I’d faced plenty of hand-to-hand combat in my lifetime—that,I was prepared for. What I hadn’t been prepared for was the overwhelming primal urge to protect someone who wasn’t my family.
It was more than just keeping a promise to my brother.
Howmuchmore wasn’t something I wanted to consider too deeply.
Chapter4
No Gentleman
Raewyn
It wasn’t long before Pharis spotted what he said was the perfect refuge.
We left the tree line and raced at full speed across the open land until we reached the huge rock formation. It must have been his superior Elven eyesight aiding him, because I didn’t see the cave until we were almost upon it.
Pharis jumped off his horse and helped me down from the saddle then led Dargan inside, speaking to him softly with reassuring words about the darkness and closeness of our hiding place.
The gentle whispers somehow reassured me as well. I’d never been fond of tight spaces and had certainly never been tempted to explore any caves.
“Are you sure we’re alone in here?” I whispered, looking into the inky blackness away from the entrance.
Stellon had told me Elves had far better night vision than humans, so I had to trust Pharis’ word on it.
“Other than that enormous bear? Completely alone,” he said.
My feet started speeding toward the cave opening, but I was stopped abruptly when Pharis snagged the back of my cloak. He was shaking with laughter.
“Your face,” he said between laughs. “You are gullible, little Wyn.”
I whirled on him, not amused.
“I’m so glad my desire tolive through the dayentertains you, Your Highness.”
“Don’t call me that,” he said.
“Don’t call me ‘little Wyn,’” I snapped.
Collapsing to the cave floor, I said, “And I’m not gullible—usually. I’m just exhausted. And weary of surprises. I was jumping at every twig snap as we were riding near the forest.”
“I noticed,” Pharis said. “You can rest now. Not here, though. Come deeper into the cave. There are no bears here, though they do exist in these parts along with plenty of other wild creatures.”
He pulled me to my feet then took my arm and started leading me and Dargan farther into the dark space.
“Back here my shadow power will be useful—if someone were to come along and check the cave for us.”
I shivered, both at the thought of pursuing troops and at the cold that increased as we moved deeper into the rocky enclosure.
The stone beneath our feet sloped downward so that it felt like walking down a ramp, and the cave walls curved, taking us out of sight of the opening and the daylight beyond it.
It seemed the cave was a bit wider back here, but I couldn’t be sure, as I had almost no visibility. Pharis’ grip on my arm was my only lifeline.
“How far does it go?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, but we’re not going to find out,” Pharis said. “I only want to get far enough from the opening that our firelight won’t be visible from the outside.”
“Firelight?”
My voice held a hopeful note incongruent with the bone-deep tiredness that made me feel like dropping on the spot, cold floor or no.
