Page 61 of Of Wind and Terror

After the…incident…Treyton and Blaze set up camp in one of the abandoned buildings while I remained with Aleksander. Once they were done, I begged the two princes to drag Aleksander inside. Blaze refused, grumbling under his breath about idiotic elves getting what they deserve, but Treyton offered me a soft smile and slung the huge elf over his shoulder.

For the last orbit, I played with Aleksander’s dark hair while he slept peacefully in my lap. If you asked me why I stayed with him, I wouldn’t have an answer—at least not one that makes sense.

Aleksander is untrustworthy and terrifying and a liar…yet, when he was flung from that tree, terror crawled insipidly up my throat and clogged my airways. I told myself that the only reason I was playing with Aleksander’s hair was because I wanted to feel the difference in texture between my hair and his.

Not because I wanted to take comfort in his rhythmic breathing and the way his eyes fluttered behind his thin lids.

No, definitely not that.

But now he’s awake, staring up at me with penetrating blue eyes, and I have no excuse to keep touching him.

Yet I still do.

I continue to fork my fingers through his mane of hair as he offers me a sleepy smile.

“Somebody hand me a hammer, please. I’m going to whack myself in the head with it repeatedly.”

I still my hands and frown down at him.

Why would you do that?

I can’t ask the question out loud—or even sign it to him—but he reads me easily.

“Because.” He winks. “I like the feel of your hands on me. And if I have to be hurt in order to get you to touch me…”

I roll my eyes at his dramatics, even as his words trigger a smile.

The building we chose to spend the night in served as the military outpost a long time ago. There’s a closet full of weapons—though most of them are broken—and a window overlooking the Forest of the Damned.

I can’t imagine what it would be like to be stationed here. Forced to stare at this innocent-appearing thicket of trees for days on end.

Nothing bad ever comes out of the Forest, at least according to Blaze. The danger lies within the woods.

“That just means the monsters get the meals some other way,” Aleksander piped in cheerfully when I brought it up.

And that was the last we spoke of it.

Runt whines from where he’s perched on the windowsill. One of his tiny paws bats at the glass. It almost feels as if he’s attempting to communicate with me, and I can’t help but wonder if he senses something we don’t.

Something dangerous.

Insidious.

Malevolent.

Unease prickles along the back of my neck.

When Aleksander realizes I no longer intend to play with his hair, he sits up and stretches exaggeratedly, the lines of his muscles limned in moonlight.

“Where are my two favorite princes?” Aleksander asks, seemingly noticing for the first time that the room’s practically empty.

There’s nothing but a wooden table—one of the legs shattered, causing it to tilt precariously—and a shelf with knocked-over books. Our bedrolls are placed in a haphazard circle in the very center of the room.

“Blaze is keeping watch outside, and Treyton’s preparing dinner,” I sign.

Aleksander’s eyes dip as he watches my fingers move. “Do it again. Slowly.”

“Blaze is keeping watch outside?—”

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