5.5 - Under the Ice Blades (16 page)

Someone waved up at him—a gray-haired dot. General Ort?

With his hands full, all he could do was nod back. They knew he was up here, so he stepped back and found a solid piece of wall to lean against. He trusted they would find a way up to them.

“They’re coming,” he promised Kaika. “I think Sardelle is with them.”

“You could probably set me down while we wait,” Kaika said.

“Probably.” But he didn’t. He was enjoying the knowledge that he had defeated a Cofah operative and made it out with her in his arms. He would be feeling rather heroic if he hadn’t also been tricked into letting a powerful dragon escape, one that might come back to molest his nation.

Kaika looked toward the edge where the sound of faint clinks drifted up, the men climbing up to get them. They would have to fashion a sling or some other way of bringing Kaika down. Angulus would carry her if necessary.

“Sire,” she said, meeting his eyes. She bit her lip, hesitating before saying more.

He raised his brows. Was she perhaps thinking of kissing him? Or asking him to kiss her? Or maybe she wanted to profess that after giving his ass that special consideration in the tunnel, she’d decided that she wanted to sleep with him. Any or all of those things would be delightful.

“Before you’re swept back up into the busy world of being a king and ruling a nation, there’s something I have to ask. It’s what I originally came to your castle to do, to talk
you
into doing, and I haven’t accomplished that yet.”

“You want to talk about your current assignment?” Angulus guessed, trying not to let his disappointment show.

“With the puppies, yes.”

Was this truly what was foremost in her mind right now?

“While you’re bleeding in my arms?” he asked. “I’m going to be honest. I was hoping you’d ask me for a kiss instead.”

“I’m not opposed to kisses, but I need you to know that I’d go crazy and probably kill someone—one of Zirkander’s pups, perhaps—if I had to stay in the city doing the same job day after day, hoping for pirates or Cofah to invade the harbor because that would be the only way I’d see some excitement.”

“I know. I understand that about you now.” Even if he couldn’t believe she was craving more excitement after what they had just been through. She had a bullet lodged inside of her somewhere. How could that not deter a person from dreams of action and danger? “It was selfish of me to arrange that assignment for you in the first place. I’ll see to it that your orders are changed,
after
you’ve recuperated.”

The most blissful, contented smile spread across Kaika’s face, and she settled more comfortably in his arms.

“You know,” he said, “the city isn’t a bad place to visit now and then. To recover from injuries and take in some... recreation.”

“I would agree with that.”

Voices drifted up, along with the sound of pebbles clattering free. The climbers were getting close.

“Sire,
this
would be the appropriate time to kiss me.”

“Oh. I wasn’t sure.”

She wriggled her eyebrows at him.

Conscious of her injuries and that they were about to have company, Angulus lowered his lips to hers. He pressed gently, since this was hardly the time for passionate kisses that dripped with lust. Just a small taste, a brush of his tongue along her lips, a promise of more to come in the future, when they had both recovered from the night’s adventures.

Kaika, however, had other thoughts in mind. Her hand slid up to the back of his head, her fingers digging into his scalp, and she turned their gentle pressing of lips into a passionate kiss that heated his blood to boiling and left his knees shaking. The wobbling knees worried him a bit, since he was supporting both of them, but he did nothing to pull back, not until they were both breathless and he had completely forgotten they were on a rock ledge waiting to be rescued.

“Do you always kiss like that when you’ve got a bullet in your back?” he asked, excited but stunned too.

“I promise that was just a teaser.” She pulled his head closer and found his earlobe with her lips, then alternated nibbling and whispering promises of what else they would do once she recovered.

This resulted in him feeling guilty for having such lustful thoughts about someone so injured. Even so, he was completely thankful that he had shared his feelings with Kaika in the lab. He looked forward to going home very much.

That’s a relief
, a voice spoke in his mind.

Angulus drew back with a startled, “What?” on his lips.

Kaika paused and frowned at him.

