Page 88 of Bewitched By the Djinn
“Let’s get as dry as we can and then keep moving,” he says.
We spend a few hurried minutes attempting to compress the water from our outer layers of clothes and dump the liquid from our packs. Thankfully the food is all still edible since most of it is in baggies and airtight containers.
Now is not the time to be checking out the muscles flexing in Bennet’s back as he tugs his wet shirt over his head and the sun glances off the dips and curves of his body.
Dammit, he’s way too hot for me.
Helen smirks at me. “Catching flies, Cassie?”
I snap my mouth shut and get to work squeezing water out of my outer layers.
Once we are somewhat dry, Bennet squints up at the sky and then points. “This way.”
Then there’s more endless walking.
I lose track of time. Once the adrenaline from the giants and our cliff diving wears off, I’m trudging forward on legs that have turned to lead, and muscles that are little more than mush.
“Let’s stop here for the night.” Bennet gestures to a small clearing tucked behind a thicket of brush.
Helen recites a quick incantation, fingers sketching protective runes into the dirt around our camp. The spell settles over us like a weighted blanket.
She sinks to the ground beside a semicircle of stones and conjures a fire with a flick of her fingers. The flames bloom to life, crackling and golden.
Convenient. No need to worry about wet matches.
Bennet pulls out two sleeping bags from his pack, rolling them out near the fire and zipping them together before tossing another to Helen. “You set up a ward?”
She nods. “We should all be able to get rest. If any giants come within fifty feet, we’ll hear them, and even if we don’t, the protection spell will keep us hidden.”
I drop my pack and collapse beside it, letting the warmth of the fire melt some of the tension in my shoulders.
We eat some fruit and bread we packed, passing around a canteen of water. No one talks much. The silence isn’t uncomfortable. It’s heavy, but shared, the same weight of exhaustion pushing down on us all. Tomorrow, we go deeper. Tomorrow, things get even harder. But tonight, we’re safe. Or as safe as we can be.
After we eat, I crawl onto the sleeping bag, thankful Bennet assumed we would sleep together. I don’t want to be apart from him. I make room for him.
He lies down beside me, his body radiating heat. There’s a careful pause before he settles his arm around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. “I’ll wake you if anything happens.And I’ll protect you from any creatures with wicked gleams in their eyes, even if they are smaller than the merest pebble.”
I chuckle. “My hero.”
“Yes.” His thumb brushes slow circles at my hip, relaxing me.
Across the fire, Helen curls up on her side, one hand resting over her chest. The flames cast dancing shadows over her face.
She must really miss Delores.
And then sleep takes me, slow and deep, wrapped in warmth and exhaustion and the quiet understanding that this might be the last peaceful night we get together.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
I wake to dwindling smoke and the distant hush of birdsong.
The fire’s burned down to glowing embers, casting soft light through the thinning mist. My back is warm, pressed against Bennet’s chest.
His arm is draped over my waist, fingers splayed across my ribs like he’s afraid I’ll slip away.
I don’t move.
