Chapter 7
E lias doesn’t say much, but the silence between us is more companionable than awkward.
There are a ton of questions on the tip of my tongue to ask, curiosity eating at me, but trying to keep up with his long-legged stride over rough terrain steals most of my focus and leaves little time for chit-chat.
The sun is dropping quickly now. What could be a beautiful sunset is obscured by the haze that mutes much of the light, leaving us already in deep twilight.
Worse though, we’ve just crested a hill, and I don’t see a glimmer of a light anywhere.
No fire, magical fae light, or anything to hint that a city may be close.
“So, um, you guys do sleep, right?” I ask.
For the first time in probably an hour, he halts, stopping stone still where he’d just stepped. He glances over at me, a small twist to his lips and mischief in his eyes. “What stories you must have heard, little human, to think otherwise.”
Aimee , I silently correct him. It’s Aimee.
“It’s just—” I gesture around us. “I don’t see a city or a village or anywhere to stop for the evening. And you don’t have a pack with you, so I assumed…”
“I have what I need.” The look on his face turns positively feline. “A woman brave enough to venture into Tir na Tuches is afraid to sleep under the sky?”
I press my lips thin and bite back a snarky retort as something much better comes to mind.
“Oh, I’m not. I planned for that.” I point to the sleeping bag attached to my pack, one I hope and pray not to have to use, at least not under the sky, as he put it.
“But I would have thought, given how valuable humans are, that you’d want to keep me safe and cozy somewhere instead of out in the open like this. ”
Elias turns my way before crossing his arms over my chest and appraising me anew. “You want to be kept?”
“I—” The twitch of his nose gives hints at humor, but the words alone have heat racing to my face. “That’s not what I meant.”
He grins, and I swear I catch a hint of white fangs amid his teeth that I had not seen before. “Our histories say how strange human words and phrasings can be. It is amusing to hear them for myself.”
“Glad I can provide some humor in this situation,” I grumble.
He outright chuckles at that. “And your little lies. So natural to your kind. I wonder how often you lie to yourself.”
I literally bite my lip to avoid saying something else that will get me laughed at.
“But yes,” he says, humor appeased, “you likely need to rest. We can stop here for the night.”
“Here,” I echo, dumbfounded. “Not a cave or…” I glance around. Not that there appears to be any of those around either.
Elias shakes his head. “An unscouted cave can hold all manner of dangerous beast. In fact, many have taken to living underground, closer to the depths of the earth and the lingering magic of our land.”
Yikes, that sounds bad.
“No caves. Got it.” I adjust my pack. “Any dangerous beasties around here?”
That grin is back, and this time I definitely see a hint of pointy fang peeking between his lips. It says so much with no words at all—I’ve already stumbled across the most dangerous beast out here.
“I’ll keep you safe,” he says.
The arrogance of it irks me, and I raise a brow in challenge. “All night? I thought you said you slept?”
His gaze darkens, and the laughter that slips free this time lacks all the humor of before. “I learned long ago to be on my guard, even in sleep.”
For the second time since I met him, I feel the urge to comfort him.
What horrors has this man faced? Though in a desolate land such as this, it’s not surprising that life would be hard.
What’s more shocking is that he is not the sharp and wild creature I expected, and though I don’t know him, I believe it when he says he’ll keep me safe.
Fae can’t lie, but it’s even more than that, something deep within me just knows.
And truth be told, I’m grateful. If I were out here alone…
A shiver races across my skin, and I hug my arms around myself. “Thank you.”
Elias inclines his head. “As you said, I know the value of a human and would like you to be kept safe.”
Silence lingers, and I ache with the need to break it.
But Elias does so first, his somberness shattering in a blink. “You’ll need food,” he says at once, as if just thinking of that. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
“I have—” But he’s already turned away and striding off down the hill like a man on a mission. I suppose he is.