“Seems like the grain could be more useful as a food source,” Nico suggested.
“Nah. They killed the will of the people. The alcohol keeps them numb. There’s no fight left in us... so we drink,” Sawyer said before taking a hearty swig.
Once everyone was served and cups were overflowing, Nico began his story. He was a gifted storyteller, captivating the group, and I found myself spellbound—seeing my own experiences through an entirely new perspective.
“I am not my father—I know this,” he said in conclusion. “I do not wear his crown, and I have not yet earned the honor of your allegiance. But I know this to be true: the Bloodstone Sigil now rests on the finger of a traitor. A male whose only ambition is to oppress his people for his own benefit. He would see you divided and broken. I am young, yes. Unproven in your eyes. But I am also unshaken. I do not stand before you as a spoiled prince seeking glory, but as a son, seeking to honor his father and reclaim what has been stolen. I don’t expect you to make a decision now. All I ask is that—for the sake of my father—please consider what I’ve said tonight, and envision what kind of Hiraeth you want to see tomorrow.”
Silence settled over the fire.
“Have you seen the Book of Astrium?” Sawyer asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
“I have,” Nico answered solemnly.
“Is there some prophecy you’re hiding from us?”
“I’ve seen the book, but the prophecies remain a mystery. There are no scribes who can translate the text. That’s common knowledge.”
“I have to assume that you know something we don’t. Or else why throw your lot in with the lowest of society? How are we supposed to fight this war—because that is what you’re asking. Levi over here, they took his farm when he couldn’t pay the taxes. Maeve’s fated died in the brig for stealing a loaf of bread. Fiona lost her husband and daughter to the illness. The nobles haven’t lifted a finger to stop the plague. It’s Dunharrow’s dirty little secret. And every one of us has a story like that,” Sawyer said. My heart broke for these people, for all the suffering they’d endured. And from the darkness clouding Nico’s eyes, I knew he felt it too. “And by your own words, Johan wears the Bloodstone Sigil. If he’s not the divinely chosen king, how is that possible? How do you plan to overthrow him when he controls all four houses?”
“The Bloodstone Sigil is a tool. There is more to being king than donning a piece of jewelry. Have faith, Sawyer. I’ll prove I’m the rightful bearer of the ring.”
“You’re asking a lot, cub king.”
“If you choose not to fight beside me, let me ask you this—what do you have left to live for?”
I turned over again,for what felt like the hundredth time. The bedroll felt tight and constricting, as if the blankets were conspiring to suffocate me. My thoughts swirled in a dark current of consciousness that I couldn’t escape.
The night had ended without the Raven’s Hand officially joining our cause, though Nico seemed optimistic. I’d returned to our shelter with Lucius and Luca, while Nico had taken the first watch with Sawyer. I’d tried to settle in, anticipating a peaceful reprieve from the weight of my life—but I couldn’t stop thinking about everything Sawyer had said. What was a fated? What was the Book of Astrium? Was that the mysterious book I still had hidden at the bottom of my pack?
The questions burned in my mind, and I had no answers. Conveniently, there’d been no time to ask the princes. I suffered in silence, my wandering mind wholly unsatisfied. Lu slept soundly only a few paces away, his soft, rhythmic snores were getting under my skin.
I froze when I heard Luca stir. He quietly got up and poured himself a cup of water. The warm light cast from dying embers caught on the sharp planes of his bare chest, highlighting the tattoos that canvassed his skin. He was a work of art. The image of him naked was burned into my memory, one I’d tucked away and revisited an embarrassing number of times. Now, I ached to trace the lines that scrolled over his chest and up his neck.
Maybe this was the moment I’d been waiting for. Luca had never tried to hide his affections, and there had been very few private moments between us. This was a gift I needed to take advantage of. He was the most forthcoming of the brothers. If I could sweeten him up—play into his flirtatious nature—maybe he would finally answer the questions that stretched like unmapped constellations in my mind.
“Luca,” I whispered quickly, before I could think better of it. “Are you awake?”
“No, Mic. I am sound asleep,” he said with a chuckle. I was grateful for the veil of night to hide the flush rising in my cheeks. Once, conversations with men had come easy. But romance? That was foreign, awkward—uncharted territory I’d never daredexplore. Everything I knew about love came from the sappy movies Gwen and I used to binge.
“What I meant to say is... if you’re awake, would you be interested in some company and possibly sharing a bit of warmth with your favorite human?”
Before I’d even finished speaking, he was collecting his bedroll and laying it beside mine.
“Whatever you wish,” he said as he slipped under the blankets and wrapped his arm around me. “You know, this works better skin to skin.”
I smiled in relief, relaxing into his presence. Being with him was easy. I was the one putting up roadblocks where there didn’t need to be any. I decided then and there to let my guard down—to indulge his shameless flirting and see where it might lead.
I wiggled out of my bedroll and into his, settling my back against his bare chest. My own insecurities kept me from meeting his eyes. “Is this better?” I asked.
“You tell me,” he said. The warmth of his body radiated over me, his power channeling heat into our shared space. I melted into him, his body cocooning mine, and a soft moan escaped as I snuggled closer.
“I can be your designated warmer from here on out,” he offered, his scorching fingers tracing lazy patterns along my arms.
“That sounds awfully official.”
“Absolutely. I’ll dutifully sleep beside you every night and make sure you’re never cold. It’s a very important position. And if you moan like that every night,” he added, nuzzling the back of my neck, “I’ll know I’m doing a good job.”
“Like a real-life teddy bear.”
