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Ayla gave them a short nod, then turned back to me once more, her expression finally softening. Goodness, I could live off the way she looked at me: a blend of fondness, trust, andattraction. It fueled me more than food, more than water, more than even air.
“Do you have something in mind?” she said quietly as we walked, her voice low so hopefully no one passing by overheard.
“I want to show you something.”
“Is this a lame way of asking me back to your quarters?” It was a relief to hear humor returning to her voice.
“Quite the opposite, actually.”
“Oh?”
I nodded. “I suppose you could say it’s… an escape of mine, of sorts. One I had before I was brave enough to run away from all this.”
The amount of emotion in Ayla’s bright eyes made my heart squeeze in my chest. “You want to show me?”
“Of course. I don’t know anyone else who I’d want to share it with more.”
She blushed, and I wondered if it was strange that after all our time together, all we’d experienced, she could so easily make me swoon. Already, my body was calling out for her, longing for connection, for touch.
“I’d like that.”
“Perfect.” I’d hoped we were alone so I could pick up her hand and kiss it. Sadly, I could spot several of the palace staff around, busy going about their work, but not so much that they wouldn’t notice their prince kissing someone. Drat. “We might need a touch of your veiling spell.”
“We need to set it up where no one can see us. Won’t exactly work if there are a ton of eyes on us to start.”
“All right, then. To our wing?”
She nodded, and we diverted from our path. Was it inconvenient if we had to take extra steps? Yes. But it was worth it for us to slip out of the palace uninterrupted into the thick foliage of the wolf-run.
“Ah, back in these woods,” Ayla breathed as I took her down a different path of the wolf-run. “Is this what you meant?”
I shook my head, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to her soft, soft skin. “Not quite. But are you ready to run?”
She paused, as if checking herself before nodding. “Lead the way.”
Three simple words, and yet they sounded so incredibly likeI love you.We’d been through so much together, literally life and death situations, and yet we hadn’t uttered that phrase to each other.
It felt too soon, like there was a chasm between where we were and admitting those words out loud. Part of me felt like daring to say them out loud would send her curse into overdrive, harming myself or someone else who didn’t deserve it. I was afraid it’d chase her away, too. Sometimes dealing with Ayla was like dealing with a baby deer. The wrong move, I took it too far, too fast, and she would just bound away.
So, for the moment “Lead the way” would have to suffice.
“As you wish,” I said as I let my human form fall away, my wolf finally diving toward the front.
My front paws hit the ground, and I turned to see Ayla’s own fur growing. I’d never gotten to see her shift in a non-emergency situation, and I found myself caught up in her sheer grace.
This way,I called in our shifter-speak, bounding down the path. I made sure not to go too fast, as my legs were quite a bit longer than hers, even in our wolf forms, and we were supposed to be having fun, not doing challenging cardio.
Just as I hoped, she caught up with me quickly, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as we ran. It was a borderline magical moment. Just the two of us running in the woods, no politics. No curse. Justus.
It was so freeing to sprint along, unhindered by wondering who could possibly be looking at us, by keeping our matehood a secret.
Minutes slid by easily, until eventually we reached the end of the wood. Normally it would then lead out to the perimeter of the palace, then to the city beyond, but we were at the one corner up against the mountains, blocking off the palace from any rear side attacks.
Hope you’re ready for a climb,I said before bounding up the cliffside, Ayla yipping as she followed up behind me.
An arduous run, yes, but it was exhilarating for me to journey along this one again. This was a path I’d once relied on to survive, and it was nice to know I was in a place where I didn’t need it anymore. It was nice, but notnecessary, and this was the difference.
I was breathless by the time I scrambled up onto a ledge where a small cave entrance stood. I looked back to Ayla before giving her a friendly bark, then trotted inside.
