Page 75 of The Witch and His Crow

I nudged her legs, almost sending Romy off kilter. She pinwheeled her arms, barking a laugh as she caught herself. Arwyn chuckled too, then turned his attention back to his search.

‘If you’re this bored, I could find something else to occupy that imagination of yours.’

Romy pouted her blush lips, offering me a wink. ‘Trust me, this imagination is beyond salvation.’

‘Clearly.’

Now Romy mentioned it, I realised I had been looking at Arwyn more than could ever be considered normal. I was self-conscious about it. Catching myself in the quiet moments, eyes lingering on Arwyn’s form, or how his fingers dug old soil and moss from graves in search of anything even similar to runes. Arwyn stood from his crouch before a gravestone and lifted his black t-shirt up clear the sweat across his forehead.

‘Fuck my life,’ Romy said beside me, speaking my inner thoughts aloud.

Arwyn was built by Hekate herself. Mounds of muscles made up his tight stomach, leading down to a prominent V-shape at his hips. My eyes continued going south until the band of his trousers stopped me. Actually, it was the flick of his fingers at his belt, gesturing upwards, which stopped me.

‘Eyes up here,’ Arwyn called, his irritating smirk all-knowing. ‘I thought you’d have learned from last time.’

‘Last time?’ Romy hissed at my side.

I ignored her, choosing silence and feigning ignorance.

Before the flush of embarrassment could stain my cheeks red, I pushed to standing and paced over to him. Romy’s light-hearted giggles followed behind me. ‘Find anything, or do we call it a day?’

‘Why, has your break finished?’ Arwyn said, weaving around the gravesites as I trailed like a lost puppy.

‘No one was stopping you from taking a break,’ I said, pretending to focus on the area around me when my mind was replaying the view of his stomach over and over.

‘I was stopping myself,’ Arwyn replied. ‘Breaks are earned, and we haven’t found a hint of what we’re looking for yet. Until we do, I’ll not stop.’

‘You’re determined,’ I said.

‘I am.’

I should’ve bitten down on my tongue, stopping myself from saying something incriminating. But that wasn’t something I was known for. ‘I’m not your responsibility, Arwyn.’

‘Why do you say that?’ Arwyn slowed to pace beside me.

‘Back in the room, you said that I was your priority. I’m not.’

‘Responsibility and priority are two different things, Hector. You should know that.’ Arwyn lifted a finger up and pointed ahead of us. ‘Looks like mother nature was hiding something from us.’

‘Don’t try and distract me,’ I added, frustrated with how easily Arwyn could take control of a conversation away from me. Funny, because that was exactly what Arwyn was—a healthy distraction. But right now, I wanted to have it out. ‘We’re strangers. Yes, we’ve been forced to get closer because of the stakes we’re facing, but that doesn’t mean I’m anything to you beyond a rival. Competition.’

Arwyn looked at me, one dark brow raised. It was less an inquisitive expression and more one of amusement. ‘If you say so.’

‘Idosay so,’ I snapped.

‘Then, if we are out for one another, you won’t care that I’ve found something.’ Without taking his eyes from mine, he called for Romy. ‘Over here, Romy.’

‘Coming,’ came her distant reply, followed by a thud as she jumped down from the angel she lounged on.

‘This conversation isn’t over,’ I warned.

‘I hope it isn’t,’ Arwyn replied.

Romy came racing over just as Arwyn left me, dumfounded and frozen to the spot. His ease and confidence were disarming. And yet why did it warm the lower parts of my groin? Attraction to him was like a far-off ache I attempted to keep at bay, to no avail.

I’d put it down to exhaustion, but that really would’ve been a lie.

‘What have we found then? Romy asked as she skipped to our side.

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