Riyan chuckled, bouncing me up a little in his arms and holding me more securely against him. “Trust me, when you’re in the wilderness, there is no safer place thanright here.”
I looked out at the breathtaking view again. I was grateful Riyan had rescued me from whatever was in the forest, but I could not rely on him to save me every time. I needed to be better prepared for danger the next time I stepped out of the walls ofthe fortress.
“I have one more surprise for you, Princess of the Lilies,” Riyan said. “Let’sgo home.”
Riyan kept me in his arms as he walked down the sloping backside of the cliff toward the fortress, not daring to go back into the meadow to retrieve his faerie book.
He constantly looked over his shoulder with stiff neck muscles and still breath as we walked. He would even stop in the middle of our conversation and scan the trees around us before deciding we were safe to continue. The muscles in his arms twitched like taut bowstrings as heheld me.
“Part of being a soldier,” Riyan said after the third time he stopped. “It’s normal tojust…be aware.”
I knew what a lie sounded like, but I kept mymouth shut.
We passed under another grove of apple trees and I convinced Riyan to calm down long enoughto eat.
Riyan set me down in the shade of a tree so I could stretch my legs and handed me an apple. He stayed within arm’s reach of me, but allowed himself to lean on a tree trunk and pluck apple after apple from the branches to sate his hunger. I munched on my one apple while he ate each of his in three bites and tossed the cores down athis feet.
I studied the muscles hiding under his linen sleeves as he ate. Riyan had heaved us both up a cliffside with one arm in mere minutes and he had carried me for hours without complaining about the strain. My teeth pierced the flesh of my apple as my eyes roamed up and down his massive arms—his strength was more usefulthan fearsome.
I swallowed my bite just as Riyan realized I was staring at him. My cheeks flashed hot and I glanced down at the large pile of apple cores onthe ground.
My lips were wet from the fruit’s juice. “You told me you work up a big appetite as the fastest man in the world. Do you have an even bigger appetite as thestrongestman inthe world?”
Riyan responded with a half-smile and wink that made my stomach flip. He tossed his core into the pile as he swallowed hislast bite.
He wiped the juice from the apple off his bottom lip with the back of his hand. “If I didn’t know that I actually was the strongest man in the world, I would think you were trying toflatter me.”
“Never,” I said with a smile. “I could not risk your ego gettingany bigger.”
The sun hugged the treeline against an orange sky. Riyan scanned the trees and kept quiet for afew heartbeats.
“It’s getting dark, we need to get back,” he said as he stepped overto me.
He reached down and scooped me up again. I threw my apple core to the ground and my arms returned around histense neck.
“I’m such a fool for not bringing my sword,” Riyan said as he walked. He snapped his head toward the trees, but I had not heard a sound. Riyan’s neck shook as he cleared his throat and continued talking as if he came back to reality. “That sword is really only good for giant attacks, though. I’m defenseless againstanything smaller.”
“Defenseless?” I patted his massive bicep—it was hard as a rock under my touch. “I do not think you can callthisdefenseless.”
Riyan smirked. “Look who is being sweet all ofa sudden.”
“Only because you are acting like a gentleman.” I poked his cheek. “You drop me again and the sweetnessis over.”
“I’ll keep the gentleman act up as long as I can, then. You’re sweeter than all those apples put together when you’re nice and I’m going tosavor it.”
“Well, I am not nice tojust anyone.”
“Damn straight,I’m special.”
I laughed and lightly flicked him onthe jaw.
“My little sweetheart is gone!” Riyan cried with mock despair. “Oh well, it was nice for the thirty secondsit lasted.”
Riyan picked up his pace as he raced against the dying daylight. Right as the stars appeared against the twilight sky, the blazing torches on the walls of the fortress peeked throughthe trees.
Riyan nearly ran around the trees and up to the gate. He gave the signal to raise the gate and we stepped into the safety ofthe fortress.
I looked around the courtyard. “Where is that surprise? I have high expectations after theBloodstone lilies.”
