Page 6 of Cold Heir

Smiling when he inquired about Tomas, I peered up at him. He still hadn’t let it go.

“Isn’t it enough to know thatwhateverI said, it was enough to buy our freedom?”

The long sigh leaving his mouth made my smile broaden, using my free hand to rub my bicep, bringing temporary warmth to it.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful and all, but … you can’t blame a guy for wondering.” This time, when he glanced over, I did the same, getting swept away in his allure. “You’re just such a mystery to me,” he admitted. “And I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to get deeper inside a woman’s mind as badly as I want to delve into yours.”

I walked, I breathed, but both actions were performed subconsciously as my thoughts were consumed by Levi. He had a way with words, yes, but there was so much sincerity there—a feat I had no idea he was capable of achieving. Before we met—and admittedly for a while after—I thought of him as a shallow creature incapable of emitting any real feeling. Yet, now that we’d spent this time together, now that the Claiming had forced us to see one another’s truth, I knew better.

Staring at him only made me flustered, so I looked away. What appeared to be a bright blue image on the trunk of a distant tree caught my eye. Levi followed my gaze that way when I pointed.

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me?” I asked.

Keeping silent, he zeroed in on the image, but didn’t answer right away.

“That can’t be right,” he mumbled to himself, moving closer with me in tow.

Initially, I only focused on the blue I first noticed, but then realized it was simply one of many colors. Vibrant red, yellow, and green images came into view as well, pictures carefully painted on the tree trunks. Distracted, I released Levi’s hand when we stood in the midst of them. I spun to get the full view—hundreds of them surrounded us. Some were faces, some were depictions of nature, but they were all beautiful. The entire display was like one big, collective work of art.

“What is this place?”

Levi stared in shock just like I did, but I got the impression his reaction was for a very different reason.

“Have you been here before?” I asked when he failed to answer the first question.

“I have, but … it’s beenyears,” he mumbled distractedly. “We must have walked much further than I realized.”

His sentence trailed off when his weight slumped against a nearby tree. He scanned the area, taking it all in.

“Who painted these?”

A nostalgic smile touched Levi’s lips. “A very old friend. One who’s more like family.”

His outstretched hand beckoned to be held, and I didn’t keep him waiting. “Come on. I’ll take you to meet him, and hopefully, he’ll be able to help us get back.”

The response was still vague, but I guessed I wasn’t exactly in the position to demand a more in-depth response, considering I hadn’t been so forthcoming with myownanswers. Instead of asking another question, I just followed because I trusted him.

After all, he’d earned it.

Chapter Three

Julian

It was difficult to tell which emotion Elle felt more strongly—excitement or worry.

When she first asked to accompany Silas and I tonight, I wasn’t sure it was the best idea. It had been tough enough to gain Felix and Liv’s trust. I couldn’t be sure adding Elle as a new dynamic would go over well. However, I only needed to be reminded once of the bond she and Corina had begun to form, and that had been the deciding factor. She was just as concerned and eager to help us find her as anyone, so for that reason, I allowed it.

Silas trailed us in a huge delivery truck stocked with food. It had taken us a while to secure our first run without drawing attention to ourselves a week prior, but we managed to come through with the donation we promised Felix and Liv for their people. And here we were again, hopefully providing them with enough to sustain them for a while. Without knowing how many were in their camp, it was hard to say how long it would last, but we could only hope we were making a difference.

“Do you think they’ll like me?”

A quiet laugh slipped out when I took my eyes off the road for a moment to peer over at Elle. She was a bundle of energy as she sat beside me. It was that excitement that prompted me to drive, instead of letting her navigate tonight. More and more, as she evolved, she’d shown me that her own judgement and nature were stronger than the tech she’d been outfitted with initially. This meant she was thinking for herself in ways she hadn’t before, and there was no room for error in this endeavor.

“They’ll be skeptical of you at first,” I warned, “but once they get to know you, they’ll see that you’re trustworthy.”

“Just like Mistress Corina eventually realized?”

My smile returned. “Yes, just like that.”

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