Page 94 of Fear the Flames
“Cayden!”
“What? They’re dead now, and I’m still breathing and getting bossed around by you. Life is good.” I roll my eyes and flick him in the forehead, which makes him chuckle. “Thank you for helping here,” he says quietly. I meet his gaze as I lean forward to wrap the bandages around his back. I have to wrap a portion of them around his chest to support his shoulder. His eyes darken while he looks down at me.
“It’s no problem,” I murmur. “I couldn’t focus on reading, and I thought I would go insane just waiting around.”
“Romance couldn’t keep your attention?” he mockingly gasps. I level him with a glare, but it doesn’t hold nearly as much venom as my earlier glare when I told him to get on the table. “I’m going to see your smut-reading face one day.” My traitorous cheeks redden at his words. It’s one thing to enjoy romance in private, but I feel like someone is reading my personal diary when it’s brought up. I never kept a diary, but my book collection is the closest thing I have to one.
“I don’t have a smut-reading face.” I focus on the bandages rather than his eyes.
“Finnian said you do.”
“Finnian is a liar.”
“I don’t know. Your face is getting red,” he jests, pinching my heated cheeks.
“That’s because it’s warm in here.” I swat his hands away.
“Yeah, you like to read about people getting sweaty, don’t you?” I don’t have to look at his face to see the cocky grin that spreads across his features. I pull his bandages tighter, and he sucks in a sharp breath.
“You deserved that,” I mutter through a smile, sneaking a glance at him while I loosen them again.
“Maybe,” he says with an easy smile on his face. “We should leave after you finish wrapping me.” As much as I’d like to stay and help, I know he’s right. We both need to rest before tomorrow, finalize plans, and pack. I also want to spend some time with Finnian before we leave. I nod my head, not bothering to argue with him.
“How did you know I was here?” I ask.
“Braxton,” he responds. “He found me while I was riding back. Speaking of which, how did you get here? Did you steal another horse?”
“I never stole a horse.” He’s referring to the horse I borrowed the night I first rode to the border. “They’re there to use in a pinch.”
“They are,” he agrees. “For missions.”
“Yes, well, it just so happens that my mission was to find an uncommunicative oaf,” I say while tying off the bandages and tossing his shirt onto his lap. “I ran here.”
He pauses briefly before resuming his movements and looping his shirt over his head. “Impressive,” he states, getting to his feet.
We walk side by side to the back opening I originally slipped through. Streaks of pink mingle in the sky as the sun sets on my last day here. “I’m beginning to think you steal horses or run everywhere just so we can share one.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” I roll my eyes. “If there was a horse outside of our tent, then I would’ve ridden that one. I’m perfectly capable of walking or running back to our tent. Maybe I’llstealanother horse.”
“Stealing is a capital offense. You forget who you’re speaking your devious plans to, you wicked woman.” We near his sleek, black horse tied to a post a few feet in front of us.
“I’m sure you’d love to punish me.” I grasp the saddle horn and slide my foot into the stirrup to swing myself up. He looks up at me with a devilish smile and swings himself up behind me.
He wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me tightly into his chest. He tilts his head and his lips near the shell of my ear. “Comfortable?”
I grip the saddle horn and focus on suppressing a shiver that rattles through me. “Terribly,” I breathe. He keeps me snug against him and leads his horse back to the third line.
ChapterThirty-Eight
My sleepy eyes slowly open, and the sound of Finnian murmuring incoherent words in his sleep drifts across my pillow. He has a tent of his own, but he fell asleep while I was in the bath, and I didn’t have the heart to wake him up. He’ll be staying here while I’m gone anyway; he said it’ll make him feel closer to me. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from crying when he said that. All five of us agreed to wake up late so that Cayden and I will be as well-rested as possible when we cross into Imirath. I doubt I’ll be able to sleep once I cross the border into the land that’s haunted me ever since I left.
It's for the dragons,I remind myself.
I’m careful not to wake Finnian while slipping out from under the covers and padding over to where I packed my satchel last night. The air hits my bare legs, making me squirm. It’s not cold in here, but I instantly miss the warmth of my blankets, internally groaning at the thought of sleeping in a damp cave or a frosty forest floor again. I’ve gotten used to the comfort of being here.
I grasp the soft leather and run my hand over the front. It feels like so much time has passed since I last saw Nyrinn. Last night, I took out the healing supplies she gave me to replace them with food, extra undergarments, the amulet, some extra knives, and pads incase the gods decide to curse me with my period while in Imirath. I kept a few needles, thread, and bandages for the journey. Once I filterer through everything a second time, making sure I haven’t forgotten anything, I zip it up and place it back on the table.
Cayden shuffles toward the space that connects our rooms and opens the curtain. He leans against one of the poles that supports the tent. Black cotton pants hang low on his hips. My eyes trace his defined v-line, which ignites a flame inside of me that I quickly snuff out. The sight of his sleep-ruffled hair makes me want to walk over to him and run my fingers through it.
