AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You can’t fly up here?” she asked.
“High. Tiring. Can in a group.”
He shuddered at the thought of the pixie horde returning while Yu was unfazed. Emerald bit her lip.
“Are you safe down there for the night?” she asked again.
“Safe,” Yu assured. “Sleep while safe.”
“I guess it means he’s safe there too,” Rick reasoned. “Yu, make a sound when you’re in trouble. Wake us up.”
“Yes.”
Rick closed his eyes, listening as Emerald and Yu went on talking about their path tomorrow and Yu kept assuring her that he was fine where he was. Her voice was soft, trusting Yu completely. He would have warned her if he didn’t trust the pixie.
Instead, he continued letting her voice wash over him, a soft lull that weaved into his weary body and finally knocked him out. It was a seamless, dreamless sleep until shaking woke him up.
“Up! Wake up! Wake—”
The voice—Yu’s voice—cut off in an instant while the bubble shook. But it wasn’t just the bubble.
The whole forest was shaking.
Chapter 5
Emerald woke up to a soft shaking on her shoulder, one that might as well have been a caress. Then there was a hiss, Rick’s deep voice filling up her ears and her body reacting to it before she could stop it. Her nipples went taut under her clothes and her thighs squeezed together, aware that she was getting turned on before she had even woken up fully. The shaking continued, his body heat palpably close and hers wanting to lean into it…to bask in it after the heavy loss last night. Embarrassed and frustrated that she was reacting like this to a Fae, she tried to roll away—and was pulled back so fast with enough force to slam her against a hard, unrelenting body. His body.
“Em, please wake up or I will have no choice but to carry you out of here.”
Out of here?
Her gaze snapped open and zoned in on Rick’s face, hovering inches above her. But he wasn’t even looking at her, his expression riddled with concern. It had her sitting up straight.
“What?”
His hands continued pulling her up, already navigating her in his arms before she instinctively pushed him away. But he stubbornly held on.
“Rick, what on heavens are you…?”
The words died when her sleep-ridden mind registered she was still being shaken, even when his hands were no longer on her. Not just that but…everything was shaking.
“Earthquake,” he confirmed, noting her expression. “So, quit fighting me on this one, and let’s get out of here before…”
Something drifted inside her, a warning that came from a recognizable source: magic recognizing magic. Her hand shot out and covered his mouth, cutting off the rest of his words. When the magical force drew nearer, it was her urging him out of the bubble in haste. To Rick’s credit, he didn’t question it, grabbing her waist and jumping to the nearest branch, then tossing her to another one so their weights could be divided. She secured herself amid the shaking, then bent her body low and took a peek.
There was nothing in front of her, but the next warning in her head had her shooting back up—just in time, too, as a shadow passed below her branch. The distinguishable strand of hair overcame the need for caution, and she peeked again. Stupefaction hit her when she finally caught sight of what the hair was connected to.
Giant,her brain screamed, even while she was struggling to come to terms with it. Whereas most giants in their books were large, in the sense that they were broad and resembled boulders rather than humans, this one was strikingly similar to a human with the clothes and that head, brushing against most of the tall trees.Tall.It—he—was so tall, it was a miracle they hadn’t spotted the creature earlier—and it was headed toward a path that had her heart jumping. Her eyes met Rick’s, his body bent in the same way on his branch as he, too, ogled the staggering sight.
“Follow,” she mouthed. Then, “Mountain.”
Understanding dawned on his features, then lit up in challenge. The reckless streak should have been expected, but her breath caught in her throat when it visibly fired him up, his energy returning in the blink of an eye and every muscle in his body revved up with it. Her mouth went dry when he leaped to her branch, swaying them. The same arm that had been relentlessly holding on to her earlier came back, as steady and hard as ever.
“Hold on to me,” he mouthed back, and she could swear she heard the lowness of his tone.
She nodded once, then bit back a sound when he jumped again before the branch could crack. Before she knew it, they were navigating from branch to branch, the air whipping her hair in a frenzy, but his body blocked the majority of it. A particularly long jump almost had her slipping, but his hand reached out, connecting a line to a branch ahead and dragging her with him. The shield returned just as the giant passed that area, too, blissfully unaware of their presence.
They kept going. Emerald would have protested, except she knew how incompetent she was when it came to physical stuff like this and didn’t have a chance to catch up to the creature on her feet. She didn’t trust letting her energy out either, in case the giant could feel it. So, she gritted her teeth and didn’t say a word as Rick took charge and her body knocked, brushed, and pressed against his at every turn.
