Page 30 of Commanding Flame and Shield
I scoffed, “Because this isn’tReno 911.”
He rolled his eyes and glared at me, but the slightest quirk pulled at his mouth.
“Ally I…I don’t know how to explain it, but I can’t lose you.” A sudden wave of anger rolled off him, and I met his gaze again. “What the fuck were you thinking?”
“Excuse me?!” I sat up straighter, narrowing my eyes at the accusatory tone.
“How could you be so reckless? Barreling into a mob that size alone?”
“I wasn’t alone.”
“Okay, barreling into a legion, outnumbered ten to one?”
Ten to one. I weighed the truth of his words for a moment, grinding my teeth at the accuracy of the assessment. Keeping my tone flat, I said, “We’ve beaten worse odds.”
“Not without a strategy. Or so I’m told.”
“We strategized.”
“Without preparation. Alec says you’ve never missed a conflict before. He says you always have the vision first, and you wind the timeline around like a spool of thread until you see your victory.”
“Apt description.”
“You had no vision. No proofed strategy. How could you have been so foolish?”
Scowling, I rocketed off the bed, wincing as the movement pulled on my injuries. August rose just as suddenly, staring down at me unflinchingly as I barked, “What’s your problem, kid? There wasn’ttime,” I ground out the last word. “We had the braid, and they wanted her. We had to fight. Simple as that.”
He yanked his fingers through tangled locks as his feet began to pace, voice guttural as he said, “You could’ve come home.”
“Oh, don’t lecture me, rookie.” Tone condescending, I glared at him, lengthening my spine as August spun back towards me, prowling forward. “We couldn’t jump home with a celestial enemy so close, and nothing to keep them from stowing away.” I took a step backwards as he stalked towards me, the hard set of his jaw and sharp gaze sending my heart sprinting. Throwing my shoulders back with a painful tug, I continued, “Grayshell has never been breached inmylifetime, and I will keep it that way.”
“How long is your lifetime?” He snapped, tone haughty as he closed the gap, yanking on my tightly chained temper.
I crossed my arms defensively as my back hit the wall. “Three hundred and twenty years,Rookie. You’ve got forty-eight hours and—”
“How old is Aren?” His stabbing gaze was pointed as he cut in, leaning a forearm on the wall above my head, caging me between him, the wall, and bed. “TheCommandersaid you should have sent for aid.” He quirked his head in silent demand, pinning me in place with his gaze, embers of power lighting the irises as the air thickened.
“Fine. I underestimated the Renown. Happy?” The audacity of this newborn soul. Did he know who the fuck he was talking to? I raised my chin defiantly, heart racing at his intense proximity. “Not that I owe you a damn explanation, but I didn’t know their numbers at first, and they’re not normally so organized—itshouldhave been easy.” August was towering over me, a muscle in his jaw feathering, his heat and temper tangible, raising goosebumps across my skin.
He scoffed, swallow audible as his Adam’s apple bobbed. August flexed his fingers before he jammed his hand into a front pocket. But when his livid emeralds snapped back to mine, they captured my breath with the depth of the fear concealed there.
“Look. I’m sorry if you got freaked out. But this iswhat I do. Yeah, it was a close call, and I’m the first to admit it was unexpected, which is not something I’m used to. I was…” I swallowed thickly, realizing he’d shifted closer still, his breath hot against my face. For a heartbeat, my eyes lingered on his full lips before I snapped them back to his. Finally, with a shake of my head, I huffed, “Distracted.”
“By?”
“You.” The clipped answer was just as pointed as his questions and seemed to cut him short. He blinked. I took a long breath, trying to dispel the tension settling in my chest. He looked at me for a long, lingering moment before sighing and pushing off the wall. The sudden space between us steadied my breathing, and August palmed his jaw as he surveyed me.
“Why? Why didImake you miss something so critical?”
“I don’t know.” I was determined to keep it honest. “You’re my first calling. I suppose that warrants some degree of hyper-fixation. Seeing you’re trained, taught and cared for, adjusting to your new world. I didn’t intend to throw you into the deep end.”
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, expression vaguely disappointed as he looked at his feet. Anger still came off him in palpable waves, leaving salt and acid in the air.
“August?” I finally prompted after a long moment, tension building instead of dispersing as I’d hoped.
“It felt…it felt like I was being lanced with a hot iron. Like I would split in two. I can’t describe it. The thought of losing you was—” he shook his head, brown hair shifting frantically, as if to sweep his mind clear. With a heavy sigh, he collapsed onto the edge of the bed, bracing his elbows on his knees. I stayed rooted against the wall, my arms crossed. “Agonizing. And…familiar. In the way Alec’s smile was familiar before I knew we’d cycled together. Like…I lost you…failedyou before. Like you were sacrificing yourself again.”
“Again…you think we’ve incarnated together? I died for someone?” I mean, that would track. There wasn’t a soul in the hierarchy unworthy of falling on a blade for. There was no fear of death for me, as we didn’t truly lose our life. Not really. We just…cycled our way back through, usually stronger, collecting skills and gifts as we went. And Aren would find me again, I knew it in my soul.
