I squeeze my eyes shut and try to take in air, but there is a fist compressing my lungs. I feel hot and cold at once, like my body is trying to understand what’s happening to me but it can’t seem to grasp what should be normal.
“Birdie?” Gabriel’s low voice shakes something loose inside me, and I open my eyes to find him standing right in front of me.
He takes my hands in his, but even the heat from his touch can’t shake the anxiety racing through me.
A panicked, mangled gasp escapes me.
“It’s okay,” he says quietly.
Is it? Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t seem that way. It might never be okay again.
“Breathe,” he instructs. “Inhale.” He waits for me to follow his direction, and even though it’s hard, the fist gripping my lungs loosens a fraction. I draw a breath and hold it. Several beats pass before he instructs me to exhale, and I do.
“Good. Again.” His eyes never waver from mine as I comply.
He is patient as I focus on my breathing, my heart rate slowly returning to normal.
After several minutes have passed, he blows out a long breath. “There you go.” A small, relieved smile crosses his lips, and suns take me, when did I start noticing the Hunter’s minuscule facial expressions? “How do you feel?”
“Honestly?” A crazed laugh slips from my lips. “Awful. That was far too close.”
How many more close calls can we have before everything goes wrong?
Gabriel pushes down his hood, raking his hand through his hair. “We’ll have to be more careful.”
We’ve already been traveling at night to avoid the king’s soldiers and staying off the main roads as much as possible. This is the first time we’ve been near civilization since fleeing Rosebridge. How much more careful can we be?
Maybe this is a sign that all this is nothing but a lesson in futility.
Gabriel must read the defeat on my face because he squeezes my hand. “It’ll be okay, Wren. I’ll shield you from danger.”
Strangely, I don’t doubt Gabriel is speaking the truth. How could I after he killed for me? But I don’t know if his protection will be enough. Not when it feels like the whole kingdom is working against us.
He must see something in my eyes because he pushes back my hood and clasps my face gently between his hands. “Look at me, little bird.”
My eyes meet his after a few moments, and is it just me, or has he moved closer? We share the same air for several seconds, each moment feeling longer than the last, before he dips his head, his gaze searing into mine. “I mean it. I’ve got you.”
And I’m not sure if it’s the look in his eyes or the sureness in his tone, but I believe him.
“Okay,” I whisper.
He strokes my cheeks with unusual tenderness before unclasping my cloak and hanging it on a hook along with his.
While he’s occupied, I turn, taking in the room behind me. It’s as small as it was when we walked in, and there’s still only one bed. In my panic about the Enforcer, I’d momentarily forgotten about that, but now it’s staring right at me. As if it knows its presence is going to be a problem.
When I look back to the Hunter, he’s leaning against the wall, one foot kicked up and resting behind him. His eyes slide to the bed, then back to me, and I know we can’t avoid the topic any longer.
“So,” I say, ever the robust conversationalist during awkward-as-fuck moments.
He quirks a brow, and his lips twitch as though he’s about to smile, although I’m not sure what he finds so funny about our current predicament. “So.”
“This is where we’re spending the day.” I gesture to the room.
He nods, clearly biting back an amused look.
“In this small room with one bed,” I clarify, pointing to the incriminating piece of furniture as if he hasn’t seen it. But how could he miss it?
Another dip of his head.
