Page 43 of Savage Crown
He tightened his grip around me and peered into my eyes.
“Stay with me?”
I mock-gasped. “What will people say?”
“I don’t care anymore,” he breathed.
We lay down together, his arms wrapped around me, and I wanted to freeze that moment forever. His breath warmed the back of my neck, and the steady beat of his heart beneath my earlulled me toward sleep. In that moment, nothing else mattered. Not my frail human body, not Val stuck in Lunaria, not Elia’s mom, or Cassian. Nothing mattered but this ring on my finger and the arms around me.
I just hoped he still loved me come morning.
Chapter Nine
Isnuck out of Kaelric’s tent in the dead of night, smiling sweetly to the guard, who simply gave me a head nod.
The camp was quiet, breathing in slow, collective sleep. Cool night air clung to my skin, and the embers of nearby fires glowed faint orange beneath the shadows of the pines.
I walked in the direction of my tent so that I wouldn’t look suspicious, but then tiptoed past my tent next to where Godric slept and into the woods. The instant I crossed beneath the tree line, my pulse quickened, every shift of branch sounding far too loud.
From there, I found the stables where we’d stashed Star, her dark shape barely visible in the pale moonlight. She huffed a greeting, warm air brushing my wrist, and I pressed a kiss to her cheek before leading her out.
Instead of heading for Lunaria, I went the opposite way, back to Hildreth.
I rode long and hard, not stopping to sleep as I had with Godric. Cold wind stung my cheeks, snapping my hair against my neck. The forest eventually gave way to low rolling grassland, silvered under the moon, and still I pressed on. I had to make it to Hildreth by the full moon and without Kaelric on my tail.
My legs ached in the saddle, and every hoofbeat felt like time sliding through my fingers. The night stretched on endlessly, the world reduced to darkness, horse, and prayer.
In the early morning light, Kaelric mentally hailed me.
‘Where are you? I woke up, and you were gone. Godric says he hasn’t seen you.’
My heart shattered for what I was about to do, but I knew it was the only way to get ahead of him and not have him chase after me.
‘I’m sorry… I’m going back to Hildreth. To be honest, the ring freaked me out, and I need time to think.’
I felt his shock through our bond and then his deep sorrow. His emotions crashed into me like a wave, thick and suffocating.
‘Oh… I… Brynn, really?’
He was in disbelief. I could feel his mind reaching for mine, frantic, trying to pull me back.
‘Yes. I just need a few days to think. I’m sorry. It’s a lot.’
Silence.
A long, aching silence.
‘Okay. I’m sending Godric to escort you.’
‘No need. I want to be alone.’
‘Brynn, you have no sword, you’re human, and?—’
‘And you never stop reminding me of that. I want to be alone,’I pressed, hating myself for starting a fight. The lie tasted like ash.
He went silent after that, and I prayed he didn’t send Godric after me.
By my guess, I had about a five-to-six-hour head start, but the wolfkin were fast in their wolf form. Faster than me on a horse.
