The moona whinnied as if in agreement. The magnificent beasts, born for the skies, no longer gleamed pristine white. Their hooves and legs were muddy, flanks speckled with dirt, wings too. Yet they still managed to look as majestic as ever. Iwished, not for the first time, that they’d let us take turns riding them, but to be fair to Dhoona and Yudh, they’d spent more time on foot than in the saddle, whether out of fairness or to give the moona a break, I wasn’t sure.
Kalani was somewhere up ahead, scouting out the terrain. But it was obvious to us all that she needed space to grieve. I couldn’t help but feel responsible. The nagrata had been after me, and Raja had died trying to get me to safety.
Ithadbeen a while since she’d doubled back to check in, though. “I’m worried about Kalani.”
“I’ll go check on her,” Pashim said, striding off into the trees before I could stop him.
His ability to teleport would have come in handy about now, but the innate skill had been lost when Priti brought him back. A toll, she said. Everything centered around balance, and even though he shouldn’t have died, taking him back into the world of the living still required a price.
“Kalani will heal in time,” Yudh said softly. “What happened was no one’s fault but the primordial evil’s.”
I knew that, of course, but still…
Pashim appeared on the track ahead. “Kalani found a copse. Good cover and space enough to build a fire and a stream too.” He waited for us to catch up a little before leading the way back down the track, which grew narrower as the tress closed in, forcing us to walk single file for a while before it opened out onto a stream. A gathering of trees sat beyond it, branches almost entwined as they leaned into each other as if in urgent confabulation.
Kalani appeared from the shadows, standing hands on hips as we hopped the stepping stones across the water.
“I’ve set up the shelters,” she said. “If it rains, we should stay dry.”
“I’ll prepare the ground for a fire,” Yudh said.
I knew enough about camping to understand the risks with lighting a fire in a densely wooded area like a copse, but as long as we cleared the ground around it and created a neat fire pit using stones, we should be safe.
I set to work helping collect rocks from around the stream, my body already aching to lie down and sleep.
Pashim took our canteens and went to collect water.
I watched him as he folded his powerful frame into a crouch and dipped the first canteen into the running water. Tendrils of blue hair fell forward, shadowing his face, and the urge to walk over to him and brush them back washed over me. I exhaled, letting the moment pass.
I loved him. Not with the intensity that I loved Araz. Not with feral fire but with a steady, surefooted love. The kind of love that would always be there, like the sun or the moon. Ever present and eternal.
And because I loved him, I needed to make sure I didn’t cage his heart any more than I already had.
I wanted him to be free to love someone who could love him back with the ferocity that he deserved. The kind of love that would hit him like a tsunami and steal the very breath from his lungs. The kind of love that existed between me and Araz.
He capped the canteen and looked my way. I froze, heart thudding hard against my ribs. His penetrating gaze locked with mine for the longest second before he broke contact, dropping his attention back to the pack containing the canteens.
I went back to my rocks but had barely gathered any when my nape pricked in awareness. A gentle heat brushed my hand.
C’ael. The knots in my chest loosened.
Here. Not far now.
I turned toward the whisper, pulse quickening. The air shifted, and for a moment he was there, his beautiful face soclose I could have leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Emerald eyes stared into my soul, and a gentle calm settled over me.
Leela…
I reached for him.
He vanished, taking the soothing calm with him.
I needed him back. And soon.
The fire crackled and popped,throwing out the gift of heat. Yudh kept watch while Kalani and Dhoona slept on the other side of the campfire. Pashim and I snuggled in a bedroll under one of the two shelters that Kalani had erected—a hide provided by Priti, stretched between two trees and secured with twine.
I lay facing Pashim, using his arm as a pillow, my palm on his chest. His free arm lay over my waist, his hand in my hair. Fingers on my scalp. Soothing. It was intimate and probably too close, but I was weak. I wanted this. Needed it.
He kissed my forehead softly. “Close your eyes, Leela. I’ll watch over you.”
