Page 11 of A Sweet Destruction

That was what I was going with while my brain was refusing to catch up with my body.

“You might as well just start running,” I called ahead as Esme’s long legs carried her further and further away from me. I kind of hoped she would. She would learn quickly I was not above chasing her down.

A small scoff broke through the night, the only sign she heard me. That was the first of many little noises that left her lips while she moved through the line of tents that had formed down by the gushing river that curved through our camp.

The curt grunt was her asking one of the other captains where the extra tents were.

The rumbling growl was her response when he told her our tent had been set up at the far end of the line.

The soft murmur was her apologetic answer when he said that spot had been chosen so that Sky and Shadow could stay nearby without trampling someone.

By the time Esme took off and I passed the captain, I paused to clap a hand over his shoulder in thanks. Sky and Shadow had taken to treating me and Esme like we were the ones that needed to be taken care of, and that extended to watching over us while we slept.

I’d lost track of how many times I’d woken up to see one of their noses tapping the window of our cabin, checking for signs of life when we were five minutes off schedule.

The captain was right to put us at the end of the line, because our horses were already waiting for us. Sky was sniffing around the tent, clearly searching out Esme’s scent.

Shadow was tracking Esme’s approach, her midnight black eyes wide and glittering.

Well, I was chopped fucking liver apparently. Shadow had barely checked in on me since the fire.

“Ah, home sweet home,” I said when I finally caught up to her, my heart slamming against my chest from the exertion of keeping up with her pace and something else, something akin to panic.

Esme ignored me, going straight for Sky and running her hand down his nose, then moving her long, lithe fingers into his mane to brush through it. Her other hand blindly found Shadow to the side, giving her the same treatment.

Great, and now I was angry at my fucking horse. It felt like anger directed at your own child, and it made me feel even more like a sorry ass than I already did.

I blinked to clear the fog from my head, my eyes connecting with Sky’s as his narrowed on me, looking at me up and down in pointed judgment.

I’d spent years earning that horse’s trust, fighting against a skepticism and skittishness around me that had always seemed odd considering I was his mate’s bonded rider. Apparently all that work was flying out the window with the rest of my worldview.

I stared right on back, refusing to back down. He might have been bonded with Esme, but she was my fucking Soul Mate. He was second in line.

Woah.

The thought jumped forward so fast and with such force, it didn’t even feel like mine.

“Are we really doing this?” It took me a second to realize that Esme was, in fact, talking to me.

“Doing what?” I asked, even though I knew what she was asking. I understood what her grunts and grumbles meant, and she didn’t think I could read her meaning through a few, clipped words?

“Are. We. Sharing. This. Tent?” Esme bit out, each word punctuated with her anger.

As tents went, it was actually rather big—enough that we could both stretch out and leave ample room between us. A small trickle of guilt curled through my lower stomach at the reminder of the special treatment we received for being paranimas. Vir liked to spoil us, hoping that we would stay in service for the rest of our lives, whether that was on the front lines or by coming back to our planet and reminding everyone just how powerful we were. How much more special than Muli, how we were stronger than the Goddess’s favored children.

I responded to Esme with a noncommittal grunt, testing her. As expected, she understood me perfectly, and just stomped past right me, picked up her bag, and swung open the flap to the tent with a grumble.

I stood for a moment, watching as she lit a gas lamp and her silhouette painted the canvas fabric.

A second later, I was bracing myself from a fall, my hands hitting the dirt so hard my wrists shook with the force.

I heaved in a breath, trying to wrap my head around what was happening.

The huffing I heard behind me only confirmed what had happened. Sky had fucking pushed me over.

I popped up, wiping my hands to turn around and scold him, threatening to withhold the treats I would sneak to him, only to find Shadow standing there.

My eyes bounced between my horse and Sky, trying to figure out which one of them had pushed me. Both beasts, standing over me despite my height, stared at me blankly, not a hint of the affection they should have held for me there.