Her sisters, and even her mother, made excuses for him constantly – he loved them so much that he wanted to keep them safe, it was risky to show their faces in public too often, you couldn't sleep with the window open; what if a demon sneaked in to kidnap them?
Lori was quickly realising how delusional they had all been. For years they had been feeding their father's paranoia, leaving it unchecked. She feared for her sisters.
Maybe once they returned to Banesteppe – or wherever Lephas was taking her – he would allow her to send a message to them. She just needed to let them know she was alive and safe.
That would blow their minds. Safe, in Banesteppe, with the demons!
Lori eyed the commander in front of her. Shedidfeel safe with Lephas; perhaps almosttoosafe. It was unnerving how quickly she had come to accept her new fate. Even more so, how quickly she had developed an attachment to him.
He was the hottest man she had ever met, though that was not nearly as impressive as it sounded, considering the very limited experiences she’d had back in Awrelwood. She shivered, but not from the cold, remembering bandaging him up that morning.
Lori couldn't wait to tell her sisters. They had spent so many long nights, huddled together under a blanket with that romance novel, Faye lighting the pages with her luminous skin. They had sighed, lovingly stroking the cover and fighting over who the hero would pick were he to spring to life from the pages.
Lori smiled and excitement fizzed in her belly. Now she had her very own real-life hero to stroke lovingly.
That last kiss, back in the log... Lori curled her toes inside her boots. That had been straight out of the pages of a steamy novel. She had never been kissed like that before. It made her previous experiences seem awkward and slobbery. She grimaced.
Now all she could think about was kissing Lephas again. Though he had been receptive to her, she was nervous. Last night she had hidden behind her grief as a reason to get closer to him, but now? She didn't have any excuses left, other than simplywantingto kiss him. Lori fiddled with her braid thoughtfully.
“Are you feeling cold yet?” Lephas turned and glanced at her over his shoulder. He was out of breath, clearly struggling with his painful injury.
“I am a little. I could do with a rest.” Lori nodded. Though she was cold, she could have continued on a little further but the demon sounded exhausted.Hecould do with a rest.
Lephas came to a halt and dropped his satchel from his back before sitting carefully on the thick branch of anearby tree.
“How's the rib?” Lori asked, kneeling to pull the nearly empty water skin from the side of his bag. She held it out to the commander.
The demon winced, taking a large gulp of water. “Painful. We're not going to get as far as we need to get today.” He sounded disappointed.
“We'll just have to take it one day at a time.” Lori smiled softly.
“I'm just worried about the weather getting worse again.” Lephas glanced up at the sky. It was still clear, but a fine mist of cloud had begun to form once more. “And we're out of food. I'm going to need to find us something to eat before it gets too dark.”
“What did you have in mind?” Lori asked, taking the water skin from his hands and sipping at it herself.
“Honestly? We have limited options. There are not many fruits or vegetables around at this time of year. Our only hope is to hunt a rabbit or a deer down.”
“You're not exactly in any condition to do that, are you?” Lori shook her head.
“No and that's what worries me,” Lephas sighed, immediately grimacing and holding his side.
“So, what should we do? We can't just sit here and starve to death.” The princess flipped her braid over her shoulder.
“It's a bit risky but I could try to fashion together a trap. We've still got that one biscuit left, right?”
“Yes. I put it back in the parcel.” Her stomach growled. Lori had been looking forward to eating it, but she kept quiet.
“Maybe we could use that as bait. I've got a snare wire in here somewhere.” He reached for his bag and began hunting through it.
Lori pursed her lips “A snare wire? That doesn't sound very friendly.”
“No, unfortunately not, but without Karn or a bow and arrow, the likelihood of us catching a rabbit is zero.”
“Where's that damn mutt when you need him?” Lori scowled.
“I hope he's made it back alright. He wasn't in a good way.” Lephas' face flickered with worry
“The wolf seems pretty hardy. I'm sure he's gotten to safety.” Lori smiled sympathetically. She got to her feet and sat beside the demon on the branch.
