13. Declan

Chapter 13

Declan

A yden’s head rested just above my chest, where I could nuzzle him with my chin and press a kiss into his flaming curls. As soon as I lifted myself off him, he reached up and pulled me down next to him. Within minutes of wrapping my arm around him, he’d nested and drifted to sleep. The steady rise and fall of his chest calmed me almost as much as the odd sensation of sleeping with another wrapped so tightly in the cocoon of my own personal space.

Had I been alone so long that the touch of another against my skin felt foreign?

The absurdity of the question almost had me laughing out loud, but I was determined not to disturb my lordling’s sleep.

I could just see his lidded eyes as they twitched and darted. The corners of his mouth were curled in a grin. Even the tender skin about his eyes seemed to smile.

What are you dreaming?

“Given how you just tried to shove your whole body into him, I would wager he’s dreaming about your massive sword.”

I lost my composure, and my ensuing laugh bounced around the cave. Ayden’s eyes fluttered open.

“Hey.” He smiled up at me. My whole world tilted as love poured out of his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He scooched up and kissed me. “What’s funny?”

“órla was just guessing at your dreams.”

His brows rose. “Really now?”

“Giant sword. Powerful Ranger. Tight sheath. You know, that sort of thing.”

Ayden’s head fell onto my chest as he laughed.

“I take it you heard that?” he asked.

I grinned and nodded.

“Can órla hear me? I mean, I know you two can talk, but can she hear my thoughts or voice?”

“No, I don’t think so. She can speak into your mind, but unless you have the Gift of Telepathy, you wouldn’t be able to respond in kind.”

“All right. In that case, can you send her a message for me?”

I kissed his forehead. “I’m scared, but go on.”

“Tell her that Rangers rarely carry swords. We use bows, and our arrows are quite thin. Her analogy is flawed.”

“Are you trying to start something with an ageless spiritual being with more knowledge and wisdom than all of humanity combined?”

“By the Phoenix, you finally recognized my true greatness. Ayden, mark down this day.”

Ayden coughed through laughter. “I keep forgetting she can hear when you speak. This may take some getting used to.”

“I’ve had her in my head for . . . for a while now. I’m still not used to it.”

“Never will be. I will forever be too fabulous for you both.”

By the time Ayden rose to sit up, he had dribbled spittle all over my chest. Tears streaked his face, and he struggled to breathe through snorts.

“Ew,” I said, grabbing my shirt and wiping my chest.

“After what you just shoved up inside me, that makes you grouse?”

“Fair point. So, how is your . . . um . . . sheathe? Sore?”

He grinned. “Maybe, but I refuse to stroke your ego. It is already almost as large as your hair.”

I feigned offense. “My hair is—”

“A tangled mess that even I wouldn’t nest in.”

Ayden completely lost it, doubling over and laughing so hard I thought he might piss all over the cavern floor.

I stood, padded to the table, and filled a glass with wine.

“Put your pikes away. I am returning.”

“Pikes?” Ayden’s snorting grew louder.

Motion at the cave’s entrance drew my eye as órla soared in and landed lightly on the table beside my glass. Without so much as a “by your leave,” she dipped her beak in and drank the last of my vino.

“Get your own wine, lady!”

Her head snapped up, ruby liquid dripping from her beak. She cocked her head to one side, then swiveled to look at Ayden, then back at me, her golden eyes unblinking. “Are you getting plucky with me, Bond-Mate?”

Ayden’s laughter had subsided the moment órla returned, but with her scolding tone and sharp gestures, he lost his composure again. I tried to maintain a stern visage, but Ayden’s hilarity crawled so far beneath my skin that I couldn’t help but double over.

“Plucky? From an owl?” Ayden gasped.

órla’s eyes widened in a way no owl’s should as her head swiveled toward Ayden.

“If you reach for a single one of my feathers, I swear—”

“Oh, raging Spirits of the deep, I think I just wet my breeches. I have to go find a tree.”

Ayden raced out of the cave without a backward glance.

órla spun to face me, finding my cheeks just as streaked with humor as Ayden’s had been.

She held up a wing. “First—”

“I need to sit. My side hurts.” Her attempt at pointing a finger might’ve been the last straw. My head fell into my crossed arms on the table as laughter rocked my whole body.

órla was undaunted, speaking both aloud and in my mind. “First, you are still naked. While I may be a lady, I do not find your human form particularly attractive. There are far too many parts poking out for my liking.”

I lifted my head and covered my face with my palms. Nothing she said could help the situation. In fact—

“And second . . .” She cocked her head. “What is that scent? It smells . . . salty.”

A furious blush brightened my already reddened features.

