Sloane slowly nodded, smiling down at him. ‘Certain,’ she whispered before she lowered her lips to his and sealed her words with a kiss.
Chapter Eighteen
When Rhyn woke the following morning he kept his eyes closed, not truly believing his memories as he recalled the night before. But he smiled as soon as he opened them and saw Sloane’s white blonde hair sprawling over his chest as she curled into his arms. His heart began to soar because Sloane had finally opened herself up to the connection between them. She had finally stopped denying that they were perfect for one another and he couldn’t remember ever feeling happier.
She was still asleep in his arms, and he didn’t dare move in case he woke her up. She was so innocent in sleep, and he shamelessly watched her, enjoying the rare moment when he could just stare at her without anything to stop him. He loved seeing her so peaceful, but he had also spent far too much time watching her in such a way. She had slept for days while recovering from her injury, and after experiencing that Rhyn wasn’t sure he ever wanted to see her eyes shut again.
A slither of light shone in under the hide across the doorway. Even without it, Rhyn would have known it was dawn outside. His body was like a clock and always awoke just before the suns began to rise.
Sloane’s eyes slowly started to blink open, and Rhyn’s smile grew as he finally caught a glimpse of their vivid green colour. He half expected her to jolt away from him or be shocked at their closeness, but instead, a small smile formed on her lips.
‘You’re still here,’ she murmured softly.
He tilted his head, surprised by her comment. ‘Is there somewhere else I should be?’
‘No.’ She gave a small shake of her head, a bright smile still on her lips. ‘You’re just always so busy. I half expected you to be up and training with your warriors.’
‘I think you overestimate just how much I like training,’ he replied, with a chuckle. But then his face turned serious. ‘Or underestimate just how much I like you. There’s nowhere else I would rather be.’
She shuffled slightly so she could see him better. Her eyes were bright, and though her hair was messy, it was a look that suited her. She was so incredibly attractive, and Rhyn marvelled at her beauty. He would give anything to make her happy, and his heart felt like it was going to explode out of his chest because he realised it wasn’t just attraction he felt for her, but love. He loved Sloane with everything he had, and the thought left him breathless.
‘So, what now?’ she asked, her voice slightly subdued.
Rhyn wasn’t sure what she meant. Was she referring to their relationship or merely what lay ahead of them that day? Before he could ask her to clarify, she continued.
‘I think it’s pretty obvious that there’s something strong between us,’ she said. ‘But there’s also so much going on right now.’ Her voice became a whisper as she spoke. ‘I mean, do Unfaih even casually hook up? Is that a thing?’
Rhyn growled at her comment, the sound rumbling from his chest before he realised it was happening. ‘There’s nothing casual about us,’ he replied, his voice deep and commanding.
But Sloane laughed off his strong reaction. ‘There’s no need to go caveman on me,’ she said. ‘I just meant that I know you guys have all these formalities for joining people together. We don’t even know if we’re a match.’
‘We’re a match,’ Rhyn said, no room for question in his tone.
‘But how can you be sure?’ she asked.
‘I don’t need to stand next to a choosing orb with you to know that we are meant to be together,’ he said. ‘I can feel it in my soul.’
Sloane rolled her eyes at him and pushed herself to sit up. Rhyn moved with her so that he was still right beside her.
‘You don’t feel the same thing?’ he asked.
‘In my soul?’ she said, turning to face him. ‘I’m not even sure I have one.’
It was Rhyn’s turn to roll his eyes. ‘But you feel connected to me?’
Sloane let out a long breath. ‘Look, I’ve never been good with words. I prefer actions, and I’m fairly certain I’ve shown you how I feel…’
Rhyn slowly nodded. She was right. Sloane wasn’t good at expressing her emotions, but he could see in her every look and feel in her every touch how much she cared about him. He knew that she returned his love, and he didn’t need her to say the words out loud, or for an orb to confirm their connection was real. Not when he already knew that Sloane would be his forever one way or another.
