at this moment it is entirely inconsequential with the heat that is coursing through me. It is nearly as warming as the hot-spark held between my hands. After a long day of walking, I can admit that both are equally seductive. It is crazy. I can’t afford to lose myself in a man again.
I can’t really afford to be distracted at all, I silently acknowledge as I divide my attention between looking down at the little magic ember and staring out through the trees whenever a hint of movement among the flowers or branches draws my attention. I’m pretty sure those little movements around us are just from the storm and not something to worry about since Eliph remains relaxed and Grimsal still paces around the tree, bouncing his own hot-spark between his hands as he looks around curiously.
“Lean back against me. You will be more comfortable,” Eliph whispers in my ear, his breath brushing over my skin tantalizingly.
I’m a little uneasy with the idea of practically lying on someone, especially someone I have mixed feelings about, but I slowly lean back, sinking further into his arms until my back is flattened entirely against his chest. His warmth and scent engulf me, and he makes a small sound of contentment, letting me know that he’s not uncomfortable with my weight on him. That little sound of pleasure worms its way into my heart and gradually I relax into his embrace.
Wrapped snugly in his arms and with the heat of the hot-spark seeping into me, I blink sleepily and yawn, managing somehow to not let out of soft sigh of my own pleasure.
“Rest,” he murmurs. “We will be on our way soon enough. You will need your strength for the riding up ahead.”
Riding… Oh joy. I grimace but allow myself to settle further and turn slightly so I can snuggle my cheek against his bicep, my lips practically close enough to graze his fur.
“Don’t let the hot-spark fall,” I caution sleepily, neatly evading thoughts of my own rising desires in response to his hands gently cupping around mine—not taking the spark from me but providing extra protection.
His attentive desire to keep me warm is touching and I can’t fight back the tiny smile that pulls at the corner of my mouth.
“I won’t,” he assures me. “I will take care of you, I promise.”
Doubtful, the skeptical, wounded part of me hisses, but I firmly tell it shut the hell up. I’m tired and strangely I’m starting trust him. Letting out another jaw-cracking yawn, I drift easily to sleep as we wait out the rain.
Chapter 17
Eliph
The rain lets up within a short amount of time and we are able to continue on with our journey. The hours stretch long before us as we trek through the forest, but with the onset of dusk, the sounds of the forest change from bird song to the quiet hum of nocturnal life. It is time for us to take our own rest, though the sounds of this forest of disconcerting to me. It is too quiet for my comfort.
It is not entirely silent. Frogs croak somewhere nearby, the sound like the underbelly of a melody in accompaniment to the chirp of crickets. For all those soft sounds, the forest is unnaturally quiet. I can’t so much as smell any kind of big game animal, not even a young boar which we can make our dinner. I can’t even pick up the faintest trace, which means that the large game animals have long since been culled and killed by the nagas of this forest.
That is going to make hunting game much harder when one is forced to bring down many small beasts to feed our appetites. Especially if I’m right and the nagas forced out or hunted down all the larger creatures who would otherwise lumber through these peaceful woods. It feels wrong… off, as if something important is missing. For all its strangeness, however, there are small things to enjoy about it.
The fronds swaying in the evening breeze and the bright blooms that dotted the landscape all day have closed, plunging everything into a world of lavenders and grays. It’s peaceful, but I miss the bioluminescent flowers and mushrooms of my grotto, although the continuous trickle of water in the air is at least familiar.
I glance down at my mate who is hovering at my side, worn and exhausted, and my heart goes out to her with a fierce protectiveness rising in my breast. I silently