said. "We understand you’re frustrated, but until you replenish your magic, you need to rest."
"Yes," Roan agreed with a nod. "And even if that wasn't the case, one of us would have had to stay back anyway. What if something were to happen to the two of us out there? You would need to remain behind to lead."
"We have our seconds," Sorrell said. "You know I do not need to be here. I should be out there—fighting for our people."
"Not until you're rested," Orion repeated.
"And what, pray tell," Sorrell bit out, glaring at the two of them and completely ignoring my presence, "am I supposed to do here?"
Both Orion and Roan exchanged a look. "Have you considered training Cress?" Roan asked. "You were quite adept at it in the field."
"As I can attest," Orion agreed.
Sorrell's face went slack and then, slowly, he pivoted and stared at me. I blinked at the ferocity in his glare. I put my hands up. "I didn't suggest it!" I said quickly.
He shook his head, but instead of responding, he turned and faced Roan and Orion once more. His hands curled into fists at his sides and it looked as if he wanted to slam one of them into their faces. Finally, his fingers relaxed and he stepped away, turning and pushing out a deep, unsatisfied breath.
"Do not get yourselves killed," he said quietly, so quietly that I wasn't even sure if he had meant for the three of us to hear. Roan and Orion's stern faces softened, and then together, they stepped forward, and each of them clapped a hand on an opposite shoulder.
"We wouldn't dare," Roan said. "Only you have the right to kill us."
"You're Gods damned right I do," Sorrell replied, sounding mulish.
Orion said something I couldn't hear and Sorrell turned, glancing over his shoulder at my wide-eyed expression. He scowled but nodded at whatever his friend had said. Roan let his hand slide off his shoulder and he, too, turned and faced me.
I glanced down quickly at the cloak he'd draped over my shoulders, wondering if he was about to request it back now that it appeared that Sorrell's anger had calmed enough that I didn't feel as though we were back in Alfheim. He stepped closer, completely eclipsing my vision of Sorrell and Orion as his hands fell on me. He gripped my waist and hoisted me against him.
"You're leaving," I said, realizing what was happening. "When?"
Roan buried his face into my neck as I wrapped my arms around him. "Soon," he said. "Sorrell will be remaining behind."
Yeah, I wasn't the brightest, but I'd caught that much. I sighed, scraping my teeth over my bottom lip. When I pulled back I barely had a chance to look at him before his lips were on mine, hot and demanding. He kissed me like I was the sun and he'd been in the dark his whole life. He devoured me, his tongue sinking into my mouth and twining with my own. The kiss continued until I was left panting and weak at the knees as he unwrapped the legs that he'd urged around his sides not moments before and set me back down on the ground.
"You'll be safe," Orion promised, startling me as he appeared at our sides.
I jumped slightly, but before I could say anything Orion was pulling me into his embrace as well. His head dipped and his lips were on mine just as fast as Roan's had been. While Roan's kiss had been all fiery passion, Orion's was a slow, sensual seduction that had me aching for more than just a kiss by the time he was done.
"We'll be back soon, Little Bird," Roan said, dropping another kiss—a much more chaste one—on my forehead before touching my cheek with his fingertips and then turning to look at where Sorrell stood with his arms crossed over his chest.
"We'll be back as soon as we can," Orion said, mirroring Roan's actions.
"You both better come back safe and sound or Coreliath help me..." I rasped.
I heard them both chuckle just before the doors to the throne room opened. It was as if their soldiers had been eavesdropping or perhaps had known to wait a specific amount of time before exiting. Roan and Orion nodded to them and as a unit, the men all headed off, leaving me staring after them with dread forming a pit in my gut.
Sorrell's head pivoted back from where he'd watched them go until his cool, blue eyes