“Uh, sorry,” he said. “I thought I heard something.”

When Ridge refused to give you my advice on relationships, I assumed it was a certainty that you’d never figure out how to lock lips with her.

That couldn’t be the dragon speaking to him again. The dragon didn’t know Zirkander. And besides, this tone was completely different, more feminine than masculine, and the words weren’t thrust into his mind with so much power that they gave him a headache.

“It’s nothing,” Angulus said, aware of Kaika frowning at him, then at their surroundings.

She must have come to the same conclusion, because she smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.

Are you... the sword?
Angulus thought to the voice in his head.

Jaxi.
The tone was dry.
Mind if I poke through your recent memories to see what happened in that cavern? Sardelle and I sensed the dragon and saw it fly off, and we’re trying to figure out what’s going on.

She asked you to talk to me?

Oh no. She’s quite proper about not intruding in people’s thoughts without permission. Since you don’t even know me, she would be horrified that we’re having a chat. But if you
give
me permission, then it would be fine, I’m sure. Besides, she’ll be busy helping Kaika there. I want to know about the cavern.

I... guess.
Angulus had already experienced a dragon poking around in his head. What could one more person—er, sword—matter?

You could sound more enthused. It’s really quite an honor to converse with a soulblade.

Angulus didn’t know what to make of the sword’s humor, if this was, indeed, humor. It reminded him of the dragon’s arrogance.
Is it an honor for a soulblade to converse with a king?

I’m not sure yet. We’ve only just met.

At least you’re honest.

I am
extremely
honest.

K
aika woke up in far less pain than she had been in when she had fallen asleep. Technically, she may have passed out rather than fallen asleep, because she did not remember much of the precarious climb down the cliff where she had bumped along, strapped to a big soldier’s back. She didn’t remember anything of what had happened after that. Now, she lay on a thin blanket, with stones and tufts of grass prodding her back. Given that her back did not hurt beyond that mild discomfort, she found the experience wonderful.

A familiar face leaned over, peering into her eyes, probably checking to see if they were still rolled back into her head.

“I’m awake,” Kaika rasped, remembering the last time she had woken with Sardelle leaning over her. That had also involved being healed, back at General Zirkander’s mother’s house, less than a month earlier. Kaika needed to stop getting grievously injured, and she probably needed to buy Sardelle a gift. Too bad she was horrible at shopping—and even worse at gift-giving. She had a vague notion that flowers were often purchased for such occasions, but that seemed inadequate thanks for the removal of a bullet. Maybe Sardelle would like a kitten.

“Good,” Sardelle said, touching her shoulder, extra healing energy flowing from her fingers. She knelt in the grass at Kaika’s side, the outline of a flier just visible parked behind her. “King Angulus was most distressed when Ridge and General Ort talked him into climbing back up to the cavern instead of gnawing on his knuckles while he paced around and watched me work.”

A flush of warmth spread through Kaika’s body that had nothing to do with “healing energy.” The words brought a rush of memories back to her, especially of Angulus confessing to her under the desk and then of sharing that kiss on the ledge.

“He’s a good king,” Kaika murmured, not certain if she should mention anything else. A king probably had to keep liaisons with common women secret. “Concerned about his subjects.”

Sardelle’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Yes, Jaxi has been telling me about his concern.”

“Jaxi? Your sword?”

“Yes. She pretends extreme disinterest when it comes to the romantic lives of human beings, yet she’s usually the first to know about courting activities.”

Kaika’s cheeks warmed even more. How was she supposed to keep secrets from a nosy
sword
?

“He’s not—I mean, we’re not courting.” Hells, it had only been a few hours since he’d confessed that he was interested in her.

“No? Hm.”

What was that
Hm
supposed to mean? Sardelle’s face didn’t give away anything. Even in the middle of a castle incursion gone crazy, she wore that same serene expression, so who knew what she was thinking? The way she kept gazing down at Kaika made it seem like she expected a response.

