Page 48 of Kiss of Embers
I snagged his hip and pulled him into me. “We’ll be fine. The only thing you have to worry about is coming in second place tomorrow.”
“You’re really going with that again after I kicked your arse last night?”
“I let you win.”
“Shut up.”
“I felt sorry for you.” My sentence ended on a smothered laugh as he grabbed my face and kissed me. It was deep and thorough—and more than a little unhinged. But when we drew apart at last, his eyes shone with determination instead of worry.
“Zara responded to us,” he said. “She was eager for more.”
I nodded. “So we stay the course. We keep her safe, and we make sure we win.”
His eyes lit up. “And then we move to the fourth step.”
“Fourth step?”
“Claiming Zara.” Anticipation hummed around him. “Finishing what we started a few minutes ago.”
I smiled, wicked thoughts filtering through my mind. “Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter
Thirteen
ZARA
The night of the second challenge arrived much the same as the first.
Damp. Hot. Hostile.
There was no platform this time. Instead, an enormous, crumbling temple rose from the ground, its stepped sides overflowing with vines. The netherlights were missing, too. In their place, bamboo torches cast flickering shadows over the competitors. Moonlight spread a silvery glow over everything. The moon’s pull was more forceful now, its draw like a string anchored on the top of my head. It was an effort to keep my chin down. The air was thick with the scent of moss and decay. The jungle loomed, its canopy scraping the night sky.
And Struan and Finn loomed on either side of me, their arms folded over their chests. They’d appeared the second I exited my tent—and they hadn’t left me alone for a moment since. Ignoring them had proved ineffective. Putting distance between us was impossible. Every time I inched away, they moved closer. The other competitors slid the three of us speculative looks. I could only imagine the gossip flying through the crowd.
Once again, Drute stood a short distance away, his gray-toned features fixed in the scowl he’d worn since he fetched me from the dragons’ tent.
He’d held his tongue until we returned to our own tent. Then he’d pinned me with a look I’d only ever received from my father. It was so much worse than anger.
Disappointment.With a healthy dollop of disapproval.
“Do you want to tell me what just happened?”
“No,” I’d muttered, going to my pack. Slinging it around my shoulders, I’d quickly filled him in on my theory about Brader working with Galen. When I finished, Drute shook his head.
“I’m not discounting the possibility of Brader being behind the attack, but Galen appears clean. According to the people I talked to, he’s here legitimately. Word has it he lost his fated mate years ago. He wants the elixir so he can resurrect her.”
It was my turn to be disappointed. If Galen hadn’t orchestrated the doppelganger, that left Brader as the sole suspect. That sort of magic was beyond a werewolf. And even if it hadn’t been, I didn’t have any proof to take to Bolveg.
Drute watched me closely, questions practically hovering around him. His nostrils flared. A second later, his brows drew together in a frown.
I grabbed my father’s sword. My body still buzzed, every nerve ending primed and oversensitive. Moisture dampened my panties. Drute was no fool—and his senses were just as good as mine. He might not have seen me wedged between Finn and Struan, but he didn’t need to. His nose worked just fine.
“We should head out,” I said, wondering if it was actually possible to die of embarrassment. When my heart stubbornly continued beating, I added, “I want to reach the second challenge site so I can get some sleep.”And avoid two aroused dragons tailing me through the jungle.
Drute had obviously wanted to press. He didn’t like secrets between us, and I understood why. To advise me, he needed to know every challenge I faced. But he respected me as alpha, so he’d nodded his agreement, collapsed the tent, and plunged into the forest at my side.
We’d encountered no issues—or dragons—on the trip to the next challenge site, but his disapproval had lingered even as I spent the daylight hours in another stretch of fitful, unproductive sleep.