Page 112 of Esperance

Argent frowned as he processed that. Then he surprised Carver by shrugging. “If she’d wanted you dead, she wouldn’t have warned you about the threat.”

That gave him pause.

Argent sighed. “I don’t know her mind. But I do know that she’s been a good friend to Jayveh, and I’ve seen her kindness toward others. She has a good heart. And the way she looks at you makes it clear she has feelings for you, too.”

“You’ve noticed how she looks at me?”

“A blind man could have seen it. You’re just so distracted by searching every shadow for a threat that you missed her falling for you.”

Carver’s heart thrilled, but he rolled his eyes. “You’re a romantic fool.”

“And you’re terribly rude to your prince.” Argent crossed his arms over his chest. “This Marriset scheme of yours . . . I know you’re trying to determine if she’s a threat, and I’m grateful for your help. But it’s hurting Amryn. Jayveh told me if you break her heart, I have to duel you.”

He huffed a laugh. “You’d lose.”

“Probably. So don’t let it come to that.”

Carver gazed into the darkness, his shoulders suddenly heavy. “I don’t think I have the power to break her heart. She never gave it to me.”

“And what about you?” Argent asked. “Did you give your heart to her?”

He snorted, trying to breathe past the sudden pang in his chest. “No.”

The red-haired harpy had stolen it.

Their tracker joined them, and his expression wasn’t encouraging. “I found her trail, but this storm is going to wash out everything. We don’t have enough men to properly search for her. We should mark what we can of her trail, and then return to the camp for more men.”

“No,” Carver said.

Argent set a hand on his shoulder. “You know stumbling around out here isn’t going to help her. We’ll find her much more quickly if we get reinforcements. You showed her how to weather a storm out here; she’ll be all right.”

Tactically, all of that made sense. But every part of Carver rebelled against leaving. Amryn was brave and resourceful, but she was terrified of the jungle. He hated the thought of her out here, alone and afraid.

He gritted his teeth. The sooner they recruited help, the sooner they’d find her. “Let’s go,” he said, already moving.

Chapter 29

Amryn

Amryn and Ford took what shelterthey could as the storm raged. Her stomach still gnawed hungrily, but he’d shared the rations he had.

They hadn’t spoken much in the beginning, since they’d been trying to cover as much ground as possible before the storm truly lashed out. Now, sitting side by side under dripping leaves, Amryn eyed him.

He had a handsome profile, and his brown hair looked even darker now that it was wet. His deeply tanned skin was similar in tone to Carver’s, making her wonder if Ford was from Westmont as well. Though she hadn’t known him long, she already knew his alert eyes were never without a spark of humor for long.

“You and Carver have the same strategy for surviving a jungle storm,” she told him.

“We learned in Harvari.” Ford nodded to the fist-sized rock sitting beside her. “You finally dropped it.”

“It’s still close enough to grab.”

A smile ghosted across his lips. “Saints, you’re perfect for Carver.”

The splash of amusement and genuine happiness made her strangely uncomfortable. She swiped a wet curl off her temple. “So, are you finally going to tell me what you’re doing here?”

“I already did.”

“You really didn’t.” He’d said he was a soldier, and that she believed. But the way he pretended to know Carver only in passing, as his general, was clearly false. The friendship he had with Carver was tangible. It made it hard for her to believe that his living nearby was a coincidence. “Does Carver know you’re here in Esperance?”

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