I’d felt like peneldium to Taio’s magnet from the start.I could admit, if only to myself, that was one of the reasons I hated him.I did not want to be attracted to him.It seemed traitorous to want to touch him.
“We are supposed to be on watch,” I said, fastening my gaze on the landscape.“I take that very seriously.”
“As do I.”He folded his arms and looked out over the plains.“We won’t see any of the Twilight Men,” he said.“Not tonight.”
“You can’t be sure of that.”
“Which is why I stand here and watch.”
On the pretense of keeping an eye on the area to my left, I moved away from him and walked a half circle around the camp.Everything was quiet and still.The breeze had died down, and the grasses no longer waved.Even the outpost was silent now.The night had grown very dark, but my eyes had adjusted to the starlight.
Taio came to stand beside me again.“You’re shivering,” he said.Before I could reply that I was used to it, that I’d shivered many days and nights out on patrol during the dry season, he whisked off his coat and dropped it over my shoulders.The gesture stunned me almost as much as the scent that enveloped me.I suddenly felt as if Taio had put his arms about me.I caught the faintest whiff of lemon from the soap at the castle, but stronger than that was another scent.It was dark and exotic, foreign to me.I imagined it must be what Zulen smelled like.It was intoxicating, like a savory dish one was not allowed to sample.
But I didn’t want his coat or his kindness.I began to slide it off.“You wear it.You’ll be cold.”I gestured to his thin, long-sleeve shirt.
“I’m fine.”He moved away, leaving me the option of keeping the coat or chasing after him and arguing for him to take it.I settled for keeping the coat because now that I had it draped over me, I realized I had been cold.I would just take shallow breaths so I didn’t think of Taio every single second.
The watch dragged on—not because I was bored, as I usually was during a watch.I felt so awkward.I didn’t know whether to stand close to Taio or further away.I didn’t know what to do when we were close or what to say.When I started wishing I’d spot a Hollow just to have something to do other than shuffle my feet, I realized I was behaving like a complete dusthead.
“Let’s go to bed,” Taio said.
“What?”Had I imagined him saying that?
“It’s Omira’s watch,” he said, and I did not imagine the laughter in his voice.“I’ll wake her, and we can sleep.”
“Oh.Of course.”
He moved toward his sister and shook her lightly.She said something then rose and pulled on her coat.As she moved to take our position, I passed her on the way to my bedroll.She stopped and reached out, touching the sleeve of my coat—Taio’s coat.She blew out an annoyed breath and stomped off.At least I always knew where I stood with her.
I removed Taio’s coat and laid it on his bedroll then moved to mine.It was uncomfortably close to his, so I moved it further inside the circle of sleeping Zulenii men and slid inside.It would take a few minutes for my body heat to warm the bedroll, so I shivered while I tried to find a position that didn’t make my ass hurt.
“Try your belly,” a voice said near my ear.I inhaled sharply as I realized Taio had moved his bedroll closer to mine.
“Go back where you were,” I hissed.“I like my space.”
“Accustom yourself to my presence.”
I knew what this was.He still didn’t trust me.He thought I’d try and run away in the night.Where would I have gone?“I will not try to escape when you’re sleeping.”
“I never said you would.Lie on your belly.”
“I can’t sleep on my stomach.”
“Stop arguing and try.”
I twisted until I lay on my stomach with my head turned away from him.He was right that this position alleviated the pain in my tailbone and the back of my head.It didn’t feel quite as comfortable as sleeping on my side did, but I could always turn over.Something heavy and warm dropped over me, and I reared up.Taio was right beside me, and he’d lain his coat over both of us.“Why are you so close?”I hissed.
“I’m cold,” he said.“Go to sleep.”
I blew out a breath and put my head down again.I would not be able to sleep with him so close.I would stay awake and when I heard his breathing grow regular, I would move away again.Except the next thing I knew Taio was shaking his bedroll nearby, and I was blinking in the morning light.I still lay on my stomach, and I must have slept like a rock because I hadn’t even heard the others stirring.I was, again, the only one still abed.
I scrambled up, pushing my hair out of my face.Odd.It had been plaited when I went to sleep, and now it was loose.The herbal tea I drank must have made me drowsy again.I didn’t know why it hadn’t affected Taio, but perhaps he hadn’t drunk as much as I had.
I packed up my bedroll and washed my face with the little water we’d saved from the night before.My body ached less than it had and, as I plaited my hair again, I swallowed, testing my throat.It wasn’t as swollen.I pinned the hair to the nape of my neck and touched my throat.Not as tender.
I stood and shouldered my pack.The horizon was still a dark blue with streaks of orange fading into a deep pink.The one thing I’d always appreciated about being in the outerlands was the clear view of the stars and the sunrises and sunsets.I wondered how the sky would look in Zulen.Would the stars be the same?What about the color of the sky at dawn?
The creak of the gate drew my attention to the outpost.The tall doors of the outer gate swung open, and Finnrey, Gaz, and Nize stood with two guards I hadn’t seen before.Gaz said something to them and nodded, but Finnrey all but ran toward me.She embraced me then pulled back.“I was so worried about you.”
