She nodded in agreement, relieved that they were thinking the same thing.
“Thank you for saving my hat, though,” Erich continued, pushing himself up off the ground. The cheer in his voice felt forced, but his smile was genuine.
Aizel smiled and brushed the air with her hand. “Don’t even mention it.” She appreciated his lighthearted attitude and responded in kind.
“Azel.” His face held concern and she guessed it wasn’t for the blanket he was folding. “Forget the things they said. They were malicious lies.”
His deep brown eyes caught her gaze for a brief moment. They were filled with empathy.
Aizel exhaled as the pressure in her chest finally eased.
Chapter 25
“We do have one small problem,” Erich said as he brought Constance over to Azel and helped her to mount. “I was planning on restocking our food supply in town last night.”
Azel slipped her fingers into Constance’s mane, gently rubbing the horse’s neck.
That small motion distracted Erich. He had noticed Azel consistently did small things to care for Constance, but he hadn’t stopped to think about it. He’d seen plenty of his fellow guardsmen treat their mounts as nothing more than pack animals. Not surprisingly, those were the same men whose actions became more aggressive when they wore their gray uniform.
Azel—the sorceress who took human life without a thought—took extra care to ease the burden of the animal she was riding. She had also kindly gone out of her way to wake Erich from his nightmares, even hurting herself in the process.
Something did not add up about this girl.
He looked up at her, wishing she could speak to him and explain what was going on.
Her eyebrows were raised and she rubbed a hand across her stomach.
“Oh, right,” Erich said. “I got distracted for a second. We have enough food for a little while longer. There’s another town on the border of Iseldis, just before the mountain pass. If we push ourselves, we can make it there in three days.”
Azel patted Constance's neck with a question in her eyes. “What about the horses?” she seemed to be saying.
“The horses will be fine,” Erich answered. “They’re used to traveling and they’ve been happily eating all this new greenreign growth. Besides, you’re so small Constance probably doesn’t even know you’re on top of her.”
Azel nodded, her expression relieved.
Turning to mount his horse, Erich felt even more confused. This girl was no killer. He could still hear the words of the townspeople in that tavern, echoing through his head. Their ludicrous accusations haunted him. He had thought—and said—similar things. But they didn’t know Azel and he did. Or at least he was beginning to.
As they made their way back to the main trail, he rode slightly behind her, studying her with new eyes.
Her shoulders were slim, even buried beneath the blanket she kept wrapped around herself while the air was still cold. Her hair was hanging loose around her shoulders, its jumbled curls both tangled and smooth. Her skin was lighter than his, lighter than most people he knew in Iseldis. The freckles which danced over her nose and cheeks and were the cutest thing he had ever seen.
Frankly, she was beautiful. Not in an elegant, seductive way as the councilor had warned him, but in a bright, earthy way.
He rode up beside her. Even if she couldn’t talk, they had still managed to have a few interesting conversations.
“What is the one thing you wish you could do right now if nothing stood in your way?” Erich asked.
She made a motion of splashing water on her face then rubbing her skin.
“Bathe?” Erich guessed. “I couldn’t agree more. You need it.”
Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth in a mocking expression of shock.
“I was only jesting!” Erich defended himself, even though he knew she was teasing.
She pointed at him then pinched her nose closed. “You stink.”
Erich grinned. “A hot bath does sound amazing right now, doesn’t it?”
