rock, arms draped over bent knees, watching. I see the way they all study Narah, how she’s captured their attention whether she tries or not, but that’s the thing about my little fox. She has an alluring aura that draws us to her like a bug to a flame… and whether the other three have noticed or not yet, there is something between us and her that is beyond a sexual connection.
A spark flares in my chest when her eyelids flicker open. Fire burns in her round eyes, akin to the flames that erupted from her hands.
She is quiet for a long time, the water brushing around the edges of her face, and she blinks up at me as if finding her thoughts.
“Did I die?” she asks so innocently, I can’t stop my lips from curling upward.
“If you had, then it would mean you’ve joined me in Valhalla, little fox.”
It takes her a few moments to respond, but it doesn’t come in the form of words. Tears glisten at the edges of her eyes and roll down the sides of her face to merge into the river.
“Did I hurt anyone?” she murmurs, not making any signs of moving out of my arms. She reaches up and runs a hand under a deep cut across my cheek. “You’re hurt.”
“Yes, but I’m alive.”
Her gaze roams over my face as she wriggles in my arms to be let down, and I release her to her feet. Water washes up to her shoulders, and she looks around, taking in where she is, where the rest of my pack are.
“You passed out,” I tell her. “How are you feeling after…” I glance over my shoulder to the woods we emerged from. “After what happened?”
She swallows hard and her hands emerge from the water, the top half of her fingers still black, tendrils fading as they reach down to her knuckles. She murmurs something under her breath I don’t catch. I try not to pry and don’t ask her, but when she looks up at me, there’s something worrying behind her striking amber eyes.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
She bites the inside of her cheek and dips her hands back under the water, her clothes clinging to her small body.
“What happened after I passed out?”
“Stone picked you up and we got the fuck out of the woods.”
She glances up into the sky instinctively, as if trying to work out the time of the day based on the position of the sun. It’s past noon, and we’re staying here until tomorrow morning, by which time we should be healed. She then glances around us and says, “How did you know the river was safe to enter?”
“I didn’t,” I say. “We took a risk, as I needed to cool you down.”
She blinks a few times. “You’re looking at me strange, like you’re waiting to blame me for what we encountered in the forest,” she admits. “Just so you know, I noticed the spell the moment Crius triggered it. The witches are smarter than I anticipated, concealing their curses.”
“Narah, I’m not blaming you, but I want to know what exactly happened back there with your magic.”
She shrugs, her gaze sliding to the rippling water between us, avoiding mine. “Things went bad quickly, and I protected you like I said I would.”
Instead of continuing, she dips into the water to her neck and twists away from me, avoiding my question, and that’s just not going to work. There is no more hiding behind caring words. My pack’s lives and future depend on her, and I’m not going to back down because she’s scared.
“Narah,” I state sternly, my voice rising, and my ears tune in on the lack of splashing behind me. The other three are still, listening in on our conversation.
When she doesn’t turn back around to face me but pushes into a swim toward the bank, I catch her arm underwater and pull her toward me. “I asked you a question.”
“Leave me alone.” She looks put-off and tugs her arm back. “And what’s the big deal? I’m a damn Cursed, so of course, I did what I had to. What is your problem?”
“What’s going on, Narah? I’ve seen the powers of Cursed in the past, but what you did back in the woods shouldn’t be possible. I know you’re not a full witch, which begs the question—what are you, exactly?”
Her jawline clenches, and I expect her to argue, but she doesn’t. Things are just not adding up.
She starts to drift