I hesitate, frowning.
“On you?”
“Yeah.I’llkeep watch.”
This doesn’t seem entirely safe, butI’mtoo tired to question it.
I shift around, laying my head on his thigh.ThemomentIsettle there,Ifeel the tension in him again, but he doesn’t move away.
Instead, he starts stroking my hair again, slow and steady.
“But…aren’t you sleepy?”Iask drowsily.
“Not yet,” he says.“Yousleep.I’llwatch over you.Bigday tomorrow.”
“You mean…we’re going to theFireDemontomorrow?”Iask, a little anxious even through the haze of sleep.
“No,” he says firmly, shaking.“GrandfatherTreefirst.Let’stake things easy for once.”
Relief washes through me.Ofall the quests,I’mdreading theFireDemonthe most.
“All right,”Imurmur, snuggling a little closer beforeIcan stop myself.
He stills again—just for a moment—then his hand resumes its slow movement through my hair.
“Get some sleep,” he says quietly.“You’regoing to need it.”
“I know,”Iwhisper, already drifting.“Butat least theGrandfatherTreehas to be easier than theFireDemon…”
My voice trails off as sleep pulls me under and soIdon’t hear his answer.
I have no idea how wrongIam…or whatTheronandIwill have to do to get the jewel buried beneath theGrandfatherTree…or how much it’s going to change us.
37
THERON
I watch over my curvy little priestess as she sleeps.
The fire has burned down to glowing embers, casting a soft, flickering light over the small hollow where we’ve made camp.Shadowsmove over her face, catching in the strands of her hair where they spill across my thigh, turning the red-gold of it into something deeper—like banked coals.
She looks so peaceful…so beautiful.
I lift my hand and run my fingers slowly through her curls, careful not to wake her.They’restill slightly damp, softer now that they’ve dried a little by the fire, slipping through my fingers like silk.
She sighs in her sleep and the sound goes straight through me.
My chest tightens and my heart fists so hard it almost hurts.
“Ours,” myDrakerumbles immediately, rising up at the contact.“Sheis ours.Bondher.”
My jaw tightens.
“No,”Iwhisper under my breath.“Ican’t do that.”
He pushes harder, a low, insistent pressure at the back of my mind.
“She needs us.Shebelongs with us.Takeher—make her ours.”
