When they were gone, Azaleen stood before the aging general and the young captain. “I’m counting on you to get this right. Camille has sent letters requesting a prisoner exchange, but I’m not confident we’ll get a favorable response—or any response at all. We’re expecting more detailed information about where Calder is being held anytime now.”
“Yes, my queen,” Stark replied. “We’ll be in my office.”
Azaleen walked behind them toward the door. “Private Sutter, that leaves you to brief me on the team’s passage through the marshlands. My office will suit better than the war room. Tell me about Fort Jasper. And how many Iron Navy stragglers were apprehended?”
Lark walked beside her in the opposite direction from Luke and the general, her heart pounding in her chest louder with every step. She could smell Azaleen now, silver and citrus, as intoxicating as her stately composure.
“They took Fort Jasper, all right,” she confirmed. “I can’t tell you what became of our troops stationed there.”
Opening the office door, Azaleen ushered Lark in, locking it behind them. For an instant, both women looked at each other—questioning and longing, measuring the distance between duty and desire. Then they fell into one another’s arms, hugging tight, clinging to the moment while they still could.
“I missed you,” Lark whispered.
“I’m overjoyed you’re safe.” Azaleen’s lips found Lark’s, igniting something fierce and steady inside her. It wasn’t a passing fancy. This was real.
Lark leaned against the closed door, fingers caressing, mouth devouring, delighting in the queen’s unreserved initiative. Her knees wobbled; Lark was grateful for the door at her back and the strength of Azaleen’s embrace. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the kiss, its depth pulling her under.
“This is not ideal,” Azaleen breathed against her throat. “But I couldn’t wait to hold you.”
“It thrills me to hear.” Lark sank her fingers into Azaleen’s silky strands that must have been spun from heaven’s silver. “I would like to have showered first.”
“I’m accustomed to your woodsy musk.” Azaleen smiled at her, blue eyes gleaming like weary sapphires.
“You’re exhausted.” Lark nuzzled her close, regaining the power in her legs.
“It’s been two sleepless days,” the queen admitted, “but I’ll forgo sleep another night to spend it with you.”
“You’ll sleep, my dear,” Lark soothed, tracing her cheek with kisses. “Safe in my arms.”
“I’d like that.” Azaleen leaned heavily into Lark, and she held her for a long moment.
“Do you have a secret entrance to your bedroom, by chance? A tree I can climb and sneak in the window undetected?”
A tinkling laugh spilled from Azaleen’s lips. She leaned back, gazing whimsically into Lark’s eyes. “For now, discretion is necessary. Once this war gets sorted out, I hope it will no longer be.”
“My gramma warned me about falling for you.”
A flicker of hurt ran across Azaleen’s face, and she loosened her grip on Lark.
“No, it’s not like that,” Lark explained. “She likes you. She just knows how the world works. I love you, Azaleen, and I will never do anything to hurt you, your reputation, or your rule. Verdancia is bigger than both of us. I’m not here to cause you trouble.”
Relaxing, Azaleen curled her fingers around Lark’s neck. “We’re all going to have trouble, no matter what path we take. It’s inevitable. But it’s our choice whether we hold onto something wonderful to offset that difficulty. I love you, Lark Sutter. You’ve given me a glimpse of what life could be—even for a queen. Is there anything else I need to know about your journey in the south?”
Warmth spiraled in Lark’s chest at Azaleen’s declaration. With a half-grin, she said, “They must not have alligators or warg in the Republic. Their sailors didn’t know what they were, and some of them got eaten. If only we could harness nature to fight on our side.”
A spark lit Azaleen’s gaze. “Let me think about that. Shower, eat, do what you need to. Then stealth your way to my back door after ten. The key will be under the mat. I’ll be waiting.”
Their mouths met in a searing kiss, full of promise, dancing with zeal. Whatever the future held, Lark had another night with the woman she loved.
Chapter nineteen
Divided Command
Verdancia, 80 km north of Tupelo, the next day
Colonel Miles Bourg rested on an old bench in the shadow of a rickety terminal building, once part of a small airport, overlooking ten thousand tents pitched in the open stretch of cracked concrete and unkempt grass. The rusted-out hulls of derelict aircraft—a few small planes and a helicopter—stood as relics of a bygone era, bleached and hollow as dinosaur bones. The hangar roof had collapsed long ago, storm-torn and half gone, the planes scattered, one nosed into the ground, another flipped upside down.
He wondered about the flying machines, if they could be repaired, or if mechanical engineers could figure them out and build new ones. He supposed the government had researchers working on it. After all, they’d refitted trains to run on coal and oil again.How do they get into the sky?he wondered.What keeps them from falling back to earth?