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The glint in her eyes turned mischievous. “You’re doing an awfully good job so far.” She kissed me again, long and slow. Then she scooted her sleeping bag as close to mine as she could get. “Hold me until I fallasleep?”
I lay down next to her and wrapped my arm around her waist, tipping my face next to hers. “Until then and after,Serenity.”
* * *
Ren
My toe caughton a ridge in the path, and I stumbled forward. A curse fell from my mouth, but I caught my balance before Nate’s helping hand reached me. “I’m okay, I’mokay.”
“Whoever picked this route obviously wasn’t too concerned about ease of travel,” Marco said, raising his eyebrows as he took in our surroundings. “A little redecorating might be inorder.”
I couldn’t argue. If I’d thought yesterday’s hike had been difficult, today’s was downright brutal. The path had veered sharply upward through the morning, and just after we’d stopped for a quick lunch, the walls above slanted together to form a ceiling overhead. We were walking through a cave now. A cave with a really uneven floor and only dim light from the occasional gaps in the ceiling. Our steps echoed faintly through the cavernouspassage.
The temperature had dropped at the same time. A damp chill brushed my face as I trudged on. I was very glad for that down jacket now. But the tug inside me kept urging me onward, more insistently now than before. Whatever we were heading toward, we were definitely gettingcloser.
“Have you gotten any clearer sense of what we’re looking for or how far ahead it might be?” Aaron askedme.
I shook my head. “The feeling I have is still just a vague pull. But I know we’re going the right way.” If that feeling hadn’t been enough to confirm it, just an hour ago I’d spotted another score mark where Mom’s energy had lingered. She’d entered this cave too, seven or so years ago. Entered it and left her mark for me tofind.
We’d also spotted a couple slivers of fae magic etched in the walls, although nothing the guys had thought wasrecent.
Something split the hazy gray tunnel ahead of us. I squinted at it. After several more steps, I made out what it was—a seam of rock. The cave was splitting into twopassages.
“I’m not much of a fan of mazes,” Westmuttered.
Neither was I, but as we reached the branching, the pull inside me tugged to the left clearly enough. “We go that way,” I said, pointing. “Noproblem.”
“I trust your instincts,” Aaron said, “but I don’t like the additional possibilities for an ambush when there are multiple passages to move between. I think we should quickly scout out both sides—check for any signs of potentialenemies.”
“Fine,” West said, stalking toward the passage to the right. “Let’s just get on withit.”
“Fifteen minutes, and if you haven’t seen any reason to worry by then, meet back up,” Aaron called after him. He headed down the left passage, leaving me with Marco andNate.
The big bear shifter crossed his arms over his chest, looming over me as if there were some immediate threat I needed to be defended from. I appreciated that he wanted to look out for me, but sometimes his protectiveness felt a littlesmothering.
“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing around here except for rocks,” I said. “Unless there are some rock demons or something you guys haven’t bothered to tell me exist, we should befine.”
“No rock demons,” Marco said with a grin. “As much as I might enjoy a little break. Hiking, hiking, hiking does getmonotonous.”
“We’ve seen those signs that the fae have been through here,” Nate said. “It’s better to be cautious than to put you atrisk.”
I couldn’t say I exactly minded this kind of break. I set down my pack and rolled my shoulders. They throbbed with themotion.
“Need a little help with those?” Marco said in a suggestivetone.
I rolled my eyes at him, and his grin widened. But I actually wouldn’t mind a little assistance working out the kinks in my muscles. “Give them everything you’ve got,” I said, shrugging my jacket down to give him betteraccess.
Marco’s lithe hands settled on my shoulders over the fabric of my shirt. He dug his thumbs into my muscles with the perfect amount of pressure. I groaned at the burn spreading through my shoulders, and he chuckled. Suddenly the cave’s air felt a whole lotwarmer.
A pattering sound carried from the other end of the cave, back the way we’d come. Nate’s back went rigid. He turned toward it, his bulky arms flexing. No other sounds followed, but he didn’trelax.
“It’s probably nothing,” I said. “Just a pebble falling off theceiling.”
“I should take a look to make sure,” Nate said. Then he hesitated, his gaze moving to Marco. “You’ll watch out forRen?”
“Of course,” Marco said, sounding amused. “Anyway, there’s one of the rest of you in any direction an enemy could come at us from. If you start screaming, we’ll know to getmoving.”
Nate glowered at the jaguar shifter and headed down the cave. Marco resumed my shoulder massage. It didn’t take long before the bear shifter’s brawny form disappeared into the darkness. Marco leaned closer, letting his fingers dip down to mycollarbone.
