Page 56 of Heart of the Hunted
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Taredd
Taredd knew she didn't believe he could keep her safe around the other 'monsters' as she called them, but there was no doubt in his mind.
Natalia may not know what he was capable of, but he knew what his abilities were and he knew he could keep her safe because of them. But there was only one way he could prove that to her though, and that was by taking her there and showing her.
Natalia hadn't said a word since they left the river, she didn't even look in his direction once. Taredd didn't know if he had done anything to upset her other than take her to the town, but he didn't want to piss her off more by asking either. So, he just walked next to her in silence.
As he told Natalia, it only took them a couple of hours to reach the town, even walking at Natalia's slower pace. Natalia didn't say a word to him until the small town came into view.
She turned to him, eyebrows pinched together with worry, she said: "I hope you're right about this."
"I am,” he told her. "Nothing will happen to you while you are in my care."
"Fine, but if you're wrong and I end up dead," she said, pointing a finger at him. "Then I'm gonna come back and haunt you for the rest of your life."
Taredd couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't that he didn't believe ghosts existed, because he knew they did. It was the way Natalia was threatening to come back and haunt him for the rest of his life that made him laugh.
He didn't know whether or not to divulge that he could interact with ghosts just like he did with the living. He didn't think she would appreciate that bit of information, so he kept it to himself.
"Okay,” he said. "But it will not be necessary, because nothing is going to happen to you."
"We'll see,” she told him, turning her back to him again.
"Yes, we will," he agreed.
Even though he was confident no one would bother her since she was with him, he still kept her close to him while they navigated the streets looking for a place to stay.
"In here,” he said when they came to a tavern.
"Are you sure?" she asked, eying up the outside of the building.
"Very," he said confidently.
"If you say so,” she said sceptically.
"Just... come on,” he said as he held the door open for her.
She walked in without saying another word. He knew she wasn’t happy to be here, but it was the closest place with a bed and somewhere for them to clean up.
Taredd scanned the street before walking in after her. It wasn't often a Human was seen walking around towns anymore, especially the smaller ones that were off the beaten track like this one. So he expected to garner some interest from the locals, and he wasn't disappointed.
A few people had stopped to watch them as they walked down the street and into the tavern, while others watched as they continued on their travels. Taredd wasn't concerned with any of them.
In fact, he was more concerned about the people that didn't seem to have any interest in them at all. If anyone was going to cause them any trouble while they were here, it was going to be those people and not the ones watching them.
Taredd had taken a note of each individual before he followed Natalia into the tavern.
"What took you so long?" Natalia whispered as he reached her side.
"Sorry, I thought I saw one of my friends,” he lied.
There was no point telling her the truth, that he was looking for anyone who could possibly cause them any trouble, because otherwise she would definitely not believe that he could keep her safe. It would only cause him more problems in the long run. So, he kept it to himself.
"I take it, it wasn't your friend,” she said, looking up at him.
"No, it wasn't him,” he said. "Just someone that looks similar."
