– T A Y A H –

The dry spans moved much the same with our slow and steady conservation of water and dried meats. The only benefit of travelling directly across vast planes of desert wasteland... There was no one to stop you. In fact I had not even seen any birds for spans this far into the waterless orange dust.

When the high mountains to the north finally cut jagged lines into the horizon on the fourth span I almost fell off the platform. I pointed with a grin.

"Look! The mountains! We are finally within reach of some familiar weather boys!"

Kaden rubbed his eyes and shrugged out from under John's draped legs to get a glimpse. He nodded with a grunt I could even hear over the winds.

"Double time Ashrive! The sun be pealing my skin each slither!"

I threw him a glare and was tempted to send some of the flames his way when my power left me in a sudden drain and Kára jumped up beside me.

"Take some rest, I will see us to the mountains," She told me, with calm resolve. "–you will need your strength for the climate." She winked. Despite the heat that flashed through me, I placed a hand lightly on her woven braided blonde head and gave it a teasing ruffle.

A gust of wind sent me quickly off the platform and onto Kaden's lap heavily. He boomed a laugh and plucked me up like a sack of grain before setting me beside him.

"I'm being mishandled on this voyage more than a barrel of wine." I grumbled, as Kaden leant back on his elbows and chuckled again.

"No amount of handling could match that description!" John called from under the shade of the wooden rafters. 

It went that way for the next slithers of the day. Until the terrain started to bump more often on rock than on sand. Kaden growled holding his ass in a hand. John had piled all the spare cloth they had under him and Yanu and I just absorbed each bump in the wood as I watched the towering teeth of the dark mountains rise up nearer.

"We will be moving on foot soon!" Kára called through a heavy breath. "We can follow the dried ravines to find pathways up!"

The men began to sit up at this and prepare travel packs. I scooted towards them and ripped out my long lost red cloak and shining metal cuirass. We couldn't be sure if the Vargos men ventured far from their city but I was sure they would have camps.

I noticed the temperature drop the moment we ducked into the shadows of the great black rocks. Thankfully no snow sat this low but the further you dragged your eyes high, the more the white powder clung to the rocks like a ghost. It drew in its own weather system entirely. Mists clouded on high and the beginnings of trees were making themselves known between the valleys of rock.

Our craft slowed and then finally stopped as the terrain turned too perilous to navigate.

I dropped off the craft heavily and pulled my travel pack onto my cloaked back. It felt strange to be fitted in the hardy leathers and armour again. Kaden dropped beside me and looked more himself in the thick fighting leathers and a heavy axe over his back. John joined us a moment later in lighter gear but a heavy cloak over his eyes. He looked up at the towering mountains with a low whistle.

"Long way up... How long to the city, Valkyrie?"

Kára had Yanu in her arms and Thanatos on her back. She landed like it all weighed nothing at all. Though the energy she had spent was still evident.

"It all depends on the weather, mortal." She said, carefully setting Yanu on his feet and sighing when he started pulling at the furs on her shoulders. She said something in the foreign tongue and Yanu giggled before running to Kaden and fiddling with his dagger belt.

"A rough estimation?" John said with sweetness and fluttering eyes.

"Three spans." She shrugged, eyeing the darkening sky above us. "But I cannot stop a blizzard."

I glanced up at the greys and charcoals in the thicker clouds over the retreating sunset.

"We should make camp soon." I stated.

Kára flashed me a knowing look but shook her head. "Not this low."

"What's wrong with–" Kaden started.

She silenced him with a look. "Not here." She repeated, pulling the last pack off the craft and fastening her own water skin to it. She eyed the mountains around us distrustfully and it instantly made me wary of watching eyes. 

We left the craft behind in the uneven rocks and started up the dried out ravine. The winds would come howling through the mountain pass occasionally and make me pull the hood lower over my eyes. But this was nothing. A cool breeze at most. Nothing compared to the biting chill of subzero temperatures at the highs mountain sides.

We pressed on in single file over the rocks in a steady climbing degree. Yanu's excited stride ahead had started to slow and when he dropped behind Kaden, the giant picked him up and flung him onto his shoulders without breaking stride.

I snorted as the boy covered his eyes occasionally making him stumble. Kaden's boisterous laugh would echo off the rocks with only half a threat in his words.

"Mortal if you could not let the entire continent know we are approaching the capital as outsiders that would be grand!" Kára cut out behind me.

