Four nights in, and I was coming to accept this to be the norm. Maybe I loved it so much because it reminded me of my time with Araz, of how we’d lain together for so many nights until he was gone.
I wasn’t replacing Araz with Pashim or C’ael. I was simply…surviving.
“He’d want me to take care of you,” C’ael said softly, his breath teasing the hair at my crown. “I feel it.”
My stomach tightened, but I didn’t ask him how he knew what I was thinking. “What else do you feel?” Why had I asked that?
I felt the shudder of his breath against my temple. “Oh, Leela, I don’t think you truly want to know the answer to that.”
My mouth went dry. I closed my eyes and exhaled. “Yeah. Don’t tell me.”
His grip on me tightened. “I promise. I won’t.”
Chapter 24
INTO THE SERPENT’S MAW
KALANI
Ipoke the flames of the campfire, teasing them to rise a little more before holding my palms up to warm them. The seasons are shifting, the nights becoming longer, which means there is less time on the road. But we’ve made good progress. One more day and we’ll reach the Red Mountain.
Snap.
Crack.
I look up sharply, then relax as Ravi strolls back into the clearing, small game clutched loosely in his hand. The great thing about traveling with a rakshasa is that hunger has not been an issue. He hunts. I cook. We both eat. Perfect.
He hands me the offering, already skinned and gutted, then sits opposite me, watching me across the flames as I add the meat to the makeshift spit I’ve erected.
Yes, we make a good team out here. The fact that he’s pleasing to look at doesn’t factor into anything.
“It will be bitterly cold tonight,” he says softly. “We should sleep together for warmth.”
My stomach goes soft with heat, but when I speak, my voice sounds steady and normal. “That sounds reasonable.”
I’d be blind and pulse dead not to find this male attractive, and he smells divine, despite days on the road and only one stop off at a river to wash. His natural scent makes my stomach tight in a way it hasn’t felt in an age.
It’s a shame that he’s in love with Leela. Understandable. I’m not attracted to women, but even I’m a little in love with Leela. We have that in common, at least.
I turn the spit to make sure the meat cooks evenly, my mouth watering at the delicious aroma.
“Why did you insist on wanting to come with me?” Ravi asks.
“I have connections in Patala.”
His brows go up slightly in surprise. “What kind of connections?”
My lips curve, the slant bitter. “You’re not the only one with familial connections there.”
He sits up slightly, his vibrant green eyes sparking with interest, and my stupid pulse skips.
I drop my gaze to our supper, twisting the spit again.
“You know that I’m waiting for you to elaborate,” Ravi says, a hint of amusement in his tone that makes me smile.
“Yes, I know.” I exhale because what I’m about to share isn’t common knowledge. In fact, it’s been a closely kept secret all my life, revealed to me only a few years ago, and if the world wasn’t ending, I wouldn’t even contemplate sharing. But we have no idea how many tomorrows we have left, and…Iwantto tell him. He needs to know before we get to Patala.
“Let’s just say that I am my mother’s daughter, but I may not have been my father’s.”
