AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, and why we need to keep moving.”
His brow furrowed as if seeing the darkness made it all real. With a nod, he moved aside so that I could follow George up the incline.Up and around we went, our path rocky and difficult. To our right, the edge dropped and sloped down and to our left the mountains blocked out everything else.
When we reached the top expanse near the rest area where we would stay for the night, both of us were sweating. The land flattened out, the one place in the ridge that had fresh water and a cabin. Water fell from the mountain into a serene lake with tall evergreens andthe bluest water I’d ever seen.
“Please tell me that’s fresh water,” Callum said, practically bouncing on his heels.
“It is.”
He took off running, pulling off his shirt as he reached the bank.
“Callum!”
He yelped with excitement, kicking off his boots then his pants next.
“What are you doing? It’s freezing here,” I chased after him, grumbling about his absurd behavior.
With a wide smile, he jumped in, splashing and howling before diving under the surface. He popped up with a shout. “Oh, that’s colder than I thought!”
Averting my eyes, the fae ran back out, and shook off the water, splashing me.
“That was incredibly foolish. We’re in the mountains and I don’t need you dying of frostbite.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, grabbing his clothes. “I haven’t swam in years. It was a bit too cold, but definitely worth it.”
Keeping my back to him, I dug into one of the bags on George’s back and pulled out a blanket. “Dry off and get dressed. I’ve already seen you naked more than I care for.”
He laughed, a deep, rumbling noise. “Oh, darling, I doubt that.”
Ignoring him, I grabbed our two canteens and walked to the edge to refill them, making sure not to look at him, though I did find it curious he didn’t care that I saw him naked. I was not one to be shy when it came to my body. Everyone had the same parts, but I only changed around people when necessary and in my position, I didn’t always have privacy, but even during those times, I never felt odd or uncomfortable.
This fae unsettled me.
He was no different than a human male, but I had never seen one with muscles so defined or one with a chest and shoulders that showed years of intense training. It wasn’t wrong to admire someone with peak physical health which I found odd since he had been a prisoner for so long. I’d expected to find an emaciated fae, broken and weak. What happened in that prison? Did he get special treatment?
Boots crunched on the ground as my companion moved closer, hopefully fully dressed. I leaned toward the water, dipping the canteen in.
Callum squatted behind me, his body too close to mine. He hovered by my ear, his wet hair tickling my cheek. “We’re being watched.”
Looking up, I searched the area. There were no animals in sight and definitely not any travelers. We’d passed no one on our way here. “Where?”
“By the trees.” He took the canteen out of my hand and drank from it before continuing to speak.
“How many?” Slowly, I stood, watching the tall evergreens surrounding the lake.
“I can’t tell yet. What’s the plan?”
“See that cabin, farther down with the fishing pier? That’s where we’re staying. We’ll bring George inside.”
With a hand to my back, Callum moved beside me, keeping his voice low. “Walk slowly. Whatever is following us will attack if we run and if there’s more than one, we’ll be in trouble.”
Putting the canteens back on George we ushered the goat forward and walked slow and silent. The cabin wasn’t too far and if we were careful there’d be no incidents, not that I was worried. A few mountain cats wouldn’t be an issue. I’d handled much worse.
My mind replayed the fight with Lord Demious and how close he’d come to overtaking me. If my guards hadn’t dragged me away, I don’t know what would’ve happened. His magic wentinsideme. The feeling unnatural and vile that even now it gave me a chill. How had he become so powerful and so quickly? Though, it didn’t matter anymore. The magistrate was dead.
“We have a problem.” Callum’s shoulder brushed up against me and I glanced to where he looked.
Across the lake a group of mountain cats walked. Big, snowy white creatures with fangs that fell past their maw. I counted five which meant we had a pack on our trail. We were still too far from the cabin, and our goat guide would be slaughtered in the fray.
