“If I touch you, will your gryphon take issue with it?” he queries, a slight rise in his voice on the wordgryphon, betraying the confidence he’s currently exuding.
I check in with Pigeon to gauge how she’s feeling right now. The erotic fantasies must have worked like a magic eraser, because I sense none of the rage that was there when she tried to kill him before. If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect that she’s kicking back with a bowl of popcorn, eager to see how things are going to unfold.
“She said she’d make an exception just this once,” I lie, apparently not very well either, because Ryn chuckles like he can see right through it.
I zing of warmth shoots right through me as Ryn grabs me by the waist and picks me up. He manhandles me like I weigh nothing and sets me on my feet in a move that shouldn’t be so easy for him and so hard for me.
I push my mess of hair out of my eyes, and Ryn’s holding a small canteen out to me. I eye it for a second and then him before reaching out for it. I take a deep pull, intending to swish and wash my mouth out, but it’s not water like I thought it was. Sweetness explodes in my mouth, and I immediately choke on it, surprised by the flavor when I expected there to be none.
I bend over and spit the saccharine-laced liquid out of my mouth. I then proceed to attempt to hack up both of my lungs.
“Cum on a tree sprite, Falon, don’t try to kill yourself so soon after I just rescued you,” he teases, hitting my back firmly to help clear my lungs of fluid.
I finally get a hold of myself and manage to straighten up. I take another pull from the canteen still in my hands, this time expecting the explosion of flavor. I clean my mouth out and then drink a good amount down.
“Careful,” Ryn warns, “Toag nectar is used when a soldier needs energy in a long battle. There’s no telling what it might do to your more delicate sensibilities.”
I snort. “I’m tough, don’t you worry your pretty little head about me,Altern,” I challenge, using the title he has amongst the Hidden.
His eyes narrow slightly, but he doesn’t say anything.
I let loose an epic belch, and Ryn’s eyes widen in surprise. I smirk at him.
“What? That would have gotten me applause at the tavern,” I tell him, proud of the man burp.
Where’s Sice when you need him?
Ryn pinches his temples like this information exasperates him. “You’re supposed to be laying low until I can get us out of here, Falon. Not drinking in taverns with…” he trails off. “Who in the rut took you drinking?” he demands to know on a tired sigh.
“I am laying low,” I snap. “And I was with the guards Treno assigned, so I was fine,”
“Treno didn’t assign anything, I did, and where are those guards now, Falon?” he asks, looking around like he expects them to step out of the woods.
I do the same thing. They were here earlier.
I shrug, confused by where they could have gone and by Ryn assigning them to me and not Treno.
“We should go. All of Kestrel is practically looking for you, at this point,” he tells me casually as he places a hand at the small of my back in an effort to herd me.
I realize in that moment, with his warm hand against my bare skin, that I’m butt ass naked. To his credit, Ryn’s eyes haven’t dipped below mine this whole time. Then again, maybe he got an eyeful when he found me ass over face on the ground. I turn to the tree whose roots are protecting my clothes.
“Why are they looking for me?” I ask, perplexed. “I’ve been coming out here for days with no one being bothered by it. Sice and Dri are always close by; they’re sneaky fuckers, by the way,” I point out, impressed and equally jealous of their mad sneaking skills. “Anyway, why would anyone care where I am now?” I query, hastily moving in the direction of my clothes.
“Because Treno wants to see you, and what the little Altern wants, the Altern gets,” Ryn mocks.
“So he’s okay then?” I ask, unable to stop the relief in my voice from shining through.
Ryn’s eyes grow hard, and he studies me, not bothering to answer.
I bend over to pick up my newly gifted makeshift bra, and Ryn grunts.
“Well, at least your sneaky guards managed to deliver the things they were told to,” Ryn states irritably.
I stare at him for a second, the soft leather of the garment I assumed Treno gave me clutched in my hand, and it clicks.
“It was you?” I state on a shocked whisper.
I give a hollow laugh and stare at the bra in my palms. Ryn is the only one to ever see me wearing this. How could I have not made that connection earlier?
