Page 119 of Fires of the Forsaken
“This will pass. Rest. Do not fret.”
As much as the words comforted me, they also intensified my sorrow.
I sobbed until my throat was raw and it felt as though someone were driving an iron through my skull.All the while, the big oak tree continued to sway above me, singing its mournful lullaby.
34
Mouthful Of Feathers
Sometimes liking a person was a bad fucking idea.
That hill was steep. And you couldn’t walk down it. Nope. Once the descent began, you’d roly-poly all the way down. Sometimes you’d get lucky, and the bottom would be a straight patch that’d bring you gently to a halt. Other times? You got rocks. Big-ass boulders. And you’d smash a few bones before you came to a stop.
I knew that dizzying plummet well. And I clearly hadn’t learned my lesson because I’d started the downslope again.
I stared at Cheriour’s back as he jogged his horse a few yards in front of me. He was talking to Kaelan. Or, rather,Kaelanwas talking tohim. Cheriour had only said a few words. Meanwhile, Kaelan babbled apologetically about something. I couldn’t hear the entire conversation (too much noise coming from the other riders), but it had something to do with drinking. And…otherdepravities.
Sounded like Kaelan had snuck out to attend a rave at Sanadrin.
Crazy, right? Especially given the situation.
It’d been three days since the battle at Sanadrin. Hundreds of people had died—I kept trying to steer my gaze away from the hordes of riderless horses being ponied back. Because when I saw one I recognized, like Moira’s bay stallion, I got this fluttering sensation in my chest. Not agoodtwittering. More like a wicked heartburn and gas pain combo.
But then I looked at Cheriour and got the other kind of fluttering, so…basically, I was all aflutter. Har, har, har.
Anyway, despite the grueling battle we’d been through and the losses we’d endured, there was Kaelan, sheepishly admitting he got smashed at a party.
Even when they were badass warriors, putting their lives on the line, kids were still kids.
And Cheriour looked so…relaxed.He rode with one hand on the reins, the other resting on his thigh. He had a damn good seat on a horse. No bouncing or arm flailing. No teetering (although I was the only rider guilty of that). He sat still, moving only to keep his body in rhythm with his mount.
A spattering of laughter broke out in front of me, drawing my attention away from Cheriour. A cluster of soldiers—mostly men—rode four abreast across the field. One of them was in the middle of an obscene joke. Something about an elephant asking a naked man how he breathed…
It didn’t take much imagination to find the punch line there.
Another group on my right side talked about a newborn child. “The babe has more hair on her head than you, Rubert,” a woman screeched gleefully, jerking her finger at a tall man with a big bald spot in the center of his head. “And he’s naught but a month old!”
Rubert ran his hand over that shiny patch of scalp, smiling ruefully. “Perhaps I should ask if I could borrow some, eh?”
Normally, I would’ve dived right into one of these little chit-chats. But today I kept staring at Cheriour, replaying the conversation we’d had a few nights ago, and getting a fresh surge of rage for the family who had left him behind.
I also felt an outpouring of sappy, jittery emotions. Because we’d gotten so close that night. On an emotionalandphysical level.
That almost kiss had left me with some very confused and horny dreams.
But I’d seen a whole new side of him. And I itched to find out more.
“You’re quiet today, aren’t you?” Garvin’s voice jerked me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I think I’m just tired.” Not true. I felt like a caffeine addict who’d discovered spiked espresso: full of restless energy. Yet my mind was buzzy, the way it got when I drank too much alcohol and had sailed past the loopywhoo-hoo, shots!phase and into theOMG, I’m gonna hurl!stage.
“It’s been a long week, hasn’t it?” Garvin sighed.
He rode beside me, although not too close. Because I was back on Sacrifice, who’d gotten some wicked cuts during the battle, but was okay otherwise. And, y’know, Queen Bitch liked her personal space.
“It has,” I mumbled.
Another burst of laughter drifted back toward me. But this one made my heart spin upside down.
