Page 56 of The Silversmith

Gemma noticed him touching me. She looked ready to lurch over the campfire and use her momentum to mow him over, away from me. But she didn’t, because she had seen me shivering just as he had.

I looked up at him. “Aren’t you cold?”

“No.” Gavin sat down beside me. “Have you eaten something?”

“Yes.”

“Listen to you.” Gemma glowered at him over the flames. “She’s a full-grown woman. You sound pathetic.”

“Uh-oh, Tremaine,” Gavin snapped back. “You’ve mistaken me for someone who gives a shit.”

I bit my tongue to suppress a reaction. It wasn’t easy. The horrified, offended look on her face both amused and distressed me. I would have been angry at Gavin, for her sake, but she wasn’t just distrusting him. She was doubting me because I trusted him.

“Wipe that grin off your face, Ary.” Her expression was hard, but her voice softened. “And don’t come running to me when you can’t get this deranged asshole to leave you alone.”

Gavin scoffed. I shot him a disapproving look. The corner of his mouth turned up into a smile. And then my breath caught in my chest when the broody, gruff, and delectable mass of man took a swig of his canteen, winked at me, and mouthed, Happy Birthday.

I lost my balance and almost fell off my log.

“Can we all just get along?” I half-shouted, catching myself with my free hand and doing my best to take any attention away from my swooning.

“Sounds great to me!” Caz chimed in.

“We aren’t the problem,” Ezra muttered.

“Not when he’s after my girl!”

“Gemma,” I hissed back at her, cheeks hot.

She shrugged and smiled, absolutely feline. “Extra attention on your birthday.”

Caz, Ezra, and Finn looked at each other, mouths open wide with big, silly grins. They hadn’t known.

I buried my face in my hands when they started to sing.

“No!” I groaned.

Gavin refused to sing, but he laughed, the sound deep and soothing. I endured their song and their attention. Joy shimmered in my chest. My limbs tingled with giddiness. An irrepressible smile drew my lips so wide I wondered if traces of it would ever fade. On my eighteenth birthday, my mother and I had been mourning. I couldn’t remember any birthday before that.

Today was going to be a good day.

We arrived just outside of Tovick after a few hours of walking. It was the largest village I’d ever seen. We stood atop a grassy hill overlooking cobblestone streets lined with wood-frame buildings of varying heights. Townsfolk bustled about, dressed warmly to fend off the crisp air. But happy and energized.

A grandiose house of worship, complete with a towering steeple surrounded by twelve equal points—one for each of the twelve gods of Nyrida—sat at the center of town. Dazzling stained-glass windows, bold with color, wrapped all the way around the captivating structure.

It was an effort to believe this place could exist so close to the dilapidated hell we had seen yesterday.

Gavin’s friend was not at the tavern he owned on the east side of Tovick. It was closed, so we decided to camp just outside the town until his friend returned. He was due to return on the fourth of this month, so we only had one day to wait. We found a small clearing within a forest of oak trees and made camp.

After our midday meal, Gavin revealed he had a surprise for me. Gemma objected, but he promised to steal me for only an hour. I followed him toward the sprawl of shops and houses and people. I started to tuck my hair in a messy bun beneath my green-and-gold knit hat. But he took my hand and lowered it. The feel of his skin touching mine heated my blood.

“Leave it.”

“Aren’t you worried they’ll recognize me here?” I frowned. “We’re farther south. Finn says it’s more dangerous the closer we get to more Insidions.”

He assessed me quietly. “On our first day of training, I said you have nothing to hide. I meant it.” He gave a surrendering shake of his head. “I don’t want you living in fear.”

I smiled and let my waves of silver flow down my back like a cape, unafraid.