Page 24 of Power of Five
16
Leralynn
“We’ll cross Mystwood this morning,” River announces as the five of us gather around a wooden table in the empty common room. The inn’s servants cleaned my clothes overnight, leaving them outside my door without giving me a chance to thank them. I think everyone at the inn wants us gone, despite the amount of coin River has been placing in the innkeeper’s palm.
The males nod to the commander while I struggle to keep my relief in check, the plan to leave effectively saving me from another training session with Coal.
The blond warrior’s amused grin tells me he’s read my thoughts regardless.
I give Coal a vulgar gesture and River cocks a brow at the two of us.
“I’ll get the horses ready,” says Coal, pushing himself away from the table. Shade and Tye join him.
I shift in my seat. River hasn’t done or said anything to warrant my nerves, and yet his very presence singes the air. Perhaps it’s the unyieldingly vigilant gray gaze betraying an always-working mind. Or maybe it’s the quieter way the others act around him, as if feeling the need to behave in their commander’s presence.
River turns to me, his back straight. Today, he is dressed in a burnt-red coat, the high collar crisp and the buttons polished to a shine, and black pants that cover equally black boots. “Are you all right, Leralynn?” His voice is deep and strong, a voice more used to ordering than asking.
“Yes. Very. I mean, yes.” I get to my feet, River’s muscular arm reaching around to smoothly pull my chair away. “Where are we going, exactly?”
River rises, offering me his arm to lead me outside. The gesture would be absurd from anyone else, but River somehow makes it look both natural and dignified. “Across Mystwood and into Slait Court to rest and resupply before crossing into the neutral lands. The latter will be the most difficult part of the journey to the Citadel.”
His words are even, but I sense there is something he’s not saying. I frown back at the inn. “Don’t we need the Slait king’s permission to enter?”
“It’s been arranged.” River’s jaw tenses. “The Slait king is absent just now. He will be busy for several days yet.”
“You know him?”
“Yes.” River’s eyes darken and he opens the door, avoiding my gaze.
Something in my chest stirs, the same way it did when River and I tangled yesterday. So instead of keeping my mouth shut like a wise person, I turn to study the commander. “You don’t like him very much?”
“He doesn’t like me very much,” River snaps, dropping my arm.
I step back, my heart pounding.
River stalks to his horse, swinging himself into the waiting saddle. For a stupid moment, all I can think about is how River’s muscled body might feel behind me in the saddle, his strong thighs pressed against my legs. The moment passes and I frown at the males. Coal and Tye are mounted already, and Shade is in his wolf form, his tail swishing smoothly back and forth. Which leaves me standing on the ground alone.
River runs his hand over his face. “Forgive me, Leralynn. Will you do me the honor of riding with me?”
No.“Of course,” my treacherous voice says, and River pulls me easily into the saddle before him, satisfying my earlier curiosity: Sharing a saddle with River feels like leaning against a heated boulder. I breathe deep, inhaling his scent. Woodsy and strong as an oak tree.
Plainly, I’ve already been around the fae males too long if the first thing I do is smell them.
“Your seat is nice,” River says behind me.
“Excuse me?”
“Your seat.” He clears his throat, and I can feel his sudden flush of heat. “The way you sit atop a horse. It’s better than it was two days ago.”
“Oh.” It’s my turn to trip over my words. “Right. There was a great deal of falling in the past two days.”
“I know.” River’s arms tighten around me, though I can’t tell whether the gesture is out of concern or simple utility. “If it’s any consolation,” he adds quietly, leaning down to speak in my ear, “Coal would do the same to any one of us.” River surveys the group. “Let’s move.”
The horses move out at a gentle canter that feels heavenly after Coal’s lunge-line drills, and after a few minutes I relax back against River’s muscled body. I feel his hitch of breath and wonder if I’ve made him uncomfortable, but before I can move away, his arm grows even tighter around my waist. Mystwood rises in front of us, a dense green wall ringing with birdsong.
“How are we crossing through Mystwood with sclices and all?” I ask, looking at the approaching trees. “For that matter, how did you all cross it to get here? I thought the point of these woods was to prevent tourism.”
“Tourism?” A soft laugh rumbles through River’s chest. “Sclices are just invasive parasites, and it would be poor manners to leave them roaming so near Mystwood’s mortal border. To cross the true wards in the heart of the forest, a passage key is required.” I feel River shifting behind me and turn to find him pulling something out of his shirt, a disk hanging around his neck on a leather thong. “When it became clear that our fifth was in the mortal lands, the Citadel’s Elders Council granted me one of these. We will use it to traverse back the same way we came. For all intents and purposes, it will make us invisible to Mystwood.”
