I take a step toward the clearing, only to be stopped in my tracks by an immovable force around my waist.
Callum’s tail.
He uses it to tug me back into the cover of the shadows, right up against his chest, and as much as I want annoyance to be the only thing I feel, a pulse of… something else moves through me.
What else could he get up to with a long, strong, thick tail like this?
I stroke my fingers along the length of it. Lightly. Teasingly.
Callum shudders. “Witch—”
“Don’t youwitchme,” I mutter. “If you don’t believe I’m capable of—”
“You’re more than capable, Seren.”
“Then why’d you pull me back?”
His crooked smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Forgive me. The last time we were here I nearly watched you die, and I don’t… I can’t…”
Oh.
It’s a cold bucket of water dumped right on top of any inappropriate thoughts I might have been having.
I relax into him. He stiffens slightly, surprised, but the tension goes out of him almost immediately. He doesn’t drop his tail yet, but the hold loosens. A gentle tether rather than a binding rope.
“I get it,” I say quietly. “But I’m not alone this time.”
“No. You’re not alone this time.”
After a few more seconds, he drops his tail, lets me go, and the two of us move as one across the clearing.
There are a few discarded arrows still littering the ground, some disturbed earth from where Callum and the two lizard fae fought, charred grass on one side of the meadow, but thankfully no scaly corpses to step over.
I mean, no love lost between me and the two reptiles who tried to kill me, but I still hate the idea of anyone dying in pursuit of this damn bounty.
No matter how rich it is, it can’t be worth a life.
Beneath our feet, dry vegetation crunches with each step. The ruins of grasses and flowers and Goddess knows what else, left to rot in this hellscape. The sky still shines sickly orange and the blackened forest is quiet, with no sign of any visitors joining us today.
The closer we get to the abandoned stone cottage, the more my instincts tug.
It’s here.
Whateveritis.
The heart, a clue to the heart,something.
It’s calling so strongly I get ahead of myself and reach for the door’s handle as soon as it’s within arm’s length.
“Wait,” Callum says under his breath. “Just a moment.”
Still gripping his sword, he moves toward one of the front windows, slowly peering in.
At least one of us has some restraint and foresight. I would have barreled headlong into whatever the hell might be inside, but pause for as long as it takes him to give me a nod that we’re all clear.
Heart in my throat, I push open the front door and step inside.
22
