thing for once in my gods-damned life. That I finally made the right choice. I want to stand with people I’m not ashamed to stand next to. . . . I want to stand with you.”
He couldn’t meet Kade’s eyes, so instead Sev’s focus had landed on the hollow between his collarbones, where his pendant hung. Sev wanted to read it, to know Kade’s sentence and his crime, but the edge of his tunic covered the words. The day was still hot, and sweat glistened on his skin as his throat bobbed up and down in a swallow.
“What I can’t figure out,” Kade began, his voice soft and rich, “is why hating you was easy, but liking you has been . . .”
“Been what?” Sev asked, somewhat breathless at the idea that Kade liked him.
“Difficult,” Kade said, his expression intent. He took a step forward, pushing into Sev’s outstretched hand, causing Sev’s fingers to splay against his chest. They stared at each other, and Sev stepped backward—not a retreat, but a question. An invitation.
After a breath of hesitation, Kade followed him. Sev’s next step brought him to the exterior wall of the cave, the stone cold and slightly damp against his back.
Kade filled the space between them, filled it with his rich brown skin and gemstone eyes and those wide, impossibly broad shoulders. Sev was trembling, the pressure against his palm making him want to both push Kade away and pull him nearer, nearer, until all was obliterated except for them.
The sunlight was gone from Kade’s face, but the warmth remained. His eyes became hooded, his lips parted ever so slightly, and Sev’s fingers clenched against the muscle of his chest. Slowly, as if not to spook him, Kade raised his arms, one on either side of Sev, and placed his hands against the stone, caging them in.
They stayed frozen in that shining golden moment for what felt like ages—or maybe it was several heavy, weighted heartbeats. Just when Sev had mustered the courage to close his eyes and lean in, the roll call sounded.
As if pulling his head out of water, Sev returned to their surroundings. He had to check in with Ott, his squad leader. After that Trix’s plans would begin.
Sev’s hand went to the back of his neck again, and Kade’s arms dropped.
“You know the names?” Kade asked, his voice as slow and smooth as honey. Sev became lost in it, and it took time for his brain to understand what Kade was asking. The perimeter guard roster for that night—the packs he was meant to poison.
Sev cleared his throat. “I’ll get them now.” The duty roster was usually drawn up in the morning, but with the impending attack, all their schedules had been shifted.
Kade dipped his head in response. “I’ll leave you to it.”
As the sun disappeared over Pyrmont’s distant peaks, the cooks began preparing the evening meal. Pots were hung over cook fires, kettles began to boil, and poison was sprinkled in.
Sev pressed a hand against his pocket, where a lump indicated the small supply he’d already been given. Two pinches of the poison per waterskin and three for any barley cakes or dried meat. The powdered petals of the Fire Blossom would dissolve best in the liquid, but even a dusting of it atop other supplies, once rewrapped in cloth or pouch, would begin to emit noxious fumes that would penetrate the food. The watch shift changed at sundown, and Sev knew he had no more than ten minutes to attend to the packs.
The names from the duty roster were like midges, buzzing around his head. He’d seen death before, but he had dealt it only by accident. He’d yet to engage in any real battle as a soldier, and Sev found he was having difficulty with the idea of killing in such a cold, calculated way. He didn’t know any of the targets particularly well—did that make it right? It made it easier, but Sev couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. These soldiers might have children, parents, brothers, and sisters—entire lives tethered to them. In comparison, he felt like some kind of wraith—tied to nothing and no one.
Not anymore, Sev insisted, forcing his mind to remain on the task and not on the soldiers. Sev wasn’t killing for pleasure or personal gain; he was doing this for the Phoenix Riders, the only protectors his people had. He was part of Trix’s re-formed rebellion, part of an “us” at long