JUST THE BEGINNING #2
I don’t understand why I feel this way, nor do I have any true answers for her. What I do know, and what I’m as certain of as my own name, is that I’d sooner rip my beating heart from my chest than watch Wren die.
And that fucking frightens me almost as much as the intense pull I feel towards her. What am I supposed to do with these feelings?
“I see,” Wren murmurs, and I think that maybe, she does.
For the longest moment, we stare at each other. This thing between us is pulsing and tangible, as if it’s in the room with us. It feels like an eternity passes before one of the twins huffs quietly in her sleep.
The moment shatters. Wren sucks in a breath, glancing over at her sisters. The girls’ eyes are closed, and they’re holding each other as their chests rise and fall in unison.
“You should rest, too,” I say, following her line of sight.
It’s going to be a long day. The suns are rising, and we won’t be able to move while they’re out. The capital city has the highest ratio of Protectors in the whole country, and the king’s soldiers will be on the lookout for Wren and her sisters.
They’ll be looking for you, too, a stern voice in the back of my head is quick to remind me.
There’s no doubt in my mind my father will figure out I’m traveling with Wren when he learns we’ve both disappeared.
But that’s a problem for later.
Her eyes sweep over me, and for a moment I think she’s going to say something else, but she dips her head.
“Okay. I’ll do that.” She looks back up, a soft smile on her face. “Thank you again, Gabriel. I know we’ve had our differences, but I appreciate you helping us. This means a lot to me.”
Her words warm me from the inside out, and I manage a gruff, “You’re welcome,” before she heads over to her sisters. They wake enough to shuffle over, making room for her.
Once she’s settled, I reach for my link with Mist. The forged bond is sitting inside me, a crimson-tinged rope that’s been there since the day the king connected us.
I wrap my fingers around it, tugging in a series of short bursts.
Even though we can’t speak out loud this way, I do my best to relay my location to my familiar.
It’s not long before my chest warms. Mist received my message. I exhale and release the connection, pulling the paper from my pocket. My head falls back, and I settle in to watch and wait.
The morning passes without incident. The suns rise, burning away the thin layer of snow that fell overnight. The air isn’t exactly warm, but it lacks some of the biting cold from the night before.
Wren wakes around noon. She lifts a hand, brushing away a curl that had fallen over her face, and glances my way.
Our eyes meet, and the air practically crackles.
Breath gets trapped in my lungs, and I am incapable of moving.
Seconds that feel like hours go by before she inhales and looks away, frowning.
I scrub my hand over my face. What the fuck was that?
By the time I look up, she’s pulled away from her sisters. The air is still thick with tension, and speaking seems wrong as Wren comes to sit near me.
She glances at the sword resting across my lap, then pulls out her dagger. It’s not the one she had in the alley—that one is still in my room in Rose Palace. She stares at the sharp blade before turning her attention to the world outside.
The grate is low, and it doesn’t allow for much viewing unless one is interested in the ground. More mud than snow, it bears evidence of several paw prints from the various animals that strode past earlier.
“You should rest,” Wren murmurs after a while. “You must be tired.”
Raising a brow, I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees. “Are you worried about me, little bird?”
Her eyes widen. “Never.”
The vehemence in her voice doesn’t match the way she looks me over.
“It doesn’t seem that way,” I tease.
“I just want to make sure you don’t fall over at an inopportune moment, Hunter.” She lifts her chin defiantly, her Mark flaring. “That’s all.”
That’s definitely not all, and I find myself biting back a grin. I’m not sure why it’s so important to me that Wren cares about my well-being, but it is.
I can’t help but push her a bit further. “It has nothing to do with anything else?”
My tone is light, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in her answer. I want to hear her confirm that she feels this pull, too, that whatever’s between us isn’t in my head.
Wren’s breath hitches, and silence stretches between us, growing heavier. She studies me, and I remain still beneath her perusal until she shakes her head.
“Nothing at all,” Wren says stubbornly, yanking her eyes from mine. She isn’t fast enough, though. Her eyes widen, betraying her lie.
Satisfaction warms my chest, and I smirk. “Keep telling yourself that.”
She must be able to feel it, too.
There’s no way something this strong is one-sided, no way I’m the only one who feels like my life has been tossed upside down. Even if she won’t admit it, I saw the way she looked at me after her magic burst out of her. I’m not alone in this, whatever it is. I can’t be.
Resting my head against the stone, I exhale and try to relax. Wren is right, I need to rest. I’ve had time to think and come up with a plan, but no amount of planning will truly prepare us for dealing with the king.
As I drift off to sleep, the last thing I see are piercing violet eyes.