𝔸 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕎𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕙 (Book 2)

Hundred-Five

Rhys chuckled, the rumble of his chest reverberated against my skin. "It wasn't me that insisted we stay." He hummed, and I could sense the smug amusement rolling off him in waves.

"I was trying to be duteous." I grumbled, my head burrowing further into the warmth of his jacket.

Again he practically snickered, "Screaming curse at me every time I tried to give you advice was you being duteous?" he questioned, "I loathe to see what you' be like when you're not."

I pinched his side, though he didn't falter in the slightest. "I was screaming at you because you barely gave me a chance to actually do any magic with all your supposed 'advice.'"

I hadn't even been screaming, the drama queen. I was simply stating my opinion in an aggressive manner as any sane and rational person did in times of irritation. Obviously.

Thunder cracked in the distance and I felt Rhys's head snap in the direction it had come from. If my eyes hadn't been practically sewed shut, I may have looked as well. To see the storm; to watch the lightning strike against the ground just as my own had done so many times now.

I wanted to study it. Watch the way the storm swayed and moved so I could perfect my craft. I'd put it on my long list of things to do.

We sat in silence for a moment, my mind racing and racing just as it always did in seconds like these. When exhaustion was looming and it was all I could do to keep my mind awake by thinking and wondering about past, present, and future. Where my worries ran rampant and the calculation and training that had been drilled into my mind clawed its way free.

"Any news about Hybern?" I asked, voicing the direction my mind had strayed. Wanting to know if their movements at all correlated with that we'd seen from the Flame and whether or not there was any overlap.

The High Lord sighed a soft breath, barely audible over the roaring winds. "Not yet. Not a whisper." he replied, "Though I have no doubt they'll make an appearance soon."

Slowly, I pulled my head from his shoulder, hesitantly. I looked at the side of his face; watching as he studied the green coat of the forest, a cover protecting what lay within. "Any ideas for a contingency? Or defense plan?" I questioned further, if I had learned one thing in my time being sold from war to war, it was always have backups. Backups for everything and anything, even if they felt inconsequential. Imaging the worst case scenario and making a path for each and every hiccup that could happen along the way.

"Do you?" Rhys retorted, his eyes momentarily flickering to mine before reverting back to the harsh terrain.

"I may have a few." I boasted with a small smirk.

"And the queens? Do you have any plans for them as well?" Rhys questioned in a teasing tone.

I opened my mouth—

"Preferably, one that doesn't involve murder."

I closed my mouth.

I huffed a breath as I crossed my arms, sinking into Rhysand's touch as I grumbled, "Murder's easier." Under my breath.

I watched Rhys's brows lift, "Eliminating all the plans that do involve homicide, how many do you have?"

I made a show of counting on my fingers, dramatically struggling as I looked up to the sky in thought. "About, uh," I cleared my throat, "zero."

He thinned his lips, amusement tilting his mouth up. "I gathered as much."

"Alright, smartass," I shoved his shoulder lightly, feeling my own smile drawing across my features. "Got any better ideas?"