Page 92 of Heart of the Hunted
Epologue
Natalia woke up to the sound of Taredd calling her name and gently shaking her.
With a groan, Natalia said groggily: "I'm awake."
"Open your eyes and I might believe you," Taredd told her.
Without even seeing his face, Natalia could tell that he was smiling at her.
Peeking at him through one eye, she said: "There you go, my eyes are open."
"Both eyes." He laughed at her.
"But it's too early,” she moaned.
"No, it's not,” he told her. "Dain and I have been up for hours."
"Yeah, but knowing you two, you've probably been up all night and not slept at all."
"True,” he agreed. "But still, it's time to get up. We need to find Arun and your friends."
The reminder of her friends did it. Opening both eyes, she looked at him as she stretched under the blanket.
Grateful she hadn't stripped in her sleep again, she sat up when Dain reached over the side of the cart to pass her a cup with steam billowing out of it.
"Here, this will wake you up,” he told her.
"What is it?" she asked, pulling a face as she sniffed the contents.
"It's just coffee, it won't poison you."
Natalia had heard about coffee, but she had never tried it before. Normally she drank herbal teas from whatever herbs they found growing close to where they were staying at the time.
"It's good," Dain said.
"It doesn't smell very good,” she told him.
"Yeah, it tastes better than it smells though," Dain said, pulling a face of his own.
"Try it," Taredd told her. "If nothing else, it'll wake you up."
"Fine, but if it's nasty, I'm gonna spit it at you,” she said, pointing at Dain.
"Why me?" he asked with a shocked expression on his face.
"Because you handed it to me,” she told him.
"Taredd told me to,” he told her. "So, if you are going to spit it at anyone, it should be him."
"Natalia, trust me, you'll like it," Taredd told her. "You've liked everything else so far, haven't you.”?
"Yeah, you're right,” she told him. She added: "Okay, I trust you." Then took a sip.
"Nice?" Taredd asked her.
"It's not too bad actually,” she said, honestly.
"See, I told you,” he said. "Now drink up, because we have to get going soon."
