Knightqueen (Oronis Knights #3)

“There’s some sort of dwelling cut into the rocks above. Maybe an old village.”

She arched her neck and looked up. “It looks abandoned.”

“If there’s shelter, we can rest there.” He just hoped there were no gul-vexed beasts up there. He was pretty sure the creatures stuck to the ravines, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

Sten started up the steep path, keeping one hand pressed to the rock face. In places, the path was crumbled and narrow. They reached a spot where the path deteriorated away, leaving a wide gap.

He leaped over it. He turned and held out a hand. Carys easily jumped across the gap, bumping into him.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Lead on.”

They kept moving, but eventually the path petered out. It stopped at a sheer face of dark rock.

“What now?” She sounded so tired.

Sten spun. “Hop on my back.”

“What?”

“Come on, Carys. It’s getting dark.” He waved at his back. He had no idea what other creatures might come out at night. “We need to scale this cliff before we lose the remaining light.”

There was a pause, then she leaped onto his back.

He froze for a second and closed his eyes. The knightqueen’s long legs were wrapped around his waist. She was pressed against his back.

For a second, all he could do was feel.

Guilt punched him in the gut. She was his queen. He was supposed to be getting her to safety not reacting to her body.

He shook his head, then faced the cliff wall. He pressed a hand into a crack, then launched himself upward.

He needed to focus on his job, and not how soft and warm she felt.

Sten climbed. Her weight barely added anything. He’d trained with packs heavier than her. She held tight and didn’t move or complain as he worked his way up the cliff.

He gripped a crack and moved to haul himself up.

The rock crumbled away. He lost his grip on his right hand, his body sliding downward.

Carys gasped.

With his left hand, Sten clung hard, his arm muscles straining. “It’s…okay.” He found a ledge with his right hand and evened his body out.

“I can climb myself—”

“No.” The thought of her clinging to the rock face had sweat breaking out on his forehead. “We’re almost there.”

He hauled his body up and searched for his next handhold.

Finally, he climbed over the edge into the ruins. Thank the knights.

He set Carys down and wiped the sweat off his face. She straightened, staring at the silent, dusty rock-cut dwellings.

A quick scan told him that there was no one here. At least no one living and breathing.

“This was once someone’s home.” She walked to the closest carved building, stepping through a doorway. Inside, some rotting furniture lay tipped over and abandoned, and rubble had crumbled off the walls and ceilings. She bent down and picked up a rotting piece of fabric. The color had long since faded.