I snorted and saw a spark fizz below my feet. It made me snigger and I could practically feel her smile on my back. But her words still sent a small chill of adrenaline through me. I eyed the rocky sides of the high ridges around us. More and more trees were coming into view and their thin pine needles were still bare of snow. But the ground was pretty bare of any other plant life.

The surroundings grew yet darker until I finally called ahead for the men to stop.

"There is no point walking in the dark. We should make camp." I told the group.

Kára came behind me on near silent steps analysing the area around us for threats and weak points. It was ironically what I used to do for our group–

"Over there." She nodded her head to a more densely collected group of trees. "But only a small fire. When we get higher and deeper into Vargos territory we rely on Tayah's flame alone. I do not  want to hunt down patrols descending on us."

They nodded in agreement and I caught her eye with slight curiosity. Those burning silver in the growing shadows used to chill my blood but now they just reminded me of the demi-god that was much softer than those killer irises suggested. She turned before I could say anything and we dropped our packs into the chilled rocky earth under the pines.

"I will fetch us some wood." John said easily, then turned to Yanu's small face. "You're coming too. The tree has had enough time with you."

He stared up at John in confusion as Kaden complained. Kára explained in the foreign tongue for him and he nodded with a grin up at John. I looked over as Kaden dropped to the ground heavily and pouted.

"For gods sake man, make yourself useful and help me make tents." I uttered, striding past him and pulling out the remains of the craft sail. I stretched it out across the ground before me and heard Kaden grumble something before standing beside me.

"Hunting knife." I stated, drawing my own dagger. "We'll cut it in half and fashion two."

"But I need my own space–I am two of you!" He said exasperated, widening his arms for effect.

I appraised him slowly, letting my eyes glow brighter in the dark. "You remember the last time we shared a tent together, Kaden?" At his blank stare I went on. "I almost burned the two of you alive with John's device and would happily do it again if I have to share one again." I finished.

He glared and crossed his arms. I mirrored the move and glared right back.

Kára walked past unloading supplies. "Tayah shares with me mortal. I will happily challenge you into single combat to fix the issue." She quipped lightly as she set down a crate and tore the lid off. I grinned broadly at the giant. She didn't even need to glare at him, he already sighed heavily and pulled out his hunting knife.

"If John starts sleep talking again I will dump him outside." He muttered.

"That's the spirit!" I told him with a slap on his shoulder.

When Kaden and I had finally propped up and secured two tents at either side of the dug out fire pit we saw John and Yanu return with several piles of sticks. My immortal snorted setting down a water skin. 

"Were we planning on having a fire for two blinks or three?"

John scowled. "There are not exactly logs lying arou–"

In a fluid move, Kára freed the axe off Kaden's back and struck it through a tree cleanly. It groaned and split before collapsing behind us in a heap of dirt and pine needles. John's mouth fell open and he stared.

Kára threw the axe back to Kaden like it were no more valuable than a shoe and resumed drinking from the flask. 

"And there you were asking us to keep a low profile with the fire!" John hissed, dropping the stick pile and moving towards the felled tree. "You can't just go dropping Kadens like that in the night!"

"And with my axe! Wait–what?" Kaden frowned, replaying John's words in his head.

I sighed and stole the axe from his hands. "If I need to listen to you maidens complain about one more thing tonight I will fell a tree onto myself." I grumbled, striding past them and dropping the axe into the trunk with immortal power. It made a satisfying crack and rolled into a wooden cylinder. I repeated the move five more times before it was an acceptable wood pile and tossed it near the camp.

When I turned I noticed Yanu still stared at Kára in amazement and pointed to his eyes before pointing to hers. She gave him a dark smile and nodded. I drew the axe back and kept dicing up wood as they spoke in quiet voices. 

When we finally had enough I threw it into a loose pile in the centre and closed my fist. Bright flames licked around it and caught everyone's attention. Kára glanced at it before drawing some of the power away and it flickered into a less aggressive camp fire. I smirked and dragged the leftover logs around it for seating.

"Ah Ashrive I am growing fond of this service." John drawled, before taking a seat. I ripped the log away and he landed on his ass with a scowl. 

"You were saying?" I replied sweetly.

"Let us eat." Kaden cut in a low tone. He dropped a sack of dried meat between us and pulled out a set of long sticks. He skewered his own and added dry fruit before I wrinkled my nose.

