“You were obsessed with me, even then.” She smiled, not hiding her glee.
His gaze swept over her body, slowly, not hiding the heat in his eyes. He saw the moment her stance softened, her legs shifting under his attention. He knocked her blade back, moving forward before she could react, grabbing her wrist and forcing her to drop the sword. His other hand came around her back, pushing her body into his own until she was looking up at him, her breathing heavy.
“I won’t deny that,” he said, his words soft as he leaned down, barely brushing his lips against hers. “Now, let’s go again. You let me disarm you way too easily.”
“I don’t think Harlow will have quite the ability to distract me.”
“He’ll fight dirty.”
“Then I’ll fight dirtier.”
“Good,” he said. “You won’t win from strength alone, but you are smaller and faster, and he may still underestimate you.”
They continued to spar, Fox showing Sofia a few techniques he knew, combining her admittedly limited skills with the sword and greater skills with the dagger. He didn’t let her rest until her arms shook every time she tried to lift her blades.
“I won’t be strong enough, will I?” she asked, lying back on the ground, eyes focused on the sky. The stars were just coming out.
Fox added more wood to the fire before moving to lie down beside her.
“You don’t need to be as strong as him. You won’t be fighting this alone. You just need to be fast enough not to get stabbed.”
Her hand found his, and she interlaced their fingers.
A few hours later,they were sitting next to the fire, protected from the worst of the cold by the rocks that towered above them, blocking the wind. Sofia was sitting a few feet from Fox, staring at the jerky in her hands as she chewed slowly. It was clear her mind was elsewhere, and he wondered if she’d forgotten she was even eating. Fox, for his part, thought of every single thing that could go wrong over the next few days, strategizing as if he might control every variable. Even in his own mind, his plans inevitably went astray. But if he could account for every potential misstep, he could ensure they survived this. The dried wolf meat tasted like dirt, but he finished it, knowing he needed the energy.
“Someone’s coming,”Chalia said, breaking their silence.
They exchanged a look, Fox’s heart in his throat.
They moved quickly, banking the fire to burn lower as Sofia slipped into the forest like a silent faery all her own.
Fox waited, Chalia perched atop the rocks, her tail flicking anxiously, creating a soft whooshing in the night. Ian stepped out of the shadows first, his face pale in the dim starlight. Fox watched from behind the rocks, not moving until he saw Sofia slipping up from behind him.
“Vato,” she said, before correcting herself. “Ian.”
He flinched, spinning with his blade in his hands.
“Whoa there,” Fox said, stepping out quickly, his own blade raised.
Ian immediately sheathed his dagger and raised his hands, looking between them.
“He’s alone,” Sofia confirmed. Chalia should have been able to smell anyone else coming, but it was nice confirmation.
“I assumed you wanted to talk,” Ian said, looking at Sofia. “You’re lucky Mattia is jumpy on watch to begin with.”
“I would have just killed him if he’d seen me.”
Ian rolled his eyes with a soft smile. It was still strange to see the two of them bantering like familiar friends. A whole other side of Ian he’d never met. An entire life he didn’t know.
“So, what is it you need?” Ian asked, face businesslike once more.
“Come on,” Sofia said, taking Ian’s arm and leading him toward the rocks. “We have a fire going.”
Once they settled themselves next to the fire, Fox felt his muscles relaxing, the heat of the flames soothing the constant dread that had lodged itself into his stomach from the moment he’d seen the chief commander flying toward them.
Ian sat across from them, his eyes shadowed in the dim light, but Fox could see the dark circles underneath them easy enough. He looked more ragged and tired than that last time he’d seen him. So much had happened between then and now.
“How did you get onto this assignment?” Fox asked, admittedly avoiding the question he both needed to ask and hated to know.