Oath of the Alpha - Eva Dresden Page 0,29

I—”

“You can leave it the fuck alone is what you can do.” Er’it grunted as he toppled her back into the dusty road. Moving his good arm back to prop himself on an elbow as he looked from shoulder to thigh, his lips twisted in a taut grimace. Flexing the fingers on his injured arm, his brow creased, the furrows etching in deeper the more he moved his hand about.

Exhaling hard, Er’it looked up at the blazing azure sky and then around them, shaking his head as he shoved himself upright to sit. A sheen of sweat peppered his cheeks and forehead as he turned the gleam of his predatory gaze on Aida, staring at her for what felt like hours.

For her part, she sat still. Meek and quiet, hands wringing on her lap, she kept her eyes downcast and waited. The solace of being near him once more abandoned her, leaving her despondent. He obviously felt none of the draw to her as she did to him, proof of it in the way his mouth wrenched into a sneer. The memory of the mumbled praise he’d given her for using his name faded like smoke.

Still, Aida’s hands shot out when Er’it rolled to his uninjured side with a rumbling growl, only to pull them back when he flung a glare in her direction that scalded her down to her soul. She was left to watch in helpless dismay while Er’it got to one knee with his injured leg outstretched. His panting loud in her ears, he reached for his sword, using it as a crutch to surge to his feet.

“Come here.”

Aida shuffled closer on her knees, nothing more than a squeak escaping her lips when he hauled her to her feet and slung a heavy arm over her shoulders. Tugging her along with him, he used both sword and Aida as support as he moved them toward the dappled shade at the side of the road.

Pausing just within the tree line, Er’it turned and looked up and down the road, his lips thinning as he glanced down at the arrows before he went deeper into the trees with Aida snug against his side. Kal followed in their wake, picking a path through the greenery. When the road could no longer be seen, Er’it fell back against a thick tree, rubbing his thigh above the heavy shaft.

“Did they feed you?”

“Yes.”

Er’it grunted, looking around the shadowy space. The rot and blight weren’t so bad here, but it didn’t seem a good place to rest to Aida’s eye. Teeth worrying at her bottom lip, her gaze darted between Er’it and the twisted oak with the split trunk. She knew this tree, had passed by it more than once as she fled whatever had chased her through the forest before she stumbled upon Rhyn and his people.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she let it out on a rush of speech. The mess of syllables scarce made sense as she blurted out, “There’s a spring just a little farther ahead through those bushes.”

“Spent the night with a band of thieves, and now you know the forest?” The reminder of what happened sparked his anger anew, the scorching rush of it let loose when he snatched up Aida’s arm and yanked her to tiptoe so he could growl in her face. “What else did they teach you after you ran off into the night with them?”

He didn’t wait for her response. Shoving her ahead of him, he prodded her between the shoulders with digging fingers as Aida stumbled her way through the bracken and stinging lashes of limbs. Aida guided him and Kal until they heard the burbling sounds of the small creek, and then Er’it took the lead, though he kept Aida close with a hand shackling her wrist. Unable to wish him pain even as he hurt her, she kept up as best she could so as not to strain his injured arm.

Next to the stream, Er’it shoved her to the soft growth. Standing over her, he looked around the forest, brows scrunched tight over the bridge of his nose. Amber gaze darkened to brooding rust, he exhaled hard and leveraged his body down to the ground. Not being half so careful of his wounds as Aida would like, he knelt beside the babbling water to splash it over his face and neck before drinking it from his cupped palm.

“Waiting for an invitation, princess?” Er’it snorted, humor ripe with contempt.

“I’m