"Really. How long will it take us to get to the city?" "Not long. We are on the edge now."
"What about the temple?"
"Two days. Maybe three."
A surge of anticipation nearly electrified him. In a few hours he'd be holding Jewel in his arms, teaching her a few of the naughtier pleasures of the flesh. And in two or three days, he'd be holding Dunamis in his hand. Whether he'd destroy it or take it to his boss, he didn't yet know.
Whichever he chose, it would be mission accomplished - on both fronts.
Gray pushed to his feet, wincing at the sharp ache in each of his wounds.
"What are you doing?" she demanded, standing. She rushed to his side, wafting a gentle breeze of sunshine around him.
"I need to work out the stiffness from my body, then pack up so we can head into town." "You haven't healed yet."
"We need some supplies. Food, more clothing. Weapons."
"Yes, but - "
"No buts. It's my turn to win. You won the last argument. You were stubborn, remember, and refused to relax against me in the water. It's my turn."
She waved aside his words. "We don't have any money. How do you propose we buy those things?" He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. "We don't need any money."
"We can't steal. Those creatures work hard. They need every cent."
"And we need the nutrition and the protection. I'll do whatever is necessary to keep us fed and strong."
"I'll fish some more."
"That will take more time than I have to spare. Stop arguing. It's wasted breath."
She hissed in frustration. "Fine. You go stretch or whatever it is you need to do, and I'll clean up camp."
"See how easy that was?" He grinned and lumbered to a nearby tree, throwing over his shoulder, "I'm glad you're starting to see things my way."
Jewel burned their leaf plates, spread the ashes and embers with a stick. All the while she watched Gray. His skin had more color, so the fish had helped. He had his palms on the tree trunk, his body leaning backward, stretching his arms and sides. When he finished that, he slowly straightened and twisted each vertebra in his back. His blond hair hung around his forehead and temples in complete disarray, that green and black cloth head-covering long forgotten.
Just watching him made her chest constrict with longing. Knowing he wanted to teach her to dance made the sensation all the more intense. She hadn't asked him; he had offered, true desire etched in his voice.
"Have you ever seen the Jewel of Dunamis?" he asked, keeping his back to her.
The question rattled her, but she tried not to show any reaction. "Many times. Why?" "I'm curious. What does it look like?"
She scrambled for the right words. "Some say it resembles sapphires." Truth. Her shoulders lifted in a mockingly casual shrug. "Others say it resembles a black storm cloud." Truth.
He arched his brows at her cryptic words. "Some say... but what do you say?" Gauging her response very carefully, she said, "I say it looks sad and vulnerable." "I've never heard a gemstone described that way."
"One day you will have your own opinion about what it looks like." When the fire died completely, she gathered the backpack and satchel, stuffing the latter inside the first, along with everything else they might need. A few sharp rocks, a handful of berries she discovered growing on a nearby bush.
The only thing she didn't pack was the canteen. That, she hauled to the river and filled with water, then strapped it around her neck. She and Gray were truly going into town. The shock of it swept through her, and her hands shook with nervousness; her heart pounded with excitement.
She'd always passed through the cities under cloak of darkness, surrounded by guards of whatever ruler possessed her at the time. The scents and sounds had always amazed and tempted her, those from the taverns most of all. They always bustled with music and laughter.
And now she was going to enter one. Now she was going to dance. With Gray. Her pulse fluttered. "I'll need a hooded robe," she said. "Otherwise I'll be recognized."
He cast her a quick glance before motioning to the ground he'd laid on only moments before. Something hot burned in his eyes. "Wear mine."
"You'll be recognized as human without it."
"Baby," he said, mouth twitching in a grin, "I stole two."
"Oh." Jewel dug back inside the bag and sure enough, there was another robe, this