By the time they returned to Polis, the city felt… different.
The streets were the same, the tall stone towers still weathered by time and shadow, but something in the air had shifted. Whispers filled corners like smoke curling beneath doors. Rumors of Ice Nation treachery and the Queen's ambitions had reached even the children hawking fruit in the square.
Kira dismounted her horse with a stiffness in her legs she refused to show. Roan's attempt to warn her—veiled though it had been—still echoed in her head. Queen Nia wasn't done.
Lexa awaited them at the gates, her expression unreadable. Her eyes flicked briefly to Kira before returning to Roan, and Kira recognized the faintest twitch in Lexa's jaw: relief barely hidden.
"Roan kom Azgeda," Lexa said, voice cool but sharp, "you've returned unharmed. A surprise."
Roan bowed slightly. "I would say the same of your envoy."
Lexa's gaze cut toward Kira again, longer this time. Kira raised her brow, then walked past Roan, directly toward Lexa. They met halfway across the plaza, the crowd watching like ghosts on the wind.
"I assume you've heard?" Kira asked.
"Enough to want details," Lexa murmured. "Come."
They walked side by side to the commander's tower, Lexa waving off her guards. Once inside, Kira didn't wait. She stripped off her cloak, tossed it aside, and started pacing.
"Nia had someone waiting for me. Assassin in my bedchamber. I caught her before she slit my throat."
Lexa's lips pressed into a flat line. "And?"
"She admitted it—Queen Nia sent her. Didn't even try to hide it once I pressed a blade to her neck."
Lexa turned away, walking to the stone map table. Her fingers rested on the carved ridges that marked clan borders.
"She's testing me," Lexa said softly. "She wants to see how far she can push before I retaliate."
"She sent someone to kill me, Lexa."
"I know."
Kira's voice rose, sharper than she intended. "You don't seem all that furious about it."
Lexa turned then, slowly. "If I act like a raging animal, I give her what she wants. She'll call for my head in front of the Coalition. Say I'm driven by emotion. You know this."
Kira looked away. "I know."
A beat of silence passed.
"I'm not dismissing what she did," Lexa said, more gently. "I'm asking you to trust me. I will answer her. But not in the open. Not yet."
Kira exhaled and sat on the edge of the stone bench beside the hearth. Her hands curled in her lap, fists tight.
"I don't like being used as bait," she muttered.
Lexa crossed the room and sat beside her, the heat of her presence grounding Kira more than the fire.
"You weren't bait," Lexa said. "You were a warning."
Kira looked at her. "A warning?"
"To Nia. That you walk among us. That you're not just some outsider. That if she comes at me, she risks everything."
The intensity in Lexa's voice made Kira pause. Not in fear—Lexa was always intense—but in the weight of meaning. Lexa didn't say things like this easily. Or often.
Their eyes met.
"She knows you're important to me," Lexa admitted.
Kira felt her chest tighten—not unpleasantly, but as if her ribs no longer had enough room for her lungs. She swallowed. "Am I?"
Lexa didn't flinch. "Yes."
There was no hesitation. No evasion. Just truth.
Kira's breath caught slightly. Her voice dropped, low and careful. "You're important to me too."
Lexa looked down briefly, then back up. "I don't allow many to matter to me. The few I do... it is not a light thing."
"You don't have to convince me, Lexa," Kira said. "I see you. Even when you hide."
Lexa leaned in slightly, and Kira tilted her head. Their foreheads brushed, the space between them vanishing.
"Stay tonight," Lexa said softly.
Kira's smile was slow, wry. "You're the Commander. I think I'd have to follow that order."
Lexa chuckled under her breath—a rare, real sound. "I won't order you."
"Then I'll stay because I want to."
Their kiss came like breathing—natural, unforced. Slow at first, then deeper as Kira's hand curled behind Lexa's neck. It wasn't rushed. There was no urgency, just the slow unwinding of tension long held too tight. They weren't thinking of war, or politics, or spies. Just the warmth of skin, the gentle pull of breath shared between them.
By the time they reached Lexa's bed, the fire was burning low, casting the room in gold and shadow. Kira ran her fingers along Lexa's bare spine, memorizing the strength beneath the softness. Lexa responded in kind, her lips tracing the curve of Kira's throat, reverent and deliberate.
Clothes were shed like secrets—each touch, each kiss a promise.
When they finally lay tangled in the furs, limbs entwined, Kira felt something shift in her chest. A quiet, frightening truth. This wasn't just passion. This wasn't just survival. She was falling. Deeper than she'd meant to.
Lexa exhaled, resting her head against Kira's shoulder. "You didn't ask me if this was allowed."
Kira blinked, confused. "What?"
Lexa's lips curved faintly. "You usually ask if I mind you being with other women."
Kira smirked. "Ah. Well, I thought it might be rude. Considering."
Lexa's arm tightened around her waist. "I still don't care. As long as it's not a man."
Kira chuckled. "It never will be."
Another silence followed, but this one was content. They lay there, two warriors wrapped in warmth and trust, listening to the wind whip around the tower.
Kira closed her eyes and whispered, "We'll figure this out. Together."
Lexa nodded. "Together."
SUPPORT:Patreon: patreon.com/KyJo_
YouTube Gaming: youtube.com/@KyJoGaming
Discord: discord.gg/v2uSTygMgb