Page 41 of Bite of Passage
“Stop thrashing.”He grabbed her neck, tilted it sideways with a growl, and exposed his sharp teeth.But Cade didn’t slow the horse’s pace.
A shiver ran through her as moonlight between the clouds lit up his face.Even though she was ninety-nine percent confident he wouldn’t sink those super sharp teeth into her neck, the threat was real.With zero historical information on Cade, Gemma didn’t know if his ethical compass ran like Skarde’s or VanFliet’s.
She stopped fidgeting.But, as always happened when she was nervous, randomness tumbled out.“How’d you get green eyes and Skarde has blue?Are you sure you guys are brothers?”
He released her head.“Pretty damned sure.Be quiet.”
She muttered, “I don’t know how you guys go around biting people.It’s unsanitary.Diseases, you know.”
“Hush.”He jostled her.
The ache behind her forehead settled into a pounding that matched each jolt of the horse’s gait.What she wouldn’t give for a bottled water and a Motrin.
Brawn wasn’t going to get her out of this.She needed to use her brain, which wouldn’t function right now.
Rain pelted hard against them.She’d been hopeful the previous storm was over, but no.
Soaked to her skin in a minute, and not feeling an ounce of warmth from Cade, she muttered, “The rain and cold never stop in this place.Fucking miserable.”
He chuckled.
“That wasn’t funny.It was a serious observation.You’d think someone here would design better rain gear.I have yet to see anyone wear something repellant.Have you got a raincoat hidden in your saddle and you’re holding out on me?”
“You get used to being cold and wet.”
“No, you don’t.It’s unhealthy and makes you super cranky.I’m sure people die of pneumonia all the time here.”
“You jabber too much.”
“Does it bother you?Does my talking humanize me when all you want is to be a good little soldier and do your mission without thinking about the right or wrong of it?”
“You could be a witch using your silver tongue to trick me.”The rain went sideways so she had to duck her chin to avoid face hits.Lightning started in the distance.Cade slowed the horse to a walk.
“You’re not looking for a witch.What if I tell you I’m a witch?Would you let me go?”
“No.How do you know what I’m looking for?”
“Kind of wish I was a witch.I’d turn you into a hedgehog because you’re prickly.”She’d given up the full body struggle but managed to get one hand free.She swiped water out of her line of vision.“Better yet, I’d put a spell on you so you can’t remember your name or anything.Then you can sit in squalor in the mud with a numb tongue.”
The crystal Skarde had given her dug into her chest, so she pulled it out from her shirt.
Cade picked it up between two of his large fingers.“That’s… Did he give you this?”
“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you’re implying.”She wiped water out of her eyes again.“He’s going to come after me.”At least, she hoped.
“He might.”
“Unless he dies.God, I hope he doesn’t.Did you see what VanFliet did to him?Drugged him, shredded his chest, and threw him over a cliff to become ash at dawn.”
“You saved him.”Something grave wove through his voice.She kind of wished she could see his expression, but she suspected somewhere, deep inside, Cade cared what happened to his brother.Maybe it was wishful thinking.
He said, “He’ll be fine.He’s like a cat.The asshole always lands on his feet.”
“That’s a myth.Cats don’t always land on their feet when they fall.It’s not the first time in the past two weeks he needed me to help him decide choosing to die wasn’t okay.Does that sound like the Skarde you know?”She shifted.“Do you mind stopping for a sec?I’ve got to pee.Highly doubt you want me releasing my bladder all over you and your saddle.”
Between one stride and the next, the horse stopped.Worked for a three-year-old in the back of a minivan.It also worked for a twenty-eight-year-old on a horse in the pouring rain.She bit back a smile.Her bladder had been complaining a small bit, but she needed a way to buy time so Skarde could catch up.
“Over there.”Cade waved to some bushes.
