‘I reckon one that big is worth ten pieces of silver.’
‘Then we’d better catch it, hadn’t we?’
Through the trees, I can just make out a group of burly men heading this way.
Fox swears under his breath. We weren’t expecting to encounter anyone this deep into the woodland. The nearest province is still several days’ ride away.
My stomach lurches with panic.
‘Hunters,’ Fox mutters. Then, ‘Want me to deal with them?’
‘Are you asking me if I want you to kill them?’ I clarify, horrified.
He shrugs. ‘That or severely incapacitate.’
‘No. No, I do not want you to do either of those things. Besides, I thought we weren’t supposed to be using our gifts.’
Fox looks a little disappointed, but nods grudgingly. He may be handy with a dagger, but I imagine even he would struggle to hold off five heavily armed men without magic.
‘Then we hide,’ he says. ‘This way.’ He grabs my arm, pulling me into a dense thicket.
‘Ouch,’ I hiss as a branch rebounds off his shoulder and hits me in the face.
But Fox doesn’t stop, tugging me further into the bushes as the men draw nearer. I let out a gasp of pain as my hair catches on several thorny briars.
He turns at the sound. We’re pressed together, so close I can feel his heart beating.
‘Hold still,’ he murmurs.
Gently, he untangles my curls one by one.
All of a sudden, the sharpsnapof a twig causes me to violently whip my head round. I stumble forward into Fox, who catches hold of me before taking a small step back as he tries to steady us both. Only the ground is uneven, and he loses his balance, falling flat on his backand breaking several branches on the way down. I land hard on his chest a split second later, knocking the wind out of us both.
‘Did you hear that?’ The man’s voice is uncomfortably close.
‘What?’
‘Listen.’
I freeze. The copse is thick, but I can just make out a pair of boots trampling through the patch of foxgloves, coming to a stop less than five yards away from where we lie tangled in the undergrowth. Instinctively, I raise a hand, sparkling white frost already glistening at the ends of my fingertips, but Fox grabs my wrist and pins it tightly to his chest. I glare at him as I try to wrench it free, but he just shakes his head in warning and presses a finger to his lips. Against my own better judgement, my gaze lingers there. For a moment I allow myself to remember what those lips felt like that night in the maze – crushing into mine, trailing down my neck, teeth grazing lightly across my jawline, my pulse point, my collarbones.
Then I push the memory away. Because it never should have happened. It was a case of mistaken identity, nothing more. I thought he was Hal. I would never have kissed Fox like that had I known it was him beneath the mask. I would never have kissed him at all.
The ice coating my hand has slowly melted into his shirt. I can feel his heartbeat under my palm, the hard planes of his body under my own. Our faces are mere inches apart. I can’t escape. I can barely move for fear of being discovered.
I glance away, inwardly cursing the blush creeping up my neck. My arm shakes with the effort of propping myself up. I don’t have long before it gives out.
Careful not to make a sound, I grit my teeth and shift my weight ever so slightly.
I hear Fox’s sharp intake of breath as I move against him.
His gaze locks with mine. He swallows.
That’s when a gruff voice sounds, startling us. ‘We’re wasting time. Let’s go.’
‘But I swear I heard –’
‘Must’ve been a squirrel or something. Come on, this way.’
