His expression was thoughtful. "But you’re not Trateri."
Eva rolled onto her side and shut her eyes. "And therein lies the problem."
"I think you have mistaken being one of us as the answer to all your problems," he said. "No people are perfect. You would have still faced obstacles and challenges had you been born clan."
"Of that I have no doubt," she said.
No path was certain or easy. It took grit and determination to survive, no matter what or who you were born to, but there were certain things that could give you a head start.
Sometimes it felt like Eva had been born behind the start of the race. She’d had to work twice as hard to get the things others took for granted. Some things she had simply given up as unimportant.
"Night's coming," Caden said, looking up at the sky.
Already the valley had sunk into shadow as the mountains obscured the sun.
Caden found his feet and stretched before kicking at the dirt, covering the flames and extinguishing them. He stalked off.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Why? Will you miss me?"
She set her head back down, staring at where the flames had just been, watching as smoke lazily curled into the air. "For someone normally so quiet and unassuming, you're awfully arrogant."
A small chuckle escaped him. "People like me are often the most arrogant—for good reason. Relax, Lowlander, I'm just going to patrol to see what's out there. I'll be back soon enough."
"I wasn't afraid."
"Liar."
Eva didn't hear anything and after several moments she lifted her head to find herself alone. How did he move so silently? He was like a ghost, coming and going before you even knew he was there, scaring the pants off someone as he intimidated them into submission.
*
Eva woke, unexpectedlywarm with the remnants of a dream about the plain clinging to her like cobwebs. Darkness greeted her when she opened her eyes, the stars a sparkling carpet above. A hard weight around her waist assured her she was no longer alone. A broad, muscled chest cradled her back as warmth radiated from the body behind her.
She shifted slightly, careful not to disturb the man curled around her as she looked over her shoulder at a sleeping Caden. His jacket was draped over both of them, his bicep under her head.
His heat curled lazily through her and she was tempted to put her head back down and go to sleep.
Even as she snuggled back, too tired and comfortable to put distance between them, Eva heard something that had her lifting her head again, her drowsiness shredding as her senses came alert.
Danger,someone whispered in her head.
Out of the darkness, the fox bounded up, its dark eyes deep and intelligent as it nosed her urgently.
Pressure pushed at her senses as unease welled from the fox. Moments later, she heard the soft sound of footsteps.
She started to reach back for Caden to nudge him awake, opening her mouth on a warning.
A hand abruptly covered it.
"I hear it too," he said against her ear in a near silent voice. The whisper of his breath against her skin felt unbearably intimate. "Quiet. Don't move."
Eva chanced the smallest nod, knowing he'd feel her compliance.
Then he was gone, slipping away as silently as he had earlier that evening. She didn't even feel the stirring of wind from his passage as he left her there.
Eva waited patiently, her heart in her throat as she told herself he was coming back. Caden wasn't like the rest. He wouldn't abandon her to save himself. If he said to wait, she'd wait.
