He might still have some sort of plan, a trap for me that lay ahead. I wouldn’t rule it out, but his words lingered.You’re not my enemy.If someone had shot me in the leg, then forced me to walk on it, they’d become my arch nemesis for life.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked after taking a long swig, unable to hold in the question any longer. I no longer held up my weapon, and kept pace beside him.
“Does it look like I had much choice?” He cracked a teasing smile, glancing sidelong at me. I noted how beautiful his smile was—not his smile, his teeth. They were nice teeth. And white, that’s what made them attractive—not attractive, healthy. Just healthy teeth was what I was appreciating.
I squeezed my eyes shut momentarily to focus. “You had the perfect opportunity. You could have left me there, but you didn’t.”
“You and your friend should never have come here. Whatever idiotic reason you have was made from sheer ignorance. If you’d known about the lake, would you have ventured this far?”
“Gods no,” I replied honestly. Part of me still considered turning around and hauling ass back to camp. But I wouldn’t leave Alba, even if she’d caused this horrendous mess.
“So you’ll take her with you and leave, yes?”
It sounded like that might be the only reason he’d help me, if it meant he’d be rid of me. “That’s the plan,” I lied.
“Good. Staying would mean death. I don’t think you deserve to die. Though, if I lose too much blood or infection takes me out, I might change my mind.” He flashed a wicked-looking grin. He kept those healthy teeth behind closed lips, yet I still found myself staring. Still noticed the scruff of his facial hair hugging the planes of his face, the way the skin beside his eyes crinkled,realized how dazzling he was without that stern line between his brows.
Well damn. I couldn’t blame my stupor on his teeth this time.
Despite his momentary amusement, his skin was still dotted with sweat I knew wasn’t just from the heat. “Here.” I offered his own waterskin back to him. I hadn’t seen him take a single sip since I awoke. “You should have some.” A weird truce had somehow formed between us.
“I had plenty. That’s for you.” He kept looking ahead, his body still limping with every step.
My throat dried despite having just drank. I felt…guilty. “But the waterskin was full when you gave it to me.”
“I didn’t drink from that, I had it straight from the source.”
“While I was passed out?”
“Yes.”
I hadn’t asked how long I’d been out for. The sun’s placement hadn’t seemed drastically different, though, so I couldn’t imagine it had been long. Unless it had been an entire day and he didn’t bother to tell me. “Where did you find water?” It’d been nearly impossible to find on our trip up here. The quarry had been the first natural source we’d found.
“There’s a river that splits into a few streams. You just need to know where to look.”
“How long was I out for?” A leading question to help me assess how close water was from the road for when Alba and I made it back.
“Maybe twenty minutes.”
“You managed to hobble to and from a hidden stream in the forest on a busted leg in twenty minutes?” Well, that was excellent news. Super close, then.
“Yes, only ‘cause I knew where to go.” He nearly chuckled until his step faltered, causing him to stumble.
Without thinking, I fixed myself to his side, ducking under his arm to offer support. Braxius was thrust off my shoulder and soared above.
Dae stabilized. “Thanks.” He hissed through his teeth.
“Don’t mention it.” Seriously. The concept of thanking me for helping with an injury I inflicted seemed preposterous and only fed my guilt.
“I should probably know the name of the woman who’s going to have to drag me to the outpost, don’t you think?” he asked, attempting to maintain that easy charm, but I could see his struggle.
“Do I get to know yours?” My hands were still secured to his waist, and his arm remained draped over my shoulder for support.
“I already told you,” he said, confused.
“Wait, you were serious? Named after a god?” I scoffed, but a smile worked its way onto my lips.
His laugh was soft, as if his energy was finally starting to drain. “Yes. What’s so wrong with that?”
