“Aelia, I get it. Don’t beat yourself up,” Keeran said, dropping his head to make her look at him. “I mean it, it’s fine. But we don’t know what we’re riding towards, and if we keep going as we are, our chance at freeing your friend is next to none. We have to be in this together, and that means you need to listen to me as much as I need to listen to you. You can’t keep insisting on doing everything your way.”
Steel flashed in her eyes, but she tempered it, pressing her lips into a hard line before nodding jerkily.
“I know. I won’t do it again,” she conceded, so begrudgingly that Keeran almost smiled. She craned her neck past him with a far from subtle subject change. “Did you manage to hunt something? I’ll get started on dinner if you want to untack your horse.”
Keeran’s stomach lurched at the thought of another meal like the night before.
“You cooked last night, it’s my turn,” he said, hurriedly. “I insist.”
Aelia smiled, barely more than a tiny lift of her lips, but all at once, he forgave her everything. He hadn’t seen her smile like that since they’d left Callodosis, and it sent a shock lancing straight through his rib cage, his heart stuttering at the sight of it.
“I’ll help you with your horse then,” she offered, completely oblivious to him trying to remember how to breathe.
They untacked the horse, and he left her rubbing it down as he carried his pack and the rabbits to the crackling fire. She’d already filled a pot with water from the lake, so he got to work skinning the rabbits, dropping them into the boiling water along with a few root vegetables they’d brought with them.
When the stew was simmering nicely, he twisted to reach into his pack for some seasoning, but the sight of Aelia wandering in front of the lake caught his eye.
She ran her fingers through the grass growing along the banks, wildflowers bursting past the tall green blades, but she seemed oblivious to their dainty colours as she looked out over the vast lake. The setting sun was reflected in the still water, amplifying the pink and orange hues that filled the sky.
The view was breathtaking, but Keeran couldn’t tear his eyes away from Aelia, his diaphragm tying itself in knots as she picked one of the flowers, twiddling it between her fingers absentmindedly.
As though she’d felt his gaze, her head turned to him, meeting his eyes unabashedly. Time became irrelevant, the seconds seeming stretched by something delicious and unexplainable that grew within their eye contact. The world around them disappeared as his entire consciousness tunnelled onto her, that tugging in his chest seeming to pull him towards her.
“I’m going to wash in the lake.” Her words broke the silence, but not the spell, and she made no effort to move.
“The waters are deep, be careful.” The low rasp of his voice betrayed him; his mind jumping to images of her struggling in the dark depths, naked and wet and needing him to wade in after her.
“I will.” She seemed reluctant to leave, but she eventually fetched clean clothes from her pack, tucked her dagger away inside it, and disappeared down the bank. Keeran let out a long, slow breath, turning back to stare into the flames unseeingly for a few moments.
What was this? She could knock his legs out from under him with just a look, convincing him that her eyes were his anchor, that her face was the only home he’d ever need. He’d never felt anything like it, not even close. He’d never been in love, but he knew this wasn’t it. It went deeper than that; it was an obsession he couldn’t control, a tether he couldn’t escape.
Trying desperately hard not to think of her naked, mere meters away, he turned his attention back to the food. It took a little fussing and several taste tests before he was satisfied.
Aelia returned to their little camp, her wet hair nearly black as she crossed to the willow and began hanging her freshly cleaned clothes over various branches.
“The water’s good,” she said, coming close to the fire and folding herself to sit cross-legged before it. She splayed herfingers wide and held them close to the cheerful flames. “Cold, but good.”
“I might jump in myself before dinner, unless you’re too hungry to wait?” Cold water was just what he needed to control his thoughts. It felt like half the blood in his body had fled south, and the way the tangled snarls of her wet hair hung over her shoulders wasn’t helping. It made her look unrestrained and wild, just waiting to be tamed.
The thought crept unbidden to the forefront of his mind, leaching from the beast that had uncurled itself. Keeran shoved it back down, along with all the other diabolical things it wanted to do to her.
Yes, cold water was exactly what he needed.
“No, not at all,” Aelia said, shifting to sit more comfortably before running her fingers through her tangled hair.
Keeran looked quickly away, something about the simple action sending his heart into overdrive. His hand clenched involuntarily as he stomped down on the images of all he could do if he replaced her hand with his own.
“Right.” His voice was low and raw, eliciting a glance from her. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Be right back.”
The cold waterdid fuck all.
Keeran walked the short distance back to the camp just as tortured as when he’d left, as evidenced by the stubborn bulge straining against his trousers. He left his top untucked, trying to hide it the best he could.
He served up dinner into their bowls, saving some for the morning, and sat back against his pack.
A low moan had his gaze whipping up. Aelia had closed her eyes, her empty spoon held halfway between the bowl and her mouth. When she opened them, they dropped straight to the stew, before she plunged her spoon back in for another bite.
This time, the moan was louder, and Keeran vowed to cook for her every night if it meant he got to hear her make noises like that.
