you!" Eva hissed, wriggling forcefully out of Kaelen's suffocatingly tight embrace. She stood up on the stone platform, the heavy fur cloak pooling dramatically around her hips. Her violet eyes flashed with an untamed fire that made both alpha men instantly go rigid, their aggressive stances melting into a tense, submissive silence. "If you two spend the morning trying to kill each other, the High Guards will do the job for you. Get up. We are leaving."
Kaelen’s jaw clenched, his amber eyes tracking the sharp, defiant line of her shoulders with a mixture of agony and burning adoration. "As you wish, little star," he growled low, stepping off the bed to strap his weapons harness back over his tight tunic.
Cassian rose silently, his gaze dragging slowly down the ruined silk of her gown, lingering on the smooth skin of her ankles before meeting her stare with a dark, suffocating promise. "A temporary truce, then. But make no mistake... the shadow path we must take today will require you to rely on me far more than your golden pet."
- Writer
