Zina could virtually hear her neck creaking as she slowly turned her head to stare at him incredulously. Then she burst out laughing.
“Are you serious?” she asked, once she could get a word out in between her hilarity-induced hiccups.
“Of course I’m serious!” Trent shook his head, casting his eyes to the heavens – or at least the roof of the car. “A man’s hair isn’t something you mess around with on a whim! A new look means a new me! I didn’t have time to consider what going blond would do to my personality. This is going to take some time to get over, let me tell you.”
“Well, they do say blonds have more fun,” Zina said, dabbing at a tear that had welled up in the corner of her eye. “Let’s hopethatholds true.”
“Well, I guess we’ll find out. You’re gonna have to buy me some diamond earrings if you want this kind of thing to continue – unless you’re not a gentleman, of course.”
Despite everything, Zina could still feel a laugh echoing around in her chest. She’s always thought of herself as a serious person. But she couldn’t help it – no one had ever made her laugh the way Trent did before.
A few minutes more of driving, and Zina thought she could make out what Trent was aiming for rising up before them. In the half-light, it was little more than a few shadows in the distance, but she could see what he meant about them having shelter for the night – the shadows soon resolved themselves into trees, and Trent pulled up at the edge of where they sprang up from the ground, just as the last of the light finally faded on the horizon.
“So… this is like an oasis?” Zina asked as she got out of the car, pulling her bag with her.
“Kind of,” Trent said. “There’s a lake on the other side of the trees, but it’s not the kind of lake you can drink out of. Too salty for that.”
“Oh, right,” Zina murmured. She hoped no weary travelers had ever been deceived by the line of trees, only to find there wasn’t a drop to drink after all.
She followed Trent into the line of stunted, scrubby trees and undergrowth. There wasn’t really much to them, she realized now that they were in amongst it – not much cover at all. But it wasn’t exactly like they could be choosy at this particular moment.
Trent had some blankets he’d pulled out of the car slung over his shoulders, and as soon as they reached a small clearing, he heaved them down onto the ground.
“Here looks like as good a place as any to get some shut-eye,” he said, rolling them out. “Sorry about the dust.”
“It’s no problem.” Zina carefully laid her bag down by a clump of underbrush. She swallowed. “Thanks just for getting us all out of there in one piece.”
Trent laughed, though his voice sounded a little tight. “Of course,” he said. He paused, looking up at her. “Zina, you really haven’t sensed it, have you?” He laughed again, shaking his head. “No – sorry, I’m asking you stupid questions. Now that you’ve given me some of that serum too, I get it – not evenIcan sense it now.”
Zina opened her mouth, then closed it again. Confusion swirled in her chest –What the hell is he talking about?!
“Trent, I don’t –”
But Trent cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Sorry – I get I’m being a bit mysterious just now. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all. It’s just – for the longest time I thought I must be goingcrazy,or imagining things, or wondering if you weren’t a shifter at all – finding out about that serum has shaken a bunch of stuff into place. Igetit now.”
“Trent, you’re really not making any sense.” Zina crossed her arms over her chest. “Seriously – I really have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Shereallydidn’t need Trent talking in circles at her right now. Didn’t they have enough on their plate withoutthistoo?
Trent looked up at her, his eyes piercing. Zina couldn’t hold back the gasp that left her throat – even though it was dark and getting darker by the second, she could see his face clearly, as if it had been the middle of the day. And she could see the pained expression on his face – but there was something else there too.
A look of purerelief.
“Zina, I don’t know how to say this any other way except just tosayit. Especially after everything we’ve been through. And everything we’re probably going to have tokeepgoing through.”
Zina blinked at him. Warmth suddenly pooled in her belly, and her breath felt short in her lungs. She wasn’t sure she could have spoken right now even if she’d known what to say – her head swam as Trent walked toward her, eyes trained on her face. His hands were warm when they touched hers, engulfing them entirely as he clasped them, pulling them up to his chest.
“Zina, it’s you. It’s only ever been you. You’re my mate.”
Zina stared up at him, her mouth going dry. Her head felt completely empty of thought.
“That – that can’t be true – I would have –”
I would havesensedit –
But even as she thought it, Zina wondered how true that was. Could the serum even have suppressed her ability to sense her mate?
“You still don’t feel it?” Trent’s eyes were searching hers. He looked desperate, and Zina could feel his pain, almost as if –
