13. Aryn
Aryn
“If anyone is curious, it’s so cold out there my piss froze before it hit the ground,” Cameron says as he steps inside. “So if you see any weird little yellow snakes lying around, just ignore them.”
Cato grunts from his sleeping bag, opening one eye to glare. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Cameron shrugs. “Only sort of. I’m pretty sure those were ice crystals, and my balls are definitely playing hide and seek right now. Jokes on them, though. I can feel them in my asshole.”
“Think I can just hold it until we’re somewhere warm again?” Cato asks, hair standing up on end from his sleep.
I fight a smile at the way he rubs his eyes. “That’s probably not the best idea. And don’t even consider foregoing water. Dehydration won’t do you any favors.”
He grumbles but doesn’t argue. It’s either a reluctant agreement or it’s too early for him to mouth off just yet.
Cameron digs through his pack. “Ronan’s outside keeping watch, in case anyone else is interested in some casual exhibitionism during their morning routine.”
Cato groans as he climbs from his sleeping bag. “Great. An audience for my retracting balls. Fan-fucking-tastic.”
“I’m sure he’s not looking at your…” My eyes drop of their own accord, stopping at his crotch before I swing them back up to find him smirking. “Anything.”
He looks positively thrilled at my fumbling, pure cockiness and smugness rolled into the curve of his mouth. “Don’t worry, pretty boy,” he says with a wink, “even in the cold, there’s plenty to play with.”
Heat rises in my cheeks as I drop my gaze to the ground. “Noted,” I mutter.
He chuckles to himself as he heads toward the door. Morning light shines through the windows, and the snow has stopped. It’s warmer than it was last night, and with any luck, the temperature should continue to rise with the sun. Cato swings the door open, then pauses as he gawks at the landscape.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he says quietly. “If that ain’t the fucking wildest shit I’ve ever seen.”
I follow him and stare over his shoulder, taking in the dusty orange sky and the sun rising beyond the trees. It’s much larger here than in the human realm, though not as bright, and its light shines through the deep purple leaves of the trees ahead.
“The atmosphere is thinner here,” I explain, “and the sun isn’t nearly as hot.”
“It’s sure as shit bigger though,” he mutters.
“Not bigger, but much closer, yes.”
“So why the fuck’s it so cold?”
I blink at him as he glances over his shoulder. “Do you really want me to explain it to you?”
He snorts a quiet laugh. “Yeah, no, now that you mention it, I’m good.” He chuckles to himself as he steps out into the morning, boots crunching against the snow-covered ground.
Ronan stands at the corner of the house, bundled in every bit of clothing he could find. His long hair is loose with a thick hat covering the top of his head, and a gloved hand wraps around the hilt of his sword, always poised to strike. He peeks over his shoulder to watch me approach.
“How long have you been out here?” I ask.
“Most of the night. Couldn’t sleep.”
“You’re going to be tired later.”
He lifts a single shoulder in a shrug. “I’ve been on plenty of missions where I only got to take a few quick naps. I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll start keeping watch in shifts,” I say, but he only grunts. It’s a non-answer if I’ve ever heard one. “Ronan, you can’t do this alone.”
“Wanna bet?” he mutters.
I step closer so we’re standing side by side, scanning the quiet forest. “Have you seen anything?”
“A few animals, but nothing worth noting.”
“They’re probably sheltered more often than not these days.”
He hums thoughtfully. “Perhaps.”
I take a moment to assess his face. There are no obvious signs of fatigue, and his eyes are sharp. “Do you need to rest before we leave?”
“No. I’ll be fine.”
“Alright,” I concede as I clap him on the shoulder. “But next time we break for camp, we split watch. Between the four of us, we should be able to rest.”
“Four?”
I shrug as we turn together to walk back toward the house. “We both know Cameron isn’t keeping watch, and Taryn has already said she’s not comfortable fighting.”
Cato walks back into the house, the orange morning light making him look even more like a wild flame brought to life. Ronan nods in his direction. “Can he be trusted with sentry duty?”
Something inside me bristles at his dismissive attitude. “He wouldn’t be here if we couldn’t trust him,” I say sharply. “Out of all of us, he’ll take it the most seriously.”
Those dark brown eyes flick to me, assessing for a moment before he dips his chin. “Alright. Next time we break for camp, we’ll come up with a schedule.”