He reached up a hand and lightly touched her cheek. ‘I know how you feel,’ he reassured her. ‘We can come up with the words to describe it when our lives are a little less unsettled.’
Sloane smiled at him. ‘I think I’d like that,’ she replied, as she lent over and brushed her lips against his. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her kiss. It only lasted a second, before Sloane leapt up off the bed and onto her feet.
‘Maybe we should get going…’ she said softly.
Another growl rumbled in Rhyn’s chest that he struggled to control. There was a knowing smile on her lips like she knew how much she was teasing him. He reached out to grab her and pull her back to him, but Sloane darted from his grasp.
‘Wow, Rhyn, with reflexes like that, maybe you should have been training with your warriors this morning,’ she taunted him from where she stood near the doorway.
He suddenly started grinning, but the smile was that of a predator watching his prey. She was pushing his buttons, and she knew it. What she didn’t realise was that he wouldn’t let her get away with it. He launched from the bed, using all of his strength and power to propel himself towards her. The movement was so fast that it took Sloane by surprise.
He flew through the air that separated them and crashed into her. The two of them fell through the doorway, tearing the hide cover from across it as they tumbled towards the floor. Rhyn cradled Sloane’s body in his arms so she wouldn’t be hurt by the impact of the solid ground. But the girl knew how to fight, and she landed without so much as a grunt.
Sloane started laughing from where she lay beneath him, and as Rhyn pulled back to look at her, he couldn’t stop himself from grinning too. Her white blonde hair was splayed out around her, and she seemed so carefree that he couldn’t be annoyed with her, even if he was only pretending.
‘You’re impossible,’ he grumbled, slowly getting to his feet and holding out a hand to help her up.
Her smile was still broad as she righted herself. ‘Yeah, but you love it.’
Rhyn shook his head at her, not daring to respond. She was right, he did love it; far more than she probably realised.
‘We should get back to the castellum,’ he said, his thoughts beginning to sober now that he had a little distance from Sloane. When he was close to her, he almost forgot that anything else besides the two of them existed.
Sloane’s bright eyes dimmed a little in response. She rubbed a hand across the back of her neck and glanced towards the doorway. ‘Yeah, you’re probably right,’ she said, before turning to face him again. ‘Can we keep this to ourselves for now?’ She waved her hands between her and Rhyn, and her voice was quiet and serious as she spoke. ‘There’s so much going on, and I don’t want to add any more drama to the mix.’
Rhyn didn’t like to think of their relationship as dramatic, but he knew how much Sloane was trying to process right now. Keeping what had happened between them to himself was a request he could easy fulfil.
‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘We can keep it to ourselves for now.’
The two of them were oddly quiet as they trekked from the village, back up the mountain to the castle of ice. Although they weren’t speaking, it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Rhyn actually relished in the lack of words exchanged between them. They both had a lot on their minds, and he was glad Sloane wasn’t one of those people that felt the need to fill any silence with useless talk.
The suns were high in the sky by the time they reached the castell
um, and they parted ways when they entered the courtyard. Sloane needed to talk with her family. Rhyn knew she still had a lot of questions to ask, and that Esther was the only one who could help unravel her confusion.
‘Will I see you later?’ she asked. There was almost a hint of hope and longing in her voice, and it pleased Rhyn to know that she wanted to see him again soon.
He nodded. ‘You will.’
She smiled in response. It wasn’t her usual smile though. It was the look of someone who had a secret—a secret that they shared together. Rhyn knew he couldn’t keep their relationship to himself for long. It had been less than an hour since they’d agreed to keep it quiet and he found he was already struggling not to reach out and touch her, as he might have liked. He would give her as much time as she needed to be ready to tell people though.
He watched her as she made her way up to the castellum, waiting until she reached the doors before he turned to make his way across the courtyard to the training area.
