Page 43 of Aryn

I unroll my bag next to Aryn’s like I have the last two nights, trying not to think about the new routine. It’s just… practical. He’s my partner out here, after all, and it’s easier to keep an eye on each other this way.

I climb in and stare up at the sky, watching the three moons slowly drift into place. The cold seeps through the layers, settling deep into my bones. I shift, trying to get comfortable, and turn to find Aryn watching me.

After a long stretch of silence, his voice comes softly. “You’ve been quiet today.”

Something tightens low in my stomach that he noticed. No one ever picks up on shit like that, because I’ve spent a lifetime hiding behind noise. My guard is slipping around him, and it’s dangerous letting him see this much of me. I need to put a fucking stop to it before we both get hurt.

“Lots to think about,” I say, sharper than I intend to combat the buzz in my brain.

He turns his head toward me, and in the moonlight his copper eyes look almost molten. I pretend for a moment they could spare some of that heat.

“Anything you want to talk about?” he asks.

I swallow and look away, staring up at the sky. “Get some sleep, Aryn.”

It’s a dismissal, and we both know it. I don’t dare look at him, though. Don’t dare check and see what my words have done to his face.

Instead of answering, he shifts closer and reaches over, tugging the edge of my sleeping bag higher around my shoulders with careful hands. The simple gesture feels more intimate than it should, and I fight my instinct to grab his wrist and pull him closer.

I’m not the type to get weepy over someone taking care of me. I’ve never needed coddling, and I don’t need it now. Nothing good can come from allowing myself to feel like this, and I should stop encouraging it.

He pulls back, and I can feel his eyes on me in the dark. “I’ve got first watch tonight,” he says. “Rest. I’ll monitor things.”

“Yeah, okay.” My heart thuds so hard he has to hear it, and guilt forms a ball in my gut. “Look… I’m sorry for being short with you.”

“It’s alright,” he says with that patience he never seems to lose. “You’re exhausted and freezing. It’s understandable.”

“It’s not that,” I argue before my brain can stop the words from tumbling out.

“What is it, then?”

“It’s…” I trail off, finding his cautious gaze on mine. Another cinch around my gut wants me to reach for him, so I burrow further into my sleeping bag. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m fucking freezing. It’s made me cranky.”

He eyes me like he knows I’m deflecting, but he lets me get away with it. “Get some rest, then. I’ll wake you up when it’s your watch.”

He walks off to find a place to scout, and I stare at his frame moving in the moonlight. He prowls like a damn cat, body fluid and tail flicking behind him like it might sense danger.

I close my eyes, expecting the usual restless half-sleep I’ve known most of my life. Instead, warmth from the sleeping bag and the knowledge that Aryn is standing guard settles over me. My body relaxes in a way it almost never does, and sleep pulls me under faster than I expect. Out here, where even the air is trying to kill me, I feel safe.

And ain’t that the damnedest thing.

Aryn

“Hey,” a voice whispers, far too close to my face for comfort. It pulls me from a dead sleep as I shoot upright, eyes snapping open as I reach for my blade.

“Whoa, relax,” Cato whispers from where he’s crouched beside me. “It’s just me.”

“Dear gods, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” I mutter. I blink the last of the sleep away to find him with his lips pulled tight and forehead bunched between his brows.

One shoulder lifts in a sheepish shrug. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Now that my vision has adjusted to the dark, I glance around and find the others fast asleep. The sky is at its darkest, with only the Twin Moons visible. Their position on the horizon tells me there’s another hour until dawn.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

Cato bites at his bottom lip, then scratches his beard before he glances over his shoulder toward the woods. “I keep thinking I hear something.”

I push my sleeping bag back and shove my feet into my boots. “Something like what?”