“Fire will draw more attention,” I said without thinking.
“That’s what we’re hoping for,” I heard Malakai chuckle in response, and I knew he was thinking about a different kind of fire.
“What?” Eve snorted. “We want to be eaten now?”
“I think he’s talking about the mages’ attention?” Mey added, her voice telling us she was uncertain too.
“Perhaps not in the dark? It will be hard to tell friend from foe right now,” Lionel added his thoughts, with a slight bite to it. “Let’s at least rest, but closely together. Then, if we hear something further away, we know it’s not one of us.”
“I don’t want to be close to a mage,” Eve hissed.
“Well, it’s that or hugging a demon pretending to be us,” Ashley snickered mischievously.
Gods, if they only knew…
That silenced Eve. She shuddered and stepped closer to Lionel. We sat down on the dirt, our backs against a thick tree trunk, forming a circle around it.
“No cuddling this time?” Malakai whispered next to me, his breath tickling the shell of my ear.
I kicked him with my boot, earning a low chuckle from him.
CHAPTER
22
Light flickered in front of my eyelids, it felt warm and blissful.
And heavy.
I opened my eyes and to my surprise, Ashley had found her way around the tree and was now lying over me, hugging me as she rested against my stomach. I chuckled low, but realised that wasn’t all. Lionel was lying with his head against my right shoulder, his arm looped around mine. My left hand was entwined too but… in Malakai’s jacket pocket, held firmly inside of his own.
Shit.
“Hey, Ashley,” I whispered, trying to wake her as I struggled with my left hand. It wouldn’t budge.
“Not now, Mauria,” she muttered casually and I tensed. Was that the name of her twin?
Lionel moved slightly, but his breaths were deep, he was still fast asleep.
Slowly, I turned towards my left. Of course he was wide awake, taunting me with a smirk.
“Let go,” I snapped at Malakai.
“What if I don’t want to?” he mused, eyes glimmering with mischief.
I wrinkled my nose at him. “Stop playing around.”
“What if I’m not?” His voice dipped, something dangerous emerging in his eyes.
Something shifted inside my stomach, I felt weird.
“You’re so loud,” Ashley groaned, before she pulled herself up on her knees, rubbing her eyes. Then she looked at me and seemed surprised. “Oh. How did I get here?”
I tried smiling. “You seem to be a sleep-walker?”
Lionel began shifting again, this time his head rose from my shoulder and I was able to stretch with ease. Ashley mimicked it, before she went for one of our bags, searching for food.
“Did you sleep well?” Lionel asked before yawning.
