Chapter 8
As we rode on toward the caves, I could feel Ireas’ reproachful gaze burning into my back, which annoyed me to no end.
Yes, I’d been mean to the woman I’d rescued, but what did I care?
I’d gotten her out and had saved her life, hadn’t I?
It didn’t mean I had to have more contact except for the bare minimum.
So I had every right to ignore Ireas staring daggers at me.
Even his voice sounded more annoyed than I’d ever heard it before.
“Dion, I’ll take a detour to a nearby village to stock up on supplies for us and find something for Nayana to wear.”
“Now?”
“Yes. There’s one close. I remember passing it on our way to Credenta. Come on, don’t look at me like that. I mean, you have to understand that I don’t want to waste this opportunity.”
“I don’t like the idea of splitting up any more than we already have.”
“But Dion, it’s essentials I’m talking about. What if one of us gets wounded, and we’re out of bandages?”
Sighing, I nodded at him. Even though I didn’t like it, he was correct.
“It won’t take a lot of time. I’ll meet you and the others at the caves tomorrow. And Dion—be nice.”
Snarling, I bared my teeth at Ireas. Contrary to his request, I had no intention of being nice. Also, who did he think he was? As if he was in a position to demand anything from me.
The woman tried to sit as straight as possible, as if she wanted to minimize physical contact between us, which aligned with my wishes.
She was incredibly dirty, still covered in dry blood of unknown origin.
She looked pathetic and would draw the attention of every traveler who had the misfortune of meeting her.
What I thought was her trembling with emotional strain—she was shaking like a leaf—was actually something else entirely.
When I accidentally touched her hand and found it ice cold, a small hiss of surprise escaped me.
She was freezing. I tried to ignore her discomfort, but even I wasn’t indifferent to someone in my vicinity being so obviously miserable.
Taking the reins of my horse in my left hand, I undid the intricate clasp of the black cloak I was wearing and wrapped the fabric in one fluid motion around her shoulders.
Before she could so much as react, I clipped it shut, taking care that the material didn’t press against her neck.
I pulled the hood over her head and tugged at the fabric until I was satisfied that most of her face was covered.
There was a split second when I wanted to smile to comfort her, but I immediately stopped myself.
“There. Better.”
“Thanks. I was freezing.” It sounded as if admitting that she was cold had cost her something, which I found curious. She was a peculiar tiny creature.
“Don’t mistake my actions for kindness or think I care about your comfort. But you look like something found in the gutters after rotting there for weeks, and we can’t have you drawing too much attention to us. So keep the hood up.”
“What’s your problem?” Her blue eyes lit up with fiery anger, blazing at me like two angry orbs, which I only noticed because she’d turned around to face me.
That must’ve been painful, considering her injuries.
Belatedly, I realized that the cerulean color of her irises had darkened to a cobalt hue as fury had entered them.
What a fascinating effect that I wanted to explore more thoroughly.
“At the moment? You. Especially your vile smell. It’s even worse than your repulsive appearance, Jama.
” Which was true. The scent of death and decay clung to her and veiled her natural odor.
It was barely there, and as far as I was able to tell, it reminded me faintly of herbs and freshly cut grass mixed with a touch of citrus.
The mixture could have been enticing, but she’d need to clean herself thoroughly before I’d be able to form a final opinion.
At the moment, she was an insult to my sense of smell.
Her previously stiff posture tensed further and turned rigid.
“Sorry for not asking for a bath before I was escorted to the gallows.”
Guilt clawed at my insides as my nagging inner voice chastised me for not soothing her instead of bringing up unpleasant memories, but I was determined to suppress the remnants of whatever was left of my conscience. For now and forever.
“Why did you do it anyway? If you’re so disgusted with me, why did you save me?”
Shit. I wasn’t in the mood to explain this. “I followed orders.”
“Orders? Whose orders?”
“You can ask him soon yourself.”
I was determined to shoot down more irritating questions, and I could see her shoulders sag in defeat.
The nagging voice returned with a vengeance, reminding me she had just been through more than most people ever had to endure.
Before I hardened myself once more, I banded my right arm around Jama’s waist, pulling her closer.
“Relax. Sleep. It won’t do you any good if you fall unconscious again. ”
Her attempts to struggle against my hold were cute, but in vain. I scowled and tugged her even closer toward me, much to her annoyance. “I’m not letting you fall, Jama. So, relax.”
Jama finally calmed somewhat down, and after a pleasant minute of silence, I thought she’d fallen asleep. Obviously, I was wrong.
