Page 33 of Wings of Ice and Steel

Fifteen

Ariadnne

Dawn was creeping round the corner when a scraping noise pricked Ariadnne’s ears, shortly followed by a thud and a muffled curse.

Her eyes shot open. Someone was in the room, slumped on the floor by the window.

Quietly, Ariadnne slid a hand towards her nightstand, to where she’d left her ceremonial blade, and grasped the smooth leather hilt with her fingers. If it was D’avant, come to finish what he’d started, then he would be leaving with fewer appendages than he arrived with.

Her sleep had been fitful and she hardly felt rested, but her sharp ears worked as well as they ever did as she focused on the subtle sound of the intruder picking themselves up and dusting themselves off. A floorboard creaked as they shifted their weight and crept closer to the bed.

Ariadnne waited until she could hear the breath of the person behind her, until they were close enough to touch, then she swung round with her blade drawn—only to have her hand caught by familiar fingers. Nieve’s icy blue eyes sparkled in the dim light.

‘Well… this wasn’t the welcome I’d hoped for. I’ve just scaled a very unforgiving wall—’

Her eyes creased in a smile as she slowly released her grip on Ariadnne’s wrist, testing that the startled varanya wouldn’t continue her attack.

‘Your guard didn’t make it easy for me to find a way in.’ Nieve’s smile turned triumphant. Ariadnne dropped the blade onto the bed to stare incredulously. She was here. It had seemed impossible, Melixanthe had made it so. But now…

‘You came…’

‘Of course I came.’ Nieve sat on the bed. ‘You see, I told this completely unattainable varanya that I’d try to see her, but I was derailed by an inappropriate lord and ended up posted on guard duty all night. I spent the whole shift worrying that she’d think I’d forgotten her… and worrying the lord might have upset her. So…my shift ended, and here I am.’ Nieve shifted slightly, bringing herself a little bit closer. ‘He didn’t, did he? Upset you?’

‘It’s already forgotten…’ Ariadnne’s eyes drifted to Nieve’s hands, which were scraped and bleeding from the climb. ‘You’re hurt,’ she murmured and took one of them, running her fingers lightly over her grazed knuckles. Nieve’s breath caught and Ariadnne couldn’t control the way her own pulse quickened in response. A shock of silver braids tumbled around Nieve’s ears and begged to be tangled in Ariadnne’s fingers. She inhaled. Nieve was there, and a pressure so pointed it almost hurt built in Ariadnne’s chest, the desire to touch, to have and to hold Nieve obliterating her senses and driving Melixanthe’s warning to the deepest recess of her mind. It made no sense, but then nothing did when it came to Nieve. She had come, and that alone meant the world. Even if Nieve came to her senses tomorrow, Ariadnne could hold on to this moment.

‘Do you think this varanya was disappointed when she couldn’t see you?’ she whispered.

‘I don’t know…’ Nieve’s voice tailed off as Ariadnne shifted closer, driven by unexplainable, burning need. Nieve was here—that wasn’t a gift Ariadnne was willing to waste. Cautiously, she reached to slide a hand along the leather of Nieve’s sleeve, up past her shoulder, until her palm cradled her neck. Nieve’s breath caught as Ariadnne played with her hair; it was as soft as spun silk, as Ariadnne had imagined, her cool skin pebbling beneath her touch. Ariadnne’s heart pounded; she was in uncharted territory, moving on instinct as she placed her lips at the base of Nieve’s jaw, breathing in the scent of pine and snow on her skin.

A small sound escaped Nieve’s throat. ‘Ariadnne…’

Ariadnne’s insides turned liquid at the sound of her name on Nieve’s lips, a deep-seated ache taking root. One hand traced the supple leather of Nieve’s vest to her waist, trembling with need, as her other tangled in Nieve’s hair. Silver scales flickered along her arms—her ability to control herself fading in the face of her mounting desire to steal another taste of Nieve’s mouth.

It was terrifying; the effect Nieve had on her.

With a shaky breath Ariadnne pulled back, searching for an answer as to why she couldn’t say no. Nieve’s eyes trapped her—Ariadnne could drown in their startling blue. They stripped her down to her barest parts, seeing her as more than a tool.

Her gaze dropped to Nieve’s lips.

‘In case you were wondering…I was,’ she murmured. ‘Disappointed. When Melixanthe told me she had put you on guard duty gods I was frustrated.’

‘Frustrated?’ Nieve threw back her head with a soft laugh. ‘Just ‘frustrated’?’

‘Very.’ Ariadnne reached out to grip Nieve’s sleeve in her fist, pulling her closer. ‘Maybe a bit more than that.’

‘Good,’ Nieve muttered, a shy smile creeping over her mouth.

‘I’m very glad you’re here, but…’ Guilt prickled—Nieve had fought like a lion yesterday, surely draining her reserves, before being placed on watch all night. Because of her. ‘You must be shattered.’

‘Don’t insult me.’ Nieve’s brow arched, followed by a curve of her lips that Ariadnne couldn’t tear her eyes from. ‘A night’s watch followed by a bit of a climb is nothing.’

She pulled Ariadnne closer till their foreheads touched, leaning to hover beside Ariadnne’s lips.

‘Can I kiss you?’ she whispered. ‘You can tell me no—’

‘Yes.’

Ariadnne’s world exploded as Nieves lips brushed hers, heat and hunger barrelling through her, a moan escaping her throat. Nieve tipped her head back to deepen the kiss, and Ariadnne wanted to press the memory of Nieve’s taste onto her soul.