Page 47 of A Tempest of Shadows

“I’ll skin it,” he offered.

“I know how to skin an animal.”

“I have no doubt, but you caught the meal; the least I can do is prepare it.”

I wasn’t going to argue with him. I’d skinned countless animals over the years, but still didn’t like doing it.

I handed our meal to him and settled against a thick tree trunk. Above me, the birds flitted between the branches, singing and calling to each other as animals scurried through the woods and clambered across tree limbs.

The sounds of the forest, the dance of shadows as the trees swayed with the breeze, and the crisp scents of the fire and earth helped calm some of the anxiety clawing at my chest since Ryker’s message arrived yesterday.

It was a perfect spring day, not too hot or cold; a slight breeze carried the scent of flowers. The peace of the forest had a miraculous way of making things better.

The crackle of the fire grew louder while Ryker worked. Occasionally, he tossed more kindling onto the flames to ensure they didn’t go out. Then, he settled our lunch onto a stick and held it over them.

“How far are we from Nottingshire?” he asked while rotating lunch.

When my stomach rumbled, it took all I had not to lick my lips. “About a mile. We’ll be there soon.”

“We haven’t encountered anything dangerous today.”

“You suggested going to The Hollows. It wouldn’t make sense to go deeper into the woods to get there; most of the things that would prefer to eat us thrive in the interior of the Revenant Woods. If we stay near the forest’s edge, we probably won’t encounter anything deadly today.”

He nodded, and my stomach rumbled again. I’d nibbled on some jerky a couple of hours ago, but we’d done a lot of walking today; my empty stomach and sore feet reminded me of this.

When Ryker finished cooking our meal, he used his knife to cut off two pieces of meat. He handed them to me before slicing away more for himself.

I surreptitiously watched him as we ate. While I didn’t particularly like the man, or any aristocrat, and I certainly didn’t trust him—I was as good as dead if he ever found out I was the one who robbed him—it was a strangely companionable silence.

When he looked up at me, I didn’t glance away but met his eyes. I hadn’t been doing anything wrong and refused to feel like I had, although it took a bit to suppress the heat creeping up my neck.

“I remember you,” he said.

CHAPTER FORTY

Ellery

I blinked at the unexpected words. “Excuse me?”

“From that night my father and I spent at your manor, I remember you. You were rolling around in the snow with Dawn when we first arrived. I thought it was strange.”

“Everyone calls her Scarlet; it’s weird to hear anyone call her by her real name.”

“I can see why she got the nickname.”

I smiled as he lifted his knife to cut away more meat. When he offered me some, I took it.

“Why did you find it strange we were playing in the snow together?”

“Most proper young women don’t roll around in the snow like that,” he said. “All the ones I know wouldn’t be caught dead doing such a thing.”

“Then they’re missing out and are probably all boring.”

But then I recalled the woman in the carriage, with her mouth around his shaft. I bet he didn’t find her boring at all, even if he did ignore her at the coronation.

Ryker chuckled as he drew one leg up and draped his arm over his knee. “Some of them are boring, but they behave like ladies.”

“I behave like a lady.”