Page 177 of Forcing Fate

“Get your things.”

My stomach growled in protest, and Rafe dropped his gaze to my belly, arching a brow. I sighed in resignation and headed to the fortress. Food would simply have to wait.

I grabbed my toiletries and my winter cloak. It was getting colder—the first snow would come soon. I had been inside a stall all day with Thunderbolt and forgot how cold it got at night now.

I followed Rafe to the spring. The sun was touching the horizon, and he picked up his pace, forcing me into a jog to keep up with him.

“This is—I should bathe closer to—the fortress,” I said between breaths.

His gaze flashed to mine, but he said nothing.

We arrived at the spring, and he bathed quickly. When he came out, steam rolled off him, giving him a comical look.

“Go.”

He jerked his head to the cave entrance, and I rushed inside to bathe, disgusted at the amount of grime streaking off me. I dried and dressed quickly. I threw my winter cloak over my shoulders, hoping to hold in the warmth. On my way out, I almost ran into Rafe just outside the cave entrance.

“Oi!”

Normally, he waited on the beach. He looked at me and opened his mouth as if to say something, but his gaze traveled further down. I waited for him to speak, and after a moment, his eye darted back to mine.

“Your lacing is undone,” he said. His tone was dark and raspy—full of… something.

I peered down and gasped, dropping my dirty clothes. I pulled at the lacing again and tied it more securely. After picking up my clothes, I braved a glance at him as a blush heated my cheeks. I was thankful for the darkness of dusk to hide my embarrassment. All he would have seen was my chest binding, but that was far too much.

“I must have been in a hurry. Someone was rushing me,” I huffed.

The light in his eye changed, and he smirked.

I gave him a small smile.

Bathing with a man at dusk? Having my tunic lacing come undone? Standing far too close for societal standards? My heart raced in rebellion as my gaze traveled to his lips and I wondered, not for the first time, if they were as hard as the words that came out of them.

“There’s news of unrest.”

“Hmm?” I was jolted back to reality, and I snapped my attention up to his dark eye.

“Up north—rumors of a beast killing off livestock.”

My brow furrowed. “Why would the army hear of a simple beast?”

Farmers dealt with their own predator issues. Oftentimes, if it was a pack of wolves or a bear, the entire village took up arms to take care of the problem. It wasn’t a task that anyone would ever see fit to pass to the King’s Army.

“They claim it’s a dragon.”

I frowned in deeper confusion. A dragon? Where was its Rider? Why didn’t they control it? Why wouldn’t it be passed to the Dragon Riders here?

“How could that be?” I asked.

His eye took on a dangerous light—one that I didn’t like. One of hatred and anger.

“A Shaman.”

My jaw dropped, and I gaped at Rafe in disbelief. Shadows never attacked from the north. They maintained their front to the west, with sporadic attacks in the south.

Rafe lifted a hand and cupped my cheek, placing his thumb over my lips. “Hush. We’re not sent for… yet.”

Winter of Year 897

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