Chapter 22 Twenty two
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
Mira POV
The morning after the Queen’s message was colder than any morning I had lived through in years. The camp was quiet, unusually so, as if every rebel felt the weight of what was coming. I sat alone at the edge of the clearing, watching the first traces of sunlight touch the tops of the trees. My shadows curled at my feet, restless, picking up every bit of fear and tension I tried to hide.
I had not slept. My thoughts chased each other endlessly. The Queen’s threat. Jason’s confession. The rebels’ distrust. The dangerous attraction building between Jason and me despite everything we had endured.
I pressed my hands together, forcing my breath to slow. None of it mattered if I allowed myself to lose focus. The Queen was not waiting. She was preparing. And I could not afford to fall apart. Not now. Not when everything was shifting beneath my feet.
Footsteps approached behind me. Slow and deliberate. I did not need to turn to know who it was.
Jason stopped a few paces away. He said nothing at first. I did not speak either. The silence between us was the heaviest it had ever been.
“You left the tent early,” he said quietly.
“I did not sleep,” I replied.
He hesitated. “Because of last night.”
I closed my eyes briefly. The memory of his mouth on mine burned through me in a way I had not expected. It had not been gentle. It had been desperate. Raw. Real.
“It is not important,” I said.
“It is,” he said. “At least to me.”
I stood up slowly and faced him. His eyes searched mine with a mix of worry, longing, and something deeper. Something dangerous. Something that could break us both if I allowed it.
“It cannot happen again,” I said.
He exhaled. “You told me that before.”
“Then hear it again.”
His jaw tightened, but he nodded. “I hear you. I hear everything you say, even when it hurts.”
I turned away before I could react to the softness in his voice.
“We need to meet with Riven,” I said. “The Queen moves faster than we predicted.”
Jason stepped closer. His hand nearly brushed my arm before he caught himself. “Before we do that, I need to ask you something.”
I looked at him cautiously. “What.”
“Do you want me here,” he asked, “or do you need me here.”
The air left my chest.
I swallowed. “I need you here.”
His expression flickered with disappointment for a heartbeat before he covered it with a quiet nod. “Then I stay.”
I walked past him, but his presence followed me like heat and shadow. The bond between us had always been complicated. But after last night, it was nearly unbearable.
As we reached the center of the camp, Riven approached with a look that told me the news would not be good.
“We have a problem,” he said.
“Tell me.”
“Two of our scouts have not returned. They were assigned to watch the western border. They know this forest better than anyone. They would not have gone missing without a reason.”
Jason stiffened beside me. “The Queen has soldiers in the woods.”
Riven nodded. “We believe so.”
“We go now,” I said.
Riven lifted a hand. “That is not all.”
I frowned. “Go on.”
“One of the rebels found something in the trees. A message tied to an arrow.”
Jason stepped forward. “From who.”
Riven handed me a small folded parchment. My name was written across the front in elegant handwriting that made my skin crawl.
Mira.
I unfolded it slowly.
Bring the king to me.
Alone.
At twilight.
Or your rebels die.
My breath caught.
Jason’s eyes darkened. “She wants me again.”
Riven cursed. “She wants us divided. She wants you to panic.”
I folded the message tightly. “She wants control. She will not have it.”
Jason stared at the parchment still crushed in my hand. “You are not bringing me to her alone.”
“I know,” I said.
Riven narrowed his eyes. “Before we plan anything, you need to understand what she is doing. She is forcing you to choose between your rebels and Jason.”
“I am not choosing,” I said sharply. “I am protecting both.”
Jason stepped closer. “Mira. Listen. She is targeting me because she knows I matter to you.”
My chest tightened. “She targets you because you are the king.”
“That is not the reason she gave,” he said softly.
I looked away.
Riven cleared his throat. “We need to send a search party for the missing scouts. We cannot allow the Queen’s soldiers to pick us apart.”
I nodded. “Send five of your best. I want them back before noon. No mistakes.”
Riven left to carry out the orders.
Jason remained in front of me, tense and silent.
“Mira,” he said carefully. “You need to tell your rebels the truth.”
“What truth.”
“That you are not doing this alone. That this is our fight.”
I shook my head. “They do not trust you.”
“Then let me earn it,” he said.
I stared at him, searching his face for signs of deception, weakness, anything that would prove my doubts right. But all I saw was determination. And something else. Something that terrified me more than any magic the Queen could cast.
