Page 22 of Tell Them That I’m Coming

And every time I think that, he opens his mouth and says something that reminds me that he’s just the cocky guide I didn’t ask for.

“Keep moving,” he says as I slow a little, gaze on his back because, well, I can’t stop myself. “And stay right behind me when we cross streams.”

There’s been at least a demon’s length between us as we walked. I figured he was avoiding the butterflies, but now I’m not so sure. “Why?”

“Because the banks are soft.”

Okay. “And?”

“And I don’t want to yank you out of the mud,” he says. “Again.”

I glower. “Once,” I tell him. “That happened once.” And I have dark mud all over my boots as a reminder to be careful where I’m walking in this strange world.

Thane’s mouth twitches, though he doesn’t say anything else. Still, it’s the closest thing to a smile he’s given me since he told me where we were headed, and I can’t deny that the bond deep in my chest almost pulses.

Binx nips my ear hard enough to make me hiss, forgetting the mate bond for a moment.

“Fine,” I mutter, rubbing my ear even though I’m grateful that, through my bond with my soul-pet, Binx gave me just the sort of distraction I could use. Rafe, I tell myself. Focus on Rafe, not the fae. “Fine. I’m moving.”

And if I can’t resist the urge to shove Thane in the mud next time, well… that can’t be helped, can it?

He gets lucky. For the rest of the eve, I’m on my best behavior because I start to get tired; while full-blooded demons need only a few hours of rest a night, halflings take after our human parents in that regard. I’m desperate to take a break, though I don’t tell him so. Instead, staying close to Thane, we keep on walking until the light shining down on us shifts.

It’s subtle at first. The moon is still overhead, silver and sharp, but the shadows beneath the trees deepen. The air cools, though it’s more of a breeze against my overheated skin. It grows heavier, though, and it isn’t long before Thane slows.

I stop automatically, even though he doesn’t tell me to. I’ll take any excuse for a small break.

While I bend low, flicking some of the dried mud off of my right boot, he listens.

That catches my attention. As he shifts slightly, cocking his head, everything in me goes tight. Binx goes still on my shoulder, ears pricked, body taut. And the butterflies… they’re gone.

I wait.

Then, faintly, there’s a sound. A rustle, low and distant, but audible. I think… I think something’s moving through the trees. Something big enough to shift branches, but careful enough that it doesn’t snap them.

My heart jumps, then pounds. I reach for Binx who nuzzles against my trembling fingers.

Thane doesn’t draw his sword. Not yet. He just angles his head, gaze fixed into the dark between the tree trunks.

After a long moment, the sound fades. Thane exhales, slow and quiet.

Turning to me, he asks, “You hear that?”

“Yes,” I admit.

“Good,” he says before turning away. “That means you’ll hear it next time sooner.”

I gulp. “Next time?” Scurrying forward, clutching his arm while purposely blocking any essence exchange between us, I repeat, “Next time?”

His mouth curves again. “And that’s if the Shadowed Woods gives you any warning.”

Oh, I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.

CHAPTER 8

SLEEP

My throat starts to ache long before I’m willing to admit it.