He stopped and dismounted. It was time for a break. He’d give her a piece of bread and some sips of water, and he’d explain why her sister was never going to come to her rescue.
She shuffled up to him and nearly bumped into Nick’s rear end before turning back around and realizing they had stopped.
He pulled the water out of his bag and gave her a short sip before taking one for himself. He put a small amount in Nick’s bowl and held it for him in one hand until he’d drunk his fill.
Once the water was secured, he pinched off a couple of pieces of bread and began to break it into bite-sized chunks. He lifted the first one to her mouth, but as with the mush, she refused his offering. He shrugged and popped it into his mouth to chew and swallow the morsel as she watched.
“No one is coming for you, princess.”
Her multi-colored, hazel eyes burned with anger as she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re looking for your sister, and she is probably looking for you, but no matter how hard she searches, she’ll never find us.”
He heard the resentment in her voice as she asked, “And why is that?”
“Because we’re not exactly in Umbraland.”
For a moment, she stared at him as if he’d suddenly turned into a bug, and then she glanced around before saying, “It looks like Umbraland. Did we cross a portal?”
“Not exactly. I have an ability to create something I call a pocket dimension.”
“A what?” She met his gaze again, no emotion on her face as his meaning began to sink in. “Well, Rise, that sounds like an interesting ability you have there. What does that mean for my sister and me and our problem with finding each other?”
“A pocket dimension is still attached to the other dimension and shares many of the same characteristics, but it runs parallel to the original. That means, we can travel to our destination without a single other being in sight…well, except for the few predators who have figured out interdimensional travel.”
“So, my sister could be standing right beside me, and I would never know.”
She was smart, too. Rise needed to watch her closely. Even if she didn’t use her sorcery to attempt an escape, she clearly had other means to try to flee him.
“That could be a possibility.”
She nodded slowly, but he knew he hadn’t destroyed her hope completely. The thoughts of escaping his captivity were still churning in her mind.
Something behind him caught her attention, though, and she lifted her chin to point in the direction over his shoulder.
“Is that the direction we’re heading? It looks a little steamy.”
He looked away from her reluctantly and examined the area in the distance. “That’s Dlogsif, land of the lava lakes. It’s not ideal to have to travel through, but it’s the shortest way to Hedonista.”
“It also looks like the shortest way to death. Is there a way around it?”
His gaze returned to hers. Her countenance seemed calculating. He got the feeling she was plotting. He might want to keep her close so he could watch her a little better. “Probably, but we’re going through.”
She glanced down at her feet, drawing his attention to the black boots she wore that had seen better days. They had been shiny once, but now were worn and scratched all over. The walk across hot, rocky terrain wasn’t doing them any favors either.
Again, he got the idea she was manipulating him, but he certainly didn’t need her slowing him down as they made their way through such dangerous terrain.
With a shrug, he threw the rest of the bread into his mouth and bent to lift her into the saddle.
She steadied herself with her thighs, and for the merest of moments, he thought about those thighs squeezing him around his waist as he drove into her beneath him.
Dammit!He shook the thought from his brain. She was getting into his head again. He had to remember that she was a powerful sorceress, and he had a mission that didn’t include fucking her or getting his mind fucked by her.
He watched for a moment as she grabbed the reins and snapped them, kicking her heels against Nick’s flank.
“Go! Come on, horse! Don’t ruin my plan! Let’s go!”
But Nick stood still, not following her commands at all. Rise chuckled and patted his horse on the neck a few times before running a hand down his nose and whispering praise to his prized companion. He’d found Nick sickly and abandoned in a desert on the other side of Umbraland. He’d nursed him back to health, and they hadn’t left each other’s side since.
