It was only after he pointed it out that I realized I’d placed bedding for both of us right next to each other. “Oh, um, no, I didn’t mean to?—”
“It’s all right,” he said gruffly. “It’s safest to stay close. Just because we’re in this enclosure doesn’t mean nothing from outside can get in.”
I pictured thethingfrom last night. It was similar in size to us, and unlike a larpanoon, it had arms and hands. It could definitely find a way to wedge itself through the enclosure’s opening. A shudder racked me.
Kole dusted the sand off his clothes, and it suddenly hit me that his attire was the only apparel he had along.
“I can loan you something if you want to change,” I offered.
His expression didn’t budge, but his words were full ofamusement when he replied, “Do you really think that anything you own could fit me?”
I scrunched my nose up. “Well, you do make a good point, but I’m sure that I could find someth?—”
“No need to. I’ll grab a few things.”
I barely had time to process what he’d said when he disappeared.
My jaw dropped. One second, the warrior was standing before me, and the next, only a rustle of wind was left in his place.
The warrior had vanished before my very eyes, which meant he wasdefinitelySolis fae.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
When Kole reappeared fifteen minutes later, shock was still barreling through me.
The warrior’s hair was damp, as though freshly washed, and he was wearing clean trousers and a loose top. In his hands were a pillow, another large blanket, and his sword.
He set his sword against the rocky wall, close to where he could reach it, and the firelight flickered on the steel near its handle.
“I wish I could commission a portrait of your face right now.” His expression was smooth, but a hint of delight rolled through his tone.
My mouth opened, then closed, then opened. “You canmistphase?”
“What gave it away?” He dropped his pillow next to mine, then lay down on the makeshift bed I’d madefor us. A cloud of his fragrance wafted around him, and I had the asinine urge to deeply inhale.
I lay down too, but I propped myself up on one elbow so I could peer down at him. Thoughts shifted through my mind rapid fire. “Is that why you don’t travel with any luggage? Because you just return...where? Home? Your barracks? You can change clothes or get what you need whenever you need to?”
“Yes.”
It wasn’t lost on me that he didn’t clarify if he’d returned to the Imperial Warrior’s barracks or his personal home, but his admission did explain how he’d appeared in different clothes at the salopas the previous night, especially since he’d arrived at the inn empty-handed.
And he’d obviously mistphased to wherever he’d gone just now to change, bathe, and gather a few things for the night.
My mind turned faster. “And the carpet, earlier today, when you were gone so long...did you mistphase somewhere to buy it?”
“Also, yes. I had to go to Jaggedston to find one. Took a bloody long time too since I had to go to three shops before I found the size we needed.”
My pulse ticked steadily upward. “You went tothreeshops?”
“I did.”
“All so you could offer me a ride?”
His throat rolled in a swallow. “Perhaps.”
My insides curled, and I bit back a smile. I had no idea why the warrior would go to such lengths to help me, but I was thankful that he had. If not, at this moment, I would have been with Felix, Nym, and Jessip.
Trying to brush off how much his gesture meant to me, I asked, “But how do you mistphase that often? I thought mistphasing required a lot of magic?”
