Page 87 of A Storm in Every Heart
“I agree,” Kastian says. “But I don’t think we should camp here.”
As if to punctuate his point, a loud cackling laugh—somewhere between the cry of a monkey and a dog—echoes out of the forest to our right. I wrap my arms around myself and shiver.
“If you want my opinion—” Captain Connell begins.
Kastian cuts him off. “We don’t.”
“Whoa, calm down, mate. You don’t even know what I was going to say. In my opinion, we could stop here and take shifts sleeping.”
“I think I see a clearing between the trees over there,” Jett says, seeming to take it for granted that we’ve all agreed to stop. “We’ll camp there. I’ll make a fire,”
I sigh and look toward the river only a few yards away. “While you do that, I’m going to rinse off. I don’t think I’ve ever been this disgusting in my entire life.”
“Wait!” Kastian barks, jogging over to me as I move away from Jett who is already working on a fire. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Didn’t you hear me?” I ask, trying to keep my voice neutral.
He reaches out and wraps his fingers around my wrist, pulling me back. “You can’t go in that water.”
My lip curls. “I truly appreciate you saving my life, Kastian, but that gratitude will dry up fast if you start thinking it gives you the right to order me around.”
He makes a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. “I’m going to have to save you again if you go in that water.”
I raise my eyebrows at him, before remembering he probably can’t see me. “If anything, I’d be safer in the water.”
“It’s freshwater. You won’t transform.”
“So?” I grind out.
“So, I’m sure that water is full of all sorts of evil, poisonous shit.”
“I’ll risk it,” I snap, tugging my wrist out of his grasp. “I’m not afraid of anything in the water, I’m afraid of what’s up in the trees.” I point up, where I swear to the gods I can see the glinting eyes of some animal watching us. I shiver, hoping it’s nothing more dangerous than a bird.
“But—” Kastian begins again.
“I wasn’t really asking your permission,” I hiss. “I’m going to rinse off whether you like it or not.”
“Fine,” he growls. “Fuck me for expecting the princess to go a single night without bathing. It’s obviously far better to risk being swallowed by a swamp snake than to be slightly uncomfortable.”
“You don’t understand. It’s water. I’m not afraid of anything in the water.”
“Good, because I doubt whatever is in there is afraid of you either.”
“Ugh,” I huff out a sharp breath. “I’m not wasting my time explaining this to you.” I turn on my heel and resume walking toward the water, only to realize he’s following right behind me. I stop and whirl on him again. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Bathing, apparently,” he grumbles. “Even though that’s categorically fucking insane, you weren’t asking permission, right? So we’re going. Lead the way, Princess.”
I gasp, surprised both by the annoyance in his tone and how we could have misunderstood each other so extremely. “I’m bathing. You are staying by the fire.”
“That’s not going to happen. If you’re going to swim with snakes and eels and whatever other fucking horrid thing is in that water, then I am too.”
“But—” I splutter. “But I’m bathing.”
It’s dark so I can’t really make out his face, but somehow I already know he’s smirking at me. “It’s not as if I haven’t seen it before.”
My cheeks flame, and I cross my arms over my chest. “Let’s just get this really clear right now. That is not going to happen again. Ever.”
“I remember,” he says, striding past me toward the river. “You said ‘once.’”