Her eyes did that strange widening thing again. “Oh! That is your sex . . . or Ayden’s. It lingers. Do you not bathe?”

“My lady, does thou see a bath about? Servants? Men hauling buckets of steaming water?” I wiped away my tears and sucked down a few calming breaths. “Last I checked, we were in the middle of nowhere, stuck in a cave until the snows slowed.”

Then I realized something. “Did Ayden go outside naked? In this weather?”

On cue, my redheaded Ranger appeared in the entrance, his hands rubbing his arms, and the rest of his body looking about as shriveled and frozen as anyone could.

“Irina’s frosty nipples, it is cold.”

I grunted another laugh. Ayden’s curses were always so . . . inventive.

“The snow is a tad yellower than before. Sorry about that.”

órla perched on the back of one of the chairs and eyed him. “Would you two please get dressed before I decide your limp limbs might make a fine place to roost?”

“You wouldn’t!” I shoved my chair back and stood.

She glanced down, and I swear, if owls could cock a brow, she did.

“Fine. We’ll dress. We were just napping.”

“Napping with your sword up Ayden’s—”

“órla!” Ayden and I said in unison.

She giggled. “—sheath.”

I pulled my trousers up and began lacing them. “órla, while we dress, would you mind flying a circle around our position, say a half mile or mile out? See if the Kingdom scouts are nearby?”

She shook out her feathers and straightened. “Yes, my liege. Of course, my liege.”

“Oh, stop it, you feathery fur ball.”

She made an odd gurgling sound I was fairly certain was a laugh. “I cannot be both feathery and furry. If you intend to spar, please bring a weapon . . . and not that wrinkled old man you poked Ayden with.”

Ayden spat out another laugh but was composed enough to avoid looking up lest he become órla’s next target.

Before I could reply, she took wing and zipped past us and out the narrow cavern opening.

“At least she’s on our side,” Ayden said once we were alone again.

“You have no idea how much you just said.” I chuckled.

“What do you mean?” he asked as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“I’m not sure, but . . . I think there is more to órla than I’ve been told. She wears the mantle of Daughter of Magic, but I was called Son of Magic. I have no idea what either of those things really means. And, while a talking owl is pretty impressive, I really haven’t seen her do anything fantastic, certainly not on the order of the Gifts I’ve discovered for myself.”

“But?” Ayden asked.

“But . . . I feel something . . . more. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Again, she’s on our side. More is good, right?”

“Right.” I smiled, stepped forward, and kissed him again.

As his hand reached up to cup my cheek, órla darted back inside.

“Declan!”

“órla, what is it?” I’d never seen her look frantic.

“I saw dead Rangers.”

“Shit,” Ayden said.

“I think it’s a lot worse than that,” she said.

“órla, slow down. What did you see? Don’t leave anything out.”

“Let me show you.” She didn’t wait for an answer, simply took flight and sailed out into the forest.

“What does she mean, show you?” Ayden asked.

“I can see through her eyes.” When Ayden stared without blinking, I added, “I’ll explain later. I need to focus.”

I sat at the table and closed my eyes. órla’s spirit flared brightly in the winter whiteness as our Lights found each other and joined.

“Oh, Spirits,” I said without opening my eyes. “There are troops. Ayden, they’re everywhere. And there’s Rangers . . . gods . . . four—no, five bodies, tossed in a pile.”

órla soared higher, and I wobbled in the chair at the disorienting shift. When she circled and dove in for another look beneath the forest’s canopy, my breath caught.

“What is it?” Ayden asked. I could feel him sitting beside me.

“Blue robes. Dozens of them.”

“Mages?”

“Yeah. Shit, this is bad.”

“I can taste their magic. They make ready for something,” órla said in my mind.

“órla, I’ve seen enough. Get back here. We need to leave now.”

I rubbed my eyes as they opened and adjusted back to the dimness of the cavern. Ayden’s hand was on my shoulder the moment he saw I had returned.

“We can’t fight Mages out here. They recalled everyone with offensive Gifts to Saltstone a month ago.”

“Damnation, I need to Travel to HQ and warn the Captain.” I chewed my lower lip, then said, “Come with me.”

He shook his head slowly. “I need to check on my men. If the mountains truly are overrun, there may be survivors in need of aid. Others will need orders.”

“Right. Duty.” I turned away and leaned against the table.

“Dec, what are you—”

“Hear me out.” I raised a palm. “It may be too late to save Grove’s Pass. I’ll try to get there in time to hold off the Kingdom forces long enough to evacuate everyone, but the town will fall. They have too many troops. I have to save as many as I can.”

“But—”

“The Kingdom isn’t waiting until spring. They’re invading now .”