Page 61 of Wings of Ice and Steel

‘In my room… umm. Could I borrow a shirt?’ Ariadnne gave her a crooked smile.

‘Of course!’ Nieve turned hastily to rummage in her wardrobe and returned as Ariadnne succeeded in hoisting herself through the window, landing sprawled on the floor. Nieve crouched next to her and held out the shirt, lip curled, amused.

‘Thanks. Not the most graceful entrance, I know…’ Ariadnne muttered and accepted the shirt—it was barely long enough to cover her.

‘I can’t believe you’re here…’ Nieve touched her shoulder, as if reassuring herself that Ariadnne was real. ‘The bond… I was scared for you. I was worried you were being punished or tortured or something...’

Nieve sat so that they were both leaning against the wall under the window and turned her head towards Ariadnne squeezing her hand.

‘Well, you see,’ Ariadnne said with a grin. ‘There was someone I couldn’t keep away from. So, I scaled a very unforgiving wall to see her... We seem to be making that sort of thing a habit.’

Nieve punched her arm. ‘You beast! How did you actually do it?’

‘I’m not sure you want to know; it involved falling from a window and some very ungainly scrambling. But I’m here now.’

‘Don’t you dare frighten me like that again.’ Nieve made an exasperated sound. ‘But yes, yes you are. I know it’s only been a few hours, but I’ve missed you.’

‘I missed you enough to risk plummeting to my death…’ Ariadnne joked and Nieve punched her again, harder this time. ‘Ow. Okay, I won’t joke about that.’

‘You’d better not.’ Nieve brought her hand to cradle the side of Ariadnne’s face.

Closing her eyes, Ariadnne leaned into the touch, shivering as Nieve moved to gently trace the scars that littered her abdomen through the gap in her shirt. She lingered over the scrapes still healing from the climb, inhaling softly before releasing a breath.

‘I spent the afternoon asking about Melixanthe.’

Ariadnne turned to her.

‘Don’t worry, I can be subtle.’ Nieve’s eyes widened as Ariadnne snorted. ‘I can. She’s very well respected, even if people feel she’s strict. No one I spoke to appears to have any negative feeling about her, but I’ll keep asking around.’

‘Thank you, it means a lot that you’re doing that.’

Ariadnne wondered if she should ask her to talk to Sol but decided she didn’t want to put her in that position. Nieve’s finger pulled along another scar that wound around her forearm.

‘I hate that you’ve suffered so much,’ she said sadly.

‘Not so much anymore...’ Ariadnne breathed. Nieve’s touch was leaving a trail of pebbled skin in its wake, making it hard for her to concentrate.

‘Each mark is a testament to your survival. I want to know every beautiful scar.’ Nieve’s pupils dilated as she followed the pattern of scars across her chest. ‘I only hate that you received some of these here, at the hands of people I respected,’ she muttered. Her eyes lingered on the band around Ariadnne’s neck, but Ariadnne didn’t want to talk about that one.

‘And what of this?’ Ariadnne’s finger traced the bumps of a long, jagged scar that ran down Nieve’s collarbone, disappearing under the collar of her shirt. ‘Who gave you this?’ she asked quietly.

Nieve growled in response. ‘That’s from the first man I gutted.’

Anger clenched in Ariadnne’s gut. ‘He was one of those that hurt you?’

Nieve nodded.

‘Then I hope his death was slow and painful.’

Ariadnne blinked and Nieve’s mouth was on hers, demanding and fierce. She groaned, unable to get enough of this. Of Nieve.

A thought struck, and Ariadnne pulled away.

‘Is it the mate bond that makes my need for you so strong?’ she questioned, searching Nieve’s eyes for answers.

‘Yes, but for all the right reasons.’ Nieve bit her lip. ‘We were meant to happen, Ariadnne.’ With a small smile, Nieve took Ariadnne’s hand and got to her feet. ‘Come on,’ she said, and led her gently towards the bed in the corner of the room. ‘How long can you stay?’

‘As long as you’ll have me.’