A wide seductive grin spread over her face as she released his fingers. She’d never done anything like that before, but she’d fucking loved it.
An absolutely stunned and entranced look came over his face as he watched her, but it was quickly replaced by a devious glint when he saw her smile.
“You’re so fucking evil,” he said, one corner of his mouth tipping up as he lowered his head to whisper into her ear. “And I love it.”
Chapter Five
Ena
Enaawoketangledupwith Ty the next morning, and despite what lay ahead of them, she couldn’t help the contented hum that left her throat as she nuzzled into his warmth. This was the first time they’d gotten to sleep next to one another since everything had changed, and she relished it.
“Rise and shine, lovebirds!” Steig shouted at them from across the cave, a hint of bitterness in his voice. “The sun’s almost up.”
She felt Ty stir awake beside her, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead before extricating himself from their cozy nest of cloaks and standing up. He reached out a hand to help her up too before heading to the cave entrance, giving Steig a look of challenge on the way out, as if daring him to say what he thought.
She didn’t even realize she was staring longingly after Ty until Turner came over, holding another piece of jerky out to her as he chuckled to himself.
“What?” she asked defensively, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
“Me? Oh, nothing,” Turner said, failing to hide his grin. “It’s just…you two are really going for it, huh?”
“Yeah…” Ena said, suddenly feeling shy about it. They hadn’t discussed what they would say to Turner and Steig, but seemed like their secret was out now.
“I’m happy for you two. Should put a stop to the crackling sexual tension we had to endure all those weeks of traveling,” Turner said, giving her a teasing shoulder bump.
Ena rolled her eyes, even though deep down she was enjoying Turner’s playfulness, until she caught Steig staring daggers at them as he packed up one of his saddlebags.
“You got something to add, grumpy?” Ena asked him, daring him to say what he thought. If Ty wasn’t scared of him, then neither was she.
Steig just shook his head. “Nope, just… Good luck, I guess.” He said it in that usual curt way of his, but underneath, Ena could have sworn there was a hint of sincerity.
Ty strode back in a few minutes later, having fetched their horse and filled Ena’s waterskin for her. She drank greedily from it before leaving the cave to relieve herself in the woods.
She still couldn’t get over how different the landscape was here. It was so much rockier and more barren than she was used to, and she honestly couldn’t imagine how the daemons had survived here for so long. The soil wasn’t suited for agriculture, and there wasn’t much game. How were they surviving under the mountains?
The morning air was crisp, and Ena wrapped her cloak tighter around her. Bless Greya for bringing Ena’s own dark-green cloak from home when she’d come for her in Occidens, so at least she was no longer forced to use the one Steig had “borrowed” for her from the small village of Tritam.
The thought of Greya brought a small flash of guilt to her mind, though. Yule was coming in a few weeks, and shewondered if she and Perse would be handfasted on it as they’d planned. The thought of missing it wrenched at Ena’s heart, as did any thought of her sister.
After relieving herself, Ena wandered back to the cave opening, where she saw Steig and Ty readying the horses. They were deep in conversation, but something about the tone of their voices made her stop where she stood, hidden by the thick trunk of a pine tree.
“Well, don’t hold your tongue on my account. Spit it out, motherfucker,” Ty was saying to Steig. His voice was low so as not to carry, but she could feel his anger.
“I’m not holding my tongue, asshole. You already know where I stand. Even if you do trust her, how can you think this is a good idea?”
“It’ll be expected of us anyway, given what she’ll be pretending to be, so it’s not like we’ll have to hide it. Why can’t you just be happy for me?” Ty asked through gritted teeth.
“Iamhappy for you,” Steig said, his voice hushed and angry now too. “I know what you feel for her, and that may be all well and good for right now, but what about after?”
“After what?”
“After we break the bond? What then? What kind of future will you two have? You know what’s expected of you.”
Ty ran his fingers through his hair before bringing them down to stroke his beard in that nervous way of his. “I don’t know, Steig, but I do know I feel hopeful about us for the first time in a long time, and I’m not willing to give that up. Not anymore.”
Steig sighed, an extremely exasperated, put-upon sound. “I can understand that, but Ty…just be careful. Okay?” the man said beseechingly. “I’d hate to see this end badly for you, or her.”
“It won’t,” Ty said. “I have it under control, I promise.”
