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Knox gave me a mischievous grin and pulled part of his shirt hem out of the top of his trousers. He leaned forward and messed up his hair.
"If you think I'm going to do that too—" I knitted my brows at him.
"You and I know the truth," he said evenly. "At least this way they won't ask too many questions."
I sighed and messed up my own hair, just a little.
"They'll gossip about us," I said. If they had nothing better to do than talk about us, that was.
"Nothing that I'd be ashamed of," he said firmly. "Who knows, someday—"
I gave him a lopsided smile. He really was presumptuous, but I wouldn't mind. Anywhere but here though, in this room. I might end up with more than a palm momentarily attached to the stone sarcophagus.
He smiled back. "Don't worry, I won't pressure you. I will, however, keep an eye on you, as ordered."
"Becauseyou were ordered?" I cocked my head at him.
"No, not just because of that," he said softly.
I looked into his eyes and knew he meant every word. Right now, I should concentrate on my lessons and a dozen other things, like staying alive. Having him in my corner would make all of that a lot easier.
Bain and Dex both haunted my thoughts as well though, complicating everything even more.
"Should we hold hands?" he asked as we headed back toward the stairs.
I gave him the side eye, then slipped one hand into his, fingers laced together.
He grinned and strode beside me. If only the folk from the temple could see him now. Or me, for that matter.
21
Bain
A small firewas all I let them have. I sat back from it, in the shadows.
Latika sat on the other side, eyes closed, back against a tree trunk. Wesley sat beside Erin, talking and singing softly while he plucked the occasional note on his lyaer. Kerina and Aisha talked about knives and seemed to be discussing the best technique for holding one.
"It depends if you plan to stab or throw," Kerina said.
I turned my attention to the dark forest around us. Something moved, leaves rustled, then fell silent. A small animal of some kind, more than likely. I saw several dozen birds and a monkey or two before the sun set.
Hooves shuffled as one of the horses settled closer to another.
"Where are we going?" Latika had one eye open and regarded me.
I should have known she wasn't asleep. A trained assassin could operate on minimal sleep and still be highly efficient. I had long wondered if they possessed some kind of power, but knew better than to ask. Assassin secrets were held close, under penalty of expulsion from their guild at best and making themselves a target of their order at worst.
Although Kerina hadn't, as far as I knew, been a part of the order for some time, she still followed those rules.
"I have a direction," I replied. "Beyond that, I don't know."
"The Onyx Mountains are vast." She opened her other eye. "We could wander for months."
"You know otherwise," I said. "You've seen the signs as well as I have." A woman with her training wouldn't miss tracks, even covered as well as they were.
"They suggest we're outnumbered," she replied. "They'll position themselves in such a way they'll see us coming before we're aware of them."
"What do you suggest?" I asked. Even the most seasoned generals listened to their advisors. I was no general, but I was willing to listen. The other four had stopped to do the same.
