Page 93 of Destiny of a King

But the other… Dravic.

Her gaze slowly lifted to the man she rested against.

That was his name.

He had always simply been the king to her.

Dravic.

She repeated the sound silently in her thoughts, afraid she might lose it if she did not hold tightly to it.

Dravic.

A warmth spread through her that had nothing to do with his body pressed against hers.

She knew his name. The thought pleased her so much that a smile escaped before she could stop it.

His fingers were beneath her chin again almost immediately.

Adira looked up.

His questioning stare demanded an explanation.

Her smile only grew. How could she possibly tell him that the reason for it was him?

She went to reach up and touch the deep lines between his eyes where his brow had knitted tightly but recalled it would not be proper and stilled her hand.

Dravic’s gaze dropped to her hand that moved then stopped abruptly, and he knew she meant to touch him. He wished she could—touch him without permission, without question whenever she wanted to. He loved the feel of her hand upon him, though he favored it more upon his naked skin.

Stop, he silently warned himself. Not here. Not now.

For a moment neither moved.

Then his eyes returned to hers.

Maintaining her smile, Adira slowly adjusted the ties on her cloak to make it appear as if it was her intention all along.

Dravic stared at her another moment before releasing her chin, but she caught the faintest change in his expression as he looked ahead again.

He knew she intended to touch him and he wanted her to. And that gave her heart a joyful squeeze and kept her smile strong.

Adira settled back against him, holding her newly discovered treasure carefully in her thoughts.

Dravic.

She liked his name.

She liked even more that he had wanted her to touch him.

They continued on, the encounter with the Wolfin gradually falling behind them, though the talk of it did not. Adira caught no more words, only an occasional sound that slipped unexpectedly into her silence and disappeared before she could make sense of it.

She did not mind. She had heard enough for now.

The forest grew denser as they traveled, the path narrowing enough in places that the men were forced to ride two abreast. Snow clung heavily to the pine branches and covered the ground in an unbroken blanket except where their horses left deep tracks behind them.

Dravic had grown impatient.

Adira could feel it in him. His arm remained secure around her, his hold no different than before, but his attention had turned elsewhere. He looked ahead more often, occasionally toward Ernach, and several times she saw his jaw tighten as if some thought continued to annoy him.