He glanced over his shoulder then spoke to me. “Are the two of you…?”
I ignored the question.
“I know you and Allegra split up?—”
“Enough small talk.”
“It’s not small talk between friends, but fine.”
“What about you?” I asked, seeing how he liked the invasion.
“I like Laura, but it’s not love. She knows that.”
“And you’re okay having a child with a woman who means nothing to you?”
“Means nothing? That’s harsh—and inaccurate.”
I’d expected him to sidestep the questions when he grew uncomfortable, but he didn’t. Didn’t seem to mind it at all.
“Does your mother know?”
“Yes, because Allegra told her.”
“Damn, that’s awkward.”
“Is this conversation over?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Morco, there’s more to life than surviving.”
“There is?” I asked. “Because I’ve never known anything but this…”
Caius fell quiet after that.
It was nearly half a day of travel to reach the forest, and we stopped to rest at the same set of rocks from the last time we’d come. The torches were placed in the sand, and we dropped our packs and leaned against the boulders.
“I’ll take the first watch,” I said. “Get some sleep.”
“You sure?” Liam asked.
I nodded, my arms propped on my knees.
Hanne dropped her pack then took the seat beside me. She sat upright and crossed her arms over her chest while the guys lay down and used their packs as pillows. “I’ll sit up with you.”
“I’m fine. Get some rest.”
But she sat there anyway, looking at the lake and the light from the torch that reflected on the surface. We sat together in comfortable silence, the guys falling asleep within a couple of minutes, their low snores audible.
“When we return, we’ll figure out how to make that bow and arrow you mentioned.” Attacking our enemy from a distance would be helpful, rather than risking our bodies with close combat, especially since they were much bigger than us. I fantasized about the battle, finding the nextapricumbefore they did, and unleashing an attack they weren’t prepared to combat. It gave me a burst of energy, a vengeful blood lust I hadn’t felt in a long time.
When she didn’t say anything, I turned to look at her.
Her eyes were closed, and at that moment, she tipped in my direction, her cheek hitting my shoulder. The collision didn’t stirher. She continued to breathe deeply and soundly, dead asleep and blissfully unaware of the darkness that surrounded us.
I stared down at her, seeing the strands of her hair closer than I ever had. At this proximity, it looked brown, but that might be because of the darkness. In the glow of a fireplace, it might look blond again. Directly in the light of theapricum, it might be blond. I would probably never know.
I listened to her breathe as I looked out at the lake, her body hard in places and soft in others. Even when my body ached to change positions, I remained still so I wouldn’t wake her. But she moved on her own, turning her face farther into my clothing, pivoting her body toward me like she was cold.
She turned her head, as if she couldn’t get the proper air nuzzled into my arm, so her features were easy for me to see, her lips parted a bit, her eyelids flicking slightly, like she was in the middle of a dream. Her freckles were visible in the light of the torch, her high cheekbones casting small shadows, her eyelashes thick and dark like her hair.
