Page 5 of Camriel
Zoe’s face fell at being left behind, but Camriel was instantly excited.“Maybe we’ll run into my cambion,” he said in anticipation.
“You’re going to scare the poor girl away with your enthusiasm,” Grace predicted in a slightly dour tone.He had the feeling she was just as keen as he was to meet her match.
“What woman wouldn’t want to become bonded to me?”he asked, holding his arms out wide to show off his muscular body.It was freezing with most of the doors and windows in their base still missing, but he was just dressed in sweatpants.The tattoo of a sword and stylized wings on his shoulder stood out starkly against his tanned skin.
“Make him put some clothes on, Amaros,” the kid said with a scowl, holding her hand up to shield herself.“I’m too young to be subjected to all that testosterone.”
At eighteen, she was by far the youngest member of their small group.Camriel knew she’d had a tough childhood.Neither of the females had divulged exactly what had happened to the teen yet.He wasn’t sure he wanted to know all the details.Grace’s mother had been horrible, that much he knew.
“Dawn is only six hours away and I want to leave at first light,” Amaros said, herding them back inside now that the meteor shower was over.
Camriel returned to bed, but he couldn’t sleep.He had a corner room with two windows at the back of the south wing.Amaros had helped him board them both over, but it was still freezing.He didn’t feel the cold as badly as humans and hadn’t bothered to light the fire.
“I’ll be sharing this bed with my mate soon,” he said quietly.The stone room was large.It looked stark with just the bed for furniture.He would need to install a closet and dressers for his cambion to keep her happy.
He finally fell asleep with a dreamy look on his face, planning for a life and a future he never thought he’d get to have.
Amaros tugged on his mind to wake him up shortly before dawn.Cam quickly dressed in some of the clothes his leader had given him.They fit far better than the sweatpants and t-shirt he’d stolen in Manhattan, but were still a bit snug.
It was strange to see his boss chowing down on venison when he ambled into the kitchen.“What does it taste like?”Camriel asked curiously.
“I have nothing to compare it to,” Amaros said wryly.“It’s salty and tough, but tasty enough,” he added with a shrug.“I prefer eating the energy bars, but I need more substantial fuel for my body.”
“We’ll all have to adjust to being partially human once we’ve become bonded to our mates,” Camriel figured.Seeing the pinched look on his commander’s face, he figured their journey was about to be delayed by a few more minutes.
“I’ll be right back,” Amaros muttered, hunching over slightly as he hurried out of the room.
Snickering beneath his breath, Cam took out the romance book he’d tucked inside his jacket.Females changed drastically each time the knights were deployed in their endless wars.This time, he would be armed with crucial knowledge on how to deal with them.The books would hopefully help him to woo his woman into accepting their bond quickly.The last thing he wanted was for it to drag out for a long time.
Hearing his boss returning a few minutes later, he tucked the book away again.He had a backpack full of snacks and water ready by the time Amaros entered the room.“Thanks,” the knight said, taking the pack when it was offered.“Let’s hit the road,” he said.“Dawn is about to break and we need to get moving.”
They left the main building and cut through the north wing to reach the big black pickup truck.Zoe and Grace had nicknamed it ‘the tank’.Camriel’s midnight blue truck was almost as big as his leader’s ride.He gave it a wistful look where it was parked a few yards away beneath the trees.Both vehicles were covered in tarps to protect them from the vicious late afternoon storms.
“We’ve got enough fuel to last for a few days,” Amaros said, making sure the cannisters of gas were still in the back after stripping the tarps off.
“We won’t be gone that long, will we?”Camriel asked.
“I hope not,” Amaros replied, clearly reluctant to be parted from his female so soon.
“I’m surprised the females didn’t insist on coming with us,” Camriel said.They climbed inside and Amaros backed the truck out from beneath the trees.
“This is just a scouting mission and we need to be able to move fast,” Amaros said.“Zoe hasn’t received any new visions, so I don’t expect to find any knights or cambions.”
Cam’s shoulders slumped at the near certainty that he wouldn’t run into his mate during this mission.“I’ll try the radio,” he said, waiting until they reached the narrow, twisting road before switching it on.Nothing but static came through the speakers, but he turned the volume down and left it on.
The Mad Prophet remained off the air during their long drive to New York city.“We’ll be out of range by now,” Amaros figured as they left the clogged freeway and closed in on the area where they’d parked the last time.He switched the radio off and turned into a side street.
“There’s an open garage,” Camriel pointed out, gesturing to the left ahead.
Neither knight could sense anyone in the nearby houses, so Amaros reversed into the large garage.He manually closed the door to hide his tank from view, then the pair took off running.
“How are you feeling, boss?”Cam asked after they’d been sprinting for an hour.
Amaros wasn’t puffing and arched an eyebrow.“I feel fine,” he replied.
“So, being part human hasn’t made you weaker?”Camriel queried.
“It doesn’t look like it,” the knight said.“I still need to test my fighting abilities.”