“We might have sex,” Kaika admitted. “That’s all.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know him well, but he seems like a man who might be seeking something more substantial than bedroom acrobatics.”

More substantial than sex? Like... a
relationship
? Something that continued on and on and involved people living together? Unless one counted the shared barracks at officer training school, Kaika had never successfully lived with anyone, not even her own family. It was so stifling, with the same people around all the time.

“You needn’t look so alarmed,” Sardelle said. “I don’t think he’s going to propose to you on your first date.”

No. No, he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Because he was the king, and she couldn’t be a queen—seven gods, that was a terrifying thought. They couldn’t live together, either, because he had to sleep in the castle. That was a rule for kings, wasn’t it? And she would be busy on missions. He’d promised she could go on missions again.

After reasoning through this bit of logic, the feeling of panic that had arisen in her breast faded. She laid her head back, gazing thoughtfully up at the clouds in the late morning sky. Maybe a relationship where she and Angulus had their own places and their own lives could be interesting. She could go on missions, and he could do his kingly things, and then they could get together when they were both in town and boink like bunnies. She smiled, again thinking of their kiss on the ledge. It had been impressively steamy considering she had been in such pain. She also thought of the way Angulus had bested Seeker in that fight. And how, when that final earthquake had come, he had lifted her up as if she were a child’s size instead of a gangly six feet, then charged out of the cavern with her amid falling rocks. That had been
very
manly. And sexy.

“You can probably figure it out as you go along,” Sardelle said.

Reminded that she had company, Kaika wiped the silly smile off her face.

“Yeah.” She shrugged as if it didn’t matter much. “That could be fun.”

An eagle soared down from the mountain, coasting across the valley toward the trees on the far side. It reminded her of the dragon and the fact that more than
courting
had been going on in that cavern.

“Has our new buddy been back?” Kaika asked.

“The dragon?” A troubled crease marred Sardelle’s brow, a breaking of the serenity. “No.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Better to know where a rogue dragon is than not.”

“Rogue?” Kaika murmured to herself, testing the word in her mouth. She hadn’t been privy to the entire exchange Angulus had shared with the dragon, but
rogue
seemed to fit. Mostly, she had been busy with the detonator, but she remembered the creature scraping through her mind, making her brain hurt as he seemed to read her thoughts. After that touch, she’d been oddly sympathetic toward him. She’d even told Angulus to free the dragon so he wouldn’t be in pain. That wasn’t like her. Oh, she might be sympathetic toward some small hurt animal, but not to a potential enemy with the power to crush her with a thought.

“We’ll find out for certain soon,” Sardelle said. “Jaxi is up there with Ridge and Angulus, and she’ll share what she learns with me.”

Kaika remembered the plaque, the language old and indecipherable. What did it contain? A warning?

The more she thought about their encounter with the dragon, the more she thought that nothing good would come from letting it go.

____________________

The cavern was a mess, with fallen rock and broken formations strewn everywhere. General Ort alternated between frowning at the dragon statues and frowning at the dead Cofah agents as he picked a route through the interior. He shook his head, made some notes on a pad, then disappeared into the small tunnel that led back into the research facility. The scientists and soldiers were supposed to be cutting their way back in through the main passage, so they could clean up and check on the projects. Zirkander had found Angulus’s hand-selected researchers when he had been scouting for the secondary exit. They had, indeed, fled due to the earthquakes, deciding to wait for help to arrive before risking themselves further.

After Ort left, Angulus and Zirkander were alone in the cavern, with the general leaning against a column and looking at the big plaque next to the statues. He was also holding Sardelle’s sword—that was his job, apparently, since Sardelle had stayed on the valley floor to heal Kaika’s wound. Angulus had ordered the soldiers that had been brought along to stay with them. He hadn’t wanted more people than necessary to know about this cavern. It might prove even more future-changing than the weapons facility, so he had only invited Zirkander and Ort to join him in here. The sword had invited herself along.