about this world other than what I've overheard or what Omos taught me. Maybe it's because they all look at Aron guiltily when they're a little too loud or boisterous. Aron, for his part, doesn't really take part in the conversations. He occasionally snorts with amusement at overhearing something, which tells me that he is paying attention, but he's quiet.
And he's extremely, extremely protective of me. He hovers near me and frowns if anyone moves too close. He makes sure I never lift anything heavy. He keeps a possessive hand at my waist at almost all times. He insists I get the best tent and largest portions of food first. And if one of the men laughs a little too hard at one of my jokes, Aron gives them the stink-eye.
It’s kinda cute but it also makes everyone just a little afraid of him.
He also completely, utterly ignores Yulenna.
Yulenna, for her part, has tried really, really hard to get into Aron's good graces. She tries to flatter him with conversation, makes herself available at all times, tosses her hair so much that she looks like a high-spirited horse, and constantly goes up to him, trying to figure out what he wants or needs. It's obvious that she'd feel more certain of her place if he would just fuck her, but he completely and totally ignores her.
"You're going to give Yulenna a complex," I whisper to Aron one night as we're under the blankets in my tent. "She really, really wants to please you, preferably on her knees."
He just snorts. "I have interest in her,” he lies. And then he holds me close, his hand on my waist. "Go to sleep."
Aron always sleeps in my bed. Between that and the fact that he ignores Yulenna, it's clear that they all think we're fucking. One morning I get out of the tent, my hair a tangled mess of snarls, and catch the men smirking as if sharing a secret joke. I guess it makes sense that they think we're together like that. Heck, I have days where I wonder why we're not together like that. I let them go on believing it, too, because what am I going to say? That Aron isn't interested in sex? It's clear from Yulenna's hurt confusion that he is. That he likes sex a lot.
But Aron's never put the moves on me. He's never even really come close, and other than that night at Tadekha's Citadel, you'd think we're brother and sister…which makes me feel all sour and irritated inside. I start to study Yulenna, trying to determine what she has that attracts Aron that I don't.
Not that I want to attract Aron, of course.
But if I did…
I watch as Yulenna rides next to Solat. She's laughing and giggling at his flirting, and her loose breasts sway under the thin fabric of her dress. Her hair is in a sexy, loose braid over one shoulder and she looks clean and pretty. I glance down at my own tunic. It's got a stain from breakfast on it, it's faded and old and belonged to a man. My hair's pulled into a wild topknot just because I don't have the mental fortitude to touch it while it's dirty, and my tits are tightly bound under the leather band.
I am most definitely not bringing the sexy to travel.
I wonder if that's a mistake, though. I wonder if I should be trying to seduce Aron so he'll help me get home once he gets home? I don't know what to think.
The weather stays nice for most of the next week, even if the environment continues to change. The thick, tall forests thin out and the roads get progressively rockier. It gets colder with every day that passes, as if we're climbing in altitude, and in the mornings, my breath puffs visibly in the air. I wake up with my body plastered to Aron's for warmth, but if it bothers him, he doesn't say a thing. As we ride, the flat lands turn into hills, and then the hills turn into massive, craggy mountains that loom overhead.
We're getting close to Novoro.
“You’re mine, Faith,” Aron murmurs, his breath hot against my shoulder. He peels my dress back, exposing my skin. “We’ve fought this long enough, don’t you think?”
“I’m not fighting anything,” I protest, moaning. “I’ve wanted you since day one.”
“Show me how much you want me,” he says, and he hikes my skirts up, his face disappearing between my thighs. “Let me