Cerise ran a hand over her face. A shout sounded from Rosenshield’s quarters.
“What in the world? What is that smell?” he yelled.
I grabbed Cerise’s hand and yanked her behind the tree. “Shh,” I said as we both struggled to stifle our laughter and peered around our hiding place.
Rosenshield burst from his tent, completely naked, and frantically brushed himself off, shouting obscenities at the smell and why there were so many insects in his tent.
We kept our hands over our mouths, trying to stay silent as wegiggled uncontrollably at the panicking old man. Seconds later, the others emerged from their own tents awoken by the shouts.
“What’s wrong?” Ivan asked, marching over.
Rosenshield continued his shouts, saying something about his tent having a hole in it and how he’ll never get the smell out.
Sylvie approached, then shrieked when she noticed Rosenshield was nude, grimacing and immediately throwing her hands over her eyes.
Cerise and I remained in our hiding spot, grinning at each other like naughty children until the chaos was over.
Chapter 13
Bitter Hag
Cerise
“Backpacks are ready,” Emberly said, rising from where she knelt on the ground over our supplies. Using her magical specialty of enchantments, she had spelled our packs to render them waterproof, protecting our supplies from the frequent sudden rains we were sure to encounter on our upcoming journey.
We were leaving on an excursion to the nearby mountains to study a rare species of microsnake who lived in a remote part of the jungle near a secluded waterfall. It would take us several days to get there and we’d stay a couple of nights before returning to our camp with specimens and our observations.
“All right, team,” Rosenshield said. “Everyone retrieve your supplies and let’s be off. Chop chop!” He clapped his hands.
Minutes later, we’d all donned our backpacks and plunged into the jungle.
Emberly nudged me as we began our trek. “You and Doctor Pendragon seem to be having fun together,” she whispered.
I glanced at my friend. “I suppose we are.”
“May I say something?” Emberly asked as she adjusted the straps of her bag.
“Of course.”
“You’ve been different on this trip.” She eyed me closely.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re more relaxed. You’re smiling regularly. I haven’t heard you mention sticking to your schedule since the day we arrived. You aren’t upset that you can’t maintain your established routine. You’re not even obsessing over how much sleep you’re getting, CeCe.”
I mulled over her words, lifting a low branch for her to pass beneath. “I do feel lighter,” I admitted. “It’s probably because I don’t have to worry about grading papers, or keeping my office organized. Or deadlines.”
Emberly leaned in. “Or it’s because Liam’s bringing that out in you.”
I shook my head, but felt the heat of embarrassment creep up my neck. “That’s preposterous. It’s because I’m free from the confines of the university walls.”
At least, that’s what I was telling myself.
It had been a few days since Liam’s ridiculous idea to prank our leader, and though I was reluctant to admit it, I enjoyed his company tremendously. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so much and actually had fun with someone…let alone a man.
And I had to admit, I was attracted to him. The way his eyes lit up when he smiled; his broad shoulders; the way he winked at me, which initially irritated me, but now I secretly liked; that unruly white hair I wanted to run my fingers through…
“What are you two whispering about?” Liam came up behind us, touching the small of my back, his thumb swiping a couple of times before pulling his hand away.
