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So when he led, I followed.
We spentthe rest of the night in the trees. It was kind of incredible to watch the sun rise over the forest from where we were. I kept glancing up at the sunrise even as exhaustion started to slow me down.
I looked up right as we slid from one branch to another—and totally missed the gigantic one I was aiming for. A startled scream escaped me as my huge, scaly ass plummeted.
Electricity flickered through my veins as a thick tail curled around me, halting my fall.
Remmo dragged me easily into the tree, and I shifted back into my human form. My legs straddled the branch, my heart pounding like hell as I struggled to breathe.
“I’m fine,” I said to myself. “I’m so fine. So, so fine.”
A shock to my back made me shudder as a large, warm hand pressed to my skin. Remmo slid around me, kneeling in front of me with his lips turned down in concern. “You need to rest. I should’ve realized.”
“I was looking at the sunrise,” I admitted. “That’s why I fell.”
Because I’d been looking at the sunrise… and trying to keep up with the fast, gigantic bastard.
His hand stroked my back lightly. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault.” My eyes closed, and I let out a slow breath. “I think we’re going to have to stop so I can sleep. Is Teris going to catch us?”
“No. The memis covered our scents. The sabertooth will likely head back to the Stronghold to tell the others that I stole you from him. They’ll assume I’m taking you back to my den.”
“Oh, the other girls will tell everyone that I left on my own. I’m not sure what they’ll say when he tells them about you…” I bit my lip. “Is your den near the lake?”
“No. It’s a long way in that direction.” Remmo pointed back in the direction of the Stronghold, and I assumed he meant it was further that way.
“Okay, then we should be fine. As long as you don’t care if he tells people that you stole me away.”
His eyes gleamed. “I don’t care.”
“Sweet.” I let out another long breath. “Should we find a cave to sleep in or something?”
His lips curved upward slightly. “You know little about being a basilisk.”
“Thanks,” I drawled.
Remmo chuckled. “We were made to sleep in the trees. Our bodies coil naturally as we rest. You never need to find a cave; there are no predators in this forest that would dare approach you while you rest.”
That calmed me a little. “Can you show me?”
“Of course.” His hand stroked my back lightly before he stood.
His body shifted as he stretched up toward a branch a few feet above us, and I watched in fascination as his long body wrapped smoothly around it.
The position didn’t exactly look comfortable, but I figured it was worth a try.
Shifting forms again, I slowly looped myself around the thick branch. Its bark was cool against my scales, which made me shiver a bit. But when I was fully wrapped, and forced my breathing to grow even, I realized I did feel comfortable.
Really comfortable.
Even as I relaxed, my long body remained wrapped just as tightly around the branch.
My eyes shut, but my tongue snaked out to sniff the air. It had been really damn hard to get used to that at first—the tongue-sniffing thing—but I’d learned that I could smell a lot more in my basilisk form than my human one.
And the taste of Remmo’s scent in the air, around me, calmed me further.
I hadn’t asked him about the electricity, I realized, even as I started to get sleepy.
