Page 18 of The Other Side of the Mirror

I rolled my eyes at his mothering but took a begrudging bite. Only then did he grab himself another sandwich and settle down on the log beside me.

“I think the garrison commander thought I was sleeping with one or both of them until they caught me in the bunks with Marin,” Yael said ruefully, a smirk playing at her lips.

“My younger sister,” Bash explained with a soft smile, answering the question before I could ask it. “She’s a gifted healer. Earth magic, as is common in the Southlands. You’ll meet her when we reach Imyr.”

“Yael and Marin have been together so long that hearing ‘Marin and Yael’ is like velvet rubbed the wrong way,” Rivan teased.

I was almost jealous of the faraway look of utter contentment on Yael’s lovely face. “She’s myanima,” she said, as if that explained everything.

I grimaced, suddenly reminded that the endpoint of this adventure was to find my own supposed soulmate.

“How did you know?” I found myself asking. “That she was youranima?”

Yael’s gaze sharpened with understanding. “You’ll know,” she said simply. “It’s like something inside me was always pulling me to her. I just hadn’t realized it yet.”

Bash stood, brushing crumbs from his lap, and Rivan followed.

“We’ll ready the horses,” Rivan said, sharing a look with Bash. “Not that we need to rush now that we’re in the Faewilds, but we should at least makesomeheadway before nightfall.”

They nodded grimly, and Yael shot me a look. “It used to be safer in these woods, but some of the creatures that live here have…changed…due to the curse.” I raised a brow, wondering what exactly that meant. “We ward the camp but stay vigilant when we’re riding. While I don’t think we were followed, we can’t discount any bands of dissenters looking for you either.”

Rivan frowned, and a muscle ticked along Bash’s jaw, both of their hands inching toward their weapons at the potential threat. Without another word, they strode off toward the waiting steeds, working efficiently as they checked on saddles and stirrups. I dusted off my hands and helped Yael gather the remains of our lunch.

There was something in me that balked at the thought of leaving the easy laughter in this shining glen as we rode away. Perhaps when thatanimabond fell into place, I would feel the urge to travel onward instead of ignoring the voice inside me begging me to stay.

Chapter8

Eva

Irode in front of Bash, each rolling step of his horse pressing me into the warmth of his body. The trio hadn’t brought a fourth horse when they came to retrieve me, having already been in the Faewilds when they received my whereabouts—and Bash’s horse was the largest. Yael led the way on her caramel-brown horse Indra, the mare’s silvery-white mane catching the light. Rivan rode Arion, a dusky beast who had nipped at me ferociously when I tried to feed him. Rivan had laughed heartily, those lavender eyes dancing as he told me that if Arion hadn’t liked me at least a little bit, he wouldn’t have missed nabbing a fingertip.

Bash’s storm-gray steed, appropriately named Smoke, nimbly trotted along the forest trail despite the two riders on its back. Though I tried to lean forward and keep my guard up, I quickly realized it was a losing battle. Scowling, I allowed myself to relax, just a little, into Bash.

The action didn’t go unnoticed. “Comfortable?”

I tried not to shiver as his warm breath brushed against my ear.

“Hardly,” I lied.

“I wasn’t sure if your spine knew how to bend.”

I could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Perhaps it’s the company,” I said sweetly. “Becausenotbeing bendable isn’t a complaint I’ve heard before.”

Bash coughed like he had choked on his retort, then let out a low chuckle that I found oddly satisfying. I was grateful he couldn’t see the flush on my cheeks at the innuendo I had spouted without thinking. Perhaps it was the result of his arms brushing against me with the horse’s every movement, those muscular legs pressing in on either side of mine.

I ignored him as best I could for the rest of the mercifully short ride. When Rivan declared it was time to make camp, I breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief, having not ridden since childhood…and desperately needing to get some distance from my riding companion.

Bash leapt down before helping me dismount, placing his hands on my hips as I swung my leg over Smoke’s broad back. The feeling of his hands on me sent a shiver down my spine, and I stumbled inexplicably as my feet touched the ground. Bash pulled me protectively toward him, the feeling of him pressing against me uncomfortably familiar. Though that was likely due to the prolonged time together on the horse.

His hands lingered on my waist. I reached up to push him away, but my hand somehow ended up resting on his chest where I could feel his heart beating as furiously as mine.

“You can let go of me now,” I grumbled, but it lacked any bite.

“I think the words you’re looking for start with ‘thank’ and end with ‘you’, hellion.”

Was I just imagining that his retort also sounded lackluster?

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