A twinge of sympathy panged in my heart for him. I knew exactly how he felt. “I’m so sorry, Baron,” I told him.
We fell back into silence. I kept checking regularly to make sure Baron wasn’t falling asleep, and he did the same for me. I chuckled. “What?” Baron asked.
“I think it’s funny how we’re enemies but are still constantly looking out for each other—diving off cliffs and murdering colonies of snakes,” I said, then amended, “when we aren’t trying to kill each other, that is.”
“When have I ever tried to kill you?” Baron demanded. “I’ve been a perfect gentleman!”
“You mean, apart from keeping me chained up, holding a knife to my throat, hauling me around, tackling me to the ground, and drawing your sword on me?” I asked, poking his chest. “What else am I missing?”
“Well…apart from those things, I have been a perfect gentleman!”
I laughed. “And I have been a classy lady all this time.”
Baron chortled. “Yes, I remember a brilliantly black eye you gave me after knocking the wind out of me that positively screamed ladylike.”
“See?” I said, wrapping my arms tighter around Baron’s thick torso, “A classy lady.”
“If you say so.” Baron rested his chin on the top of my head.
“No funny business,” I reminded him.
“This isn’t funny business,” he said. “This is me avoiding the annoying rock behind my head.”
A wolf howled in the distance, a long, sad cry to the moon. I knew most people feared wolves, but I’d always seen them as majestic and free, with wild, untamable spirits. I listened to the answering cry of its pack for several long minutes and wished yet again that I was back home.
“Baron?” I asked softly.
He didn’t respond. I looked up quickly, pulling my head out from under his chin. His eyes were closed. “Baron?” I said louder. Still no response. I pushed away from him and slapped him sharply across the face. “Wake up!”
He jolted awake, looking angry. “What was that for?”
“You fell asleep.”
“So?”
“You can’t sleep. It’s too cold. We have to stay awake.”
Baron groaned. “It feels like I’ve been awake ever since that first night I was sent out after you. Do you know what it’s like to go for weeks on end with no more than a few broken fragments of rest?”
“Yes, I do,” I told him curtly. “Because I’ve been doing the exact same thing to prevent you from killing me inmysleep.”
We returned to our comfortable positions, arms wrapped back around each other. The momentary exposure to the cold had already sapped what little body heat we’d regained.
“You really should sleep at night,” Baron told me.
“So should you.”
“Okay, from here on out, we need to promise to sleep at night and not stay awake waiting for the other to kill us in our sleep. Because I won’t do that to you.”
“And I promise to not kill you in your sleep, either,” I said, laughing slightly. “Only when you’re awake.”
Baron chuckled, and we fell back into companionable silence for a while, waiting to warm up again.
“So, tell me, how did you come to be one of the sheriff’s cronies?” I asked. “He is so…ugh. But you actually don’t seem like a half-bad guy.”
“I think that’s the highest compliment you’ve ever given me,” Baron laughed. “Not a half-bad guy. Thank you.”
I snorted. “But really, why?”