As Rhyn approached, he could see his warriors were in the process of packing up Unfaih weapons so they could be transported to the World of the Woods. He didn’t intend to hand them to the humans, but Rhyn had thought it was smart to keep a supply nearby in case the Brakys attacked and they needed to arm the people in the settlement at short notice.
He could see Elyx walking amongst the warriors and watching over them as they worked in the crisp morning air. Rhyn waited until his second caught his eye, and nodded for the stern Unfaih warrior to meet him in front of the small stone building just past the armoury.
‘Did you get what I wanted from Denton?’ Rhyn asked as Elyx came to a stop in front of him.
Elyx gave a hesitant nod. ‘The humans didn’t seem happy to part with them, but I assured Captain Denton they would be returned and that you were confident your plan would work—just like you said. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?’
‘Yes,’ Rhyn replied without missing a beat. However, even as he aired his confirmation, his gut dropped uneasily as he considered what he was about to do. He wasn’t certain at all, but he couldn’t let anyone know he had doubts about the decision.
‘Where are they?’ he asked.
Elyx pointed in the direction of several wooden boxes stacked behind him. ‘We brought as many as the men could carry.’
Rhyn paced over to the crates and lifted the lid of the one perched on top. The metal glint of hundreds of bullets met his gaze, and his stomach lurched uneasily again at the sight. He reached into the crate and pulled one of the shells out, tucking it into his pocket before closing the lid once more.
‘I hope you know what you’re doing,’ Elyx muttered, before turning and walking away.
Rhyn let out a long breath as he stared at his second’s retreating figure. He hoped he knew what he was doing too.
He didn’t have time to second-guess his actions though, so he turned from Elyx and focused on the small stone building behind him. He could already hear the sound of clanging metal from within, which grew louder as he pulled the door open and stepped inside. The room was hot from the forge that was burning brightly on the far side of the cramped space and the smell of scorching metal filled Rhyn’s nose.
A woman stood in front of an anvil, pounding on a metal sword with a hammer as she battered it into shape. She was far burlier than the other women in the village and possessed a unique strength that came from years of blade work rather than fighting, but sweat still dripped from her brow as she worked. She was the finest bladesmith in Ellysia, but Rhyn hadn’t come for a weapon.
‘Good morning, Dorva.’
She stopped hammering on the metal as Rhyn drew near and looked up at him with a curious look in her eyes. Rhyn didn’t spend much time in her workshop. Elyx usually oversaw the condition of the Unfaih warriors’ armour, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been to see Dorva.
‘Have you got a moment?’ Rhyn asked, taking a few steps closer to her. ‘I have something I need you to help me with.’
Dorva nodded and placed the sword and hammer aside. She was a woman of few words, but she’d always been helpful whenever Rhyn needed something.
Rhyn pulled the bullet from his pocket and glanced at it before gently laying it flat on the table before him. Dorva stepped towards the table and lightly picked up the bullet, turning it over in her fingers as she examined it.
‘What is this?’ she said.
‘A form of ammunition,’ Rhyn responded. ‘The humans load them into their handheld weapons and shoot them like a projectile from a canon. There are hundreds of them in the boxes outside your door, and I want you to cover all of them with a light coat of interitus metal.’
Dorva pursed her lips as she continued to study the bullet. ‘I can try, but I’ve never done anything like this before.’
‘Please, try your best,’ he replied. ‘We need them as soon as possible.’
She looked uncertain about handling the human object as she placed it back on the table. ‘Do you have one of these weapons so we can test them when they’re ready?’
‘Yes, I’ve got a gun in my quarters. I’ll send someone to bring it to you as soon as I leave.’
Dorva nodded again before she glanced back down at the bullet. ‘What do you intend to do with them?’ she asked. There was some concern in her voice as if she was worried she might have overstepped her bounds in questioning him.
