Page 19 of Ash and Roses

His mouth twitches, but he doesn’t answer. He stands just behind me now, positioning the arrow for me. I move to pull back on the string, but he stops me. “Not so fast. You’re skipping steps.”

“What other steps are there? You just pull back and let go.”

He laughs. “That’s not how this works at all. Relax.” How can I relax with his hands on my shoulders? He brushes the hair from one side of my neck so that it all cascades down the other. “Straighten your back and spread your legs a bit more.” I do, but all I can concentrate on is his warmth against me. Even bathed in the rays of morning sun, he’s so much warmer than he should be.

I swallow back the dryness in my throat. “Like that?”

He makes a sound of approval that has my hands trembling. “Relax.” His voice is a whisper against my neck. His head is side by side with mine as he lines up his gaze with the target. “Take a deep breath.”

I do, but it’s ragged. The burning inside me is back, and I long to feel his hands on me again. Him being this close is unbearable. “Jade…”

“Shh. Focus on your breathing and keep your eyes on the tree. Your aim will follow.” I do, and my body shifts slightly. His hands run along the length of my arms as he corrects my aim a fraction. “When you’re ready, pull back slowly. Don’t release until I tell you to.”

I take a deep breath and pull at the string. My arm trembles with the force of it until his hand slips over mine and helps pull it back. We stay like that for what’s probably seconds, but feels like an eternity.

“Take a breath and breathe out through your mouth.” I do, and I feel him mirror me as I let the air slip out through my mouth.

“Let go,” he whispers before all the air has left my lungs.

Together, we release the string and the arrow soars. It hits the tree with a thunk, only just missing the knot. He releases me and steps away. “Well done.”

“I missed.”

“You hit the tree.”

Before I can answer, a grumble comes from deep in my stomach. Despite all the food we’d eaten yesterday, I’m hungry again. “How about I find us some breakfast?” he asks, taking the bow.

“Sounds good to me,” Teagan says, appearing behind us and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You looked so comfortable,” I tease. “Right at home in the forest.” We all know that’s not true, but at least she was able to get some rest.

Jade leads us through the trees, moving as quietly as a cat. When he stops, we stop. He signals for us to get down, and together we duck behind a large moss-covered log. He pulls back on the bow and I have to struggle to see what he’s aiming at. At first, I see nothing but greenery. Low growing ferns, bushes, grass—and none of the needle variety. This is a whole different world than what I’ve grown used to, and if it wasn’t so late in the year, I wonder if the forest might bloom with flowers.

Faint movement draws my eye and a small grey something hops out from behind a fern on the other side of a small pond too shallow to be populated by fish. Jade takes aim for the rabbit and hesitates only a moment before firing. The arrow pierces the animal without a sound, right through its eye. There wouldn’t have been any time for it to feel pain, and I’m thankful for that. The Lunar Hunt is one thing, but watching the killing of a creature outside of that time is new to me. The grumbling in my stomach makes that thought only a momentary concern.

“Nice shot!” Teagan cheers as Jade leaps over the pond to collect it. It wasn’tthatwide, but still. That jump was impressive. I guess he really is a showoff.

He sets the rabbit down and clears an area for a fire. “Do you have anything to light it?” I ask as he stacks twigs upright.

“I’ll figure something out.” His eyes move from me to Teagan and then back to the woodpile. Before I can ask how he plans to figure anything out, Teagan steals my attention.

“Can you look at my back and make sure it’s healing?”

The question catches me off guard. “Are you still in pain?”

“No. It’s just that I can’t see it myself, so I want to be sure it’s not getting infected.”

“You should be fine. It’s been long enough that the risk of infection will be low, but I’ll take a look.” Teagan lifts her shirt, and my stomach twists at the ten red lines that scar her once flawless skin. I swallow. “It’s healing well.”

“Got it,” Jade says, and I whip around to see a small gathering of embers morph into a small flame.

“How did you do that so fast?”

He winks at me. “This isn’t my first time in the forest.” I wonder how much time he’s actually spent here while I thought he was suffering in a stuffy tent with other Marked. No one could argue that his life has been great, but it’s nowhere near as horrible as I thought.

Jade makes quick work of the rabbit, and soon my belly is sated again. I would gladly trade my title for a life that kept me fed. A life spent with my best friend and a good man.

Jade’s head snaps up, and without warning, he kicks out the fire.

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