"Kaden what are you doing?" I demanded, watching the stick of meat and fruit roast.

"Dinner on a stick." He grunted.

"Since when does fruit go near dry meat–"

"It's all dry! I am sick of dry!" He growled.

John giggled beside him and prodded him with an elbow. "Remember man. The capitol is Vayleron tenfold. We shall get a tankard down you soon enough."

He turned to John and sighed wistfully. "Remind me of that life. Tell me what a rack smells like–"

I shifted away from them then quickly losing interest in those stories... I moved to the other side of the fire where Kára and Yanu seemed to be having a heated low discussion. I raised an eyebrow coming to sit on the log beside her as she said something in the foreign tongue shocked and nodded.

"Please tell me you have something more interesting to talk of other than a bar maid's rack." I murmured. She threw me a smirk before pulling back up.

"Indeed. The boy is quite knowledgeable. It seems warlords educate their sons well. His father and mother speak the Uccellon tongue. They are trade partners with Uccella it would seem."

I raised my own brows in surprise. "Well, that makes things easier if we come to blows. Are his parents welcoming to foreign guests?"

Kára relayed the questions and Yanu responded easily between a mouthful of dried fruit and meat on a stick–it didn't surprise me he had copied Kaden instantly.

"He has never had a foreign guests in the house. Business is for elsewhere in the city."

I frowned and drummed my fingers against my knee. Yanu said something else excitedly and tugged on Kára's sleeve. She smirked then turned to me.

"He says he cannot wait to bring the first guests into his home."

I snorted. "With our heads still attached?"

She chuckled and with a darker look. "Do you really think I would allow a bunch of Vargos mercenaries to do that to you?" 

I gave her a side long look. "Perhaps it would be best to leave him at the outskirts of the city."

She gave me a patient look that knew I was not even half serious about the idea. I sighed and dragged a hand through my hair. "Why is nothing ever easy?"

"Because you live an extraordinary life. It would never be easy." She answered simply.

I considered her words with a small smile. She was right in every sense but hearing it put so clearly was better somehow. Oh, we could have settled down as farmers or bread makers in Ravensbrooke. We could have even made our way as fishing folk in Vayleron. Yet here we sat at the base of the Vargos mountains in a hostile land taking a boy back to his family. I wasn't even bound to the realm by time or age any longer... Who could have crafted that fate–it was too unpredictable and ever changing.

"What are you thinking?" The demi-god murmured beside me.

I had not even noticed the boy had run off across the camp and swiped Kaden's food from his hand, leaving us to our quiet corner before the fire.

"I'm thinking of an extraordinary life." I said honestly, "I wish you could have the memories of your mortal life before..."

She pulled the furs more closely over her shoulders and watched the fire. Then pulled a log out from the side and threw it on. We watched the sparks of oranges and golds flick into the dark before she spoke.

"Maybe not knowing is best." She answered unbothered.

"Do most... need to be before their final moments to ascend?" I asked quietly, trying to reason her thoughts.

She turned to me with a half smile teasing her lips. "Stop worrying about the past immortal. It does you no good in the present."

I gave her a playful nudge with my shoulder. "Stop stealing my words."

She wrapped an arm over my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. "I am exactly where I need and want to be. I have no interest in questioning it anymore."

I relaxed into her, feeling her warmth soak into me through the furs. A fire of its own inside me and burning constantly hotter in her proximity. My thoughts seemed to linger on the last time. The time that seemed too many spans ago in our inn–

"Why is your heart increasing so much?" She asked in a low but amused voice.

I practically flinched out of the burning thoughts and felt my face flush.

"Why must you know me so well." I huffed.

She laughed that song like sound that just made the heat return again. Of course she knew the reason. She was likely enjoying how much she could tease me about it.

"Because I pay attention to you, immortal." She dipped her mouth closer to me. "I notice all those details."

I stared across the fire making sure the boys still laughed and talked over their food. I flexed my jaw and cut her a look to see her silver eyes darker.

"I was thinking of how long it has been..." I let the words hang.

She watched the side of my face with a growing smile. "Since what, Ashrive?"

"Since we had a good night's sleep." I replied innocently.

"Oh, sleep. Of course." She nodded seriously. "I was thinking along the lines of something more enjoyable but if you're tired..."

I didn't bother to gratify that smirk on her face with a response. I rose and took her hand with me in the direction of the tent behind us. She laughed again behind me. "Still such a horrific liar."

