Page 104 of Twisted Sins

But as usual, he didn’t respond.

Suddenly, she felt his body stiffen.

“How did this happen?” he demanded.

She opened her eyes and looked at the cold fury on his face. For a moment, she was confused, but she realized he was looking at the hands she had placed on his broad chest. There were visible burn marks on her fingers and palms that had turned into blisters.

“It’s nothing,” she said dismissively, not wanting to tell him about going into the seer’s burning tent.

“You are injured,” he growled. “If you had stayed inside our damn tent like I told you to, you wouldn’t have burned yourself. Next time, I’m going to tie you up.”

She was annoyed at his highhandedness. “They are just minor burns,” she argued. “Even you must have them, and I’m sure most of the clan does too.”

He still looked pissed. “You are not doing anything with your hands until the injuries have faded completely,” he ordered. “If you break my order, I’ll keep you tied in the tent and place two guards outside. Do you understand?”

She wanted to yell at him, but she sucked in a breath. He had carried her out of the mountain to where the encampment had been.

She expected to see their tent and the half-burned tents, which had caught fire the previous night. But there were no traces of anything. The clan members and their belongings were on top of the horses.

Everyone was waiting for her.

She was embarrassed that she had been sleeping and couldn’t help the clan pack or load the belongings on horses.

The demon should have woken me earlier.

“Hold on to the reins,” he commanded.

The next moment, she found herself on top of a tall, black horse. Blinking, she held on to the reins, hoping to stay alert while she rode. But the demon climbed behind her, making her realize she was on his horse and would be riding with him.

She was glad as she didn’t think she could ride by herself right then.

Sleepy and exhausted, she leaned back against his broad chest.

The demon wrapped an arm around her, and then, letting out a loud, primitive cry, he led the clan out of the encampment to yet another unknown destination in the desert.

***

She didn’t know how long they rode or the exact path they took.

Luckily, there were no more attacks and they stopped at another foothill of a mountain. The area was much bigger than the last two encampments. And the hill protruded in a way that it shielded the tents underneath from being seen easily from above.

She was once again amazed by the speed at which the tents were being set up. New tents replaced the ones that had burned. The demon’s and her tent was once again slightly away from the rest of the encampment.

She tried to help set it up inside, but Uma and Rumi led her away. They took her to a pond between the hills.

“Take a bath, and then eat and rest,” Rumi advised.

She realized everyone had taken a bath, and she was the only one who was covered in smoke and soot. She also looked odd as she was still wearing the demon’s sweatshirt.

The heat was just beginning to pick up, and she felt sweat sliding down her back.

“There’s no need to stay here with me,” she said, knowing it would take a while to wash her hair and get rid of the smoke and soot. “You both must be tired and hungry too. I’ll join you both near the cooking area once I’m done.”

Uma shook her head. “It’s okay. We’ll stay.”

Nandini nodded, knowing they were following the demon’s order to keep an eye on her.

It annoyed her that the demon still thought she would try to escape when she had promised him that she would stay until the goddess Shakti's statue commissioning ceremony.

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