Fortune Favors the Cruel - Kel Carpenter Page 0,92

when Quinn slid down the side of the horse ungracefully.

Dominicus, Lorraine, and Draeven took the horses off to the side while Lazarus and Vaughn spoke in low tones. It was obvious that Lazarus was unhappy about the arrangement with Vaughn joining their group, but he relied on the Cisean warrior for information in the mountains. Quinn got the impression this wasn’t his first time through these parts, but he didn’t have the same sort of intimate understanding that came with being raised here. Only someone with that sort of knowledge could navigate these twisting woods in the time they needed to.

“—another full day’s ride before—”

“Lazarus,” Quinn snapped as she approached, disrupting whatever Vaughn had been in the middle of saying. Staring, Vaughn turned and looked down at her as she focused on Lazarus. “We need to talk,” she said.

“Not now,” he said without looking at her.

“Oh yes, now.” Reaching up, Quinn grabbed his arm. “I don’t like being ignored, Lazarus. We will talk and we will talk now. I’ve waited the two days. Your time is up.”

Silence fell over their group. Quinn didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know that the others had all stopped what they were doing. She could practically feel each and every one of their eyes boring into her. She didn’t care. This was important. Lazarus needed to know that she wasn’t going to lie down and allow him to put it off. She had let it go while they’d ridden hard to get out the mountains, stopping only for brief bouts of rest, food, and sleep, only to start back up again. Not once did she complain despite the fatigue that plagued her. Not once did she ask for a break, even when the cramping in her side became so intense she worried she would pass out. She simply leaned forward into Lorraine and prayed to the Gods that the weakness in her bones would leave her.

Today was the day. Today, she would demand her answers and he would give them to her.

Lazarus leveled her with a cool detached look, a moment of silence spanning between them before he nodded, turning back to Vaughn. “Give us a moment,” he said.

Vaughn frowned between the two of them, but did as he was asked and stepped away, heading over to help Draeven with the fire. Lazarus turned the full force of his gaze—disapproving as it was—on her. Quinn released his arm, turned, and strode into the line of trees. She knew that he would follow and a moment later she heard the telltale sound of his boots crunching dry leaves under his feet.

When Quinn felt as though they had gone far enough, she turned on her heel and faced the man that both tempted her and frustrated her. There were dark, dark feelings in her chest when it came to this man. There were also lighter things, though not truly light. Everything about Lazarus was a mystery. A man broken up into so many pieces that she had only just begun to start putting those fragments together. “I want answers,” she stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Ask your question, then,” Lazarus said, stopping a few feet before her.

Quinn looked him over and then dropped her arms. She began to circle him, moving leisurely, if not for the predatory way she watched his reaction—or lack thereof.

“What are you doing?” he demanded when she didn’t immediately present him with her inquiry. Quinn wondered if it was getting to him. She hoped so. He was getting to her in ways she didn’t want to admit.

“Debating,” Quinn replied drily.

“And pray tell, what are you debating?”

“Is that your question?” Quinn asked.

“Is that yours?” Lazarus shot back.

She stopped when she was in front of him once more, this time close enough to smell the sweat and dirt on his skin. “You saved me,” she stated.

Lazarus’ jaw hardened. “That’s not a question.”

“You came in the spring and you pulled me out,” Quinn continued. “From what I hear—”

“From what you hear?” he repeated, his eyes narrowing on the woman in front of him.

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand. “You weren’t supposed to,” she pointedly ignored his previous question and loved the way the muscle in his jaw ticked with frustration. “The spring can’t hold two people at once and let them live, except I did—you did.”

“Is there a point you’re getting to?” Lazarus asked. “A question?”

“I want to ask you what in the dark realm happened on top of that