Chapter 20

DG trudged behind Cain, hand gripping his cloak as his body blocked the onslaught of snow and wind. She had conjured a small wisp of light that bobbed in front of them, leading them onward well past midnight.

"Can't you do something about this?" she heard him shout over his shoulder.

"Huh?"

"The wind. Tell it to go around or something... whatever it is you do."

DG stopped abruptly, perturbed she hadn't thought of it, and pushed outward with her light. The roar in her ears dimmed and she could open her eyes without them immediately stinging. It was still snowing and wind still blew but now it parted around them, making small drifts of snow around their protected cocoon. DG smiled.

"It's like a reverse snow globe."

Cain either didn't hear or or choose not to and dropped a tracker before turning West.

"The stars are getting harder to see and we'll get lost if we keep going like this. We'll head into this valley and look for place to hunker down tonight."

They walked for another hour until Cain tapped her shoulder and gestured to a shallow cave facing away from the wind. Once inside, DG created an ice wall at the entrance, leaving space at the top to vent the smoke from the fire and then thinking the better of it, she shielded the floor of the cave.

Cain glanced up at her as he piled the items together for a fire.

"Don't want any surprises," she explained. He nodded his approval, about to strike the flint to create a spark, when he paused with hands in mid-air.

"Princess, you mind?" he asked, motioning toward the fire.

DG ignited a small fireball in her hand like Az had taught her and dropped it into the waiting kindling.

"Camping with you is a lot easier this time around," he commented, rising to get their bed rolls. She tried to appear uninterested as she watched him roll them out, side by side next to the fire. He sat at the head of his, his back propped up against the rock wall. She pulled a tracker out, pressing her hand to it and murmuring a spell to let Azkadellia know they were safely in camp.

"Come on, you need to sleep. I'll take first watch," he said, taking out one of his guns and resting it at his side; he held his other hand out to her.

"What about you?" she asked, moving to his side and curling up next to him.

"I'll sleep later. Besides, you need it more than me for tomorrow."

"So what's the plan?"

"We should reach the mountain tomorrow afternoon and plant some of Glitch's incendiary mines to make way for the army. Then we wait until Azkadellia messages you that they are near. Then we go in, locate your parents, and hopefully get in and out without being seen. "

"Great. So what's the real plan?"

He sighed deeply, "We go in, free your parents. Then we find my men, free them. Then you and I bury Roquat beneath the mountain for good this time."

"Much better. Any idea how we're going to do that?"

"No."

"Great. Me neither."

They were quiet for a moment and DG rested her head on his shoulder.

"Cain, I need you to promise me something."

She felt him stiffen beneath her and she nervously played with a button on his coat.

"I'm still learning how to control this magic-"

"No."

"And there might be a moment where I need to try something but I don't want to hurt anyone-"

"No."

"And I'll need you listen to me, even if I'm telling you to go."

"DG, I'm not leaving you there."

"I'm not asking you to leave me there, I'm just asking you to listen to me."

Cain sat up straighter, turning to grab her shoulders and make her look him in the eyes.

"There is no-"

"Cain, I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you because I couldn't control my magic."

"And I wont leave you. Do not ask me to do that."

She reached up to touch his cheek and he felt his disguise melt away, his features once again returning to his own.

"Wyatt..." she said gently, "For me to do what I need to tomorrow, I have to know you will listen when I say I'm going to hurt you. I can't worry that I'm going to kill you if you come running around the corner."

She didn't let him refuse again, instead pushing up on her knees and kissing him with all the desperation she felt at the moment. He started to pull back but she held fast, her arms wrapping around his neck as she parted his lips with her tongue. It was half a heartbeat until she felt him respond, his tongue meeting hers. She bit gently at his lower lip, a nearly imperceptible growl rising in his chest in response. Her heart raced and her skin pricked with the usual hyper-awareness that came with being in his company. She pressed her body against his, a persistent thought refusing to be ignored as it hammered in her head.

This may be our only chance...

DG pulled back slightly, reaching for the buttons on his coat before pushing it aside and tugging his shirt from the waist of his pants. When his hands tried to still hers she pushed them away, kissed him harder and gripped his belt buckle, starting to slide the strap through. This time he grabbed her hands more firmly and she was unable to shake him off.

"Whoa, darlin'," he said pulling back and resting his forehead against hers.

"Why not?"

"Because you're tryin' to tell me goodbye."

DG stopped her struggling and he released her to tilt her face up, brushing a stray hair out of her face.

"Not like this. We'll have our time."

He kissed her again, this time soft and chaste. She relaxed against him and went willingly as he pulled her into his arms. She closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply, trying to commit every thing about him to memory. She did not open her eyes again until morning.

The morning wind burned Azkadellia's cheeks and she pulled her horse to a stop to adjust her scarf. Her eyes ran over her military as they marched out of camp along the path laid out by DG and Cain, tendrils of panic creeping into her chest.

I don't know if can do this... so many lives depend upon my decisions.

She felt her hands shake as she reached back down to grab the reins, her thoughts interrupted by the soft bray of another horse. A quick glance over her shoulder told her it was Commander Bowen. She didn't bother to school her face into her typical imperial aloofness.

"Your highness, we are ready to depart," he spoke pulling up along side her. She did not reply nor make move to leave.

"Something wrong, my Lady?"

"They have no reason to follow me, no reason to trust me. And why should they...Do I have any more regard for their lives than she did? I could just as well be leading them all to their deaths. If the end result is the same, do the intentions matter?" she paused taking a shuddering breath, "For all my delusions, I am no better than she was."

When she looked up, slightly embarrassed by her outburst, she found the Commander looking thoughtful, with none of his usual impertinence.

"These men saw you stand and fight by their side. They saw you place yourself between them and a mountain of snow and it saved them. You have given them reason to trust you. And right now, you are our Queen. We will follow you anywhere."

Their eyes met but Azkadellia could not hold his gaze long, the intensity burning there making her uncomfortable, and she turned to lead her horse to the front of the line where she belonged. The soft cantor of his horse's steps told her Bowen was not far behind. And for the first time, she found the tought mildly comforting.