He scoffs. “It’s only scary stories. The elders ha’ passed those down for ages.”
“You seemed to think Evander was lying about the seadragons too,” I mumble onto his chest. “We’ll be right out!” I call louder to Boudicca.
“I made you some laverbread and bacon to tide you over this morning and packed you some rations for your trip.” Her footsteps drift down the hall as she walks away.
“What’s laverbread?” I ask Lachlan, yawning and stretching.
He grins down at me as he stretches his arms up over his head. “Seaweed bread.”
We clamber from the bed and I already regret leaving the security of his arms. Dread begins curdling my empty stomach and it must show on my face.
“It tastes pretty good. I wouldna worry too much,” Lachlan whispers, casting his eyes towards the door.
I shake my head. Facing away from him, I pull my nightshirt over my head to put my leathers back on. “It’s not that. I have a weird feeling about today.” The cool air has me shuddering. I glance over my shoulder to see Lachlan still.
His eyes shadowed as his brow lowers, lingering on my nearly naked state. He forces a swallow before saying, “She was teasing about the creatures. I’ve never seen anything remotely dangerous in this realm.”
I sit on the edge of the bed discretely pulling down my shorts and tugging up my leather pants. The fabric stretches to fit my hips and legs just right.
I cast a glance over my shoulder to see Lachlan tying up his own pants.Damn.I focus back on tying the laces on my hips before bending down to pull on my boots.
“Yeah, well, the sea dragon absolutely had razor-sharp teeth the size of my arm, so…”
Lachlan sinks onto the edge of the bed to put his boots back on. “Well then, suit yourself, but it’s gonna be fine.”
I bite my lip and braid my hair back and away from my face. “I don’t think that’s where the anxiety is coming from.”
He finishes tying his boots and stands, making his wayaround the bed and to my side. I hadn’t realized before, but his head almost grazes the ceiling. Tattooed arms reach out, taking my hair from me as he finishes the braid and ties it with the leather strap before draping it over my shoulder. “Alright then, what is it?”
I turn to face him. “I don’t know.” My head hangs and I toe my boot against his.
Lachlan tips my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“We’re on the right path. We’ve found what is corrupting magic and we’re fixing it. Soon we’ll be jumping to the human realm to protect Adi and my Da. We’re doing this together. It will be alright.”
“And if it’s not?” I ask, studying the strength radiating in his eyes.
“Then I will make it so.”
We crowd around Boudicca’s wooden table. A round window in the dining area overlooks the seaside from atop the hill. I swear I spy a sparkle of a sea dragon scale in the shimmering reflection of the sunlight breaking over the sea. But I blink, and it’s gone.
“I’ve secured a boat and a captain to take you to the west side of the island,” she says, placing two large sage-green plates in front of us. Each plate piled high with several pieces of laverbread and a heaping portion of bacon. “I couldn’t come by a cart. But we did find two available horses.”
“Thank you.” I smile up at her. My stomach is positively ravenous after a long day of traveling yesterday.
She nods to the assortment of butter and jams on the table before taking her seat. “Help yourselves.”
“What kind of creatures roam the forest?” I ask Boudicca before smearing the laverbread with butter.
Her mass of oxblood curls is piled high upon her head, making the smattering of freckles on her nose stand out. Shesets her rose-painted tea cup down and traces the chipped rim with a fingertip.
“Well, we don’t know exactly.” She sighs, looking between me and Lach. “Some of the young warriors we send there for wilderness training have sworn they’ve seen beasts and creatures with unnatural colored skin. Or the trees and rocks moving on their own accord.”
Lachlan’s grin turns feral as he swallows a bite of bacon. “Aye, and don’t forget about the trolls, fairies, brownies, and wulvers.”
I slap his shoulder and roll my eyes. “It’s not funny.”
He chuckles. “Of course it is. They’re just spooky legends we tell the soldiers, so they dinna fall asleep on their watch.” He picks up another piece of bacon and takes a bite. I watch as he eats, enraptured with every single thing he does.
