Page 39 of Married By Treachery

She nodded once, he released her hand, and she walked on, back to the others, while trying not to dwell on all her other dreams of him.

The dreams of things yet to come.

13

Jake didn’t stop Vizzi again until the sun set. It had been a quiet ride after the stag. Its death loomed like a dark cloud over them all, following them through the mist and trees. Raquel wanted to ask. She wanted so badly to know what that black substance was, how the stag had been infected, andwhy. And what Jake had done to let it pass in peace.

But she didn’t.

Jake sat so rigidly behind her that she worried any conversation might make him crack. Might fracture his resolve and his composure, and though this Raquel did not mind if it shattered him to pieces, Dream Raquel would not allow it.

Actually, that wasn’t quite true. This Raqueldidmind, and that bothered her most of all.

They did not cross any other creatures, unless one counted a centipede. A forest of this size should have been a refuge for any number of wildlife, but there was nothing. Just how much of the forest life had this plague claimed?

It was in a small clearing that Jake stopped their group. He studied the surrounding trees, his kith features all sharp lines and hard planes, his gaze narrowed. “We’ll make camp here,” he announced and dismounted.

Raquel, however, wasn’t so sure. “What about the Depraved?” She climbed down from Vizzi, who shifted, agitated.

But Jake only gave her a dismissive, “We’ll be fine,” walked over to Banon, and the two of them spoke in low voices while the rest of the group caught up.

Beside her, Vizzi snorted, and his ears twitched.

Raquel reached up and rubbed the breadth of his nose. “I know. I don’t much like it either.”

“I thought we were staying in Drava,” Sienne said once she caught up. She did not sound pleased.

“We don’t have time,” Jake answered, his tone clipped. He’d crouched at the edge of the clearing and was drawing in the dirt with his finger.

“We make time,” Sienne replied.

“Can you extend the day?” Jake cut back. The tension in his posture edged his voice too. “Can you hold back the night and give us time to pass through Drava’s gates?”

Sienne’s lips thinned. A few in her company glanced sideways at her, but everyone looked resigned.

Even Sienne.

Jake stood fully and turned to face her. Gone was the mischievous, tricky prince. In his place stood an imperial and dangerous ruler. “No? Then perhaps you might make yourself of use and help me draw a perimeter so that the Depraved do not rip us to shreds as we sleep.”

Sienne scowled, looked to the kith man beside her, nodded once, and dismounted. The rest of her company followed suit.

Jake, however, turned back to his task and resumed drawing symbols upon the earth.

Raquel leaned in to Vizzi and whispered, “Wait here.” Vizzi snorted his disapproval, but Raquel patted his nose and slowly approached Jake.

He still crouched, his back to her as he drew symbols in the dry earth, clearing needles and leaves when necessary. He did not turn or look or verbally acknowledge her when she stopped behind him, but Raquel noted a slight hitch in his movement.

“How effective are drawings compared to stone walls?” she asked.

Jake finished a line, then scrutinized his work. “Effective enough.” A pause. “Though I might advise you keep low to the ground lest one of them rip off your head.”

Raquel’s eyes widened.

Jake glanced at her over his shoulder, and a mischievous grin twisted his lips.

Raquel realized he was teasing and narrowed her eyes. “Scoundrel.”

That grin spread, as if he proudly accepted the designation, and then he got back to work. Sienne had begun drawing symbols on the other side, the two of them working together to form a circle wide enough for all of their company and the horses. The others began unpacking and setting up camp, and Raquel felt suddenly useless.

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