AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I left my horse by a stream, so she might find it. That’s how we found one another when we’d get lost during a hunt as kids.”
I wanted to protest, but the comfort of his presence robbed me of my words. We made our way through the trees as the cold that had taken hold of me earlier disappeared. Instead, a hot fire was spreading through me, tingling all the way to my fingertips. My cheeks glowed, and my breathing picked up.
We made our way to a stream cutting through a small opening in the forest, where his horse was tied to a tree. I looked around, realizing the rain had finally let off.
“She’s not here,” Alrick said as we stopped in front of his horse.
He turned Fiona back into the woods. “Try to rest. You must be exhausted.”
Although I had a thousand questions on my tongue, I didn’t respond. As if his words were magic, I felt extreme exhaustion settle into my aching bones. I was beyond tired, mentally and physically. The journey so far had been challenging, but today was brutal.
“Rest,” he said again.
I pushed the horrific memory of the screams and dead bodies aside and leaned forward onto Fiona to make myself more comfortable. As my chest touched her neck, I could feel my buttocks push back against him.
“No, not like that!” He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me back into a sitting position. I turned as much as I could and threw him a threatening look.
“What’s the problem? You said rest.”
He sighed. “When you lean forward like that—” His words broke off. I looked at him in utter confusion. He rolled his eyes. “This ground is rocky. You’ll fall if Fiona makes a sudden sidestep, that’s all.”
It made sense. I nodded and leaned against his chest again. It was much less comfortable like this, and I couldn’t help but focus on the warmth of his body. I wanted to lay my head back down on Fiona, but I hurt too much from my fall out the window to risk another.
“If you want to, you can lean your head against my shoulder or onto my arm,” Alrick offered.
I laughed sarcastically. “Against that of a liar? No thank you.”
He said nothing in response, which was fine by me. I was too confused, too exhausted, and too angry to argue with him. Tomorrow, I would insist he answer all my questions.
Yawning, I lay my head as much onto my own shoulder as it was physically possible. It was terribly uncomfortable, but surprisingly enough . . . my eyes fell shut.
