Page 107 of A Broken Promise

I kept my eyes open, staring at him and each of his slow breaths.

“If you keep staring at me like that I might turn into ashes.” He smirked, opening his eyes, locking with mine. There was something different about him this time, I realized. Still arrogant and still deadly, yet his gaze was so unlike the day we met.

I raised my eyebrow at him and curled my lip.

“I keep hoping for that and yet you are still here.Talking.” I adjusted my blanket and bags, settling in the cocoon of warmth.

“You know you can sleep. I won’t hurt you,” he said, looking at me. Reassuring. My eyes narrowed at that look.

“Says the person who incinerated a Royal guard within seconds. Yeah, I think I’ll put my trust in someone else.”

“Says the person who shot me even when I was unconscious.”

“You deserved it.”

“Didn’t he?”

He did,but I didn’t reply.

We both stayed quiet for the rest of the night. I wasn’t sure if he was asleep as I fought exhaustion until my eyes couldn’t stay open anymore. Just an hour, I promised myself.

53

Iwoke up from a sudden sensation of falling. One blink and I was no longer buried in the light clouds far in the sky, deep within my dream. Instead, I was slumped against the ground. One glance and I realized the Destroyer was gone. His spot by the tree empty. My eyes raced through my surroundings.

Not a single trace of him.

Anger flooded me but not even at him. Gods, I would do the same. Ididthe same.

No, I was pissed at myself. I took another look; he couldn’t have gotten far…unless he walked all night.

Gods. I had to have been out for hours. I bit my lip in frustration.

No amount of Fate or luck could make up for this lack of competence.

“Shit,” I angrily mumbled. I was alive, so there was some upside to this but now I was stranded deep in the forest with no sense of where to go. “Shit!” This time I yelled kicking the frosted leaves around me.

“Good morning,mage.” I jumped at his voice, which sounded as though it were just a step behind me. He snuck up so quickly.Tooquickly.

“Where the fuck were you?” I asked, choking out the anger withinme, suspiciously assessing him. My dagger was already out. My eyes instinctively scanned his shoulder, analyzing the bandage. Still intact with the same bloodied knot that I tied. Basalt Glass still deep inside the wound. Good.

“I needed to use the bathroom, or shall I relieve myself in front of you?” he asked, raising his brow, tilting his head slightly to the side as he leaned against the large tree.

“Actually yes, do that. I will kill you if you leave my sight again.”

He raised his brows in amusement just for a second, and then narrowed his eyes with a challenge. He lowered his body until his nose almost touched mine. My drawn dagger pressed into his chest. He lowered his voice until it was a sultry whisper. “Swear it?”

I didn’t back down, my eyes confidently staring back at him. He was just a man, I reminded myself. A part of me was unaware that instead of fear and panic, my mind was distracted with his strong pine and campfire smell.

He moved then, walking past me, leaving me standing there, dumbfounded, still rifled by a complete mix of feelings within me. I turned to follow him.

We continued our journey for hours. Quietly.

I thought about asking so many things, saying so many things. Telling him just how much I despised him, telling him how I would kill him for everything he had done. Carve him up into pieces. But I realized that no words would express my feelings enough for him to understand because no matter how long the dog barked, the cat wouldn’t understand it.

He stayed quiet too. His limp was getting better, I realized, when he didn’t take as long to overstep a fallen young tree. Priya mentioned that Destroyers healed faster but it had been barely two days. I thought about shooting him again and though my crossbow was now always loaded, I didn’t pull the trigger. Maybe tomorrow.

The loud raven’s screech yanked me into the present, away from the abyss of my thoughts. Both of our heads turned as we saw a large black bird flying over us. A little note of excitement ran through me as I watched the bird fly away. We had to beapproaching the end of the forest now. Maybe we would see more animals or life.

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