My breath caught, and heat rushed to my cheeks. “Well, where should I start?” I let out with a nervous laugh as I leaned into his chest.
Before he could answer, a deafening shriek erupted from the sky above us, forcing us all to snap our gazes up to the tops of the peaks.
Nox was spotted up above, high within the clouds, and then came barreling down toward the ground. We continued staring as he started performing multiple flips and dangerous moves while navigating the sharp, jutting edges above.
The laughter of children and awe-inspiring noises from the adults echoed down the never-ending lines through the path. We all moved forward swiftly once the wyvern left our sight.
I faced forward once more, about to continue telling the handsome man at my back my life story, when Zaela whipped around from the front where she had been with Veli and came storming towards us.
My whole body stiffened against Gage, and he gently squeezed my knee above my dress.
He brought his lips to my ear then, and whispered, “Don’t mind her. She’s just ridiculously overprotective. And that scary look she wears is also just her face.”
A snort left me at his attempt to lighten the sudden shift in the mood. Zaela’s eyes narrowed in on me then, and I felt the intensity of her stare as she crossed her arms once she was halfway to us, a scowl adorning her face.
A short chuckle left Gage as she approached, and it both irritated me and left me entirely confused regarding their situation.
“Zae—” he started, but he was cut off.
“What are they doing?! The whole point of them taking Nox was to get a head start,” she shouted up at Gage from our side as she began to walk alongside Matthias.
“It seems that they’re just having a bit of fun,” I said as I continued to look straight ahead. “You should try it sometime. They also likely left a few hours after us once everyone entered the passage.”
I felt the weight of her gaze boring into the side of my face.
“I wasnotspeaking to you, Princess.”
“Zaela. That’s enough,” Gage interjected, a bit of bite I had never heard from him in his tone.
I didn’t even bother trying to hide my smirk, and now Landon and Finn were slowing their horses, falling back to eavesdrop on what was about tounfold.
“I simply stated a fact that I wasn’t speaking to her and came here to directly talk to you. The Commander’s Second.”
Gage let out a laugh, and I hated that it made me upset he was entertaining her.
“You have never referred to me as such. What has gotten into you?” he asked.
“Absolutely nothing. I need to know why they aren’t miles ahead of us.”
“Well, I would assume what Avery said was correct and that they’re having a bit of fun. The two of them deserve it, no?” he replied.
I turned slightly and glanced at her in time to see her eyes soften at his words. Why did she hate me so much when Lia was so sure of her not having feelings for Gage? He said she’s just overprotective, but to what extent?
“Fine,” she huffed. “I’m just tired, and my feet ache. Must be nice to have a mount,” she retorted with a slight sense of teasing. She then waded through the surrounding travelers and aimed for the front.
“Is she truly always like that?” I asked.
Gage was quiet for a moment, and I cursed myself for letting that slip out.
“Zae means well,” he said quietly with a sigh.
Suddenly, the warmth at my back was absent, and he swung his leg back over Matthias and leapt down from our saddle, leaving me alone once more.
My heart started racing.
“I should be at the front with her.” He looked up at me as he walked alongside. “It will still be many hours before we are out on the other side.”
I gave him a short nod in response, fixing my face into neutrality to hide that I wanted to burst into a fit of angry tears for her ruining that moment between us.
