CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I drifted into consciousness, not quite yet remembering where I was. I was so groggy that I could barely even recall who I was.

Or who I was with.

Like the memories of my childhood, everything felt like a blur. My tired eyes refused to open and accept the morning light. My head was resting on something warm and firm, but quite comfortable. Then I realized whatever it was that brought me so much comfort was moving. With my eyes still shut, I stirred and reached up with my uninjured arm to try and figure out what I was lying on. I felt around with my hand, sleepily trying to identify the cozy object through touch.

Then I heard a deep, growl-like snicker that reverberated through my eardrum. “That tickles,” a voice rumbled.

My eyes flew open, and I found my head and hand were pressed into Elias’s chest. I jolted up, cheeks filling with heat, then inched backwards to make some distance between us.

“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…” I trailed off, too embarrassed to think of what to say. I slowly remembered how I woke in the night with him holding me. But then at some point in my sleep, it was I who held him . And now that I was starting to realize my feelings for him, I felt sheepish and somewhat uneasy.

“It’s alright,” Elias assured me as he sat up. “How did you sleep?” he asked, changing the subject to prevent my further torture.

Memories of the night continued flooding my thoughts, the deep realization of my feelings for him at the forefront. Good thing my cheeks were already red.

“Good,” I answered shortly. Elias raised a brow as I slowly stood. I looked up, my face only inches from the large protruding rock that acted as a ceiling. There was no way Elias could stand here, as he was much taller than myself.

“Are you alright?” Elias asked, looking up at me.

No. Yes. I didn’t know. Was I really in love with this man? I had only known him for a few weeks, and barely knew anything about him. But he had saved me, on multiple occasions. He was kind, and gentle, and protective. My heart raced every time his honey-eyes looked at me. And I would do anything to keep him safe, I realized. Was that love?

“I think so,” I shrugged, trying to act casual.

“Is it your arm?” he asked. “Do you want me to look at it?”

I thought he didn’t care .

“No,” I replied. “No, it’s not that.”

“Then what?” he urged, his shoulders tense even from his sitting position.

“Nothing, Elias,” I snapped. “Just… some strange dreams,” I half-lied. I did have strange dreams. Of him kissing me.

My heart leapt in my chest .

The tension in Elias’s posture remained as he stared up at me. I let out a sigh. “It’s nothing to worry about,” I tried to assure him. “I just need to… reflect on them.”

“Alright.” He raised his hands in defeat. He turned over and rummaged through his pack before frowning.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I’m out of food. I left Chatus in such a hurry, I didn’t get a chance to get anything. Not a weapon, or food, or any supplies. Nadia and I came running the second we heard the commotion of the guards.”

I bent down to fumble through my own pack and pulled out two large pieces of the dried jerky I likely overpaid for in a hurry. I tossed one to Elias and he gave a thankful nod.

We ate our small meal in silence before packing up. Elias had to remain hunched over until he walked out from under the rock. I followed, unable to avoid the dripping leftover raindrops that cascaded from the edge of the stone. I wiped the wet drops from my forehead and stood next to Elias. We both began to survey the area.

We were on a steep hill on the shadowed side of a valley. While there weren’t too many trees around us now, the valley below was filled with them. They looked tiny from where we stood.

“Where to?” I asked, eager to be on the move. We had one more day before Horus notified my father of our last known whereabouts, if he kept to his word.

“Continuing scaling the valley would only slow us down,” he pondered. “But if we head down to the bottom of the valley, our tracks will be harder to mask after the rain.”

I began processing his words. “So if we keep the high ground, we’ll be harder to track, but it’ll take longer. If we head downhill, we can move quickly but might leave more prints.”

“Exactly,” he answered.

“Would we still be trackable if we stay up here on the rocky terrain? ”

“To an advanced tracker, yes.”

Horus was an advanced tracker, that much I learned.

I paused again, considering. It seemed like Horus would probably be able to find us either way, so my decision was set. “The further and faster we get away from Chatus, the better,” I reminded him. “And if we won’t be able to completely hide our tracks either way, I think we should go through the valley.”

Elias looked at me with a smirk. “Well, Princess, you’ve become quite the navigator, haven’t you?”

I raised my brows. “Is it a bad idea?” I asked.

“No,” Elias shook his head. “I think you’re right. There should be enough tree coverage in the valley to keep us from being spotted from above.”

I nodded. “Let’s get moving then.”

We made our way down the steep hillside carefully. We stepped on the many stones and boulders that clung to the hillside as much as we could, to avoid leaving prints. Once we made it to the bottom of the hill and into the valley, the trek was much smoother.

We continued through the familiar forest in mostly silence. Elias kept asking if I was okay, probably because I didn’t speak much. I kept refocusing on the dream. On the love Magda and Gabriel shared as they held and kissed each other, which morphed into me and Elias. I began to wish I knew what his lips felt like on mine for real. The dream kickstarted feelings that I didn’t understand. Feelings of desire and longing for something I didn’t even realize I ever wanted. Love.

