“Wh-Where…are the others?”
“I told them to go ahead.”
Maxi’s face fell. “D-Did you have to separate…because of me?”
Riftan turned to her as he pulled Talon out from behind a tree. His expression was so flat that it was hard to imagine it had been so full of emotion just moments before.
“I told Hebaron I would follow as soon as I found you. He is capable of leading them until we are back.”
“B-But…how did you find me?”
“I followed your trail,” he replied tersely, looking down at her feet.
Puzzled, Maxi followed his gaze and saw her footprints inthe dirt. They were barely visible in the rough terrain twisted with roots. It was astonishing that he had been able to find her using such a trail. Seeing Maxi’s surprise, Riftan pointed to the horseshoe marks next to her prints and to the branches Rem had trampled along the way.
“Truth is, it was your mare that was the biggest help.”
“D-Did it not occur to you…that they might be monster tracks?”
“I know a monster track when I see one,” he said dryly. “Thank God that I found you before it rained. I would not have been able to so quickly once your tracks had been washed away.”
Maxi shuddered. If Riftan had been delayed, she would be food for the worms by now. Still, she wondered how he had navigated the blocked path. Had he really climbed over the huge boulder?
She was giving him a dubious look when he leaped onto a wide rock and offered her his hand. “Hurry. We must find shelter before the rain gets heavier.”
Maxi climbed beside him in silence. Riftan made his way up the rugged incline as nimbly as a mountain goat despite having to lead two horses with one hand, Maxi with the other. How did he move so quietly in such heavy armor? Maxi watched the drizzle soak Riftan’s black hair, running down the back of his muscular neck and into his ever-alert eyes. The rain repelling off his glistening armor created a halo of white fog.
She was in awe of him. He did not display even a hint of exhaustion. His long, sturdy legs marched tirelessly up the muddy path with ease, and the arm that steadied her whenever she staggered was as sturdy as an anchor. It was not justthat he had more stamina; it was as if she and he were of a completely different species.
“Let’s rest over there for a while,” said Riftan when he noticed her sagging shoulders.
He led her to a towering tree, its trunk thick enough that six men could not have encircled it. Maxi trudged behind him, her boots squelching with each step. He tied the reins under a leafy branch before scooping her up with one arm. Maxi was so exhausted that she did not even have the energy to ask him to let her down.
He strode over to where there was a cave-like space in the trunk. Riftan placed Maxi gently inside the hollow and crawled in beside her. Maxi slumped over like a wilted cabbage leaf, her head tipping to one side. Her body kept alternating between sweating and shivering as if it did not know whether to feel hot or cold.
After slipping off his breastplate and propping it up to one side, Riftan pulled her against his chest. The warmth that seeped through their wet clothes made Maxi’s remaining tension and fear melt away. Despite the fact that they were huddled inside a tree trunk like bedraggled forest creatures seeking shelter from the rain, Maxi felt as safe as if she were in a fortress. She shifted as close as possible to Riftan and laid her head on his muscled shoulder.
Riftan removed his gauntlet and vambrace, laying them beside his breastplate, then ran his warm hand over her shoulders and back. “We will have to start out again as soon as the rain stops, so try to get some sleep.”
“D-Do you think the others are all right? Wh-What if the goblins attacked them—”
“Goblins hate water, so the others will be fine while itrains. They should be making their way down the mountain by now.” Riftan slid his hand inside her tunic and caressed her cold skin. “Stop the needless worry and go to sleep.”
Cocooned within Riftan’s embrace, Maxi let out a drowsy sigh as a feverish warmth seeped into her skin. Riftan stared silently into the trees. Maxi looked up through the raindrops in her drooping eyelashes and watched the water drip down from his hair until she could no longer keep her eyes open. Feeling consciousness slip away, she listened to the wind blowing through the leaves.
She felt Riftan shift her onto his lap, and she nuzzled closer to his chest. As drowsy exhaustion overtook her and she drifted off to sleep, her last memory was of him pulling off her soaked shoes and socks and massaging her swollen feet with wet hands.
—
The rain was lighterwhen she finally awoke. She watched the drizzle with bleary eyes before turning her gaze up at Riftan. He lay against the tree as still as stone with his eyes closed. Maxi’s chest tightened. She placed a hand beneath his nose. It was faint, but she could feel gentle breaths. Sighing in relief, Maxi gingerly brushed the hair out of his eyes. He must have been tired after all, which was understandable after marching for days without proper rest.
Wishing she could soothe away his exhaustion, Maxi let her hand graze down his cheek. His eyes shot open, lucid and so dark she could barely see his pupils. Maxi pulled her hand back, worried that he was still avoiding her touch, but instead of recoiling, he lowered his head and kissed her.
Maxi pulled back, surprised at his change of heart, but histongue flicked over her lips as if to reassure her that he was sure. His warm, strong hand steadied the back of her neck. It felt as though a hound that had been lounging at her feet had lunged at her throat without warning.
Only she had been missing this hound. Maxi gripped his arm to ground herself and moaned. He responded with a sigh and cupped her breast. She lost herself in the black depths of his eyes before sinking entirely into the feeling of his tongue pushing deeper into her mouth, hungrily sucking on her tongue. Having just experienced drowning, Maxi could recognize the feeling as she lost her breath to their kiss.
When Riftan pulled away, his breath was ragged as well. It was the first time she had seen him breathe heavily the entire brutal journey. He looked beyond her, and when he spoke, Maxi was still in such a heady daze that she did not immediately register his words.
