She quickly looked away.
“You were so brave back there,” he said to her as he smiled down.
“Uh, me?” she asked, hesitantly looking back up.
“Yes,you,” he said and chuckled. “I haven’t seen someone ride a Lionne in a very long time.”
“Oh, I wasn’t riding him. He picked me up,” Seda said, blushing again, a little embarrassed by his compliment.
“It looked the same to me. Those creatures are ferocious. They don’t like just anyone. I’ve only ever known them to like one person, actually.” Kalon helped her over a large log, and his fingers grazed against her arm, sending a shiver of goosebumps along her skin.
“When did you see more of them? I didn’t even know he was called a Lionne,” she asked excitedly, hopeful for Elco that he could find his friends again soon.
“Not in a very long time,” he replied.
“Oh.” Seda frowned. “You must have seen a lot of things being a Traverser.”
Her cheeks warmed again as she gazed at his handsome face, and Kalon smiled. She had to look away.
“The Jotnar are the worst lately; they are spoiled, nasty creatures. But the Lionne? They are truly the most terrifying. They can breathe fire and pounce like a large cat. You would never see it coming if it were hunting you,” he said.
She remembered the first time she met Elco and how intimidating he had been, but now she saw him in a new light. He was her friend, and she was secretly thankful she had a friend like him on her side.
“I hope Elco is okay,” she said to him. “When we were in the Camp, he was injured by the guards. They beat him badly. It took him hours to heal. I really hope he finds us soon. I keep thinking about him.”
“He is likely hunting us now.”
Glancing back into the overgrown forest behind her, Seda caught sight of a Hailec watching her from a distance, its knees pressed into the damp ground. She let out a gasp, and Kalon spun around.
She froze, and Kalon slowly drew his sword, but the Hailec made no move toward them. It simply knelt there, watching Seda with its dark, unblinking eyes. Then, it lowered its head to the ground and disappeared into the eerie darkness.Images of Ruel’s torn body raced through her mind. This Hailec had been following them, and they hadn’t realized. Why didn’t it try to attack?
“Elco will find you, Seda,” Kalon said, lowering his sword. “I just hope he doesn’t eat all of us when he does.”
Chapter 32
Cahir
As they traveled through the Heath Forest, Cahir struggled to resist glancing back at Seda, reminding himself to maintain a safe distance and let others alert him if needed.
His mind was racing, and she was at the center of all his thoughts. She must be horrified after witnessing Ruel pass away right in front of them. Twice, he stopped in his tracks, causing Benny to run into him, and he fought the urge to turn around and go to her.
They navigated around the large trees for hours, with no sign of danger. A large clearing appeared, and he paused.
“A good place to stop for lunch?” asked Benny beside him.
“Looks like it, let me ask Roya and the Corvids to circle the area to check for anything dangerous first.”
He turned around and began to walk back when he saw Kalonand Seda’s arms intertwined. She was smiling and blushing up at him, and he was laughing in response.
An intense surge of emotion, like a wildfire fueled by the wind, swept through him. He let out a fierce growl, mimicking a beast, and lunged at Kalon, pushing him to the ground. He swung to punch his face, but Ojore, Askold, and Seren pulled him back.
Kalon, as quick as a serpent’s strike, jumped back up.
“Keep your hands off of her!” Cahir seethed as he struggled to break free from the hands holding him down.
Benny came running back. “What the fuck happened?” he yelled.
Kalon smiled at him as he dusted off the sticks from his shirt, and Cahir fumed. Seda ran up to him. “I’m okay, Cahir! I’m okay! He was not trying to hurt me.”