Nothing between us had changed, and yet things felt completely different. The man I traveled with was more than just a handsome stranger, now. He was… important to me. Not just because he was leading me to my destination, but because I wanted him to be more than a guide. More than a friend.

“Aura!” Elias said harshly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Huh?” I asked, looking around for any sign of danger.

“I was asking you how your arm was,” he asserted. “You weren’t answering.”

“I’m sorry.” I rubbed my temples. “I guess I was stuck in my own mind.”

“About the dreams?” he asked.

“What? Oh, yes. The dreams.” I almost forgot my own half-truth excuse I had given him earlier. “And my arm is okay. The pain is getting better.”

He gave me a suspicious look. “Alright. Let me know if you need to rest.”

“I thought you didn’t want me slowing us down.”

Elias stiffened at my words. “I don’t,” he said. “But if you don’t get enough rest, it will slow us down in the long run.”

My eyes narrowed at him. “Right,” I mumbled.

We continued on for an hour or two before I asked to rest, Elias continuously giving me sideways glances. I began to feel bad for being short and illusive with him. He probably thought something was terribly wrong with me. At that moment, I decided to try to go back to the way things were. I had watched enough plays with my mother as a child. I could try a bit of acting. I could at least pretend that nothing was different.

“So,” I began, sitting on a log and chewing on some jerky. Elias sat on the same log only a few feet away and glanced up from his own meager meal, surprised to hear me start conversation. I cleared my throat and continued. “If you can take Horus on and come out unscathed, you really must be a master at battle.”

Elias swallowed his bite of food then nodded. “I trained in combat for many, many years,” he admitted.

“And you said you could teach me, right?”

He eyed me curiously. “Yes, you’re already fairly skilled. You would be easy to teach.”

I chuckled. “I thought I was pretty good until Horus kicked my ass.”

Elias’s eyes darkened for a moment, like he was remembering what Horus had done to me. “The Rimorian soldier was incredibly skilled, I’ll give him that. His movements were quick and fluid, especially for his size. And I wasn’t expecting him to lash out with the sword before you jumped in.” Elias put his dried meat down for a moment. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for saving me.”

“You’ve saved me plenty,” I answered. “I owe you at least one more before we’re even.”

“You owe me nothing, Aura,” he said intently, his eyes fixed on mine. “Not ever.”

The small specs of sapphire blue swirled within his golden irises as the sun hit his gorgeous face, and my stomach filled with butterflies. I had to look away as heat filled my center, and my cheeks blushed. He was making it too easy to fall in love with him. I shifted nervously, trying to suppress my racing emotions.

He sensed the movement, and relaxed his shoulders. “So tell me about Horus,” he started. “What was it like growing up with a brute like that around all the time?”

“No. Absolutely not. I’m not telling you a thing,” I said, shaking my head. “It is your turn to tell me about you. You don’t get to ask me anything when you won’t reveal even one thing about yourself.”

Elias stared at me, and remained silent for a moment. “Okay,” he said finally.

“Okay?”

“You can ask me one thing. One . And I will answer truthfully if I can.”

“That’s reassuring.” I rolled my eyes.

“Take it or leave it,” he shrugged .

We sat there on the log while I was determined to find the perfect question. There were so many things I wanted to know about him. More than he could guess. So I thought carefully about what I should ask him. I wanted to know what he had done in his life that made him think he was such a terrible person, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t answer that. Regardless, it didn’t matter to me about his past. I knew he was good.

Then I knew what I wanted to ask. Something that nagged at the back of my mind. “How did your family die?”

Elias’s body stiffened and I immediately regretted asking the question. But at the same time, I truly wanted to know.

“They were murdered,” he said scornfully. My heart stopped beating for a moment. “By an evil man,” he continued without me having to ask.

I gulped. “Is the killer still alive?”

“I said one question.”

My lips formed a thin line.

Elias sighed. “No, he is no longer alive.”

“Did you kill him?”

“I did not have the luxury,” he growled.

I swallowed another lump in my throat. I inched closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me, a mixture of rage and sadness in his eyes. His gaze softened as he met my stare.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, gently squeezing his shoulder.

He turned away. “That was a long, long time ago.”

It couldn’t have been that long ago. Elias looked like he could only be in his mid-twenties. But I didn’t dare pry for more information.

“Thank you for telling me,” I half-smiled. Elias only nodded. “Now to answer your question, growing up with Horus as my shadow is as dreadful as you could imagine.”

The corner of Elias’s mouth tilted upward. “Yes, I imagine it wasn’t fun.”

“Now I need you to show me some of your moves so I can kick his ass next time,” I laughed.

Elias let out a small laugh of his own, which made my smile widen. “Maybe when we’ve made a good enough distance from him first,” he said.

He was right, and with that, we picked up our things and kept moving.