he said as he reached into the bag for a handful. He handed me a skin of water as well, and I could tell from the thick fabric folds of cloth that he had made it and likely filled it from the pool of water. Several others sat at the base of a fallen log, plump and bursting with precious liquid.
Ahmose suggested we take turns keeping watch, and offered to keep an eye on Asten while I slept. I was so very grateful, and had just allowed sleep to creep up when a thought occurred to me. I remembered that there was no way I could sleep until Asten was able to watch over my dreams. The likelihood of the Devourer finding us by following my sleep self was too great to risk.
Ahmose had already wandered off, circling our little camp. Not wanting to disturb Asten or interrupt his healing process, I peeked at his wound, noting that a medicinal smell had replaced the scent of decay. It seemed to be healing at a very fast rate. He stirred.
Scooting over next to him, I pressed my fingertips over his brow to check for a fever. “How are you feeling?” I asked.
Asten cracked open his eyes. “Not as good as you’re looking.” He gave me a weak version of his cheeky smile. But it was as welcome as a monsoon after a drought. I didn’t realize how much I’d ached at the thought that I’d never see it again. “Hello there, little lioness,” he said quietly. “Glad to see you made it back. If I’d had to go after you, I’d have made you regret it.”
I answered his smile with one of my own. “Why don’t you save that threat for a time you can act on it,” I suggested.
“I just might,” he said, and sighed, closing his eyes once more.
When I thought he had drifted off again, I tried to draw away, thinking to find Ahmose and tell him there was no point in both of us staying awake, but Asten caught my hand and pressed it to his chest. “Don’t leave me,” he murmured sleepily.
Slowly, I lifted my other hand to smooth the hair away from his forehead. “I won’t, Tene.” I frowned, wondering where I’d heard that word before. Was it Egyptian? Asten inhaled deeply and I felt the thump of his heart against my hand. “Shush now. You need your rest,” I said.
“You need to sleep, too,” his voice rumbled faintly beneath his chest.
“I…I can’t. You need to be well first.”
“I’m healing. I can feel the effects of the poison ebbing away. So relax,” he urged. “I’ll live.”
“It’s not that,” I said. My cheeks colored. “You need to be well enough to…watch my dreams.”
Asten opened his eyes then, cocking his head to look at me. “I can do that,” he said softly.
“But I thought—”
“Come.” Asten held out his arms. When he saw me hesitate, he explained, “It will be easier for me if we are touching while we sleep.”
I nodded and shifted awkwardly to his side as he wrapped an arm around me. Pulling me closer, my head cushioned on his shoulder, he captured my hand and brought it to his chest.
“There,” he said. “Much better. Now try to still your body. I promise I will be waiting for you in your dreams.”
There was something both frightening and thrilling about the idea, but I attempted to follow his instructions and still my racing heart. Fortunately, my body was so achingly tired that it didn’t put up much of a protest, and I closed my eyes, letting my mind drift far, far away.
The dream came upon me softly, slowly, like layers of twilight that deepened and darkened, as silky sheets of light were peeled away with a caress and a whisper. I lay on my back, my hands tucked behind my head. A night breeze ruffled the leaves of a nearby tree, but the canopy did nothing to block my view of the evening sky.
Opalescent stars glittered above me, so close they seemed to ache for my touch. The crushed grass beneath my body smelled sweet and I wiggled slightly in the indentation I’d made, feeling wild and wanton. I closed my eyes, basking in my surroundings and the peace I felt.
“Hello, little lioness,” said a voice behind me.
I turned over on my belly, twisting up to see who spoke. Asten stood with his back resting against the trunk of an old tree. He was long and lean