Page 80 of Up In Flames
“Give me a few minutes and I'll gather some volunteers to go with you,” Ranor said.
“I'll go,” Lord Racmar, one of the Tigers, said as he looked at his fellows.
The rest of them nodded.
“That's eight,” Ranor said. “But I'd like some Makhan with you. They can patrol from the air. Give me a minute.” He walked off.
“Thank you,” I said to the Tiger Wraith Lords. “And, Lord Vexen, I haven't forgotten how kind you were to me. It was so thoughtful of you to bring Caleb tonight. Thank you for that, and for keeping me from running around the citadel naked, like a madman.”
Vexen grinned, flashing a pair of fangs. “That would have been something to see. But you're welcome, Lord Ember.”
“He kept you from running around naked?” Keltyr asked.
“I was distraught.”
“You saw him when he first returned,” Xae said gruffly, casting a look at Ara. “He had just escaped Death, but he wanted to go back for Aranren.”
Ara's gaze met mine, full of gratitude and love. He didn't have to say anything. I knew what he was thinking—that any other man would have left him behind and never returned. I grinned at him. I wasn't any other man.
Then I looked back at the Tiger Ladrin. “Did you guys want to stay here a bit longer? We can go ahead and prepare the fortress.” I glanced at Ara, who nodded. “Then come back for you.”
“We know the way, Ember,” Lord Vexen said with a little smile. “Just don't put up a new ward before we get there.”
“Right.” I snorted a laugh. “Of course.”
“I don't want you heading over without backup,” Ranor said, coming back at the end of the conversation.
“That was fast.” I looked behind him, then blinked, surprised to see Lord Jathalion among the group of Makhan. “Jath? Are you sure?”
“Yes, of course.” Jathalion glanced at the other men. “Unless you'd prefer I didn't.”
“You're most welcome, Lord Jathalion,” Ratharin said. “Thank you for volunteering.”
He nodded.
“Thank you,” I said to him and the two other Makhans. “We appreciate the company.”
“Load up on the food,” Xae said. “We'll be surviving on Taroc and Ember's cooking.”
The lords who'd be joining us turned and headed for the buffet table as if they might never eat again.
“Rude!” I called after them.
Ara chuckled, and his laughter was light, beautiful, and warmed my soul. I turned to smile at him, thanking the Goddess yet again for sending me to Death. I guess there was a little faith involved in loving her.
Chapter Forty-One
We stayed a few more hours at the party, then left with our group. It was strange to arrive at the Corrupter's fortress knowing there was no Corrupter. Walking the corridors was less creepy now, but that may have been largely due to the lack of Corrupted. The whole place was empty.
We were all tired, so we didn't bother exploring. Instead, Ara found rooms for our guests, then my lovers. I don't know what had gone on in their little meeting, but they had reached an understanding, and it was that Xae would sleep beside me that night. Not that we did anything but crawl into bed and fall asleep.
Ara chose to sleep in a guest room as well. His choice made me think twice about living in the fortress. There were too many bad memories for him there. But before we went to bed, he set a new ward with me, and he seemed happy.
Setting that massive, complex ward had sent me over the edge of exhaustion, and I fell into a deep sleep. Despite this, I woke in the middle of the night. At first, I wasn't sure what woke me. The room was quiet except for Xae's soft breathing. Nothing appeared amiss. But then I felt it.
“Ara,” I whispered as I sat up.
There was something wrong.
