Page 62 of The Garnet Daughter
It’s intense, but I can’t turn away. I am more than happy he is here. There is a level of safety and calm I can’t reach when he is not near me, and although it’s terrifying, I don’t wish it away.
“I just wanted to make sure you knew that,” I finish.
“You would have to fold quite the distance to get rid of me.” He huffs. “But remember, I’m very good at flying so it wouldn’t take long to reach you.”
I hate how much that makes me smile, so I slowly turn back toward my room to lock myself away and focus on my task. “Good night.”
“Good night, Callia,” he says but doesn’t shut his door, still watching me until the very last sliver of mine closes.
Chapter
Twenty
Hours later, my thoughts are still of August. Even after a bout of restful sleep, I can barely read the spell book and form a plan of what I am going to do once we reach the rock formation. Instead, I keep running through all the times I thought he was just being his flirty self with me, when his touch lingered and I dismissed it.
I’m also uncertain if the fact that I find him attractive will further complicate things or simplify them. Yes, his green eyes are mesmerizing, and I can vividly picture the corded muscles in his forearms when he works. But more than that, he is extremely protective of the people he loves, an attribute I thought I would hate because of my relationship with Selene.
But it’s different. It is not suffocating. It’s . . . peaceful. Safe.
He makes me laugh even when my mood is sour. Sometimes just being around him when I’m melancholy is enough.
It complicates things, I decide, and tuck those thoughts away.
I get dressed and pull my curls into a low tie and choose to head toward the cockpit, whether he is there or not. We have ajob to do, and now that it is just the two of us, we need to be focused.
Except the moment I see him, my stomach feels like it has folded to Frith without me. He stands with his back to me, arms rested on one of the tabletop control stations. The screen in front of him is bright green with ridges of a map the way I have seen him use before.
“Morning.” I force a casual voice.
He glances over his shoulder, and I could swear his eyes light up just a little when I walk toward him.
“I was about to comm your room.” He crosses his arms. “Take a look, they’ve been hard at work.”
“Wow.” It is easy to see where the terrain is level and higher, and even down to the rocks on the ground is depicted. I notice a black area where the map is missing completely. “What is that?”
“One of the drones went dark before it finished, must have malfunctioned.”
“Poor thing.”
“They do that sometimes. At least it wasn’t in an area of interest.” He points to the opposite side. “But here, we start to get rocky, mountainous even.”
“Any rock formations?”
“Not yet, but that is the direction we will head to, then send them out again to do another scan.”
I can’t help but be discouraged that after hours of waiting, we don’t have much information. It seemed like such a good plan last night, but I’m worried we will have to scan the entirety of the birthlands.
He notes my gloomy mood. “It’s good news, I promise.”
“I know. It’s just . . .”
“Taking a long time?” He smiles.
“Yes. But I trust you.”
“There are no other good ideas on the table, so you don’t have a choice,” he leans in and teases softly.
“I could fold to that point and check it out.” I point to an elevated spot on the screen.
