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“Which is a—”
“Dragon,” he replies.
I stop in place. Rafferty does the same and turns to face me. “You’re telling me that this place hasdragons? As in, swoop down from the sky and burn you to a crisp?”
“They’ve no fire, but essentially, yes.”
“And you killed it.”
“Not my first, likely won’t be my last.” He continues walking as though all of this is the most normal thing in the entire world. “You must be on guard, Ember. Anything less will lead to your death.”
Something in the tone he uses, the weight of his words, it eats at me. “Have you ever known peace?”
Rafferty stops in his tracks and meets my gaze. His golden eyes churn with emotion so strong it makes my knees weak. “Briefly.”
“When you were a child?”
He nods. “And into adulthood. Until—”
“Your sister,” I finish his thought, and he nods again.
“I failed Niahm. I will not fail you, too.” He begins walking again, and I’m forced to jog for a moment in order to catch his long strides. Together, we walk in silence until just ahead, the noise of moving water overtakes it.
The small stream moves through the trees like a winding road, eating the ground away in its path. Trees are tall here, obliterating our view of the sky and shielding us from the hot sun. Rafferty turns his head to the sky and closes his eyes.
I know he’s likely listening for any threat, but I am unable to tear my gaze from the shape of his jaw or the stubble coating it. For this brief moment, with nothing but the sound of the water, I feel…alive.
He drops his head and opens his eyes. A golden gaze locks with mine, and I let out a breath. We stand there, the air charged between us, until he turns his head and clears his throat. “The water looks to be about waist deep, we should be able to wash up. I will keep my back turned so you have your privacy.”
When I don’t reply, just eye the water nervously, he chuckles. “Kelpies do not frequent moving water. You will be safe, I assure you.”
Little does he know it has nothing to do with the Kelpie and everything to do with the fact that we’ll both be naked—in cold water—yards apart.
“Great. I’ll just go, then.” I move past him and to the base of a tree beside the stream. Part of me wants to glance over, you know, to see if Rafferty is in the water yet, but the other part of me knows that he is likely already naked.
Not that I don’t want to see it, it just feels wrong somehow.
Stripping out of my dress, I set it up on the rock so it won’t get dirty. Then I remove the chemise from my body—finally. That, I toss near the base of the tree, never to touch it again. The water is cold on my feet but welcome, especially given the dirt and blood that washes away right before my eyes.
Cuts and scrapes from running barefoot burn momentarily, but soon, I’m wading in farther and farther until the water is barely covering my breasts. “Oh my gosh, yes.”
“Is everything all right?” Rafferty calls back to me.
“Fine. The water feels good.” Only, I choose that exact moment to submerge a little deeper without thinking of the fresh cut on my upper shoulder. I wince, the intake of air enough to alert the warrior behind me.
“What is it?” He’s directly behind me now, though not touching me. “Ember, what is it? Tell me, or I’m turning around.”
“Taranus—” I swallow hard. “Cut my back.”
“He didwhat?”
“I don’t know. Truthfully, I haven’t seen it, and I hadn’t thought about it since the chemise sleeves covered it.”
“May I?”
He’s asking if he can turn around—if he can look. And given how clear this water is? He’ll see a good portion of my ass. However, curiosity for what Taranus left behind is greater than my need for modesty. At least, right now.
“Yes.”
