EYES OF FIRE AND ICE

Chapter Seventy-Six

Lying on a couch in one of the Warrior common rooms, Alia gently weaves her fingers through the hair at the back of Valen's head. He rests on top of her, head on her abdomen whilst his arms wrap around her hips. With his torso between her legs and his strong back slightly facing the door, his body covers most of hers from prying eyes.

They've been like this for an hour: Alia staring up at the ceiling whilst Valen's steady breaths and closed eyes inform her of his continued slumber. He faces the back of the couch, only his large frame and Titled uniform revealing his dissimilarity to the rest of the wolves in the room. The other Warriors converse amongst themselves, seated groups surrounding small tables and lounging on couches identical to the one Alia and Valen occupy.

The room was empty when the pair decided to rest, but that quickly changed when dozens of Warriors began to migrate into the room over the next hour. Small groups would enter at a time, their faces stunned and jaws slackened when they caught sight of the powerful General. When they hesitated to fully enter the room, Alia would smile and reassure them that they could talk as much as they desired without it waking him. So they did, and their laughs helped lighten her mood whilst she conversed with Aeron through mind-link.

Her broken and bruised friend rests in one of the fourth-floor rooms in the infirmary. Bandages and casts wrap around his torso and limbs, various bones broken after being flung from the eighth floor. When he awakened, one of the nurses relayed Alia's plea to have him mind-link her when he woke up. So he did. And he couldn't help but laugh, clutching his body with a groan, when he realised just how frightening her mate could be. If it wasn't for Valen throwing Aeron over his shoulder and carrying his bleeding and unconscious body to the infirmary, the Vasileín male would have passed through Death's gates before Alia even knew what to do with him.

The room quietens, and it pulls Alia from her conversation with Aeron. Her eyes clear, and she tilts her head back to see what's caught everyone's attention.

They silently watch a TV screen, the large flat-screen mounted high on the wall the couch faces. She turns her head, curious, and then she's met with blonde hair and sickening blue eyes.

Bertraim sits on the Throne of Vasileís, a golden suit covering his thin frame. His cheek rests on one of his fists, a golden signet ring engraved with the royal crest adorned on his pinky. Pathetic.

Alia can feel her heart quicken, and she knows it's due to both loathing and fear. She fears the retributions of her having shoved a blade into the Beta's throat, killing him instead of the boy whose face occupies the television screen. The pit of her stomach fills with unease, and it has Valen's eyes snapping open.

He's on his feet, sword raised and ready to slice off the heads of the two Warriors sitting underneath the TV. They scream, hands thrown out in desperation whilst the blade halts in the air. Tables are accidentally kicked and glasses of water smash to the ground when a few Warriors jump in their seats, horrified.

Slowly, Valen tilts his head and a line forms between his brows. He lowers the blade and looks over his shoulder at Alia, who sits up with a surprised expression. His voice is husky and laced with sleep, when he asks, "Them?"

She covers her mouth with her fingertips in an attempt to stifle a small laugh. In response, she shakes her head whilst the two almost-headless wolves watch her mate with pleading, teary eyes. He faces them again, perplexed as he tries to find the source of her unease.