I waited all day for Fynn to come back. He had made it out of the tent this morning without waking me at all, which was evidence of how hard I trained last night. I wondered if that clued him in that something was different.It made me anxious to think he might have clued in, but I had to risk it. It might even be fun to try to take him in a fight. I mean, there was no way I would win a fight like that, but it might be worth it to try, just to see if he would even engage with me.I was practically pacing by the time I heard the other soldiers start to return. I started searching for a place to hide so I could surprise Fynn. I knew it was entirely possible that he could be gone for a long time. Sometimes it took him hours to come back from the battlefield.Luckily, tonight was not one of those nights. Fynn's casual yet authoritative stroll was easily identifiable outside. Those broad shoulders and heavy muscling of his made him just heavy enough to have loud footsteps.Diving ne
*Fynn*Sage held open the tent flaps. I ducked my head out, looking for any signs that someone might see us. Not that I was afraid to be seen with Sage, but rather, I was afraid someone might catch me slipping down to the creek to take a bath. It seemed somehow unbecoming of a commander. I mean, everyone should bathe from time to time. In the evenings before bed, I usually washed in the wash basin in the tent, but I knew I should get a full bath.I just preferred to avoid bodies of water these days.I turned to look back at Sage. I noticed then that the vine that climbed the central tent pole was now covered in delicate blue day flowers, ironic because it was early evening and this was the first time I'd seen them bloom."Go. You stink," Sage commanded, giving me a little nudge.I rolled my eyes and stomped out into the dark. There were a couple of little purple birds sitting at the entrance to the tent, staring at me with heads tipped to the side. They were waiting expectant
"Well, that's a rather rude greeting," Sean purred, reminding me of an orange tabby cat I once had as a child. It used to preen itself and purr, enticing people to get closer before it swiped out at them. It was just a mean old cat, satisfied with causing pain."I've told you plenty of times that I'm not interested in dealing with you. Take your business elsewhere," I warned."You haven't even heard what I have to say," Sean rebuffed."And I don't intend to," I retorted. "I'm only standing here to make sure you leave my camp. I don't want you stirring up trouble with any of my men either.""I wouldn't dream of it. Although, that pretty little captive you keep tucked away is an awfully tempting treat," he chuckled darkly.I grabbed him by his sooty black collar, dragging him closer. If I wasn't so furious, I'd be impressed at myself with how fast I was able to grab him. The old bastard was surprisingly slippery most of the time. Maybe he was losing his touch. I could hope at l
*Sage*Fynn was late getting back to the tent that night, and he left out early. I didn't know what had kept him out half the night, but I'd been asleep by the time he returned. I only knew he came back at all because I had awoken at one point in the night to get up and get some water.I wanted to consider all the options about what he could possibly have spent his time doing, but I was also afraid to. He was a handsome man, with lots of interested eyes following him everywhere he went. He could spend his time how he wanted to, I supposed. He wasn't beholden to me. In fact, I was still technically his captive, however willing my captivity may be.As the sun pulled high overhead, I was struggling to make myself do much of anything. I needed to get up and get moving for the day, maybe do some training of some sort, but I wanted to wallow. I wasn't sure where this intense feeling of dread was coming from, but I was worried that Fynn was losing interest in me.When we came out of t
"Any injuries, or anything exciting?" I asked though I was only half listening to him. I didn't know what his mood was about. I could only try so hard to uncover the source of his foul mood."Nothing good," he dismissed. He was struggling with the buckle on the left side of his armor, the same one that always seemed to give him trouble. I could take a pocket knife and make the holes for the buckle a little bigger, but I wondered if he'd let me touch it at all.I nodded to acknowledge that I'd heard him talk, but I couldn't muster much more of an answer.His foul mood had me concerned I was right about my worries this morning. I wondered if my luck had finally run out. Fynn was stunningly handsome, and he was probably regretting dragging someone like me along on his adventures. He was tired of me. I'd made myself too available to him, too desperate for his attention.I considered coming up with something to say. I could press and see if there was something deeper here, but the t
*Fynn*I could see the way Ragnar's massive hand wrapped around Sage's small one. I saw the way she gingerly pulled him toward her, helping him off the ground. I could see the evidence of her magic still lingering in the air, a smell like the coppery tang of blood.Charging toward them, I could hardly think straight. All I knew was that I saw red when I saw Ragnar come into contact with her.I'd been feeling off all day, having to leave early this morning to resist the boiling feeling that was bubbling under the surface of my skin. I wanted to stay, to hold Sage in my arms for an eternity, the way that I did each night. After my conversation with Sean, something tugged harder in my chest, a magnetic pull toward her that was getting more and more irresistible.It had messed with my mind, tearing me up all day. I was in a foul mood when I returned, and I felt so guilty for being short with Sage earlier that I didn't even try to stop her when she left. She should have left. She di
*Sage*"Sean told you about Sage's abilities?" Fynn asked, though the fury from earlier was snuffed out and he seemed much more reasonable now. He even looked like a different person again, less feral and on edge."He's been talking a lot about Sage. He seems to have some interesting theories about her. I didn't realize when you were being vague about where she came from, it was because you genuinely don't know," Magnus answered."Well, that's not exactly fair," Fynn deflected."I fell through a faerie ring. No matter how many people refuse to believe me, that's the truth," I interjected. It felt good to let the truth out, as much as I could understand of it. I trusted these men, even though Magnus had just revealed he'd been speaking an awful lot with a strange man who had a habit of just dropping in.Everyone turned to look at me, though they didn't seem to be in shock, or even that surprised, really."Tell them your grandmother's name," Magnus pushed.I frowned. Now we
I couldn't decide if they had finished for the day early or not on account of me, but I was too embarrassed to ask. Something about an entire war being put on hold for me was too much to handle, so I did my best to not think about it."Tell me what you're doing for your warm-ups," Ronan said, gesturing to the arena space that was now fully covered in moss."We just do a lap at a walk, then a trot, then a canter, in both directions." I stood in my stirrups, stretching my legs down and letting my heels drop low."Alright, that sounds like a good start. What are you doing during your practice time? Any particular skills you're trying to nail?" Ronan continued."Well, when I fell off yesterday, I was trying to teach myself to get over some jumps," I explained. The blush that burned my cheeks was inevitable. I didn't want to admit that I was struggling with any of this to Ronan, but I knew he was probably the best horseman in the group."Alright, put us up some jumps then, let's g