“Why do you call me that?”
“Call you what?”
“Jama. That isn’t my name.”
A slight movement followed by a hiss of pain told me she’d tried to nod and had forgotten her neck injuries.
Idiotic woman. She’d have me thinking she actually liked pain in no time.
Maybe she did. I huffed and quickly shut down that trail of thought as it was leading me into dangerous waters.
No way did I want to think of the tiny woman in a context involving intimacy and punishments.
“Maybe one day you’ll earn that answer. Now shut up and sleep, or I’ll silence you myself.” I’d gag her without a second thought if it meant that this conversation was over.
“Jerk.”
“I’ve been called a lot worse, and all of it was true.”
“That’s nothing to be proud of.”
“Sleep. If I have to repeat myself, I’ll gag you.”
My tone made clear that this wasn’t an empty threat, and I was slightly disappointed when she only responded with a sharp exhale before shutting up.
I cursed myself. Despite only spending such a short time with tiny Jama, I wasn’t able to stop my thoughts from wandering into dangerous territory.
I could lie to myself as much as I wanted to, but even in her filthy, smelly state, there was some weird attraction to her building up inside of me.
Not that she—or gods forbid the others—could ever know or that I’d act on it.
That would be a catastrophe that should never, ever be allowed to happen.
Jama was fully relaxed in my arms. Her breathing was even and deep, all signs indicating that she’d fallen asleep. I pulled her closer until she was safely tucked into my chest, and I made sure the cloak was comfortably wrapped around her without constricting her throat.
I sighed, instantly feeling the bitter taste of regret for allowing myself such a weakness.
I spent the next few hours alone with my thoughts, which I usually enjoyed, but this time I annoyed myself. Jama was sleeping peacefully, mostly undisturbed, because I kept her steady, minimizing any strain on her body.
Dusk was settling in, and we were still several hours away from the caves. The forest surrounded us, and the closest settlement was quite far away. We’d be safe from straying villagers if we’d find a decent place for a campsite somewhere deeper in the protection of the forest.
I directed my horse off the small path and into the trees, searching for the best place to stay overnight, one that posed the least risk to us.
In the end, I found what I’d been searching for—a small clearing next to a tiny, clear lake.
If it came to an ambush, I could be sure no one was able to attack from behind, thanks to the body of water.
The surrounding canopy was dense, and the only element I didn’t like was an old campfire in the area.
It’d been cold for several days from the looks of it, so I made up my mind that we’d risk it and stay the night.
I halted my horse and cautiously created some space between Jama and me to dismount securely. She grumbled in her sleep, and I chuckled.
Carefully, I descended from horseback without letting her drop, which wasn’t as easy as it sounded, especially since my mount decided to act up.
I scowled at the animal after she and I had almost landed in the dirt because of his escapades.
The handler I’d gotten him from had never told me his name.
Perhaps I should change his nameless condition if only to be able to chastise the brute better.
Luckily, I’d been able to avoid falling or dropping Jama, and I was glad no one had seen my mishap.
“Elegant.” A small, melodic laugh came from a drowsy Jama, and I growled at her, which somehow made her laugh harder.
“Shut up.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad I witnessed this.”
“And why is that so?”
“Because it shows that under all that tough behavior, under your sulking and scowling, there’s something normal, something human, that sometimes stumbles like everyone else.”
“You’re quick in your assessment, murderous little Jama.”
She flinched when I called her murderous. I’d hoped to get a reaction, to assess how she felt about what had happened in her hometown, even if it was shitty of me to remind her of the whole ordeal so soon.
“Ass.” The little thing muttered the insult under her breath, and her skin was tinged slightly green.
So, I’d indeed struck a nerve. Interesting. Instead of an answer, I gave her a sarcastic little bow and unrolled a bedroll.
“I need some privacy.” Her voice reached my ears, and I canted my head in question. She sighed as if I was stupid, and I changed the angle of my head from one side to the other, squinting at her. If she tried to annoy me, she was succeeding.
“This is the first bit of clean water I’ve seen in days, and as you put it so charmingly earlier, I smell to the heavens.”
Gods, the way she threw my former insult back at me was surprising. Especially since she did it with a sweet smile that barely veiled the sarcasm in her voice. I could almost respect her for retorting like that.
“It’s cold, and you don’t have clothes to change into. Your sensitivities will have to wait. End of discussion.” No stench in the world would justify a bath in freezing water in near darkness. I turned my back to her, ignoring her glare at my back as I proceeded to set up camp for the night.