Page 26 of Cursed Dreams
To her surprise, that earned a quiet chuckle.
"Spoken like a true scholar," he mused.
Thalia crossed her arms as best as she could while sitting on a horse. "Is that an insult?"
"A compliment," he said smoothly.
She eyed him suspiciously, but he only looked vaguely amused. It was rare to see anything other than boredom or sharp calculation on his face, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Despite herself, she smiled.
Their conversation lingered in her mind as she turned her gaze back to the road ahead. She had no idea why Vaelith seemed so interested in her thoughts or opinions, but she refused to let herself dwell on it too much. He was most likely trying to ease the awkwardness of riding together.
As they rode on, she found herself sneaking another glance at him, watching the way the sunlight caught in his white hair, how his expression remained composed, but his gaze held something deeper, something she couldn’t quite name. He looked sad almost haunted, lonely.
She shook her head, forcing herself to focus ahead.
She was being ridiculous, clearly projecting her own feelings onto him.
Thalia couldnotwait to get off this horse.
It wasn’t just that she was sore, though every muscle in her legs and back ached from hours in the saddle, but the fact that she wasfartoo aware of Vaelith. Every movement of the horse jostled her against him, pressing her back against the hard lines of his chest, the solid strength of his arms bracketing her as he held the reins. She hadknownhe was strong, but feeling it was an entirely different matter. His body was unyielding, muscles firm beneath his clothing, his presencecommandingin a way that made her stomach flip.
And the heat.
He waswarm. Not the mild kind of warmth one might expect, butradiant, as if he carried the very essence of fire beneath his skin. It seeped into her back, through the thin fabric of her healer’s robes and riding cloak, making her uncomfortably aware of just howclosethey were.
Her mind wandered dangerously.
What would it be like to be the object of his affection? To have that hard bodyaboveher instead of behind her, all sharp angles and sculpted strength caging her in?
Heat rushed to her face and poled deep in her core as she imagined the way his silver hair might fall into his eyes as he leaned over her, his usual unreadable expression melting into something more, that hard lines of his body pressing into...
Vaelith suddenly coughed.
Not just a polite clearing of the throat, but a sharp, almostchokingsound.
Thalia stiffened, mortified. Her thoughts had wandered off on her again.
He shifted slightly behind her, his grip tightening briefly on the reins before he exhaled a long, suffering breath. "We're nearly at our stop for the night," he said, his voice far from the carefully even tone it normally was.
Thalia’s face burned.Could he tell what she was thinking?
She swallowed hard, refusing to turn and look at him, lest she make this even worse.
Vaelith muttered something under his breath, something that sounded suspiciously like"personal torment",before adding dryly, "I need a cold bath."
Thalia’s entire body went rigid.
She just wanted to curl up and hide.
Desperate to escape this utterly humiliating situation, she quickly focused on the horizon, willing the final stop to appear sooner.
Tomorrow, they would arrive in Vertrose.
And she was definitelyavoidingVaelith forever once they got there.
They arrived at another small temple just as dusk was settling over the landscape, the last rays of sunlight bathing the stone walls in gold. Thalia was exhausted—physically from the long day in the saddle, and mentally from everything else. She had avoided Vaelith’s eyes as he had lifted her from the saddle, mummering a quiet thank you before hurrying away from him, her humiliation still burning across her face . The temple, perched right on the border between the Fae and human lands,was a place of quiet reverence. The priestesses welcomed them warmly, offering a simple but hearty meal before showing them to their sleeping quarters.
