AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As soon as we walk inside, he sets me down while he gathers some of the meat in a bowl and then wraps it in a fur to carry like a sling over his shoulder. He stops abruptly and his nostrils flare. “The assassin’s scent is not in this space.” He narrows his eyes, and a hint of irritation shifts into his gaze. “IthoughtI told you to remainhere”—he points firmly to the floor—“while I was gone.”
“Yes, but I had to—”
“It was asimplecommand,” he growls. “One meant to keep you alive.”
Anger twists deep in my gut. How dare he speak to me like this? “First of all: I am not your subject to command,” I state firmly. “Second of all: I did not have a choice. I needed to relieve myself.”
“You should have waited for my return.” He clenches his jaw. “It would have been safer for you.”
“You left in a huff,” I point out. “And I didn’t know when you would be back.”
“I didnotleave in a huff.”
“Yes, you did,” I counter. “After you offended my entire race, calling us pitiful and weak.”
His brow furrows deeply. “How is it offense if it is truth?”
I roll my eyes. Aurdyn may be handsome, butcharming, he is not. “Have you ever heard of tact?”
He purses his lips. “We do not have time for this. We must go.” He gathers me in his arms again, holding me to his chest. I sigh heavily. This will not exactly make it easy for him to traverse the snowy terrain, but I’m not sure how to say this without offending him again. I certainly do not want our conversation to devolve into another argument about strength. So, I make my statement as neutral as possible. “Maybe we should do this in a way that you can have your arms free if you need to.”
He arches a brow, but I continue. “What about if I hold onto your back? Do you think that would agitate your injury?”
He frowns, considering, before he dips his chin in a nod and then sets me on my feet. “Let us try.” He turns his back and kneels for me to climb on.
I study his left wing, noting the slight swelling where it connects to his back. I’m careful not to touch that area as I climb up. I loop my arms around his neck and wrap my legs around his waist. His strong arms loop up under my legs and his large hands grip beneath my knees. In one fluid motion, he stands as if I weigh nothing.
Pressed against him like this, I’m surrounded by his masculine scent—a delicious mix of warm spice and ginger. His muscles flex and bunch beneath me with each movement. My stomach twists into an uncomfortable knot and my entire body flushes with warmth. I’ve never been this close to a man before.
His grip tightens on my legs, and I worry that I’m already a burden to him. “Are you sure your wing is all right, and I’m not too heavy?” Inwardly, I wince, realizing that I’ve just questioned his strength again, but I cannot take it back.
“My wing is fine.” He turns back to me and arches a condescending brow. “And you are lighter than an Elf.”
“Carried many Elves, have you?” I ask, unable to stop myself from teasing him.
Aurdyn arches a brow. “Only the ones I have eaten.”
My jaw drops, but I quickly snap it shut when I notice the hint of a wicked smile curving his lips. “You’re joking.”
A laugh rumbles up from his chest, and I cannot help but do the same. This is good. Perhaps we can get along better than I thought.
CHAPTER7
FREYJA
I’m surprised by how fast he can move as we make our way across the snowy landscape. Snow falls in thick sheets, chilling me to the bone and obstructing my view, but Aurdyn seems unbothered. A human would definitely be unable to keep this sort of pace in this weather. Perhaps he’s not entirely wrong about the disadvantages of my people compared to his, but I’ll never admit that to him.
The muscles of his back flex and bunch beneath me as I hold tightly to him. His warm masculine scent surrounds me, and I find my attention fixed on his scales. Their silver-white color shimmering iridescent each time a stray patch of sunlight reaches us through the thick tree canopy overhead.
The forest is dense, and I wonder where we’re going. I have no idea where we are, and I’ve not noticed any signs of civilization so far. “Do you know where we’re going?”
“Of course I do,” he replies haughtily.
I wait for him to continue, when he does not, I ask. “Care to share our destination with me?”
Aurdyn stops and his head whips back to me, his brow furrowed deeply. “Did you hit your head?”
“What?”
