Page 17 of The Hidden Guardian

He grunts, still not understanding, but he seems to enjoy my enthusiasm. I climb out of the lagoon and rise to help him start a fire. I turn to the tree line to look for dry firewood when I catch Renall looking at me. I still under his watchful gaze that scours over my skin and pins me in place. The sun at my back feels nonexistent as a cold chill runs through me. My white tee shirt is plastered to my body as if it were painted on; the water is crisp, so of course my nipples are hard to miss. My jeans are sagging under the weight of the water in them, causing them to fall low on my hips, exposing the edge of my lacy underwear. A growl softly vibrates in his throat, and I step away.

“I … I’m going to find some firewood,” I call over my shoulder, needing to distance myself as I try to get control of my ragged breathing.

* * *

The tree brush seems dry enough as I gather a few sticks in my arms. Home. We are finally here, and yet I don’t see any of his people. If wolves run in packs, why has he been alone since I’ve met him? The waterfall and lagoon are beautiful, but I don’t see anything in the way of a structure to keep the wind or the cold out. Renall seems fairly at ease with the idea of making a fire here, meaning he’s not paranoid of being seen anymore.

I peek over the bush in front of me as I watch him scaling the fish. Every once in a while, he peeks his head up and surveys the area before returning to his duty. He has been acting weird these past few days. Nothing I can put into words, though, I’ve justfelthis uneasiness. Which can only mean he doesn’t want to return to wherever we are going. To his home.

Doesn’t really instill confidence, but I have to remind myself that Renall has kept me safe this long. It’s only been a few days and we barely understand each other, but the silent and growling wolf-man has grown on me. He’s someone, when I had no one.

Returning to the shore, I drop a pile of sticks and brush down for Renall to work his magic. I wonder if I’ll have to learn how to start a fire or scrape scales off a fish. What has my life come to? Renall hands me the fish as he starts making a fire. When he reaches for it again, our hands touch, our eyes meet, and for a moment we pause together. There’s a shared moment passing between us; one where we both know this little journey we shared together is coming to an end. Without saying a word, we understand that our next chapter is just beginning, and it seems we both don’t know what is going to happen next.

* * *

Renall cooks the fish, and we finish our lunch beside the sparkling lagoon. The thrumming waterfall in the background is the only thing breaking the silence between us. We remain on the shore far longer than our fish lasted. The sun is over the crest of the waterfall at this point, slowly beginning its descent, when Renall finally rises to his feet. He kicks dirt over the small embers of the remnants of our fire. Then he grabs a shell full of water and pours it over the dirt where it once stood before turning to me and reaching out a hand.

“Rome?” It’s a question I realize as he looks at me expectantly. He is asking me if I want to go to his home, or maybe he is asking if I accept this as my home? Either way, I don’t really have a choice.

“Home.” I nod, placing my hand in his.

He guides me, each step seems slower than the next, toward the cliff by the waterfall. He releases my hand only when we arrive at the side of the cliff. Renall reaches his arm out and grabs hold of a protruding rock. His bare foot hooking onto a ledge as he pulls himself up. Then he reaches for another rock and looks back, making sure I grab the one he just released. I grab it and position my foot on to the ledge he just left. We follow that pattern a few times, growing closer and closer to the waterfall.

Soon my face is cool with the mist of the crashing water. Its howl is louder and not so soothing, but powerful and intimidating the closer we get. My foot takes a few tries to grasp as the rocks grow slick. I’m having trouble keeping up with Renall as he’s a few steps ahead of me now. Oh Goddess, please don’t let me fall. I glance up, attempting to look for the sun, but it’s slipped behind the waterfall now. After a calming breath, I reach for the next protruding rock and lean my leg forward onto the next step ahead. As I swing my weight up onto the next level, I make the mistake of glancing down. The water crashing below me is a cloud of foamy white, my heart thrums in my chest, and I grip the wet hand hold tightly.

“Renall,” I whimper.

He doesn’t respond, and my eyes fly over to look for him. He’s disappeared. He’s not in front of me any longer. Actually, I’m a few steps away from plunging right into the waterfall itself.

“Renall!” I scream, panic-stricken. He peeks his head through the curtain of water. “I … I can’t do this.”

He holds his hand out for me. I shake my head. “I’m not releasing this rock. I can’t.”

Renall snorts, sticking his leg out and shifting back onto the last foothold, and then the next until he’s beside me. He wraps an arm around me and attempts to lift me.

“No. No. No. I’m going to fall.”

“No,” he says clearly.

“Yes, I’m going to fall.” My knuckles are white against the grip I have on the rock.

“No,” he says again, and in one swift motion swings me onto his back. I have seconds where I’m not holding anything at all, until I fall onto Renall’s back and wrap my death grip around his neck.

“Oh my Gods, oh Gods,” I mutter, closing my eyes shut and holding onto him for dear life.

One leap and then another. Water pelts my back, and suddenly, we collapse onto hard ground.

My eyes fly open at the dark space around us. We are behind the veil of the waterfall, the earth around us smells moist, but I’m safe. We didn’t fall. I’m in one piece.

I smack Renall’s shoulder beside me, “I could have died! What was that death climb?”

He snorts and pushes me back. “No.”

“Yes, I could have.”

“No, Rawe-tum,” he chides, then climbs to his feet still rolling his eyes, and holds his hand out for mine.

“I have almost died three times since I’ve known you. Why do I keep following you?” I ask, placing my hand in his. He doesn’t respond, he only looks at me with those emerald green eyes of his that remind me of the lagoon waters below. Calming, constantly thrumming, and churning—yet, more importantly, filled with secrets and danger that could swallow me up and drown me in their depths.

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