Mist's Edge (The Broken Lands #2) - T.A. White Page 0,21

trying to give her something to follow. Their voices echoed oddly in the mist, but at least she knew they were out there.

She cut through the mist, almost running as the sound of their voices got louder. She knew better than to run here, but hope lent urgency to her movements.

Between one moment and the next, the mist thinned and she could see him, his whiskey eyes an intense blaze in a face too masculine to ever be considered beautiful. His features were too rigidly defined, a forceful blade concealing the charismatic personality inside. A small scar along his strong jaw gave testament to the type of life he’d led up to now—one of violence and danger. Shea knew that the skin of his hands would be rough against hers, a perfect counterpoint to the gentleness he used when touching her.

The glare he was giving the mist would have been enough to make his men drop whatever they were doing so they could give him anything he desired. It was an expression that dared the world to thwart him. The kind that signaled that he would decimate any who stood in his way.

Normal people would have fled in terror having that glare leveled on them. Shea felt an immense sense of relief at its sight. She would suffer a thousand glares just for the knowledge that he was still part of this world.

Her steps didn’t pause for a second as she ran to him. He opened his arms and grabbed her close, his hug a tight vise around her, threatening to crack her ribs. It was a welcome feeling, and she hugged him back with as much of her strength as she could muster.

They held each other for a long moment, his face buried in her hair and hers in the crook of his neck. She let herself luxuriate in the safety of his arms, the warmth and certainty that this man would fight the world itself for her. Even if that feeling was an illusion. There was no safety in the mist. Only loss and hopelessness.

His strength made her feel strong, made her doubts and uncertainty fall away. With him, it felt like this crazy plan of hers had an actual shot.

She drew back and looked up at him, his face holding a tenderness that only ever came out around her.

“How did you get here? How did you find us?” Fallon asked, his warlord mask not quite in place yet. There was relief in his eyes at the sight of her. Relief and happiness. Shea felt an answering warmth in her own expression.

“Eamon brought a company to meet you on the trail. I tagged along.”

He frowned. “Alone?”

She gave him a look that said ‘don’t start with me.’ “No, Daere and the Anateri guards you assigned insisted on coming with us.”

His eyes went to the white haze behind her. Finding no evidence of the guards, they returned to her, his thoughts evident in their whiskey depths.

She raised one eyebrow. Really? That was what he wanted to focus on in this situation. Giving her grief about leaving her guards behind?

A small smile tugged at the side of his mouth, a faint expression that would have been lost on any who hadn’t spent much time with him. Shea had heard others describe Fallon as hard to read, a stone-faced warrior that gave no indication of his thoughts before he struck. He wasn’t that way to the people who knew him.

“We can discuss your lack of protection later, when we’re safe,” he conceded.

She gave a small snort. Yeah, they were going to talk about it, but she didn’t think he was going to like what she had to say.

A wider smile touched his face as he read her expression. He seemed to find her anger by turns amusing and frustrating. For now, humor won out. She doubted that emotion would last.

“I’m glad you’re here.” His hands gave a light squeeze to her arms before dropping away.

“How are you here?” a gruff voice asked from behind Fallon.

Shea peered over Fallon’s shoulder at a slightly older man, who eyed her with a healthy dose of suspicion. He was blond, which was rare for the Trateri who tended to have dark hair and brown eyes. His face was striking, refined by age and stamped with authority. The set of his lips said he wasn’t terribly impressed by her either.

Shea could tell he was someone important, though she had no idea who. She was still learning the