“Thank you,” I said eventually.
He raised an eyebrow as he sat down on the bed and twined his fingers through mine. “For what? Doing what any good commander would do?”
I half smiled. “I’m thinking you went a little beyond the call of duty to save me.”
“Perhaps just a little.”
My smile grew. “How did you know I was there? And why were you even there? I thought the outposts were attacking the known exits?”
“We did, but after the initial explosions in the mountains, the Irkallan went into retreat and the Adlin attacked instead.”
My breath caught. There was still one bracelet out there, one I’d forgotten about, on the wrist of that lavender Adlin.
“Not anymore it’s not,” Trey said. “We finally killed that bastard three nights ago.”
“And the bracelet?”
“The silver was melted and made into cutlery. The inner band of technology which we presume was what allowed both control and communication was smashed and spread far and wind by the four winds.”
Relief stirred through me. “That means every one of them has been dealt with.”
“Yes, and if they had been able to replicate them or find more, they would have done so by now.”
“Indeed.” I paused. “So why were you close enough to rescue me? As far as I’m aware, Drakkon’s Head is the only major entrance along that portion of the Blacksaw Mountains, and that’s not where you were supposed to be.”
He raised that eyebrow again. “Obviously you have no idea just how far into that mountain you traveled.”
“No.” I hesitated. “Did the bombs I set off do much damage? I asked for big booms, but the armory custodian didn’t really say how big that was going to be. It felt bad, but that could have been because I was so damn close to it.”
“Trust me, it was every inch as destructive as it must have felt. But let me show you.” He rose, slipped his hands underneath me, and then picked me up, sheet and all, cradling me close to his chest as he crossed to the window. Sunshine bathed the inner bailey and there were people everywhere, not just soldiers, but metalsmiths, stonemasons, and witches, both earth and air. Obviously, it wasn’t only Ava who had come to Blacklake to help them rebuild.
But that wasn’t what I was here to see. My gaze rose to the long dark stain that was the Blacksaw Mountains. The main entrance into the Irkallan apiary was still very much present; indeed, from this angle, the drakkon appeared to be roaring in fury, as smoke was still billowing from its maw. But the arching back of the drakkon was now broken; the mountain had caved in for a good mile or so before the jagged peaks reappeared to dominate the skyline again.
I’d done that.
And, amazingly, had survived.
“It was rather touch-and-go for a while there,” Trey said.
“So Ava said.” I reached up and ran my fingers down his cheek to his lips. “And you still haven’t given me an explanation as to why you were close enough to sense my presence underground.”
“Ah, yes.” He kissed my fingertips lightly then turned around and sat down on the sill, resting me on his lap but still cradling me gently. Under normal circumstances I might have protested that I wasn’t an invalid, but right now, being treated so tenderly felt rather nice.
“When the second lot of bombs went off and the mountain above the apiary began to collapse,” he continued, “the Irkallan soldiers went into retreat. I presume their intentions were to save as much as the hive as they could. We gave chase, of course, and it was in that process that I sensed you. But it was damned hard work getting through the dead earth.”
“Then how did you?”
A wry smile twisted his lips. “I didn’t. The air did. It contacted me via this link we seemed to have formed, and asked me if I was interested in saving you. Rather naturally, I said yes.”
“I would have come back and haunted you if you’d said no.”
He laughed softly. “We didn’t dig directly down—it was very apparent even from up top that the combination of the dead soil and the explosion had made the entire tunnel system unstable, so I created a new tunnel in the live earth and came in at you sideways. Once I hit the dead soil, the air took over and tunneled the rest of the distance.” An odd sort of bleakness briefly touched his face. “We almost didn’t make it. The tunnel you were in totally collapsed not five seconds after we’d dragged you out of it.”
I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart. “Thank you.”
As words went, they were totally inadequate, but it was all I had.
“You’re welcome.” There was a smile in his voice. “Of course, now that you are recovered enough, there are a few decisions that need to be made.”
I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Like your permanent transfer to Blacklake. I must warn you, I will vigorously oppose anything else.”
I tried to restrain my smile, but it nevertheless twitched the corners of my mouth. “A permanent transfer would totally depend on what’s being offered. I will vigorously oppose anything less than a full combat position equal to what I had in Winterborne.”
“I’d expect nothing else,” he said. “The next decision, of course, is the matter of accommodation.”
My smile grew. “Aren’t all soldiers quartered in the barracks?”
“Indeed, but it would hardly be seemly for you to be quartered there.”
“And why would that be, Commander?”
“Because we can hardly explore what lies between us under so many watchful eyes. The gossip alone would be horrendous.”
I laughed. “And that worries you?”
“Hell no.” He hesitated, and then added more seriously, “But I’m well aware you’ve already suffered more than your share of hurt and gossip thanks to a relationship with a senior officer that went sour, and I don’t wish to be the cause of such again if things don’t work out between us.”
“And that is, of course, a risk.”
“Indeed, but not so great a one, I’m thinking.”
“I’m tending to agree.”
“Good,” he said. “It’s settled then.”
I blinked. “What’s settled?”
“You and me. Living here in my quarters, away from the prying eyes and the gossips.”
I laughed. “As if that’s going to stop anyone. I’m classified as unlit and I’m stained, Trey. That’s going to raise more than a few eyebrows, and not just here in Blacklake.”
“And you think I care?”
“Well, no, but—”
He pressed a finger to my lips, cutting off my protest. “I don’t care whether or not you have magic. I don’t care what color your skin is or isn’t. I only care about the person inside that skin, and you, my lovely Neve, have proven yourself to be a strong, caring, and totally amazing woman, and I very much want to spend both my near and distant future with you.”
Tears stung my eyes and I blinked them away rapidly. “I’d very much like that myself, Commander.”
“Perfect,” he said, and kissed me.
And it was, indeed, perfect.