“Maeve, I’m trying to apologize.” He breathed firmly, loosening his grip on my wrist but letting his thumb linger over mine. “When shit happens that brings even more risk to your life,” he lowered his voice, “it scares me.”
“Being scared and angry don’t need to coexist.”
“I know. That’s something I’m trying to work on.”
Chewing my bottom lip, I gave in. “I’m sorry, too. We should have been more careful about what we said in a public place. Lesson learned. And since we're being honest, I’m scared of me, too.”
“Love,” Sebastian’s voice softened, the way he said the single word strumming something deep within me. “I am not scared ofyou. Not in the slightest. I’m scared oflosingyou.”
“You won’t lose me.” My cheeks rounded out with my ever growing grin. “I love you,” I professed, my mouth mere millimeters from his own.
“I love you, too,” he vowed, then pressed his soft lips to mine. He beamed when he pulled away, his cheek twitching up in a blush. “Look at us. Communicating and stuff.”
I chortled and turned on my heel, determined to try and catch up with the others, but he stopped me once more, granting me another gentle kiss before allowing the resumption of our walk.
Hay stuck to my boots when I entered the barn, the smell of manure snaking through my nose. I made right for Honey, rubbing my palm over her nose in greeting.
“Let’s go,” Kade announced, clasping his hands together in a firm clap. “I miss my own bed.”
“Same,” Sebastian murmured into the crook of my neck. “Ourbed.”
Goosebumps pricked my skin, my desire dangerously close to making itself known from his slight touch. Damning me even further, he lifted me off my feet, placing me gently on the saddle. He followed after me, taking his place in the front, then securing one of my wrists in his and placing it on his thigh, a mere inch away from his painfully obvious erection.
I can’t wait to get back to Lumosia.
We took off without much of a warning, Azain at the head of our group and Kade beside him.
The soldiers were to leave in batches. After us would follow ten more sets of soldiers, each a day behind the first. Sebastian had left firm directions on how to get to Lumosia, though not without swearing death upon anyone who dared to use the information against us.
The ride was just about as painful as I’d expected. Day one was not too dreadful, but by day two, my ass felt like it was permanently stuck to Honey’s saddle. As a group in whole, we had hardly talked—remaining mostly quiet and keeping our ears peeled for the sound of trouble. By day two and a half, I had nearly lost my damn mind.
“Are we almost back?” I complained, my sagging body slumped against Sebastian’s back. “I feel like it didn’t take this long on the way here. I’m bored.”
“Wearealmost back, actually. And boredom is a good thing on a ride like this,” he countered, reaching a calloused hand behind him, stroking my forearm.
“Eh. At this point, I’d almost enjoy seeing a Hykah.”
A gasp emitted from behind me. “Maeve Willawood, you did not just say that?” Sawyer’s fake,in shock,voice rang throughmy ears. He and Sebastian had not said a word to each other the entire ride, making the journey extra boring without their typical banter.
Sitting upright, my shoulders, red and raw from the days of relentless sun, shrugged. “I need some action. Or at least a damn conversation. We’ve made it this far, I don’t think a little chit-chat would do us any harm.”
“Maybe we should discuss the plan for when the rest of our troops arrive.” Azain pulled on his reins, slowing his stallion to a speed that matched ours. “We all know that there isn’t time to waste. The more prepared we are, the better.”
“If you want to be prepared, then we should start from the beginning of this shit storm,” Kade added as he slowed and appeared by Honey’s side. “You don’t even know half of what we’ve been through in the past two months.”
“Two months?” I scoffed in disbelief. “Try a year.”
“You’re an anomaly,” he countered. “You’re basically walking, breathing bad luck.”
“Ouch.” I clutched my chest, but gifted Kade a smirk in response to his own.
“Alright. Let’s hold up here. Take a breather while you guys fill me in.” Ripping his reins to the right, Azain pulled off the dirt path, stopping about a quarter of a mile away in a clearing surrounded by a small river and boundless greenery.
Following my dismount, my legs wobbled upon landing. Sebastian steadied me with a firm hand on my hip. “Do you want the long, drawn out, boring story, or the quick, tell me what I need to know and get to the damn point of the story?” he asked Azain.
Azain hesitated, to which Sawyer took the opportunity to decide for him. “Let’s get to the point. Please. The quicker we get out of these woods, the better.”
“Snakes?” Kade asked Sawyer in a slightly mocking tone.
