I could call for help, but how humiliating is that? A princess dashes off promising to bring reinforcements, only to divert badly needed fighters from their primary mission when she gets stuck?
No. I’m going to be a queen. Lorcan wouldn’t give up. Zosia would never consider quitting. I can be at least as stubborn as my friends are.
I cup my hands around my mouth and shout, “TOOOOVIIIIIAAANNNNN!!!!”
“You don’t have to yell so loudly, Sunshine.”
“Aah!” My heel slips on loose gravel, forcing me to pinwheel my arms to stay upright. I smack the boulder behind me. “Where did you come from?”
Jaw agape, I peer at my feet. In losing my balance I sent a small cascade of dirt raining down on his head. He covers it with one hand and waits for the bits of rock to stop falling.
“You’ve been shouting my name for hours, Sunshine. I had a hard time pinning down where you were, but once I heard gunshots, I figured out your location in a hurry.” He pops up over the lip of the wall using a rope I hadn’t even noticed, his biceps and deltoids flexing deliciously. He dusts his hands and takes in my banged-up appearance. “Don’t scare me like that.”
“I’d forgotten how much I like those leather shorts on you.” I grin. They’re constructed to allow free movement, as well as a great view of his muscular thighs and flat abdomen. Not to mention that ass. Handprints in white chalk covered his torso, shoulders, and cheeks. I was tempted to fit my hands to them, just to feel him.
Yes, I went from despondence to ogling in the blink of an eye. I’m so damn happy to see him.
“Already cracking jokes.” He shakes his head. Taking my chin between thumb and forefinger, he says, “You had me worried, Raina.”
All my bravado evaporates. “They’re planning to attack the encampment, Tovi. We need help.”
He regarded me warily. “I don’t know what you think I can do. I am one person, Sunshine. And I’m not bulletproof.”
“I know, but we can’t fight them alone. The Skía have equipped the pirates with new vehicles. They’re—” I tried to describe the ATVs, and quickly gave up in favor of showing him on my phone. Now I was down to 12% battery with no way to charge it up again. Still, if it impressed upon him the urgency of the situation, it was worth wasting battery life. “They look like this, but with machine guns mounted on the front.”
“How do they drive and shoot at the same time?”
“No idea. I don’t care to find out, either. The point is, Tovian, that these vehicles are designed to roll over rough terrain. You can’t count on Big Ada to keep you safe.”
He smiled thinly. “Eater. Big Eater”
“Right. That’s what I meant.” It still sounds like ‘Ada’ to my ear, but I wasn’t going to quibble over accents. Gods know mine is pronounced enough when I speak English or French. “They’ll hunt down your dragonandyour people.”
I can see him thinking it over. I knew full well it wasn’t easy, wanting to help others and protect your own people at the same time.
“Let’s get you to safety, Sunshine. Then, we can discuss it with my mother. You know it’s not my decision.”
My stomach rumbles loudly. “Is there food?”
He huffed a laugh and said, “Plenty of it.”
“How do we get down?”
He makes a loop with the rope, which I realized was made of thin vines braided and woven into a strong rope about as thick as my wrist. A comfortable width for most people to grasp. “Step in.”
“And then what?”
He puts one arm around my waist and steps into the second loop. “And then, we fall.”
Down and down and down, deep into a horseshoe-shaped canyon where the sun’s rays haven’t yet reached. The chill raises the hairs on the backs of my arms. I lean my head on Tovian’s shoulder just to soak up his warmth.
It’s so peaceful in his arms. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until I was away from the constant terror of war. Even when sleeping in my tent, I feel a low-grade dread of what the next day will bring. It’s impossible to really relax. I’m not complaining. I have a modicum of privacy and comfort, while most of the resistance fighters have been sleeping on the ground or taking watch shifts. Princess privileges. But I notice the toll this summer has taken.
“I’m glad you came looking for me.” Tovian tugs me closer, nuzzling my hair. “I’d rather have you safe with me than in danger.”
“It’s my duty to hold the line as best I can.”
“You’re doing a phenomenal job.”
