Kingdom of Claw (The Ashen, #2)

by Demi Winters

The man who’d once avoided her like the plague now seemed unable to keep from touching her—a tendril of hair he tucked behind her ear, a hand on the small of her back as he led her to the stables. And in the evening, when he sprawled on the bench and caught her staring at the Silla-sized pocket, he merely rolled his eyes and beckoned her over.

“I’ve watched you face your grief day after day. And I thought if you could do it, at the very least, I could try.”

Warmth unfurled in Silla’s chest, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“I missed your smiles,” he whispered. “I’m glad t...

“You,” she said softly, “helped me more than you know. Having you at my back gave me the strength I needed.”

“You’re a caregiver,” she said, understanding at last. “You care for others, dead or alive. You do everything for others. The Bloodaxe Crew. Your family. Me.”

“Who looks after you, Rey?” He held her gaze for a long, weighted moment. “I do.” “I could do it,” she said, the words quiet and loud all at once. “If you’d let me.”

Rey huffed, gaze settled on hers. His lips twitched, and then it happened. He smiled.

“Your smiles,” she whispered. “I find myself willing to do anything to see them.” Her finger settled in the divot of his bottom lip, pushing down. “And I find myself wondering…” She pushed onto her knees, bringing their faces level.

Edging closer, she watched Rey’s pupils grow impossibly wide. Something deep inside her fluttered. Impulsively, Silla leaned forward, sliding her lips against his.

“I didn’t want to die without doing that,” she blurted, easing away. Panic gripped her. What had she done? She’d just kissed him—Reynir Galtung. Oh gods. But his hand slid around her shoulder, before sliding up her neck to cup her face.

“Then do it right,” he muttered. And his lips were on hers. Silla was torn between a curious mixture of surprise and relief. Surprise that Reynir Galtung was cupping her face so reverently, kissing her with all the tenderness in the world. Relief that at last, this was happening.

Something heavy fell onto his chest, punching the air from Rey’s lungs. And he found himself staring into the blank eyes of a man’s severed head. Looking up, Rey blinked. Limned by the rising sun, a goddess with iced hair and crystalline eyelashes stood over him, a sword of shimmering frostfire clutched in hand.

“Oh gods,” she breathed, covering her mouth. “I’ve cut his head off.”

Rey trudged over to Silla, tight with anger. He wanted to shake her, wanted to scream at her. Wanted to glory in this new revelation of her power.

But most of all, he wanted to gather her up and finish what they’d started moments before the warband had attacked.

“A sword!” exclaimed Vig, clapping Silla’s shoulder. “You wove your galdur into a sword! How did it happen?”

“My thanks, Silla,” she continued, “for saving my life. Again. ’Tis not so hard to say.”

Rey’s glower deepened. “Gods above, woman! Have you no sense of self-preservation?”

Silla stepped closer. She was small, yet so fierce. He wanted to hold her, wanted to shake her, wanted to kiss her and strangle her all at once.

“You’d best not suggest your life is not worth the risk, Galtung. I would do it all over again.”

“Let it sink into your thick skull: your life is worth the risk.”

But the warmth of her outrage reminded him of what it was to have someone. To feel cared for. His ribs felt too small, his skin too tight.

Her gaze met his, and it felt as though she’d reached right through his chest and squeezed his heart. And then his hands were sliding along her jaw, and he had to kiss her.

“What is it? You don’t want me?” There was a note of uncertainty in her voice, a note that snapped clean through his restraint. His hands were on her waist, pulling her hips flush against him. Silla gasped, looking up at him with eyes dark as midnight, and he knew she felt just how wrong she was.

“I want you every minute of the day.” He rolled his hips against her. The friction was maddening, and not nearly enough. “If you knew the sordid thoughts I’ve had, Silla, you’d run the other way.”

Rey’s nose was in her hair, drawing deep pulls of her scent. She smelled like a gods damned meadow. Felt like everythin...

“You need someone of standing. Someone who can guide you⁠—” “You,” she replied, her fingers sliding into his beard and drawing his lips to hers. “I want you.”

aaaAAAAHHHHH

“I’m not nice, Silla.” “And I can’t be so easily frightened away, Galtung.”

“You deserve sweet, Silla. You deserve kind. You deserve to be worshiped and respected and treated right.”

“Show me,” she whispered. “And I will show you—the man who is so busy caring for others, he forgets about himself. Let me show you what it means to be cared for.”

Tell me why else I shouldn’t want you.” Rey opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Kissing him was like the first spring day after a long, brutal winter.

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?” he whispered into her skin.

“Weeks,” he muttered, trailing his mouth along the edge of her jaw. “Months.”

“Only if you want it,” he answered, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. Silla blinked. Had she said it aloud? “Gods, yes,”

“Gods, woman,” came Rey’s low voice. “You’ll be the death of me, won’t you?”

“Do you know how badly I want you?” Rey’s voice was rough as sand, his body hard as granite as he sank against the softest part of her. “I might want you more,”

“Easy, my eager girl,” Rey said with a soft chuckle.

i am SCREAMING. God Rey the man you are

He could smell and feel her everywhere, and in that moment, he felt so much it hurt.

It had been better than his wildest carnal imaginings. Better than any woman who’d come before. Because it was her.

Surrendering to her was the easiest thing he’d ever done.

Her fingertips found the bite mark on his shoulder, and she pressed a soft kiss to it. “I’m sorry. I’ve marked you.” Should he tell her he would wear it like a badge? Hers, it seemed to say. “Thank you,” he said instead.

“Thank you, Silla, for saving my life. Again.”

“Lébrynja armor,” Silla murmured, her eyes meeting his.

“For you,” said Rey, the corners of his lips twitching up. “Put it on so I can see how you’ll look in the next battle.”

“Let me make this clear to you, Silla. There is nothing uncertain in how I want you.”

“It’s the most maddeningly certain I’ve ever felt. I want you all the time. I want you everywhere. It’s become a real problem.”

“I wanted you on Longest Day when you came out in that dress,” he said, voice ragged. “I wanted you when you pushed me across the field on the way to Kraki’s. I wanted you when you killed the vampire deer, when you blackmailed me, even when you tried to steal my gods damned horse. I’ve wanted you since the night you stormed up to me and told

me I couldn’t frighten you away. That was it for me, Sunshine.”