Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
TYNAN
Istared at the bonfire Sol and I built together.
The heat from it soothed my skin, and all I wanted was to close my eyes for only a little bit, but I kept pushing myself to stay alert.
The others stretched out on the ground to get some sleep.
There was absolutely no way to know what time it was, but I felt it in my bones that I needed rest.
My gaze shifted to Alina, and new emotions I could not understand hit me all at once.
Her bright red hair framed her porcelain skin in a way that every time I looked at her, I could hardly look away.
She was lying on her side with her hand on her shoulder.
The mere thought of her long legs wrapped around my body made me clench my jaw.
These types of thoughts kept creeping up on me, making me want things I was not allowed to have.
When I was younger I thought that Gabrielle was the woman for me.
Back then, I thought I had finally found someone I could share my life with.
I was stupid, and I paid for my stupidity.
For the longest time, I was sure that I had learned my lesson.
People like me were meant to be alone. I had plenty of women after Gabrielle.
I enjoyed physical attraction and I found my release as often as needed.
Those connections never went anywhere. I made sure not to get attached and rarely saw the same woman twice.
What was about this girl that made my blood boil deep in my veins? Why did I look for her every time I entered a room? Why in hell was I so focused on her emotions?
She was beautiful, I could see that. Every man in the land could see that.
Was that the reason?
Every moment of my day, I kept thinking about her and it was driving me mad. I did not know how to make it stop. I forced myself to look away.
“Get some sleep.” Sol sat up, stretching his neck.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Absolutely,” he responded. His hand found the ax and he moved closer to where I was sitting against a column.
I stood up, flexing my shoulder. I could feel the ache in my muscles from the lack of sleep and the wild race that we had yesterday.
“What do we do, Ty?” Frid’s voice sounded in the darkness.
I turned, surprised that she was still awake.
“We need to go back to Riolle and meet up with Erin,” I said slowly.
“What about me?” Alina asked.
Involuntarily, I turned toward her, noticing her eyes and the loose curls that framed her face.
“I want to know more before we make our move,” I said.
“Aren’t you going to hand me over to them?” she lowered her voice.
“No,” I said.
The way she looked at me right then made me want to do something stupid.
In the time I spent trying to keep all my friends alive and fulfill our duties, I had forgotten that I was still a man.
And I wanted her so badly that every time I looked at her, something threatened to tear me apart from within.
Her proximity was dangerous. Thinking about her was dangerous. Having my stupid heart feel things again was dangerous.
“Why do you want to meet up with Erin?” Victor joined the conversation.
“He may tell us something we need to know.” I got comfortable by the fire, stretching my legs.
“I doubt the pigeon will be of any help,” Victor said.
“What I want to know is, who ordered her to be extracted from the fortress and who imprisoned her in the first place?” I said.
“Ty? Your shoulder! It’s healed!” Frid exclaimed.
“Yeah. My scratches are gone too,” Victor checked his arms.
“Same here,” Alina added.
“Damn . . . eternal blessing for all dragons, huh? Who knew,” Victor mumbled.
“I can’t believe I’m going to see you sleep.” Frid chuckled.
“That’s right, you never sleep,” Victor added.
I shook my head, placing my hands behind my head and closed my eyes.
We kept moving through the tunnels for a long while, not meeting any creatures.
The only question that kept creeping in my head was if the direction we were following was the right one.
I started really questioning the plan just before we entered one of the abandoned temples.
My eyes darted to the ceremonial wall. The picture of the sacred dragon was coated with a layer of paint and the whole area around it was arranged for a ceremony.
I stood by the altar for a while. My eyes traveled from the dried flower arrangements to a stack of books placed nearby.
“Ty?” Frid called and I approached the door.
One look outside made my eyes painfully react to the unforgivingly bright daylight. It took me a good minute to adjust but when I did, I saw a herd of numerous crawlers gathered outside.
“We shift now. Except for you. You’re coming with me.” I turned to Alina.
It was the first time I looked at her in hours and the expression in her eyes made my heart beat faster. I hated the way my body reacted to her.
“Why?” she asked.
“I don’t want people in the city to see who you are,” I responded.
A strip of light landed on Alina’s face and I saw how tired she looked. This made me want to soothe the line between her eyebrows, to hold her while she slept in my arms. I turned away.
The others were already changing and I followed them. My transformation was uncomfortable since my body craved sleep and I barely gave it any. When I was done, I leaned forward, lowering my head and helped Alina get on my back. Meanwhile, Sol was opening the front door.
When we were safely in the air, I adjusted the position of my body, unintentionally focused on Alina’s torso being stretched out on top of me. I forced my eyes to follow the outlines of the abandoned temples that were sprawled below for miles.
It took another two days to get back to Riolle and when we finally landed by the familiar bridge, I could feel that all of us were at our limits. None of us had had any food for almost three days. We were in desperate need of rest and hot meals.
When the seer in a dark cape entered the bridge, I scowled. It was the same guy I threatened before leaving the city. The man walked by Sol and when his gaze landed on me he shuddered, but said nothing. As he passed Alina, he bowed and placed his hand to his heart and Alina’s gaze found mine.
After the interrogation part was over, we were allowed to enter the city.
Contrary to our previous visit, I did not want to stay in the same place and we spent some time searching for room and board.
At last, we found a weather-beaten house on the edge of the channel and walked in.
The place was incredibly cramped and filled with boxes and extra sets of furniture.
“Don’t mind our look, we just moved in,” a skinny woman with heavily drawn black eyebrows greeted us.
“We need three rooms and a change of clothes,” I said.
“And food,” Frid added.
“Then you’ve come to the right place.” The woman’s face bloomed into a happy smile.
That made me think that we have been the only customers in a while.
“Tony!” the woman shouted.
A good minute later a boy of about fifteen entered the hall with a bored expression on his face.
“Show our guests three rooms,” she ordered and I watched the kid give her an eye roll.
The rooms turned out to be even smaller than the worst inn I have ever been to.
“Am I staying with Aly?” Frid asked and I shook my head. “Are you staying with her?” she continued, as I caught an almost panicked expression from the red haired girl.
“Yes, I can’t risk her taking off again,” I said.
“Are you sure you can handle it?” Victor snorted and I felt like punching his smug face.
“Who am I staying with?” Frid asked.
“You can pick between me and Sol,” Victor smirked.
“Can I have my own room?” she asked.
I sighed, and closed the door instead of answering.
Alina stood by the bed, visibly uncomfortable.
“I would let you share with Frid if you promise not to run away. Can you do that?” I asked.
Alina lowered her gaze and I shook my head.
I took a step into the room and stopped, confused.
“There’s only one bed,” Alina whispered.
“I’m sure we can ask for another room.” I approached the door.
Two of us walked to the first floor and found the familiar face of the boy, sitting behind the counter.
“We need two beds,” I said.
“We don’t have any,” the boy responded.
I fought the strong urge to grab his shirt and give him a good shake.
“Are you trying to convince me that in the whole building, you have no room with two separate beds?” I forced my voice to stay calm.
“Man, look around. Do you think people come here to sleep?” The boy smirked and gave Alina a disgusting wink.
I clenched my jaw, reminding myself that I would never hurt children, even if they deserved it.
“Is there anything we can use?” I forced my voice to stay calm.
“You could pay for a separate room,” the clerk responded.
Instead of answering, I moved past him.