Page 76 of Heart of the Hunted
He knew it was a stupid question, he could hear that she wasn't okay. Even knowing that, he still couldn't help asking her.
"I'll be okay." Came her weak reply.
Not believing her for one second, he asked: "Can I come in?"
It took her a moment before she said: "Yes."
Taredd could have kicked himself when he realized the door wasn't locked the whole time he had been pacing outside. He could have just let himself in at any moment, instead of being stuck out here worrying about her.
Pushing the door open, he entered the room and shut the door again behind him. Natalia was seated in the bath with her knees pulled up to her chest. Taredd walked over and knelt down next to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked, brushing a wet strand of hair off her face.
Even if he hadn't heard her through the door, he would have known she had been crying, he could see it, just by the look in her eyes.
"I'll be okay,” she lied to him, and he let her.
Stoking her hair, he said: "I'm going to take you back home when you're ready. You'll be safe there, I promise."
Natalia didn't say anything, she just nodded her head in agreement.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you."
"It wasn't your fault,” she told him without hesitation.
"It was,” he told her. "But I promise it will never happen again."
"You can't promise that,” she told him.
"Yes, I can. Because I'm never letting you out of my sight again. I will never leave you alone ever again,” he assured her.
Taredd didn't know if it was wishful thinking or not, but he could have sworn he saw a spark of hope in her eyes for a second before it disappeared again.
"Natalia, look at me,” he said, gently lifting her chin so she faced him.
It took her a moment, but when she finally looked into his eyes, he told her: "I'm never going to let you out of my sight again."
"But..."
"But what?"
"You said you're taking me home, but you already told me you don't like the bunkers, so how can you keep an eye on me if I'm in there?"
"Because..." he said as he leaned in and kissed her on the tip of her nose. "... we're going to my home."
"Oh,” she said, surprised by his answer.
"I can keep you safe there,” he promised her.
Natalia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Okay,” she said. "When are we leaving?"
"Not today,” he told her. "You need to rest today. We will leave tomorrow if you're ready, because it's going to be a long journey."
He decided to keep it to himself that it was more than likely going to be an extremely dangerous journey, but if everything went as planned, then they should all make it there in one piece. And Dain was right, for that to happen he needed both him and Arun by his side.