Inside, everyone is dragging from the few hours’ sleep on the cold ground, rolling their sleeping bags up and eating breakfast. Taryn’s usually pleasant demeanor is agitated and Cameron’s eyes are heavy, but Lillith hums happily to herself.
Cameron tears a wrapper open on a bar, staring at it with disdain. “It’s been exactly ten hours and I’m already sick of these things.”
“Maybe when we camp tonight we can find a spot where we can light a fire,” I offer. “A hot meal would go a long way after traveling.”
“A fucking fire,” Cameron groans. “Gods, once this is all said and done, I’m never going to complain about being hot again in my life.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Ronan mutters, then smiles deceptively sweetly when Cameron shoots him a glare.
We finish packing and leave the house behind, walking northeast for several hours until the trees become thinner. The rocky mountains sit in the distance, their jagged crags jutting from the ground like fangs.
“You did say everything had teeth,” Cato mutters from beside me. “Apparently that means the land, too.”
“We’ll have to pass through the mountains to get to Maelithryne,” I say as I reference the map.
Cato stares at the giant peaks. “We have to climb those?”
“Not very far,” I assure him, pointing at the spot wedged between the two tallest points. “The village uses the terrain for protection. The landscape can be dangerous, and the path leading to the gates is only wide enough to stand two or three wide. It was built that way to defend against enemies.”
“Smart,” Taryn says, falling into step on my other side. “Although I can’t say I’m thrilled about having to navigate those mountains. They’re terrifying.”
“They’re scary from here,” I agree, “but they’re beautiful once you get there.
” My chest aches as I stare at the mountains, memories from a lifetime ago flooding my mind in a reel of images and feelings.
“These flowers used to grow in the foothills, with petals that looked like flames. Every year when the cold season was over, they’d be the first to bloom.
You could stand at the top of the walls and look down the slopes, and it looked like the world was on fire.
” My eyes shift over to Cato, then climb higher, where the orange morning light gleams through his copper strands. “They remind me of you.”
He huffs and scratches his beard, trying to hide his pleased smile. “That might be the first time someone’s ever compared me to a flower. A cactus, sure. Never a flower.”
“You are a little prickly,” I say with a grin as I glance back at the map, but it fades as I focus on the frozen ground beyond. “I wonder if they’re still in bloom. The cold might be too much.”
Cato moves like he wants to reach for me, and I freeze just long enough for him to second-guess himself. He flicks the map lightly instead. “Didn’t take you to be a pessimist.”
“I’m just being realistic,” I argue.
“You’re being a stick in the mud. You don’t even know they’re gone, and you’re already disappointed.
They might still be there. And if they’re not?
Who needs flowers when you have me to look at?
” He flexes his arms and poses, twisting to show me his back before glancing over his shoulder with a wink.
“I can stand down in the valleys and wave.”
“Are you supposed to be showing off your muscles? Because I can’t see anything past all those clothes you’re wearing.”
His eyebrows lift as he smirks. “So now you want me naked, too, huh?”
“Oh, my gods, you’re impossible,” I groan as I fold the map and tuck it away.
“That wasn’t a no,” he says smugly as he falls back into step beside me.
We walk in silence for a few minutes before I say, “Thanks.”
He glances sideways at me. “For what?”
“Cheering me up. It’s kind of become my nature to assume the worst. I never used to be like that.”
“It’s understandable.”
“Think so?” I ask before gesturing at him. “You don’t seem like much gets to you at all. You get irritated, sure… frequently… but not bothered.”
He chuckles and lifts his middle finger in my direction. “Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. Plenty of shit bothers me. People just don’t notice it because they’re too busy paying attention to this handsome face.”
I fight a smile. “You saying I’m not handsome enough to be distracting?”
His eyes roam my frame once more before he tosses me another of those obnoxious winks. “Now, I never said that, darlin’.”
My neck heats, but before I can figure out how to respond, Ronan holds his hand up to halt us. My ears perk up, catching the distant thud of footsteps. Ronan waves for us to follow, and we step in silence as we take cover among the trees. My hand wraps around my sword, ready to attack.
A herd of thraun moves into the opening, with their thick shaggy coats dragging along the ground.
Most are a solid creamy off-white, while others have patches of gray and brown woven into their fur.
They’re roughly the height of a cow, but with a much larger head, and a spiral set of horns jutting from the top of their skull.
Cato’s eyes are wide as he meets mine in question, but I shake my head.
Thraun may be big, but they aren’t aggressive.
He relaxes, waiting for them to pass in peace.