He didn’t want to tell her that he intended to return the bullets to the humans once they had been covered in the rare metal the Unfaih used to fight the Brakys. Even he doubted the logic in gifting them with weapons that could be used against his own people. But after their encounter with the Brakys the other night at the camp, Rhyn was beginning to feel different about the options available to him.
There had only seen a small portion of the Braky army at the human settlement, and while his warriors had fought with strength and valour, the humans had been a complete liability. They were helpless against the creatures, and Rhyn knew it was only a matter of time before another attack came.
He didn’t want to arm them, but he didn’t want his warriors to die while striving to defend them either.
‘I intend to protect my people,’ Rhyn responded simply. ‘Can you help, Dorva?’
The woman still seemed uneasy about what she was being asked to do, but she nodded. ‘I’ll get to work on them right away,’ she replied.
As Rhyn left the workshop, he tried to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. It was a significant risk to hand the humans such a deadly weapon against his people, but it was a chance he had to take. The bullets could be his biggest mistake, or they could potentially help him win a war.
Chapter Nineteen
Sloane had barely made it to the front entrance of the castellum when Rowe and Esther came out of the doors. The two of them practically barrelled into her as they made their way outside.
‘Sloane!’ Rowe gasped, holding one of her twin’s arms tightly as she attempted to right herself. Esther was far more nimble and gracefully came to a stop before they collided.
‘Where are you two going?’ Sloane asked as Rowe dropped her grasp on her arms. They were both wrapped up in warm clothes, as though they were planning to spend a long time outdoors.
‘Orelle asked if Esther wanted to see the village,’ Rowe said. ‘We’re meeting her in the courtyard before we walk down.’
Sloane frowned slightly as she looked at the two of them. They seemed so relaxed and comfortable in one another’s company. Rowe didn’t seem nearly as troubled by what Esther had told them as Sloane was.
‘Are you okay?’ Rowe asked, noticing Sloane’s discomfort.
‘Yes, but I wanted to speak with you both,’ Sloane said, glancing down at the ground as she gathered her thoughts. Her fingers tingled with uncertainty, and she felt far more nervous than she usually did with her family.
‘I want to apologise for running out on you yesterday,’ Sloane started, lifting her ga
ze to meet her sisters. ‘I guess I was feeling overwhelmed by everything that had happened, and I needed some space to think it through.’
Sloane didn’t like admitting that she’d been overcome by her emotions. She worried it made her look weak, but the encouraging looks that Rowe and Esther were giving her made her feel better.
‘We understand,’ Esther said.
Rowe nodded emphatically beside her. ‘And you weren’t the only one who needed time to think,’ she added. ‘I was the same. It was a lot to take in.’
‘Still, I shouldn’t have abandoned you,’ Sloane countered.
Rowe reached out a hand and placed it carefully on Sloane’s arm. ‘You didn’t abandon us,’ Rowe replied. ‘You would never do that. Not in a million years. It was a difficult night for all of us.’
Sloane let out a breath and nodded, feeling a sense of release in her chest at Rowe’s words. She could see in Rowe’s eyes that her sister didn’t blame her one bit for running away.
‘You must have a lot of questions for me,’ Esther said.
A small laugh echoed from deep in Sloane’s chest. ‘I do, but I think I know enough for now.’ She hesitated before she went on. ‘There’s just one thing I want to ask…’
Esther nodded seriously, indicating for Sloane to continue.
‘You’re like me,’ Sloane began. Her voice held a nervous quiver that hadn’t been there before. ‘You had one parent who was human and one who was an Unfaih. You drank the Liftsal, and you didn’t turn into a monster.’
Sloane took in a deep breath and glanced nervously at Rowe. Now was her chance to ask the question she had been agonising over ever since she’d been injured, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear the answer.
‘I drank the Liftsal too,’ she continued. ‘Do you think I’m going to become a Braky?’
Sloane stood paralysed as she waited for Esther’s response. The anticipation was overwhelming her, and she braced herself to receive both good and bad news. Either way, her entire future was about to change.
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