For a moment, he just studied me.
Then he threw back his head, his hand at my neck sliding down to join his other arm around me, both convulsed, and he burst out laughing.
I’d never seen him laugh.
It was fascinating.
And shockingly, it was nothing like Pol.
Sure, it kind of sounded like Pol’s laughter. But Pol never laughed with that rich genuineness that seemed to pour over your skin in a warm and happy way like Apollo did.
He sobered, kind of, his big body still shaking because he was chuckling and he kept me held close as he looked down at me.
“If we come across a snake, I’ll act as interpreter,” he offered.
I hoped we didn’t run across a snake since I didn’t lie, I really didn’t like them much, but I still said, “Cool.”
He smiled down at me.
I stared up at him.
God, he was beautiful.
And I didn’t know how it was, but even looking exactly like him, he was beautiful in a way that was nothing like Pol.
“Now, are you over your fright? Can we eat?” he asked.
I was over my fright. I was still freaking out that animals could talk to me in this world, but I wasn’t tempted to go dashing through the snow anymore.
“We can eat,” I murmured and he let me go but only to guide me into the sleigh.
I went after the basket. When I turned with our sandwiches, he’d put his sword back in its scabbard and was sitting on the seat under the furs, the edge thrown back for me.
I handed him his, sat and he threw the fur over me.
I unwrapped the muslin cloth from around my sandwich and bit in.
Cold beef nowhere near as flavorful as what Apollo’s staff provided. And there was nothing to it, no condiments, just mostly grisly beef and kind of stale bread.
Ugh.
“We’ll be in Vasterhague just after sundown. Unlike last night, we’ll have choice and I’ll take you for a fine meal.”
My eyes slid to him to see his on me and my guess from his comment was he knew I didn’t like the sandwich much.
“This is fine,” I assured him, lifting my sandwich stupidly to indicate I was talking about it, something he had to know.
“This is rubbish,” he returned, grinning at me and biting into his.
I gave him a hesitant grin back and returned my attention to my food, which was to say away from him.
And I kept my attention away from him. But after I’d eaten half the sandwich, it occurred to me that yesterday, I’d ignored him all day. And today, I was trying not to be a bitch, stupid, selfish, childish or silly, but still, right then, I was ignoring him again. Of course, I had different reasons, but it still wasn’t cool.
So I lifted my eyes to the landscape and asked him, “Is there anything else crazy like animals talking to you that I should know about this world?”
“Do you know of our dragons and elves?”
I slid my gaze to him, chewing and nodding.