Page 27 of Sustaining
Chaos gives me a slow side glance, and I realize he knows. No matter what I do, he always knows.
My arms fold across my chest, and I do my absolute best not to look at his cocky smirk.
We linger there for just a few minutes longer. Sinister finishes up slicing the wood that Rime apparently cut down for him. The ice shifter pulls on his jeans and boots but leaves his shirt lying in the mud.
And then he trails down the hillside. He’s fully ready to keep working this morning. We’re all going to be miserably hot, though, once we’re inside the enclosed room, steam drifting around and stealing our breath away. I sigh a little and now I’m no longer thinking about how sexy they’ll look. Complete exhaustion pulls at my mind the moment I think about being in that steam room.
The four of us trail at a rather slow pace down to the busy village below. When the trees give way and brightly colored brick buildings line the ocean side, I’m all but dreading the upcoming hours. At least the day will pass quickly. It’ll be an eventful and possibly even a fun work day with them there.
Unless Molly’s there.
It could be worse, I guess.
When my bare feet meet the warm, smooth cobblestones, I find out just how much worse it could be.
“Arlow.” The soft, expensive material of his jacket presses against my face when he pulls me to him for a surprise hug.
I stand with my arms held awkwardly at my side just in front of a shining navy carriage. The words Blessed Minden swoop across the back of the carriage in elegant white letters.
And I stand wrapped up in the Prince of Minden’s arms.
With King Barren staring down on us from the carriage above.
You see, it can always be worse.
Eleven
A Surprise Visit
I blink.I swallow. I blink a little more. Somewhere in my scattered mind are real words. They’re there. I promise. But fuck are they useless.
Why-the-fuck-is-the-Prince-here? Why-the-fuck-is-he-hugging-me and why-the-fuck-is-his-father-here-as-well? Fuck, fuck, fuck.
His hand lingers on my upper arm, holding me, thank the goddess, at arm’s length while Chaos stares hard at the minimal touch. Prince Linden says all these things that I try to process, but fear is crawling around my mind like I’m a host to anxiety.
What if they’re really here because of Molly?
One bat. One harmless little bat could end my life so quickly.
“Are you all right, Arlow?” The pinch of the Prince’s pale brows pull together hard as he looks from me to the three men at my side. “Where’s Kain?” The question is a different tone, a curious tone that throws me off for a moment.
Until I remember he thought Kain and I were an item.
He wasn’t wrong.
Not really.
I just have…items. A small cartload of men, but who’s counting?
“He’ll be back this evening.” Chaos takes a step closer, and the simple invasion of his body into my space has Linden dropping his hand away. Chaos is smarter than he lets on. He doesn’t touch me, but the closeness, the protectiveness in his stance, it’s screaming all kinds of insinuations.
“Where are the ships?” Barron barks from his spot tucked away in the carriage. “It was two days’ journey here. I hope you have some product to show for our exertions.”
His exertions. I arch a brow at him, but that snarky little fear inside me tells me to shut up. If the man wants to talk about ships instead of bats, let him talk about all the fucking ships he wants, and then let him drive off into the sunset far, far away from us.
“Oh, yes. The ships.” A real smile parts my lips. “We just finished the first one last night.”
Linden’s green eyes brighten, and it’s then that I’m reminded how much he looks like his mother. Her eyes are more worn, dimmer, less hopeful. But not weak. Her determination was just as vivid in her eyes as his is.
