Page 77 of Silver in the Bone

“Fine, fine,” he said, massaging the place where his knee met the wood.

The carved limb clung to his skin through a series of braided roots that shifted, alive, to accommodate his massaging hand. Emrys looked on in awe.

“’Tis only the damp making trouble again,” Aled said. “It leaves a sore where the skin rubs, is it not so?”

It took Bedivere several moments to realize that the question had been directed at him. He gripped his gauntlet with his hand. “Oh—yes. Always on days such as this.”

Bedivere’s face tightened with what might have been a hint of annoyance—there and gone. He turned to Caitriona. “Shall we?”

“Yes, of course.” She cast a quick, assessing look our way. “Have any of you trained with a blade?”

Emrys’s hand went up. Both Cabell and I turned to stare at him.

“Put your hand down, man,” Cabell told him, crossing his arms over his chest. “I saw you almost knock yourself out messing around with Librarian’s mop two weeks ago.”

“Well, that’s hardly his fault,” I said. “That was probably the first time he’d ever seen one.”

“I’ve taken fencing lessons since I was seven,” Emrys said, ignoring us both. “That does use a thinner blade, though.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course he had.

“It’ll be a different weight and balance than you’re accustomed to,” Bedivere warned.

“I’ll manage,” Emrys said.

The old knight went to retrieve a long sword from the rack, passing it to Emrys by the scabbard. Caitriona looped it over his shoulder so it rested against his back. I’d somehow forgotten he was left-handed until he reached back to test the distance to the sword’s hilt.

“I have some limited experience stabbing and bludgeoning things,” Cabell offered, and was given a mace.

I took a small dagger and removed my jacket so Caitriona could place a thin mail shirt over my tunic. The others did the same.

I eyed my white horse and her impressive saddle, trying to steady my heart before it could start its own gallop.

Emrys leaned close to my ear. “Need a boost up?”

I knew he was needling me. All I needed to say was that I’d ride with Cabell—in fact, Cabell was looking at me, as if waiting for it, one brow arching higher with each moment I kept my mouth shut.

I wasn’t going to let Emrys find the ring, and I wasn’t about to let him win this little battle, either.

With a noise of disgust, I swung myself up into the saddle on one stirrup. Emrys climbed up behind me with annoying ease. I drove my elbows back as I took the reins, trying to wedge some space between us.

Instantly, I regretted my decision. He was inescapable—the press of his hard chest against my back, how his thighs braced against mine. His breath was soft as it fanned my hair, and despite the heat of him and the animal beneath us, a shiver danced down my spine, sparking against all those places where his bigger body fit itself to mine.

“Want to make bets on how long it’ll take for me to fall off the back of this beauty?” he whispered.

“No, because I’ll just push you off myself,” I told him.

His chest rumbled against my back with a laugh. A tentative hand ghosted along my hip, silently asking.

“Fine,” I heard myself say. “But don’t get any ideas.”

The muscles of my stomach jumped and tightened beneath the layers of cloth and cold chain mail as his long fingers flattened against it. I looked down, taking in the raised edge of the scar that ran over his wrist to the back of his hand.

Emrys leaned forward until I could feel his heart pounding against my back—somehow faster than even my own. The smell of him enveloped me, driving out the decaying world around us for a single moment. Pine and the breath of the sea filled my lungs.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he murmured close to my ear.

We rode in silence, following Caitriona along a well-trodden path through the blistered bodies of the trees.

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