“Suit yourself.” I laugh and sink my toes into the earth and moss, shifting my focus off of him and onto the magic around us. The woods are alive, but I don’t feel drawn in any particular direction. There’s no calling. Which means I must be the one to make the decision on our headway. “Which way is the edge of the lykin’s territory, closest to the elves?”
“Parallel to the mountains.” He points in an eastern direction and I follow his finger, focusing through the trees.
“Then we’ll keep carrying on in that direction. I want to go as far as we can as fast as we can, that way we can set a more leisurely pace on the way back.” If something catches my eye on the way, we’ll stop. However, I want to see how far Evander and I can get at an aggressive pace. It will be farther than Aurora andI will be able make it on our own in the same amount of time. On our own… “Evander?”
“I’m still right here.”
I turn to face him, taking him in for a moment. The dark hair that falls into his eyes. The slowly growing shadow of stubble that lines his cheeks, the same color as the hair on his chest. He is every bit a woman’s fantasy and I take a moment to savor the fact that—at least for now—he is mine.
“What?” Evander chuckles and crosses to me, hooking my chin. He pulls my face up, almost kissing me. “You see something you like?”
“I do.” I grin and rise onto my toes to kiss him lightly and then withdraw. The light expression evaporates off my cheeks, fast enough that he takes notice.
Evander’s brows furrow slightly. “What is it?”
“Come with us?” I dare to ask, not knowing what he might say. Evander promptly looks away, staring back in the direction of the lykin’s plains and Conri. I reach up to guide his attention back to me.
“Why do you want me to come?” he asks—no, demands. I’m almost taken aback by the tone.
“There’s nothing for you back there, is there?” I almost stammer, surprised by his sudden intensity.
“You’re dodging the question. Why do you want me with you and Aurora?”
“You’ve helped both of us so much that?—”
“Ah, you still want your bodyguard.” He starts walking deeper into the forest with purpose, like he’s running.
“Evander, it’s not that.” I chase after him.
“What, then?” He spins in place, looking down at me. “Do you want me there because you’re fond of me? Because youloveme?”
Do you want me to love you?The question almost slips out. Keeping it trapped behind my lips nearly burns. He almost…looks like he does. I didn’t take him for a hopeless romantic.
“I don’t know,” I admit softly. “Love can take time, or it can be a whirlwind. I don’t know if this is either, or nothing, yet.”
“How could you?” He scoffs. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough,” I insist back.
“Hardly anything. And there’s so much I don’t know about you.” He says it like it should be dismissive. But…
“Exactly,” I counter, taking a step forward, hands on my hips, getting right into his space. “There’s so much we’ve yet to learn about each other, and rather than futility, I see possibility. There’s an uncharted course we both could venture down. A future of our own making.”
“Must you always be so optimistic?” His eyes shine with amusement, but his tone is dejected. Heartbroken, even.
“Evander—”
“Let’s not trouble ourselves with such things now. We should be making use of our time. We’re burning daylight.” Without giving me a chance to get another word, he turns into his wolf form.
I sigh and scramble up onto his back. “You know…”
He glances over his shoulder and back at me.
“Some people consider optimism a virtue.”
Evander huffs and launches forward, taking us deeper into the woods.
It’seasy for one tree to look much like the next, especially when racing through the woods on wolf-back. But I’m so accustomed to navigating my way through forests, on and offtrails, that I have little mechanisms to help me know where I am. Landmarks are fallen trees turned into hollow homes for animal families, massive boulders covered in moss, the slope of the terrain. There is also a unique feeling as I move through the forest, of grounding myself in the greater powers that curl between the trees and reach out to me with invisible hands. I leave my mark on them as much as they leave their mark on me.
