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Austin’s only response was a disgruntled grunt as he bent to gather the furs.
“Let me help,” Paige tossed Taran an exasperated look and followed Austin and Aiesha into the tepee.
Mayhap he’d been a bit harsh, Taran considered watching her walk away. But he wanted her to see the real Austin, not the one she carried in her head. And heart. And mayhap he’d just destroyed any chance of Paige choosing him. Now or ever.
* * *
“Come inside the tent with me,”Paige pleaded. “Just for a minute, so we can talk? Please, Austin. You owe me that much.”
Sighing impatiently, he followed her inside. “Cam will want to leave soon.” He settled on one of the sleeping bags and sneered at the tight enclosure. “You live in this?”
“Yes,” she replied, confused by his cynical attitude. “And lucky to have it. What are you living in?”
When he merely snorted and looked around the tent, she took a seat beside him and laid a hand on his arm. “Tell me what happened, Austin. Why did you stop writing and go off alone like that? And the crossed-out letters on the cave wall? What did they mean? Did you…fall into the portal, or did you—?”
“Where’d you get this?” Austin reached for Taran’s dirk, still sitting atop his backpack.
For the first time since she’d seen him, Austin showed more than bored disdain for something. Including her. “That’s Taran’s. It’s…important to him, so please be careful with it.”
Austin ran his fingers over the engravings before making a few slashes in the air. “Cool.”
“Put it back, please, Austin.” Paige asked.
Another snort and a careless toss landed the dirk on the dirt floor near the tent opening.
“Austin!” Paige chided, picking it up. She wiped the dirt from the blade and set it back on the backpack.
“No need to flip out. I just wanted to use it to get out this sliver in my hand.”
Paige looked down to see his hand curled into a fist at his side and pulled out the dirk Taran had given her. “You can use mine.”
Austin’s eyes hadn’t lit up the way they had over Taran’s dirk, but he still looked at Paige’s dirk with interest. “Where’d you get that?” he asked grabbing it and turning it over in his hands.
“Taran said I should have it to protect myself,” she replied.
“From what?” he laughed. “Those sheep out there? Believe me, you don’t need it.” He raised his gaze to hers. “You should give it to me.”
Stunned, she thought he must be kidding. But clearly, he wasn’t as he smoothed his finger over the blade. “I thought you were going to remove a sliver.”
“Oh.” He glanced at his hand. “I guess it came out by itself.”
“Then you won’t need my dirk.” She held her hand out, hoping he didn’t detect the slight tremble. It was the first time she remembered trembling in anger instead of fear. This wasn’t the Austin she knew. Had he deceived her all these years? Or had this place changed him that much?
“What happened to you, Austin? You’re…different.”
He gave her a hard stare. “No, Paige. I’m not. You just haven’t been paying attention to the clues. The fact I never came back should have told you something.”
Chapter Thirteen
“What do you mean?” Paige’s huff filled the tiny tent as she stared incredulously at her brother. A sense of dread skittered up her spine.
“You think I haven’t paid attention?” she countered. “You’ve hadallmy attention. All these years, everything has been aboutyou, your postcards, the rare phone calls, and of course, your many promises. They’re all I’ve had to keep me going.”
“I gave you those things because that’s what you expected,” he shot back. “All of it.” He shook his head as a muscle jumped in his jaw. “You’ve always expected too much, Paige.”
“I’ve exp—?” She couldn’t breathe. The pain in her chest exploded as powerfully as if he’d used his fist.
“Besides,” he continued, “you couldn’t have handled the truth. Not then, and it doesn’t look like you’re ready or willing to now.” He shrugged and gave her a frighteningly emotionless stare.
