Page 37 of Winter's Scorching Kisses
Chapter 10
Adorra watched as he strode out of the tent with his boots in his hands. Maybe she’d overreacted, but damn him! She wasn’t about to apologize for screaming his ears off. He should’ve known better than to just grope her while she slept. Although she understood… maybe. She had pressed herself up against him a little, and they’d both been half asleep.
She released the fur cover and briefly shivered as the cold air rushed up. She wasn’t built to live all the way up here in the mountains, and she was afraid it would only continue to get colder. They weren’t even to the ice giant castle, and the cold already had her teeth clinking together.
As she rose, she thought of finding Mathar and apologizing for her little outburst, but then she decided not to search him out. She hoped her little outburst would teach his sleep addled brain not to do that again unless he wanted a busted eardrum.
What she wanted was an apology from him.
Lifting her chin, Adorra shot out of the tent, and then paused as the brisk air shocked the breath from her. Her breath puffed out in front of her in little white clouds, and she shivered some more. They’d better be pretty close to the ice giant castle otherwise she feared she’d freeze solid out here, and they hadn’t even gotten that far into the mountains.
Once she managed to catch her breath, she glanced around her eyes seeking out Mathar. All she found was the horse and the quiet mountains around them. The tree branches shifted in the slight wind with a creaking groan, but no sign of Mathar.
An idea began to hatch away inside her mind. It would be so easy to take the horse and be gone before he knew what was happening, and there was only one horse so she doubted he’d be able to catch her.
But… if she ran would she be endangering her sister’s life?
The horse snorted and presented one of his sides to her as if saying, “Why not take the chance?”
She shook her head. No. She couldn’t. For all, she knew it would anger the ice giants, and they’d punish Jasmine for her escape. She’d stay the course and hope that she’d make a successful escape once she had her hands on Jasmine.
But it was mean of Mathar to leave his horse right there… such a tease!
She cast a glare over at the horse who was munching on something.
Storming over to the horse, she yanked a fur off the back of the saddle and wrapped it around her shoulders. She wasn’t going to freeze to death while she waited for Mathar to show back up. She had no idea where he’d disappeared to in the expansive forest, so she had no option but to wait.
The fur did little, but it was better than the protection her dress offered. Her eyes turned to the fire pit that had died long ago last night. It was no longer putting off heat, and she longed to see the coals glowing a bright red.
She hadn’t really been paying attention last night when Mathar had started the fire. At the manor and court, she’d always had maids to start fires in the hearths. She’d never had to trouble herself with something like that, and now she wished she had paid more attention to the smaller things in her life.
But her lack of knowledge wasn’t going to slow her down. She’d always possessed a go-and-do-it attitude. With the fur wrapped tightly around her body, she bent down next to the fire pit and grabbed a hold of two sticks. She thought she’d once been told that a person could start a fire with just two sticks and a lot of determination, and she was definitely determined!
Adorra wanted the heat of a fire!
Taking a stick in each hand, she began to rub them together vigorously. She had no idea how long this technique was supposed to take but just doing it was warming her up with the exertion she had to put into it.
Adorra had no idea how long she sat there next to the dead pit of coals before feet walked up into her field of vision.
She knew it was Mathar, and she knew he had to be laughing at the sight before him, but she was determined, and she wasn’t going to let him distract her. She might be a lady of the court with no survival skills, but it didn’t mean that she couldn’t try and learn. She was plenty intelligent.
His deep voice rushed over her, causing goosebumps of a different sort. “You will never start a fire like that.”
“I don’t need your criticism.” Adorra snapped as she continued to rub the two sticks together. Her cheeks were heating up as she realized that this technique might not actually be true and if it were, she might be missing some elements.
“Should I leave you here to try and start a fire? Assuming you don’t freeze to death before that happens.”
“Yes.” She growled, tired of him judging her.
Silence reigned over the area, but he still stood there watching, and she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by her naivety. Without him uttering a single word, she knew she was doing something wrong.
“Would you like me to show you how to start a fire?” Mathar offered, and although she couldn’t detect any judgment, she wasn’t about to give in.
Adorra continued, her jaw set in a firm line. She could do this.
“Before we waste all day waiting for you to get a single spark from your twig rubbing.” He growled, growing annoyed with her silence.
“Fine!” Adorra threw her sticks down with a clatter, frustrated that she would end up needing him to explain it to her.
