Page 20 of Sanctuary of the Shadow
Which she did, she assured herself. The circus was her home, and Salizar hadn’t told anyone what he had hidden in his tent, so there was no reason for her not to take a midnight stroll nearby.
With a bag full of food on one shoulder?
Whatever.If she was caught, she would bluff her way out of it.
Rather than going through the front entrance and risking waking Oli, she crept around to the side closest to the big top and slipped into the gap between the two tents. From there, she dropped to her knees, shoved her heavy bag under the canvas, and then rolled inside much the same way she had escaped the night before.
It was pitch-black.
Heart in her throat, she fumbled in the dark until she found her supply bag and loosened the ties, feeling around inside until her fingers clasped the candle. Next, she dug out the matches. She struck one, and a tiny flame illuminated the tent.
Raith was crouched at the edge of his cage grasping the bars, staring right at her.
It was obvious he’d known it was her all along, and she wondered if he had heightened senses like Hybrids. Perhaps he could see better than her in the dark or he had recognized her scent.
“Hello,” she whispered into the heavy quiet. Her stomach was positively writhing with nerves, but the Water continued to whisper to her that he was important. That she needed to be there. That she needed to learn more about him.
It was those urges that pushed her to heft the bag and cross the tent to stand before him, holding the candle aloft between them. The bottom of the cage was at her waist height, so her standing and him crouching put them at eye level. She was glad because she could tell he was big. If they were to stand on even ground, he would tower over her.
“Hello,” she said again, though it made her feel bumbling and awkward.
He blinked those strange eyes and said nothing. She hadn’t expected him to. For whatever reason, he didn’t seem used to speaking, and she wondered why. She wanted to ask but didn’t dare.
“Are you hungry? I brought you some food.”
He blinked again.
“Does Salizar feed you? You’re not starving in here, are you?”
Still he said nothing. She hoped that meant he wasn’t.
She shifted on her feet. His silence was unnerving, to say the least, but she forced herself not to be cowed. “I would have brought you a plate from dinner, but it’s a little awkward to fit that in a bag. But I did bring you some dessert. It’s hardly a balanced meal, but…”
Trailing off, she set the candle and the bag on the ground and then stuffed a hand inside. After some digging, she pulled out the cookies she had carefully wrapped in a cloth napkin, holding them out to him. Her hand shook slightly, and she was well aware that if he wanted to grab her, he could. He could snatch her arm, yank her against the cage, and kill her before she even had time to blink.
But she didn’t think he would.
His head cocked, that silky hair falling into his face.
“They’re just cookies,” she told him in case he wasn’t sure. “Have you had cookies before?”
His head shook once.
“Well, you can try one if you want. You might like them.”
Slowly, one hand released the bars and stretched toward hers. He never took his eyes off her, as if he didn’t trust her not to attack. Funny, because she never took her eyes off him for the very same reason.
As a result, they stared directly at each other until it felt almost too intimate. Her heart was lodged in her throat, and it was hard to breathe, but her eyes were fused to his and there was no way she could look away.
His hand closed around the napkin bundle, and he pulled it back into the cage. Unwrapping it carefully with graceful fingers, he studied the cookies as if he’d never seen such a thing in his life and found them utterly fascinating.
A nervous chuckle escaped her. “They’re just cookies. They’re not that exciting.”
He set the bundle down and selected one, lifting it for closer inspection.
“Try a bite.”
His eyes narrowed, and he glared distrustfully at her. Did he think she would poison his food? Goddess, what had happened to him? What kind of cruelty had he faced to end up where he was? A determination rose within to show him that was not all that existed in the world.
