remember who and what she had been. To open the memories locked within her mind. To find what they both needed to end this quest.
And as his admiration grew, so did his hunger for her. It was as if that desperate, clawing need for her had a life of its own. She moved and he wanted her. She spoke and he felt her voice slide inside him. She laughed and his unbeating heart clenched in his chest. She was so much more than she had once been, he told himself daily. Her soul and mind and heart had grown through her many incarnations.
He had seen that growth personally as he followed her through time, always near, yet never close enough. He’d felt her change, felt her progress toward the witch she needed to be—and still, that silent, doubting part of him remained.
She was throwing herself into the quest—he could admit that, but the uncertainty remained with him. He looked at her and wanted to see only the woman she was now. But other images flashed across his mind. Other faces, other times—all her. And in each of them she had turned away at the last moment. Stepped back from him when she should have believed in him.
And so now he was the one to step back. Rune wondered if they would ever truly mate if they were separated by centuries of mistrust.
So which of them, he was forced to ask himself, needed to get beyond the past? Which of them was clinging to a world that had died out centuries ago? Holding on to betrayal and pain as a way to keep a risky future at bay?
Gritting his teeth, Rune pushed that thought aside. He had reasons for feeling as he did, damn it. The fact that Teresa was becoming more and more a part of him only fed the doubts. He’d allowed her too deeply inside him once before and then the gates of hell had swung wide and he’d been left holding the proverbial bag. Damned if he’d do that again.
So he trained her, worked with her, encouraged her and had sex with her at every opportunity.
But he still didn’t trust her.
On the evening of the sixth day of their trip, Rune made camp alongside a roaring river. Trees overhung the campsite, partially hiding the small campfire he allowed them, and dissipating the smoke. It was warmer here, too, as they moved away from the cooler desert into the more humid jungle terrain.
He knew they were close to the Sanctuary, but he also knew he wouldn’t be taking Teresa there directly. He remembered all too well his reception at the Sanctuary in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. He had taken three human females there for safety and had practically had to fight his way past a phalanx of guardian witches to gain entry.
Had to admire a woman who was willing to stand up and spit in her enemy’s eye, he told himself. But whether it would be safer for them to go or not, they really didn’t have the time. As it was, nearly two weeks of their thirty days were up and they were no closer to discovering the whereabouts of Teresa’s share of the Artifact.
Not for lack of trying, though, he admitted solemnly. Teresa’s magic was blossoming. He could see it, literally, etching itself into her marrow and bone. In the way she held herself, in the more defiant tip of her chin and, most especially, in the cool glint of determination in her eyes.
Now, though, he glanced at her in the snapping firelight and saw her yawn. This constant travel was wearing on her. Even though their combined strength was growing, she was still human and being on the run was taking a toll.
Even her idiot bird wasn’t making her smile tonight. It bobbed up and down on a narrow tree limb, shrieking and whistling, but Teresa paid no attention. Rune frowned at the brightly colored creature. Every day the bird flew off on its own and hours later it would return. He kept waiting, hoping the damn thing would run into a hawk or some other wild animal, but it seemed to have an inordinate lucky streak when it came to survival.
As if sensing Rune’s thoughts, the bird bristled, ruffling its feathers before hopping up and taking to the air. It banked and wheeled overhead for a minute or two, then streaked off into the night.
“Where the hell does it go?” he murmured.
“Maybe he