A Perilous Alliance
"You sure about this?"
Flora shot Adrian a glare. "It's a little late to be asking that, don't you think?"
He exhaled sharply, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his knife. "Doesn't mean I can't still question the wisdom of walking straight into an ambush."
Besides them, their so-called allies were already moving ahead, figures draped in dark cloaks, slipping through the underbrush like ghosts. Flora didn't trust them. Not even a little. But right now, it was not an option. They needed this alliance no matter how uneasy it made her.
Adrian must have sensed her tension because he leaned in enough that his voice reached her ear. "If things go sideways-
"I know," she cut in, "Stay close. Watch my back."
A beat of silence. Then, softly, "Always."
She wouldn't
