She smiled softly, tucking the sleeve of her jacket back into her glove and filing in behind Lephas dutifully.
Even the storm’s whipping winds couldn’t penetrate the dark and gloomy pines as the group made their way beneath the cover of the forest. The snow continued to fall but its flakes were small and fine, chopped up by masses of sharp pine needles above them.
Lori quickly grew hot and sweaty once more trying to keep up with the gruelling pace set by the demons. She pulled her hood down and pulled the soft fur snood off her face, gathering it under her chin.
One by one, each of the soldiers followed suit, revealing their faces.
Karn trotted ahead of the group, followed closely by Haros and the four demon soldiers. Lephas and Lori brought up the rear. The demon commander was deliberately hanging back to keep her on pace.
The ground here was uneven and covered in thick, undisturbed snow. In places, Lori fought through drifts up to her knees. The group walked in silence. Lori wasn't sure how much time had passed; she just kept her eyes on the forest floor, scanning for hidden hazards.
She panted hard, her breath swirling likedragon's smoke in the cold forest air. At least the exertion was keeping her warm. She had never been a fan of outdoor activities; another sign that perhaps she shouldn't have run away from home in the middle of winter.
Back in Awrelwood, her mother had encouraged her and her sisters to take part in countless hobbies – music, dance, needlepoint... Lori had tried them all at one stage or another. She had never really taken to any, not like Sivelle and Faye.
Sivelle was a ballet dancer and spent most of her days in their mirrored dance studio with her legs up around her ears. Though Lori liked to mock her, referring to the stick up her rear at every opportunity, she had often spent afternoons watching her sister practise.
Faye was more adventurous and had taken up horse riding. Though she had never been permitted to ride outside the castle walls, she had enjoyed cantering around the indoor arena their father had erected for her. It had been fascinating to watch her jumping unusual obstacles and exercising her horses. She had five, naturally.
Lori had a short attention span for trivial pastimes. She had found their majick lessons riveting until her father had caught wind of her asking for more offensive talent training. Their lessons had mysteriously stopped shortly after.
The only other topic she had ever been remotely interested in was fashion. As such, her father had placated her with new outfits and accessories almost daily, but there were only so many backless diamond gowns a girl could collect. After all, what was the point if she had no one to wear them for? She glanced across at the tall demon walking beside her.
Every time her eyes fell upon him, he surprised her with his attractiveness. Most faeries were fair in colouring. Lephas's hair was so dark, it was almost completely black in some lights. Though, she noticed, there was a faint sprinkling of silver at his temples, betraying his age.
His features were so overtly masculine; the square jaw, high cheekbones, matched with those impossibly dark, mysterious eyes... Lori sighed. She supposed it was going to take a while before she stopped associating demons with creatures of nightmare.
Nightmare?Try dreamboat!She scoffed silently
As if sensing her gaze, Lephas glanced across at her. He seemed taken aback to catch her eye. Before he could turn away, and whilst she was feeling brave, Lori shot him a sultry smile.
He looked at her blankly for a moment but her stomach flipped when he smiled back.
It was brief, and the commander looked away with a sheepish expression almost immediately, but Lori was certain that had been aflirtatioussmile... Or maybe she was reading too much into it.
She continued to plod through the snow, trying to ignore her aching muscles protesting and the numbness creeping into her toes.
“Do you know where we're going?” she asked Lephas breathlessly.
“Yes, we know this portion of the woods well. This is likely the very outer reaches of Black Pines,” he replied. Lori was glad to hear the commander puffing a little too, albeit nowhere near as badly as she was.
“Black Pines?”
“That's the name of these woods. They surround Banesteppe.”
Lephas paused to step up over a raised hunk of snow. He turned and held a hand out for Lori. The faerie took it gladly and let the demon help her up.
“Are we close? To Banesteppe, I mean.” Lori asked, swiping sweat from her forehead.
“Not exactly. This is probably the very end of the woods. It'll take the rest of the day to get back, maybe longer depending on whether we can keep this pace up.” Lephas eyed her. “You're looking tired.”
“You think?” she huffed.
“Are you thirsty?”
“Very. Pretty hungry too.” Lori’s stomach growled.
Lephas whistled loudly. The soldiers that had started to get ahead of them once again stopped and turned.