I pushed through the coarse material and ducked into the tent. Leftover materials and sail made up a loose carpet on the floor but it wasn't enough for me. "Give me your cloak." I ordered.

"So demanding." She murmured, unclipping it and shrugging out of the furs. I took my own off and spread both beneath us feeling instantly more comfortable. I undid the sides of the iron armour and with the help of a smirking immortal I was out of it and left in my tunic. She took it from me and flung it out the tent without hesitation.

"Now you are ready to sleep." She finished with more innocence painting her face in the dark. Those silver eyes however told a different story.

"Am I?" I answered in a dark voice, crawling to her in the enclosed space.

"What else would we do–"

I cut off her game with a hungry kiss. 

She secured my face and held me to her without hesitation. My hands played along her hips and over her stomach. I had been patient. In control of my thoughts for the most part–but every time that scent hit me like this–the warmth of those lips... I fell apart to instinct under her.

She pushed me back into the fabrics below us and set both knees on either side of my hips. She dragged her body lightly and teasingly across me. It ripped fire into my blood and thankfully not into my hands. But her own hands were exploring dangerous lines of their own. Always drawing hungry groans from my lips as she dipped beneath the fabric of my tunic and skimmed the skin across my stomach and higher.

I sucked in a sharp breath against her lips when her hands moved to the base of my breasts. She lifted her face away briefly with a chuckle.

"Be quieter, immortal. There is a young one nearby." She whispered half mocking, breathing as heavily as I was.

I growled low and met her burning silver eyes with my own. "Are you really going to tell me to keep quiet when you touch me like–" I cut off and grit my teeth when her hands claimed my chest softly in the darkness. I felt my arousal build and fought the urge to moan when her hands circled both slowly and perfectly. Her smiling lips found mine again as my body raced with heat under her. Her fingers traced against the hard peaks of my breasts and I shook my head breathing heavily.

"If you keep–I am not going to be quiet–" I panted, dipping down to press my face into her neck and try to control my breathing when her hands slipped off and lowered down me. 

"Then I will just... try somewhere else." She answered calmly.

When those warm hands fell to my waist I bit her neck. She did not even seem to notice–or care. One of her hands slipped below the material and dropped to the inside of my thigh teasingly. I writhed under her and dragged my mouth back to her own. She kissed me deeply letting her tongue taste the edge of my lip. It only made the need grow. I lifted my hips to her but she did not let that hand find me where I needed. She slipped her tongue against my own and I fought another groan to find its way from my throat.

I pressed my hands tightly to her hips and dragged her against me as I moved intently against her body. I heard her breathing increase and was glad to finally inflict some of the same need. She lost more patience and ripped my riding trousers and silks low past my thighs. There was something primal in me that liked the way she had not even bothered with her own yet. Feeling her pressed against my sensitive skin but not having her yet–

Her hand found my centre just as her other hand went over my mouth. Stifling the sound she knew I would make when she did it. She smiled again before moving her fingers deliberately and slowly against me. Keeping that hand secured over my lips. She moved the same delicious way she had that night in front of a chess board. I bit my tongue and couldn't stop the small sound from leaving me when her fingers drew long and deliberate lines against the smooth skin.

"Not so silent." She murmured, watching me with more darkness. I breathed quickly through my nose wanting to attack her lips again... but the way she held me like this–

Another moan hit her hand past my lips as her fingers sunk inside me and found their way deeper. My hips moved against her and her body moved with mine slowly, teasing in their rocks against me. I bit the side of her hand and it only made her fingers move more powerfully in me. I pulled my leg around her waist and gripped her tightly as I felt every movement more closely. The heat and need building in my centre for the release she could give me.

Her pace increased and she pushed me firmly against the fabric below us. She captured the noise that I couldn't stop in her hand. It took all the self control I didn't have not to scream her name as she pushed into me deep with her fingers and our bodies moved faster in the dark. An endlessly perfect storm of desire and fire. I found a shuddering and full release against her with a final cry into that palm at my lips.

She stilled above me and slowly moved her hand away with a careful look. As if I would start screaming profanity if she moved too fast. I dragged in a heavy pant once she did and grinned widely once my breathing controlled more. 

"Gods–you have–no idea–" I rolled her over to watch her closely, "–what you're in for."

Her answering grin in the darkness made my blood sing.