Loyalty.
To me.
The air around us shifted as if it sensed my hesitation. Jason stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“You can keep pushing me away,” he said. “But it will not change the truth.”
“What truth,” I whispered.
He leaned in, just close enough that my breath hitched.
“That we are stronger together. And you know it.”
My chest tightened painfully.
I looked away first. “This is not the time for this.”
“Then when,” he asked. “When the Queen kills one of us. When the rebels fall. When you cannot breathe from the weight of carrying this alone.”
I swallowed hard. “Enough.”
He reached for my hand. Gently. Slowly. Giving me time to refuse.
I did not pull away fast enough.
His fingers brushed mine. Warm. Steady. Familiar.
The contact sent a sharp ache through me.
He froze, reading every flicker of emotion across my face.
Then I stepped back.
His hand fell to his side.
“Mira,” he said quietly, “you felt that.”
“Yes,” I said. “But it does not matter.”
“It matters to me.”
I turned sharply. “Focus on the mission.”
He exhaled, frustrated and hurting, but he nodded.
“Then tell me what you want me to do.”
I walked toward the strategy table. “We set a counter trap.”
“For the Queen.”
“Yes.”
“And for her soldiers.”
“Yes.”
Jason moved to stand beside me again. Close enough to feel. Not close enough to touch.
I spread the map open. “She wants us to come alone. So we make her think we are obeying.”
Jason frowned. “Explain.”
I traced a route through the forest. “We go to the meeting site at twilight. You and I will step forward together. But we hide twenty rebels in the forest perimeter.”
Riven returned in time to hear the plan. “Ambush.”
“Yes,” I said. “The moment she reveals her intentions, we strike from all sides.”
Jason studied the map. “This could work. But you need something more.”
“What.”
“A distraction.”
“What kind of distraction.”
“You,” he said quietly.
I lifted an eyebrow. “Explain.”
“You go in first. Alone.”
Riven nearly choked. “Absolutely not.”
Jason shook his head. “The Queen only wants to see Mira. She expects her. She wants to use her. She will be less guarded if Mira approaches without me at first.”
I crossed my arms. “You want me to walk toward the Queen with no protection.”
Jason’s gaze held mine. “No. You will never be without protection. I will be right behind you. Close enough to reach you. Close enough to take the blow if she tries anything.”
Riven glared at him. “Why would you take the blow for her.”
Jason did not hesitate. “Because she is the reason I am still fighting.”
My breath caught again.
Riven stared at him incredulously, then looked at me. “He is telling the truth.”
I turned away.
I needed air.
I needed distance.
Jason followed but kept a few steps behind. He had learned that much.
“Mira,” he said softly.
I stopped.
“Do you trust me,” he asked.
“Trust is not the same as forgiveness,” I said.
“I know.”
“Trust is not the same as love,” I said.
His breath hitched.
“I know,” he whispered.
I faced him fully.
“I trust your strength,” I said. “I trust your loyalty. I trust your intentions.”
He stared at me, frozen.
“But I do not trust my feelings around you.”
Jason closed the distance in two steps. His hands came up to my arms, holding me carefully.
“Mira,” he whispered, “you are not the only one who feels that.”
I should have pushed him away.
I should have walked off.
I did not.
His forehead rested against mine, soft and slow. His breath mingled with mine. His hands slid to my waist, holding me in a way that made my pulse jump.
“You can fight me,” he said quietly. “You can deny me. But you cannot deny this.”
His lips brushed mine lightly.
Not a kiss.
An invitation.
I felt my knees weaken.
I put my hands on his chest.
He stiffened, waiting for rejection.
But I did not push.
I held on.
His breath hitched.
“Mira,” he whispered, “please.”
I closed my eyes.
For one moment.
One breath.
One heartbeat.
I allowed myself to lean into him.
He pulled me closer instantly, burying his face in my hair, holding me as if the world depended on it.
I stayed.
Just long enough to remember what it felt like not to be alone.
Then I stepped back.
His hands dropped slowly.
His chest rose unsteadily.
“You are killing me,” he whispered.
“You survived worse,” I said.
He smiled faintly. “Not this.”
I turned away, hiding my shaking hands.
“We move at twilight,” I said.
Jason nodded. “I will be ready.”
I looked at him once more.
And for the first time since coming back to life, I believed him.