Page 103 of A Dance With Fire
His gaze flickered away almost instantly.
Her lips pressed together as she dared to step beside him. He radiated unease and intensity.
“You should sleep,” she suggested quietly. She didn’t have to look at him to know he had circles under his eyes, and his lips were pursed in a firm, unyielding line.
“Keeping watch,” came his gruff reply.
“Not anymore.” Shula’s arms crossed against her chest.
He gave out a resigned sigh and raked a hand through his hair. “Woman,” he growled.
“Look, I know you don’t trust me, but I promise I’m not going to run away. Also—” she snapped when he opened his mouth to interrupt. “I’m not going to slit your throats in your sleep. I’m coming with you on this journey, and I need you guys. You’re no use to me dead.”
The silence pressed on in which Shula could count her heartbeats to measure the time. A minute passed. Exactly one minute for Ryker to contemplate his answer.
“Wake me if anything happens.” It was an order that promised retribution if she didn’t comply.
“Okay.”
“You still have the dagger I gave you?”
“It’s in my bag. If you want it back—”
“Keep it.”
His bicolored eyes stared intently into the darkness. He didn’t reprimand her, didn’t snap. Shula put it down to him being tired. He seemed to be a completely different Fae.
They’d gone toe to toe before, they’d yelled. This was new. It was almost… peaceful. Shula didn’t know what to take away from this encounter.
“Here.” It took her a moment to realize he was holding out a dagger to her. How many did he have on him? she wondered with amusement as her hand closed around the hilt.
“Another one?” she asked, her eyebrow raising.
He shrugged a big shoulder. “You can never have too much protection.”
She brought the weapon close to her chest. “It almost sounds like you care.”
But that was ridiculous. There was no way Ryker cared about what happened to her.
“I don’t. I care about the safety of the group.”
And there it is…
She didn’t know why his words stung, but they did, and they had her muttering under her breath, “Fucking asshole.”
He grunted as he walked away from her, and for a moment, Shula watched him go. The strong muscles on his back tensed with every step. She turned away, focusing on the darkness and the sounds beyond.
And while she stood there, helping to protect their camp, she could feel his gaze burning holes into her back, watching her, judging her, and despite the urge she had to turn around, she didn’t. Not until she heard his breathing settle into an even rhythm as he fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
Ryker knew he was an asshole.He knew he was being unfair. But he didn’t care. It didn’t matter how much the Fire Dancer trained, how much better she got at fighting if she still couldn’t face the truth of who and what she was.
Magic was what made the Fae unique, and she was the rarest of the rare. It infuriated him to see her hiding behind the mask of humanity that she didn’t even need. She had so much potential, could be so much more than what she was, but fear held her back.
Fear was the enemy of success.
So, yes, he was an asshole. She probably thought he hated her, and while he hated everything she stood for, she’d also become something he could grow used to having around. Because whether he liked it or not, he knew she would accompany them for a long while. At least, until they learned the truth about what she was.
