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I hadn’t been good at stalking quietly through the forest as a kid, though I was better at it than I was now. Wincing as a branch snapped under my foot, I hurried forward and hoped I wouldn’t lose him. He was much better at tracking than I was, too. I could probably find him with the shadows, but I wasn’t very good at that, yet.
“Go back to Dream Palace where it’s safe,” Dio called.
I shifted my direction, using his voice as a beacon.
“Dio, you need to come with us.”
“I need to get back to Nightmare,” he replied, his voice coming from a slightly different direction.
“You need to let me help you,” I said more quietly.
He didn’t reply, so either he hadn’t heard, or he didn’t want to acknowledge what I’d said.
Trying to stretch out my senses through the shadows that lurked everywhere in this forest, I attempted to track Dio that way. I caught a glimpse and picked up my pace to a jog.
An arm snaked out and wrapped around my waist, grabbing me before I could tumble down a ravine I hadn’t seen.
“Caught you this time,” he said, pulling me close.
“This time?”
“You don’t remember crashing down into that deep ravine when we were kids? Nic caught you almost at the bottom. Lucky shadow boy was around.” Dio’s familiar accent and comforting arms conflicted sharply with the distance he’d kept from me, as if now that he held me, he couldn’t let me go.
“Oh, uh, I’d forgotten. I think that’s where my fear of falling came from now that you mention it.” I relaxed into his embrace, letting him lead me back from the edge a few steps.
“Probably. You never thought twice about heights before that.” He inhaled deeply. “You smell so good.”
“Like sweat?” I wrinkled my nose.
His breath tickled my hair. “No, like you. Where’s your knight?”
“He’s around. Keeping watch.”
“I can’t share you with someone who is not my brother,” Dio said.
I took a breath and pushed away. “Dio, let’s just do whatever it is we have to do to help Nightmare and you. You don’t have to share, but I’m not giving him up.”
“I’m not finished,” he said.
I snapped my mouth shut and glared.
“Princess, I can’t share with anyone who isn’t my brother, but I’d call Geraint brother if he would let me. He protected you when we could not. He didn’t take you as a lover until years after we should have come back into your life. He saved me when he could have simply watched me die, and Nic told me he was prepared to die for you on more than one occasion. A man like that is certainly worthy of your love, and he’s more than proven his loyalty. If he’ll let me, I’d like a chance to prove I’m worthy of his friendship.”
Dio stared over my shoulder. I guessed Geraint stood back there, watching. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but if that made it possible for Dio to accept my knight, I was all for it.
I glanced over my shoulder, still in Dio’s arms.
Geraint leaned against a tree, arms crossed. He studied both of us before he nodded. “Of course, your highness.”
Dio shook his head. “No titles.” He loosened his grip on my arms and when I stepped back, he went over to Geraint. “I would have you call me Dio, or whatever you prefer.”
Geraint bowed his head slightly, then held out his hand. Dio took it without hesitation.
“Then, brother, I suggest you spend some time with Ember before we go back. See if you can work things out. I’ll keep watch.”
Dio smiled. “I do need to go to Nightmare before we return to Dream Palace, but we’re not far from the border. I don’t think a visit will take long.”
“That should be fine. I think we’re relatively alone, though I admit I’m a bit out of my element.” Geraint glanced around himself as if to illustrate.
