Page 86 of Reap & Sow

She stomped to the edge of the Oriana.

“Where to, darling?”

Anger fled, overwhelmed by the sight of Kit’s dark, striking figure waiting for her. Eda slipped her hand into his, thrilling at the slide of skin as he helped her disembark. There was something different in his touch. Before, it had been a mystery, a tantalizing question mark. But this morning there was nothing mysterious in the heat of his palm, the way his fingers curled around hers. The question had become a promise.

“Are you going to pretend you weren’t eavesdropping?” she asked.

“Would you prefer it if I did?”

They made their way down the riverbank and away from prying eyes. Eda tried to release his hand, as habit dictated, but this time Kit did not let her. His fingers tightened. Her heart fluttered as they walked. Kit’s injured arm was freshly bound beneath his black doublet, and he assured her it didn’t pain him overmuch.

Ben’s condescension still rankled. Eda was overcome by a sudden urge to do something—anything—he might disapprove of. “Are you well enough to ride?”

His eyes snapped to hers with sudden interest. “You’ll need to be much more specific.”

Eda huffed. “Keep your mind from the gutter.”

“Impossible. But yes, I can carry you.”

“Can you ride fast?”

“Are we in a great hurry?”

“No. But I’ve only ridden on your back while fleeing for my life. I’ve never had a chance to enjoy it.” Eda lowered her voice. “Impress me?”

Kit’s eyes flared like dancing flames.

Eda’s cry sent a flock of blackbirds scattering—a dark starburst against the watery morning sky. She might have been jealous, but now she, too, knew what it was to fly.

“Faster!” she shouted.

Beneath her, Kit shook his great equine head. Hooves pounded the earth. Clods of dirt sprayed upward in their wake. His haunches rolled like a furious black sea, but Eda hardly jostled in her seat. She dared not release her white-knuckled grip on his mane, nor relax her thighs about his middle, yet she fancied that she could. If she wished.

I won’t let you fall, he’d said.

I know, she’d replied.

They cut down the banks of the Embel like the wind itself. The rippling water blurred, and in its distorted reflection Eda saw what others might: a phantom steed with hooves that barely touched the ground, a golden-haired wildling astride. What would they think they’d seen? An innocent girl stolen by the kelpie to be his bride? A warrior riding into battle? Perhaps there was a little truth in both.

The birds chased them overhead, swooping and diving. The wind roared in her ears. Eda’s chest swelled. She sat upright and whooped with delight. No matter what comes to pass, I’ll always have this.

Kit slowed when Blackbridge’s jagged skyline grew large ahead. Buildings cropped up among browning farmland. The last of the wheat fields were being hacked away with scythes, loaded into carts in great bundles for winter stores. They stopped at the edge of such a furlong, behind a wild hedgerow just off the traveler’s road.

“Might I consider you impressed?” Kit brushed down his doublet.

Her flushed cheeks surely gave her away. “Decidedly.”

“Hm.” He stepped close. “Then I will claim my reward.”

I agreed to no reward. She did not say this. Instead she waited for him to dip his head and kiss her as he’d done last night, fizzy with anticipation. But Kit merely brought her knuckles to his lips. Looked up at her from beneath his lashes.

Eda’s heart stuttered.

I’ll take any of it, he’d said. Your anger, your disgust, your scorn. I despise every moment your eyes aren’t on me.

His infatuation was likely a fleeting, hot-blooded thing. Kit might be in earnest now, but Eda was no fool. How many times had a pretty mortal caught his eye? How many times had he whispered words of affection in a stranger’s ears, only for the flame to burn out as soon as it caught? Were she not looking down the arrow shaft of a short, dangerous life, perhaps she’d be more cautious. Resist indulging her growing feelings for a creature who could never truly be hers. It was a tragedy waiting to happen. Whether Viola and Crispin ever got their happy ending, Eda did not know, but she would not get to spend a lifetime with some great love.

And yet. Here, with Kit, when he looked at her like that…it felt so painfully close.