Page 92 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

I should go back. Knowing Theron, he’d find out I was listening. Then quick as a wink they shot up into the sky. I tilted my head back, tracking their movement. Their wings spread wide, catching the breeze, gliding in slow arcs above the tree line like they belonged to the night.

I couldn’t look away.

Wait. Where was Theron? Not up with them. Or where he had stood a few seconds ago. Then I got my answer.

“I found you,” he said behind me. “We need to stop meeting like this, Little Star.” Then humor left his tone. “I told you not to be curious.”

“I-I-” I cringed and turned.

He stood closer than I expected, eyes catching the moonlight, blue and bright as sapphire in the dark.

“Are you looking for me to repeat last night?”

Heat flooded my face. “I was just —”

“Go to sleep.” His voice dropped low, between a warning and a promise. “Before I give you something else to think about.”

I might enjoy that, but… no!

“Do you have wings?” I couldn’t hold back the question any longer.

His mouth curved. “I have something more amazing.”

I looked between his legs and gave a smug grin. “I’ve seen bigger.”

Surprise flickered in his eyes, amusement, then darker. His eyes dropped to my lips for just a moment before lifting back to mine. “Are you going to walk back or shall I carry you?”

I pressed a hand to his chest to stop him getting any closer. “You can trust me.”

He leaned in anyway. “I trust no one.” His voice was quiet, all humor gone. “Neither should you.”

His tone made the hair on my skin rise.

“So let me ask you again.” His eyes held mine. “Are you going to walk back or shall I carry you?”

I was too tired to press the question further.

“I can walk.” I turned before he could do anything I might actually like.

His quiet laugh followed me all the way back to the camp.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

By midmorning, Theron pulled his horse to a stop where a field of tall, thick grass stretched before us, swaying in the breeze. So tall I had to tilt my head back to find their tips. The field had no visible end, to my left and right, and no entrance.

What a strange place. The field wasn’t just tall grass. It was a disguise. A redirection. Anyone stumbling too close would turn back, convinced there was nothing worth finding.

Fraya’s horse tossed its head, uneasy at the wall of green. Minha leaned sideways from behind Fraya, craning her neck to see past her. Ranis steadied his with a gentle hand on the reins.

“I think we’re lost.” Jina shook her head, her arms snaked around Ranis’s waist.

“Nothing about any of this makes sense,” Minha muttered.

“How do we get through?” Ranis leaned forward in his saddle, squinting like that would help.

“This grass is a barrier,” Theron said. “If they don’t grant you entrance, you can’t go in.” Theron clicked his tongue and urged his mount forward. “I’m going through.”

His arm came around my waist, pulling me back against him, and I felt the deep inhale of his breath against my shoulder. I kept my eyes forward, my hands finding his over my waist, my pulse hammering despite myself.