As if on cue, Isla’s stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten anything since the inn with Bri, Arden, and her father—two days ago. A pang of worry swept through her at the thought of them. She prayed they had made it back to Lockhurt safely. And what of her father? Her stomach tightened; she hated not knowing how he fared or if his condition had worsened since she’d been gone.
“Is something wrong?” the man asked cautiously.
She stared at him. “You’re kidding, right?” He simply cocked his head, waiting for her to continue.
Isla blinked. “I was kidnapped by crazy murderers while on my way home to try and revive my injured, unconscious father.” She raised her voice. “I’ve been in two life-threatening situations in four days. I killed five men, cut off someone’sfinger, caught someone else on fire—” She gulped air, laughing a bit hysterically. “And now I’m in a cave, with a magicalgodwho can undress me with his powers, and I don’t even know your name. And you ask me if something is wrong?” Her laughter turned into tears, which stung as they hit the fresh cut.Gods, I’m completely unhinged,she thought, struggling to rein in her emotions.
“Rynn,” he said after a moment, seemingly unphased by her outburst.
She took one more shaky breath as her mind quieted. “Excuse me?”
“Now you know my name. It’s Rynn.”
Isla paused, letting his response sink in as she dried her tears on her sleeves. “I’m Isla,” she finally said.
“I know.” There was that almost-smirk of his again. “I heard your friend call for you at the campsite.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, eating the food he had brought. After he finished, he pulled out a knife and walked to the lone spear leaning against the wall. As he began sharpening the edge, Isla took the time to study her unexpected savior.
Rynn. She repeated his name in her mind again. She didn’t know what to expect a mythical being with magic powers to be named, but “Rynn” seemed too simple. And yet, it suited him. She studied the outline of his toned muscles beneath his tunic, his wavy hair that was once again disheveled and untamed, as if perpetually caught in the wind. It was long enough to sweep over his eyes, where he occasionally swiped it away with his fingers. A shadow of a beard shaded his jaw and chin. He had on a similar tunic to the one she wore, except his was burgundy. He wore it loose and with the top buttons undone, displaying a hint of dark hair trailing up his chest.
Her cheeks flushed and she looked back down at her food. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
“You’ve already said that,” he replied, not looking up from his task.
“That was for the cold compress. This is for…everything else.” He glanced at her then. “For feeding me. Saving my life. Bringing me here.” She peered around at the cave. “Where ishere, exactly?”
“Aataran.” He went back to sharpening.
“I thought you told me to stay away from here the last time we met.”
“That was before.”
“Before what?”
“Before you needed my help.”
She swallowed back her irritation. “How did you even know I was in trouble?”
Something flashed across his face. “I heard you scream.”
“You’re a man of few words, aren’t you?” That finally earned a smile. Or at least, more of a smile than she’d seen before. The right side of his lips curved upward, making him appear even more handsome in a quiet, cocky way.
“I believe your phrase last time was ‘infuriating.’”
“I stand by that,” she shot back. “How did you hear me, anyway? Are we close to their camp?” she asked, her wavering voice betraying a hint of trepidation.
He stiffened and dropped his gaze to his spear, pausing before responding in a low, flat voice. “Sounds come to me on the wind, if I want them to. You do not have to be afraid of those men anymore.”
His tone held such muted rage, like he was holding back a violent storm. It sent chills down her spine.
“What did you do back at the camp?” she asked. “Those men…they were terrified.”
“It does not matter.”
Isla gritted her teeth. She hated when people didn’t give her straight answers, and this god was a master at evasion. “What, do you think I can’t handle it? I’ve done my fair share of unspeakable things in recent days, in case you forgot. Now, what did you do?”
One second, he was whittling away at his spear, and the next he was right in front of her face. Wind that seemed to come from nowhere encompassed them, lifting her copper hair from her shoulders. She sucked in a breath, unable to keep her eyes off of his gray gaze. The blue around his irises pulsed and swirled with his wind.
